Equipped For War
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. (Ephesians 6:11)
The Bible has many different pictures of the Devil. None of them are friendly or pleasant. Peter describes him as a prowling lion. Jesus described him as the Prince of Demons and the Prince of this world. Paul depicts him here as the enemy in war. He has a full arsenal of weapons that he can use against us, to cause our spiritual death. If we try to fight him on our own, with no protection, it will most certainly result in our spiritual death.
But we are not left to fight him unprotected. We have armor. Like a soldier or a police officer, we have been given armor that can protect us from the attacks of the Devil. But in order for that armor to be effective, we need to put it on. We need to make use of it. We do that by being in God’s Word and by prayer.
God’s Word holds the truth, which we use to defend against Satan’s attacks. God gives us righteousness through Jesus. He gives us the Holy Spirit who fights for us and creates faith in us, which is our shield against Satan’s flaming arrows. This is the gospel that makes us ready to battle against Satan and his army. This is the armor that God has given to us to be able to fight the battles and survives the attacks that Satan brings against us every moment of every day. So let us continue to put on the full armor of God and resist Satan’s attacks. Amen.
The song for today is “O Church Arise” by Keith and Kristyn Getty