“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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” Ephesians 6:13-18, ESV
To stand against Satan’s stratagems—what I called The Taciturn Conspiracy—this little passage reminds us to “Take up the whole armor of God”! Keeping us from falling prey to the schemes of the devil, there are several things Paul mentions in chapter 6—I’d like to mention three of them. First:
a) Don’t confuse who your adversary is
That is a primary strategy of the devil. He wants to get you thinking your issues are a result of your fellow human being. He can manipulate people to do terrible things, but those of flesh and blood are not the main cause of any of your problems. The devil wants you wrestling with flesh and blood. He wants you yelling at people. He wants you believing your predicament in life is because of an incompetent bumbling government. If the devil can get you mad at another human being, he’s done a great job of deflection and distraction—his taciturn conspiracy is working!
There’s nothing worse than fighting against an enemy you don’t know. To be mad at the wrong person and mix up opponents is the ultimate in victory. In this condition the devil can get you mad, discourage you, overwhelm you, and devastate you by making your fight seem like it’s against flesh and blood.
Your fight is not against any system of humanity; it’s against an organization of demonic enterprise. Paul says that ultimately any fight with City Hall is one in which you’re wrestling with rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. And, the Apostle should know. Remember, the man wrote this epistle while locked up in a Roman jail cell! Paul realized his arguments with the empire were ultimately against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places. Don’t become confused and fall into the trap of thinking your adversary is ultimately human—Paul reminds us that’s not the case. Secondly:
b) Don’t overlook what your adversary is
Never forget that Satan is much stronger than you! You are not a superhero with a cape! You absolutely need the strength of the Lord’s might because you can’t go it alone! You need God and the support of other believers standing with you. That’s why Paul says in verse 18:
“…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”
Even the great Apostle Paul realized the ancient foe is a formidable adversary. And as such we’ve got to each other’s prayers for help. Yes, the devil is very strong—but we have a mighty God that has given us armor to wear to withstand the evil day. Beginning with verse 13 we read:
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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
If you need a superhero costume, this is it—no cape attached! In fact, this is the only superhero costume to believe in. It’s the spiritual SWAT team’s uniform—don’t leave home without it. Your only opportunity to defeat the schemes of the devil is to learn to put on the superhero costume of faith everyday!
Next episode finishes with the final aspect of this armor.
J Robert Hanson
Daily Inspirations 