Scripture Reference: Ephesians 6:10-20
As the Apostle Paul addresses all the family of God, he makes a stirring appeal to them as soldiers of Christ. Every true child of God soon learns that the Christian life is a life of warfare. The hosts of Satan are committed to hinder and obstruct the work of Christ and to knock the individual soldier out of combat. The more effective a believer is for the Lord, the more he will experience the savage attacks of the enemy: the devil does not waste his ammunition on nominal Christians. We need to remember that in our own strength we are no match for the devil. So the first preparatory command is that we should be continually strengthened in the Lord and in the boundless resources of His might. God’s best soldiers are those who are conscious of their own weakness and ineffectiveness, and who rely solely on Him. “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Our weakness commends itself to the power of His might.
The second command is concerned with the need for divine armor. The believer must put on the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand against the strategic wiles and schemes of the devil. It is necessary to be completely armed; one or two pieces will not do. Nothing less than the whole set of armor which God provides will keep us invulnerable. The devil has various, effective strategies—discouragement, frustration, confusion, moral failure, and doctrinal error. He knows our weakest point and aims for it. If he cannot disable us by one method, he will try for another.
This warfare is not a matter of contending against godless philosophers, crafty priests, Christ-denying cultists, false prophets, or even infidel/tyrannical rulers. The battle is against demonic forces, against battalions of fallen angels, against evil spirits who wield tremendous power. Though we cannot see them, we are constantly surrounded by wicked spirit-beings. While it is true that they cannot indwell a true believer, they can oppress and harass him. The Christian should not be morbidly occupied with the subject of demonism; neither should he live in fear of demons. In the armor of God, he has all he needs to hold his ground against their onslaughts. The apostle speaks of these fallen angels as principalities and powers, as rulers of the darkness of this age, and as spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We do not have sufficient knowledge to distinguish between these; perhaps they refer to spirit-rulers with differing degrees of authority, such as presidents, governors, mayors, and aldermen, as examples on the human scale.
As Paul wrote, he was probably guarded by a Roman soldier in full armor. Always quick to see spiritual lessons in the natural realm, he makes the application: we are flanked by formidable foes; we must take up the whole armor of God, that we may be able to withstand when the conflict reaches its fiercest intensity, and still be found standing when the smoke of battle has cleared away. The evil day most likely refers to any time when the enemy comes against us like a flood. Satanic opposition seems to occur in waves, advancing and receding. Even after our Lord’s temptation in the wilderness, the devil left Him only for a season (Luke 4:13).
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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