Sit, Walk and Stand based on Grace and His Finished Work (9)

Put On the Full Armor of God (2)

In my previous posts, I have shared that our Christian walk begins from the position of sitting which is resting in the finished work of Jesus’ on the cross. I have also talked about how we can walk in unity, what it means to renew our minds and put on the new man, how to walk in love, walk as children of Light and what it means to walk in wisdom.

The third part of Ephesians talks about standing, more specifically standing against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10-18 tell us : "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, ^[a] 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. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—" (NKJ)

In this passage, Paul is telling us in the evil day (note the singular, God gives us good dayS, the evil day, when it comes, is only for a short time), we have to put on the armor of God to stand against the devil because it is a spiritual warfare. What is spiritual warfare? 1 Peter 5:8 says : “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (NKJ). Revelation 12:10 tells us : “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.” (NKJ)

The devil is a toothless lion who goes about roaring at us with lies, accusations and condemnation to steal our shalom by shifting our focus from God’s grace and His finished work to self effort and the law. That is why the apostle Paul beseeches us to stand against the wiles of the devil. Why stand and not attack? Moses told the people in Exodus 14:13 “And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.” (NKJ) Paul in Romans 5:1,2 say : “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (NLT)

We don’t have to fight, we just need to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (Jesus) and what He has done for us. The fighting was done and won on the cross by Christ. We only need to stand on His victorious work. The devil is a defeated foe, he wants to pull us down from our position of victory by making us doubt God’s Word and condemning us with the law. That is why he is known in Revelation as the “accuser of the brethren”. He roars at us with the law and accuses us that we are not good enough for God’s blessings or we have not done enough to deserve His healing. But praise be to God! Christ has dealt with that on the cross for us : “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14 (NKJ) Romans 8:1 declares : “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (NKJ)

So let us stand firm against the wiles of the defeated foe. Our victory has already been secured by His finished work on the cross! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

------------------to be continued----------------------