#TuesdayTruth Ephesians 6:10-17
Ephesians 6:10-11
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Fair warning- this is a lengthy one.
I have been thinking a lot lately about the armor of God. If you have spent any significant amount of time studying God’s word, listening to sermons, going to Bible school, or listening to podcasts about Scripture, you are probably familiar with this particular passage (or the concept).
The reason it has struck me so heavily is imbedded right within the verses themselves. First, one has to understand that our fight is not an earthly conflict, but instead against unseen forces. Second, these verses tell us just how we will withstand the true battle, which is stated as being “against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” That could be overwhelming if we did not know who was on our side.
How can we not straighten up and take notice when we are being told how to stand our ground and combat “the devil’s schemes?!”
So, the pieces of armor described in Ephesians 6 are as follows:
“the belt of truth”
“the breastplate of righteousness”
“feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace”
“the shield of faith” (specified that the purpose of this is so “you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”)
“the helmet of salvation”
“the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
I would encourage each of us to spend some time and brain power this week learning about each of these.
These are what equips one to “take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Later stated, “so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” And later still, “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Another thing that strikes me here is that we are never actually told to “battle against” the devil, but instead to simply “stand.” Why? "The battle was never ours to begin with - “the battle belongs to the Lord.”
We do not need to fret. We do not worry. We also do not shrink back in fear (Hebrews 10:39). Instead, we prepare for battle as our Father directs us, and we stand firm.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you so very much for your word. Thank you that we do not have to feel overwhelmed by the fight at hand. Thank you for telling us just how to successfully stand firm in the face of our enemy, in your strength.
We love you Father, Amen.