“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph. 6:13)
We withstand every sort of Satanic attack by putting on the whole or complete armor of God. To withstand in this verse means ‘to stand against,’ or to ‘resist.’ (Strong). This verse reminds me of James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The spiritual battle is sure to come, therefore our instruction from the Word is to stand or resist the Devil. However the spiritual battle manifests itself, our duty before God is to resist Satan, and that would mean we must not give in to Satan’s schemes. As Christians we are called to fight and win. We should never live a life that is resigned to sin. Perhaps there are those who profess to know the Lord as Savior and yet have no desire to obey the Lord, especially those who in their heart and mind think that living a life of sin is ok since they take refuge in a moment of religious prayer. In their hard of hearts they don’t intend to win the spiritual battle. In fact they most likely don’t even care about the things of God. This is a horrible condition to be in. A “Salvation” of this kind is highly suspect.
Yet as true believers, we can and should expect victory. The verse goes on to say “and having done all” that is ‘to work fully’ or to ‘do’ or to ‘accomplish’ or to ‘work out’ (Strong). We must make sure that we are doing exactly what God said to do if we are to win the spiritual battle. And not just doing what He says to do halfheartedly or even nonchalantly, we must be vigilant to obey God. This means that failure in the Christian’s life is due to disobedience. In other words, we are to take up the whole armor of God for in doing so we are accomplishing what God told us to do. This makes the panoply of God of utmost importance to every Christian.
Putting on the armor of God, making sure that it is the complete or full or whole armor, standing against or resisting Satan will ensure a particular result: “To stand” (Strongs puts it this way “abide” or to ‘continue’). We are guaranteed nothing less than total victory before, during, and after each conflict. We maintain our ground, not giving in to sin, or Satan’s temptations. We are just like soldiers ready to defend and stand our ground. What a mighty God we serve!
We withstand every sort of Satanic attack by putting on the whole or complete armor of God. To withstand in this verse means ‘to stand against,’ or to ‘resist.’ (Strong). This verse reminds me of James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The spiritual battle is sure to come, therefore our instruction from the Word is to stand or resist the Devil. However the spiritual battle manifests itself, our duty before God is to resist Satan, and that would mean we must not give in to Satan’s schemes. As Christians we are called to fight and win. We should never live a life that is resigned to sin. Perhaps there are those who profess to know the Lord as Savior and yet have no desire to obey the Lord, especially those who in their heart and mind think that living a life of sin is ok since they take refuge in a moment of religious prayer. In their hard of hearts they don’t intend to win the spiritual battle. In fact they most likely don’t even care about the things of God. This is a horrible condition to be in. A “Salvation” of this kind is highly suspect.
Yet as true believers, we can and should expect victory. The verse goes on to say “and having done all” that is ‘to work fully’ or to ‘do’ or to ‘accomplish’ or to ‘work out’ (Strong). We must make sure that we are doing exactly what God said to do if we are to win the spiritual battle. And not just doing what He says to do halfheartedly or even nonchalantly, we must be vigilant to obey God. This means that failure in the Christian’s life is due to disobedience. In other words, we are to take up the whole armor of God for in doing so we are accomplishing what God told us to do. This makes the panoply of God of utmost importance to every Christian.
Putting on the armor of God, making sure that it is the complete or full or whole armor, standing against or resisting Satan will ensure a particular result: “To stand” (Strongs puts it this way “abide” or to ‘continue’). We are guaranteed nothing less than total victory before, during, and after each conflict. We maintain our ground, not giving in to sin, or Satan’s temptations. We are just like soldiers ready to defend and stand our ground. What a mighty God we serve!
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