Grace & Truth Chapel
131 Fardale Avenue ~ Mahwah, New Jersey
Phone 201-327-6226 ~ E-mail gtchapel@juno.com

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"God's Armor for Christian Battles" (posted September 1, 2007)

   Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
   We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but...against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
   - Ephesians 6:11-13

We can only withstand the devil in the "armor of God." Human resources such as natural ability and natural strength of character will be of no avail in this conflict. Confidence in such armor may lead us to engage with the enemy, but only to suffer defeat.

God may indeed use human ability and scholarship in His service; here, however, it is not a question of what God uses in His service, but rather of what God has given us to use in conflict with the wiles of the enemy. The enemy we have to meet is not flesh and blood, and the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (that is, fleshly or natural; 2 Corinthians 10:4).

Furthermore, in this conflict we require the "whole armor of God." If one piece is missing, Satan will be quick enough to detect the lack and attack us in the vulnerable place.

Moreover, the armor has to be "put on." It by no means follows that because we are Christians we have put on the armor. The armor is provided for us as Christians, but it remains with us to put it on. It is not enough to look at the armor, or to admire it, or to be able to describe it; we must "put on the whole armor of God."

Then we learn that the armor is needed in view of the "evil day." In a general sense, the whole period of the absence of Christ is for the believer an "evil day." There are, however, occasions when the enemy makes special attacks upon the people of God, seeking to rob them of special truths. Such attacks constitute for the people of God an evil day. To meet such, we need to have on the whole armor of God. It is too late to be putting on the armor in the midst of the struggle.

We need the armor "to withstand" and "to stand." Having withstood in resisting the enemy's offensive in any particular attack, we shall still need the armor to stand on the defensive. When we have "done all," we still need our armor in order to stand. It is often when we have gained some signal victory that we are in the greatest danger, for it is easier to gain a point of advantage than to hold it. The armor, having been put on, cannot with safety be put off as long as spiritual wickedness is in heavenly places and we are in the scene of Satan's wiles.

Hamilton Smith



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