Our Enemy, the Devil - Pt 5

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. (Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV). We get to the meat of the matter in our resistance against the devil today. It will take us a while to get through today’s reading. There is so much of importance here. Today I want us to concentrate on the first statement by the apostle: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. We should not miss the enjoinder of the apostle. Our strength does not come from our armor or weapons; it comes from the Lord. I found this to be true as I did a study some years ago through the Biblical refere4nces to armor. The first time I did a study on the armor of God, I looked up all the Bible references to armor, searching for passages that would support and enhance the importance of wearing armor when charging off into battle. I was a bit disappointed to find that Saul’s armor did not fit David and that Goliath’s armor was useless against David’s stone. I also discovered that a stray arrow found a crack in Ahab’s armor, killing the wicked king. “So much for the value of armor!” I thought. But then I realized that we are not called to wear the faulty body armor of Saul, Ahab, or Goliath. Rather, we must put on the unfailing armor of God! In fact, at the very moment that Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he might well have been chained to a soldier sporting the armor of the Roman Empire. Paul could see firsthand how frail the defenses of man were against the prince of darkness. This is why he twice emphasized “the armor of God.” It is also clear that Paul was expanding on the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah: Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment. So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the LORD drives. (Isaiah 59:15-19 ESV). Trust in the Lord! He will not let you down. He has won the battle for us over our enemy!