Ephesians 6:10-18
Armor is tactical defense. No one armors up for offense. Armor is used to withstand. This is not to say that the armored up do not have an offensive plan, but the armor is for defense. Accordingly, we are told to “take a stand” against the devil’s schemes.
For some reason, we seem obsessed with offense. We want to slay the devil, fight the good fight. In Ephesians 6, however, we are called to withstand the devil’s schemes. God’s call for us is to guard ourselves by covering ourselves with truth, righteousness, peace, and faith. The one offense we have is the Word of God. According to John 1, Jesus is the Word of God. Jesus will fight—is fighting—our battles for us. We are meant to withstand the trials sent to us in faith that God, through Jesus, is fighting on our behalf!
Our work, then, is not to be fighting all the time. Our work is to become people marked by God’s truth, God’s righteousness, God’s peace, and God’s faith. This will be enough for us to withstand any scheme of hell!
Author: Timothy Brooks
