Paul reminds the believers in Ephesus to be strong in the Lord. How would they do so? By putting on the whole armour of God, and not merely part of it. It is his free gift to his people, but one which they are responsible to utilise. Not using each aspect will result in spiritual defeat.
Why do they need the armour? Because of the strength of their diabolical enemies who will attack them. The armour is not provided, in Paul’s description, for advance but for resistance. Believers have been given a place of spiritual privileges and have before them a life of spiritual blessings. The devil will aim to move them from that place, and their task is to remain where God has placed them by standing immovable.
What will be the devil’s strategy? He will use schemes, wily schemes. He is smarter than believers and knows how to tempt each one of them. Because they are different, they may not experience the same temptations, but they all need the same armour. They may imagine that their temptations are unique, but the response is not; the response must always be the same — put the armour on beforehand.
The enemy is organised (Paul uses various levels of authority to describe the powers ranged against the church). The conflict is very personal, likened to wrestling; it is close up at times, and one of the combatants will be thrown to the ground. The Christian will fall if he or she does not have the armour on.
The location of the warfare is described as the heavenly places. This term only occurs in Ephesians and Paul uses it in five places. One of them is Ephesians 1:3 where Paul says that it is the location of spiritual blessings. The devil’s aim today is to get you, if you are a believer, not to live up to your spiritual privileges and responsibilities. So stand!
No comments:
Post a Comment