Ephesians 6:11-12
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
In Part 1, we saw the need for strength. The first question this brings to mind is, “Why exactly do I need strength?” We need strength in order to stand firm under our trials, to stand for the Lord, to stand against Satan and sin, and to stand with our brothers and sisters. It takes strength to stand.
But with everything we tend to have going against us, the next logical question is this: “From where do we gain this strength?” The answer is found in these verses. We find the strength to stand by using the armor of God.
No matter whom you are or how strong you may be, even the strongest person is vulnerable to vicious and even deadly attack. Think back through the centuries of warfare, and you will find even the most battle-hardened soldiers would wear their armor. The wearing of armor was not a sign of weakness, but evidence of forward thinking and honest assessment of personal limitations, as well as the fierceness of an attacking enemy. To be victorious in battle, protection is needed. Even today’s soldier wears protective body armor to withstand enemy attacks.
And while there are things in this life that might require a suit of armor, physical armor is not enough. We are not fighting against physical, conventional weapons, but against weapons that can penetrate our minds, our emotions, our very spirits, if we are not extremely careful. The devil does not only through things at us that we can see and fight. He is sneaky, and he knows how to hurt us effectively.
No matter how smart, how strong, how spiritual you think you are, the devil is cunning, and will find your weakest point, in order to exploit it to his advantage and to hasten your destruction. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “wile” (from verse 11) as, “strategies or tricks intended to deceive or ensnare; a disarming or seductive manner, device or procedure; to influence, to entice.” (A further meaning, which will come into play in a moment, is, “to pass time,” i.e. to wile away a pleasant evening.)
As you can see, Satan will use whatever means he can to influence your decision-making process, to seduce you into making a poor choice, to trick you and then trap you. And, at the very least, he will try to get you to pass your time, to ignore the importance of every moment, and rob you of your life, one second at a time. These means all lead to one end: your destruction. This destruction is not a threat to your eternal soul. The devil wants to destroy your testimony and witness. He wants to destroy your effectiveness for the Lord’s work and kingdom.
God knows what we face daily; He knows the temptations and trials, the struggles and pain of this life. He knows these things because He Himself came in the person of Jesus, and lived our experiences, and through His own power overcame these wiles of the devil. Since we are imperfect, He shares with us the armor we require to overcome our own problems. And as we go through life, we find that there is no other way to stand and survive. Verse 12 shows us what we’re up against. It’s not difficult to look around every day and see these things against us. We must stand against these forces. We must have the armor of God upon us, in order to stand.
Briefly, I want to define these wily enemies of the child of God, using the dictionary definition, and then the practical foe we face.
PRINCIPALITIES – a territory ruled by an individual, and the authority and sovereignty of that individual. This world is controlled by Satan; just turn on your television or open a newspaper and you can see that. The Christian is described as being, “in the world, but not of the world.” We spiritually stand against these forces, and while we live in this world, we do not have to be like the world. This difference automatically makes us an enemy of the ruler of this world.
POWERS – ability to effectively perform some act; the strength and force required to act and able to be exerted; a specific capacity or aptitude. No matter how strong you are, the devil is stronger. Satan has the ability to effectively destroy you, if you are not properly protected. He has far more power than you do within yourself alone, and his specific task is your ruin and destruction. No regular armor, no amount of wits nor preparation can defeat these powers. Something more is required.
RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, AND SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES – As time moves on, there never seems to be a lack of evil. Someone is always ready to step up and take the reins of evil, and it is found from the very top to the very bottom of society. The heavenly places refer to everything around us. It seems we cannot escape evil, no matter how far we run. One reason for this is that in ourselves, we tend to take that characteristic with us. There are hosts of wickedness all around us, and we must have an adequate defense against that which can simultaneously be against us, around us, above and below us and within us.
There is no other way to stand. Alone, we are defeated before we ever begin. But with the armor of God, we can and will overcome. Armor is only effective if it is used. If you were about to face a battle, your armor would not save you if it remained in your closet, or sitting on your coffee table. It must be used. Each piece must be examined and understood, so that it is used effectively. Then, it must be carefully applied so that the protection is complete. This is true for earthly, physical armor, and it is especially true for the spiritual armor of God.
I have always been fond of finding the “key words” in various Scripture, and in these two verses, the key word is found in verse 11. That word is WHOLE.
To be successful in our spiritual warfare (a warfare in which we are all engaged, whether we acknowledge it or not; it is not a war of our choosing, for we fight it regardless; the question is whether we will win or lose that fight), it is necessary that we possess and use the WHOLE armor of God. Leave one piece out, and it’s as ineffective as if you wore no armor at all. Satan can find the smallest crack in our defenses, and if we leave out one piece of God’s armor, that is exactly where He will attack.
It is not enough to apply most of the armor. Likewise, it is not enough to follow most of the Bible, most of God’s instructions for righteous living. We must follow completely, or not at all. The enemy is fierce, and it seems as though we have no hope of success. But God’s armor is more than effective enough to give us victory, if we will only use it.
