“Wherefore take unto you 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 your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and you feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (vs13-15).
We stand in the knowledge of salvation by grace, fighting an enemy that is stronger than we are, but CONQUERING through the power of the Spirit (Eph 6:14).
The believer is unable to stand against Satan on his own, and yet, he is to stand. Our INABILITY does not remove our responsibility, and if we will but believe God, all shall be as He has said - (Mark 9:23) “Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes”.
God has power for us, and He GIVES it FREELY through Christ Jesus. We don’t have to earn salvation; He CHOSE us for it and gave it to us from the foundation of the world. We are ELECT, loved, forgiven, and blessed. All I need to serve God is mine, right now, as if I’d been obeying Him my whole life, because the obedience of God’s Son is ENOUGH for Him to bless ANY sinner in the world with STRENGTH over Satan.
Don’t say, “I can’t”, and then stop; believe Christ and DO what He says.
First, it is the Lord’s might that we are strong in – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Eph 6:10). It doesn’t matter our own personal weakness, which is GREAT. It only matters the power of the Lord Jesus over sin. He quieted the sea, cast out demons, raised the dead, and turned sinners into saints. He has the SAME power now.
People need to see holiness. They must be confronted by men and women that believe God so much, that it comes out in their lives. This power over sin is God’s witness that He sent the messenger with the message, because He grants HOLINESS and conduct becoming Christ to all that believe (Matt 28:18-20).
Secondly, Satan can be defeated by faith – “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph 6:16). Satan says, “Has God said”, and faith says, “God has said”. Satan says, “Sin that grace abounds”, and God says, “servants of righteousness” describing everyone that He redeems (Rom 6:18). He changed us, gave us newness of life, and while we have the old nature of sin in us, we are who God says we are, living for the reason that He declares.
We don’t live for our glory, but His. We don’t live to make ourselves known, but Him. We do all to the glory of God, rather than to the glory of self, as Satan SKILLFULLY deceives us. He comes saying, “Don’t be TOO holy. Walk a middle ground. Sin a little. You can’t be perfect. You’re a sinner, so you should sin. It is EXPECTED that you’d sin a little”. Yet, it is expected that we live in God’s power for God’s purpose, and He won’t change His purpose to serve us. He brings us to His will, rather than Him allowing us to do as we see fit.
Satan has lie after lie, but FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ, not only His work at the cross but also the meaning and PURPOSE of that work, delivers us from Satan’s lies to newness of life and peace.
Thirdly, the gospel is a mystery to be made known – “[Pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: hat therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph 6:19-20). We preach Christ CLEARLY, but men do not understand because it is a mystery to them how FREE and encompassing SALVATION is. Man CANNOT see that what God REQUIRES is STRENUOUS above any human ability, and it is GIVEN to every believer in spite of his sins – “Now we have received , not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God” (I Cor 2:14).
We can be BILLIONS of times more wicked than we see ourselves, but if we BELIEVE the gospel of grace, God has CLEANSED us and made us whole. We are no longer slaves.
Let our gospel be the mystery of holiness by the mystery of grace: let us live godly by the power of God GIVEN to us for Christ’s sake, who bore our sins!
Lastly, the Lord makes known to us the gospel, helps us, and deals with us through people – “But that you also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts” (Eph 6:21-22). The ministry is not “SOVEREIGN GRACE so stay at home”; the God of glory uses men and women, like us, to do His will. He saves by people, encourages by people, strengthens by people, and does all that He does in the world THROUGH the church.
