First we have to have our strength in the Lord and
secondly we have to have the armor on.
We need to be strong
in the Lord so we can know who our enemy is and so we can stand against the
schemes of the devil 1
Corinthians 15:58 – Be Steadfast, Immovable
Not only do we battle against Satan, but we battle
against: demonic forces
a. principalities and powers, rulers
of the darkne...
First we have to have our strength in the Lord and
secondly we have to have the armor on.
We need to be strong
in the Lord so we can know who our enemy is and so we can stand against the
schemes of the devil 1
Corinthians 15:58 – Be Steadfast, Immovable
Not only do we battle against Satan, but we battle
against: demonic forces
a. principalities and powers, rulers
of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly
places
Our duty is not to
attack Satan, or to defeat him, but rather to withstand his attacks
1Co 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take
heed lest he fall.
You know when you are
vulnerable? When you think you are not. When you think I have all the
information - I've mastered the book of Ephesians, I'm alright, and I know what
to do. I've got the principles. Or when you think you can handle Satan. I've
got all the necessary equipment. But on the other hand, the point is this, when
you think you can do it - you can't. But on the other hand, when you depend
upon God there is nothing Satan can do, to you that needs to cause you to lose
the victory.
1Co
10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is
faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to
bear it.
Paul’s words about spiritual warfare
in chapter 6 in the context of Ephesians, means we wage the spiritual war, not necessarily
in terms of grand battles and heroic actions, but in terms of simple faith in
the teachings of Paul in chapters 1-3 and in terms of our obedience to the
commands of Paul as found in chapters 4-6.
Paul’s instructions
concerning the spiritual war are similar, in that Paul is informing every
Christian that they have been drafted, not to fight a physical war, but to
fight a spiritual war. We are not encouraged to take up the “full armor of
God,” we are commanded to do so. These verses are our marching orders, and we
dare not ignore them, or fail to carry them out to the letter.
When our life comes to an end, I
pray that we will be able, like Paul, to say, “I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
