The Armor of God

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Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-13 (NIV)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Devotion:

            As Paul prepares to wrap up his letter to the Ephesians, he urges them to be strong in the Lord. Trying to stand up to the evil that is coming our way every day it seems is impossible without the aid of the Lord. We must rely on God’s strength alone to carry us through the onslaught of evil that is in the world today. We must ask the Lord for his strength because by ourselves we would simply be too weak to handle things. We must give up on the idea that we can handle things on our own. The Greek verb in this sentence is in the imperative, it is a command not a suggestion.

            Likewise, the verb that begins the next verse is also a command. And why shouldn’t we want the Lord’s full armor? In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, we see the Lord going out to fight against Israel’s foes putting on the armor (Isaiah 59:17) so God himself uses armor to defeat those who oppose him. So, we should not hesitate to be clothed in the full armor of God. Of course, this is the spiritual armor we are talking about here. But we must go to the Lord in prayer for both the strength to fight and the spiritual armor to be able to fight effectively.

            Our fight is not against flesh and blood. Although we may think we are fighting with some person over some issue but there is really a spiritual battle going on behind the scenes. Our job is to make sure that we are on God’s side in any dispute. Lest we be found to be fighting against God. We must be aware that Satan has his forces opposing us when we try to act according to God’s will.

            We must again take up the full armor of God. We must use truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God to fight our battles with the evil one. The verbs here are again in the form of a command. The evil days are here. We must take our stand for the Lord and defend the faith against any attack.

Prayer:

            Lord help us be ready for battle. Let us fight for the righteousness of your kingdom. Help us not to give in, give up, or give ground to the enemy of our souls. Let us be strong in you Lord, leaning on your strength and outfitted with your armor so that we can be victorious over our enemies. May the victory be yours Lord. May we be faithful soldiers who fight the good fight of faith. May we finish our race victoriously. Amen.

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