In Part 3, we will begin to explore what each piece of armor is, and how we can best use it in our daily lives. I hope you’ll join me soon as we continue this study.
NEXT TIME: Ephesians 6:13
© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
But with everything we tend to have going against us, the next logical question is this: “From where do we gain this strength?” The answer is found in these verses. We find the strength to stand by using the armor of God.
No matter whom you are or how strong you may be, even the strongest person is vulnerable to vicious and even deadly attack. Think back through the centuries of warfare, and you will find even the most battle-hardened soldiers would wear their armor. The wearing of armor was not a sign of weakness, but evidence of forward thinking and honest assessment of personal limitations, as well as the fierceness of an attacking enemy. To be victorious in battle, protection is needed. Even today’s soldier wears protective body armor to withstand enemy attacks.
And while there are things in this life that might require a suit of armor, physical armor is not enough. We are not fighting against physical, conventional weapons, but against weapons that can penetrate our minds, our emotions, our very spirits, if we are not extremely careful. The devil does not only through things at us that we can see and fight. He is sneaky, and he knows how to hurt us effectively.
No matter how smart, how strong, how spiritual you think you are, the devil is cunning, and will find your weakest point, in order to exploit it to his advantage and to hasten your destruction. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “wile” (from verse 11) as, “strategies or tricks intended to deceive or ensnare; a disarming or seductive manner, device or procedure; to influence, to entice.” (A further meaning, which will come into play in a moment, is, “to pass time,” i.e. to wile away a pleasant evening.)
As you can see, Satan will use whatever means he can to influence your decision-making process, to seduce you into making a poor choice, to trick you and then trap you. And, at the very least, he will try to get you to pass your time, to ignore the importance of every moment, and rob you of your life, one second at a time. These means all lead to one end: your destruction. This destruction is not a threat to your eternal soul. The devil wants to destroy your testimony and witness. He wants to destroy your effectiveness for the Lord’s work and kingdom.
God knows what we face daily; He knows the temptations and trials, the struggles and pain of this life. He knows these things because He Himself came in the person of Jesus, and lived our experiences, and through His own power overcame these wiles of the devil. Since we are imperfect, He shares with us the armor we require to overcome our own problems. And as we go through life, we find that there is no other way to stand and survive. Verse 12 shows us what we’re up against. It’s not difficult to look around every day and see these things against us. We must stand against these forces. We must have the armor of God upon us, in order to stand.
Briefly, I want to define these wily enemies of the child of God, using the dictionary definition, and then the practical foe we face.
PRINCIPALITIES – a territory ruled by an individual, and the authority and sovereignty of that individual. This world is controlled by Satan; just turn on your television or open a newspaper and you can see that. The Christian is described as being, “in the world, but not of the world.” We spiritually stand against these forces, and while we live in this world, we do not have to be like the world. This difference automatically makes us an enemy of the ruler of this world.
POWERS – ability to effectively perform some act; the strength and force required to act and able to be exerted; a specific capacity or aptitude. No matter how strong you are, the devil is stronger. Satan has the ability to effectively destroy you, if you are not properly protected. He has far more power than you do within yourself alone, and his specific task is your ruin and destruction. No regular armor, no amount of wits nor preparation can defeat these powers. Something more is required.
RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, AND SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES – As time moves on, there never seems to be a lack of evil. Someone is always ready to step up and take the reins of evil, and it is found from the very top to the very bottom of society. The heavenly places refer to everything around us. It seems we cannot escape evil, no matter how far we run. One reason for this is that in ourselves, we tend to take that characteristic with us. There are hosts of wickedness all around us, and we must have an adequate defense against that which can simultaneously be against us, around us, above and below us and within us.
There is no other way to stand. Alone, we are defeated before we ever begin. But with the armor of God, we can and will overcome. Armor is only effective if it is used. If you were about to face a battle, your armor would not save you if it remained in your closet, or sitting on your coffee table. It must be used. Each piece must be examined and understood, so that it is used effectively. Then, it must be carefully applied so that the protection is complete. This is true for earthly, physical armor, and it is especially true for the spiritual armor of God.
I have always been fond of finding the “key words” in various Scripture, and in these two verses, the key word is found in verse 11. That word is WHOLE.
To be successful in our spiritual warfare (a warfare in which we are all engaged, whether we acknowledge it or not; it is not a war of our choosing, for we fight it regardless; the question is whether we will win or lose that fight), it is necessary that we possess and use the WHOLE armor of God. Leave one piece out, and it’s as ineffective as if you wore no armor at all. Satan can find the smallest crack in our defenses, and if we leave out one piece of God’s armor, that is exactly where He will attack.
It is not enough to apply most of the armor. Likewise, it is not enough to follow most of the Bible, most of God’s instructions for righteous living. We must follow completely, or not at all. The enemy is fierce, and it seems as though we have no hope of success. But God’s armor is more than effective enough to give us victory, if we will only use it.
In Part 3, we will begin to explore what each piece of armor is, and how we can best use it in our daily lives. I hope you’ll join me soon as we continue this study.
NEXT TIME: Ephesians 6:13
© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
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