Now THAT is a formidable sight
The Armor of God
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For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:12-13 (NET)
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I got a comment on yesterday’s reading in Deuteronomy, about how it might fit well with the armor of God.
And since I already had those verses on my to do list, I thought we’d start tackling them in a mini-series today.
We’ve already covered verse 12 (linked here), but it’s necessary for context on verse 13.
The reason we need to take up the full armor of God is because we’re fighting a spiritual war.
I realize that’s not earth-shattering news for you.
You probably intimately know that, with all the personal battles you’ve been fighting in the years you’ve followed Jesus.
But foundational truths are always important.
Such as remembering that we are not fighting neighbors, or politicians, or other human beings.
We fight against the spiritual forces of darkness.
Now, something surprising to me about this word picture is that we are called to stand.
This isn’t about advancing into the Enemy’s stronghold and attacking him. Nor is it about maneuvering ourselves so we avoid the battle.
Instead, we are called to stand our ground.
A soldier alone could not do this.
But an entire army, with the support of their fellow soldiers and the encouragement of their King?
They can stand together against the forces of evil.
We’ll get further into the metaphor in later emails. For now, I want you to picture a Roman soldier standing ground -- but not alone, standing in formation with his fellow comrades in arms.
That is a formidable sight.
— Ricky Ketchum
Two lines of Roman soldiers
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