Armour of God - Stand Firm

Welcome to the first post on the Armour of God!  I recently did some meditation on the Armour and - wow! - it came alive for me.  I aim to do a series of posts on Ephesians 6:10-18, and hopefully with not too much time in between each one! You probably know the passage well, but here it is again all the same.  :)

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.  (Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT)

Now go back and read it again.

...and again...

I'm serious.  Read it again. 

Why?  The more you observe and take time over something, the more you get out of it, but that's another post, so go and read the passage again. 

If you have been dutiful, or just enthusiastic and understanding about the heart of this blog, you will have read the passage five times now.  What stands out to you initially?  (Please keep note of this - I would love to hear it in the comments!)

Now, bear with me.  Read the first paragraph again.  Please.  I put it in italics for your convenience.  :)

The first thing that is really important to remember is that there are two sides fighting against each other: the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of darkness.  You belong to either one or the other, and there can be no alliances.  There is no third party: everything we know comes from wither the Kingdom of Heaven or the kingdom of darkness.  How can you tell?  "Every gift God freely gives us is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of Lights, who shines from the heavens with no hidden shadow or darkness and is never subject to change."  (James 1:17 TPT)  Bad things do happen, but "...we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."  (Rom. 8:28, NLT)  Just because God didn't send it, doesn't mean He can't use it.  He's God, after all!

When I recently went back over the Armour  of God, I was captured by the word stand.  It appears (in various forms of the word) three times in the whole passage.  I think this has significance in a couple of areas specifically. 

Taken from The Fencing Hindquarters

First of all, did you notice something about the armour in the five times that you just read it?  It only covers the front part of the body.  You have a breastplate, but no backplate.  In order to survive attacks from the enemy, you must - I repeat - MUST stand and face him.  Many people today run away, thinking that this is the way God wants them to live, by avoiding the enemy.

No.  Just, no.

When we run, two things happen.  1) The enemy has a direct target at our exposed backs.  Inevitably, we get shot.  2) We give ground to the enemy.  When we run, there is no one to defend our land, and the devil has free reign to our property, our inheritance. 

The second area of significance I would like to point out is the fact that we do stand.  We do not run, but neither do we charge.  This is so important.  Imagine for a moment, a soldier who is passionate about destroying his enemy.  He does not wait for orders, but charges - alone - willy-nilly at the defendants.  What chance does that soldier have of survival or effectiveness?  Not much, in my opinion. 

Here's the thing - we don't have to go looking for battles.  The enemy knows he is defeated, but he continues to kick and fight, trying to take down as many as he can as he falls.  Battles come.  Our passage from Ephesians implies this - it's a when, not if , kind of passage.  If we are busy fighting the battles we sought, we will be too exhausted  and tied up to fight the battles that will come our way.  The devil is not kind.  He won't look at your chosen battle and say, "Well, I can see _____ ( insert name) is very busy fighting that battle over there, so I'll hold this one back until she/he is ready for it."

That would be stupid.  And satan's not stupid.  He's not very creative, and he has no authority (Matt. 28:18), but he's not stupid either.  And, as I already said, he is not kind.  He will pounce for the kill if he can, so we have to be ready, focused and waiting for orders from our King, energized through the Holy Spirit. 

There is so much more I could say here, but I'm going to leave it there for now.  Please leave a comment and we'll see what we learn from each other.  Next time, we'll look at the Shield and the Sword. 

Bibliography:

The Fencing Hindquarters (2016) The evolution of the Roman Legion.  The Fencing Hindquarters.  Retrieved from http://mindhost.tumblr.com/post/125837024967/the-evolution-of-the-roman-legion (11 October, 2016) 

Scripture quotations marked TPT are taken from Hebrews and James: Faith Works, The Passion Translation, copyright 2014.  Used by permission of BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin, USA.  All rights reserved.