In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul the apostle calls the church to “arms” against their arch enemy. He writes:
“Take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Ephesians 6:13, NASB
Let’s focus on this portion of that verse: “so that you will be able to resist in the evil day.”
As for the evil day, Paul was not referring to some final showdown between good and evil. Rather, the evil day can occur anytime in our life. It is a day occasioned by the spiritual forces of wickedness and darkness addressed in chapter 6, verse 12 of the same epistle. It is a day when it seems as if the demons of hell have declared all-out war on you.
Paul advised the believers to put on the full armor of God so that when the evil day comes, they will be able to stand. In other words, get prepared now so when the day comes, you will be able to stand.
No smart warrior waits until the day of battle before preparing for battle. When the possibility of war exists, the only right time to prepare for battle is before war begins.
Just imagine if our armed forces waited until the time of war to prepare for battle. They would lack vital intelligence on the opposition. They would not know the enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. In short, they would not know how to effectively fight the war. But our military leaders know that the only effective time to prepare for war is before war begins.
It’s Not If but When
Notice, Paul did not say IF the evil day comes but he says in that day. I submit that if you are a genuine Christian, you are in the devil’s crosshairs because he is our adversary. Since the day of evil is a given in our lives, it behooves us to properly prepare for that day. And we can only do that by donning ourselves with the full armor of God. Given the nature of our enemy, no other weaponry will suffice.
In our own strength, we are no match for our adversary. These are forces of darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places. In his letter, Paul addresses the components of the full armor of God (the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, etc.) that we must put on.
Some believers, too many of them, fail to take seriously what Paul addresses in this letter to the church at Ephesus. As a pastor, I have observed Christians over the years who make light of this matter. Sometimes, it’s because everything seems to be going well in their life, and they are too busy basking in their contentment. Or maybe, they are of the opinion it does not take all of that.
When I see such a person in the congregation, I just know that I am looking at a disaster waiting to happen. Passive believers will not be prepared for the day of evil. Moreover, once that day comes, it’s too late for them to get it together. Putting on the full armor of God is not like putting on a regular pair of clothes. It involves prayer, effectively using the shield of faith; and walking in the Word, which is the sword of the Spirit.
Who Can Come Out Standing Firm?
Contrary to what some believe, the devil is not an unbeatable foe. God has given us what we need to win. But victory requires us to clothe ourselves with the full armor of God. Note what Paul says will result when we don ourselves thusly: “You will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
An interesting question to entertain is what if we only partially clothe ourselves with the armor of God. In other words, suppose we put on some components of the armor of God but not all of them? Our doing that would expose our unprotected area(s) to a potentially devastating blow from the enemy.
For example, Paul symbolizes the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). He refers to faith as our shield (verse 16). Accordingly, if a believer reads the Word of God faithfully, but does not effectively live a life of faith in God, this person is not fully protected with the full armor of God. Though he has his sword, he does not have his shield. This renders him improperly prepared for the evil day.
I said all of that to underscore this point: It is only those who don themselves with the FULL ARMOR of God who are assured of being able to stand firm in the evil day.
Anyone can stand firmly when all is well or when his afflictions are light. But the question is, can you stand strong in the evil day?
Copyright © 2024 by Frank King. All rights reserved.