Ephesians 6:10-11. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Ephesians tells us that in this spiritual war we call life we have been given everything that we need for victory.
Do you believe this?
We have every spiritual blessing (1:3). We are indwelt by the Spirit of God (1:13-14). We are secured in the love of Christ (3:17) and the fullness of God (3:19). We have put off the old self and put on the new Jesus self (4:22-24). When we believe these truths the victory won’t just be ours someday. It will be ours today. And every day.
If you don’t feel victorious today, it’s not because you’re not. It’s because you don’t believe that you are. BE what you ARE. This is the message of this letter, and it is the power of our union with Christ.
Paul concludes this amazing letter by telling us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. The resurrection power of Christ in us allows us to face anything. Any suffering, any temptation, any sorrow, any pain, any failure and any success, knowing that we will survive into the next life. This is the resurrection power that transforms our weakness into strength, our dying into living, our sacrificing into an inheritance, our suffering into glory. And this is the power that we have right now – even if we aren’t yet fully experiencing it.
In the same way the armor of God – God’struth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit’s word – is already ours, even when we refuse to experience it. God’s armor isn’t something that we need to figure out how to get our hands on. It’s not a reality to attain to. It’s a reality to appropriate. To accept. To believe. We HAVE the armor of God!
So…Put on the armor of God. How? By trusting that you already have it. You’re already wearing it. Like Superman’s cape tucked under his suit, we must take off the old and expose the new. Be what we are. Wear the clothes that match our identity. God’s armor. Never our own.
And then stand.
Stand?
Yep, stand. Paul doesn’t tell us to run off into battle or that we have to destroy all God’s enemies.
Nope. Just stand in victory.
In our spiritual battle we don’t do nothing, but we also don’t DO anything. We put on (that’s something to do), and then we stand (there’s nothing left to do).
Put on the armor of God – hear the gospel truths.
Stand – trust the gospel truths.
Trust the victory that God has already won. Trust that nothing can separate you from God’s love. Trust your received forgiveness. Trust your union with Christ’s righteousness. Trust your promised resurrection. Trust that you don’t have to fight to win. Trust that you just have to stand.
“To live is Christ” means you have already won. So stand. Stand and look out over your victory in Jesus. Stand in God’s armor knowing that his promises are true and his love for you is never failing. You can live in victory today. Stop fighting for it and stand upon it instead.
You
Have you been standing strong in the Lord?
You in Christ
Read Ephesians 6:14-17. Do you believe that you have these things in Christ?
Christ in you
Where in your life do you need to put on God’s armor and then simply stand in faith?
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Playlist: Stand.
Click Here to this playlist on Spotify!
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To Live is Christ 