Ephesians is a great book. So much practical teaching in six little chapters. Probably the most familiar is the full armor of God passage in chapter 6.I thought it would be fun to take a look at the individual pieces that we are instructed to wear. I think I may have blogged on this before, so if this is old news to you, sorry about that. But I have found that I could sure use a reminder, so as usual, I'm taking you along with me.
Before we get into the meat of the passage, I want to look at the verses that lead up to it. Ephesians 6:10-13 says:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm."
So much in these verses - here's a few observations to get us started:
*Our strength comes from God, so we need to be IN HIM - what does that mean? What does that look like for you?
*We have to PUT ON the armor of God - this takes effort. We don't just wake up with it on.
*Our struggle is so much greater than what we can physically see - do we forget that we have a very powerful and wily enemy? Yes, I know, God is stronger and will always get the victory, but let's not forget that in our flesh, we are not only targets, but we are pretty weak in comparison. That's why we have to PUT ON the armor.
*We put on the armor so that we can RESIST - there is a suggestion of temptation here. Do you see it? We can battle against a foe but we are also called to resist - Satan's attack usually strikes at our weaknesses, often where we stumble the easiest. So the armor not only defends from outside blows, but also from inside urges. Does that make sense?
*And finally, STANDING FIRM is really the reason we put on the armor. Do you want to be tossed to and fro, be wishy-washy in your thinking and stumble often? Of course not, we are called to stand firm because we have a firm foundation. The armor is going to help us do this.
So, here's our next series...please feel free to comment, answer questions, etc.
So easy to jump out of bed and head out for the day and forget the armour.. It is an everyday process like you said.
ReplyDeleteThe battle we are in is spiritual. The only effective weapons then will be spiritual. The greatest weapon we have is the Truth of God's Word. That is the weapon Jesus used with Satan. It will tear down Satan's strongholds. To be strong in the Lord we must know His Word. It not only cuts into our own soul, but renders Satan ineffective and powerless... When the Word dwells in us richly, and we obey it, we are strong in the Lord.
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