Ephesians 6:11
11 Put on [enduo] the whole armour [panoplia] of God, [theos] that [pros] ye [humas] may be able [dunamai] to stand [histemi] against [pros] the wiles [methodeia] of
the devil. [diabolos] KJV-Interlinear
11 Put on the full armor of God,
that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. NASB
Whole armor, refers to the complete and covered
protection of a soldier in battle.
In the next several verses there are described six
pieces of armor in the spiritual battle dress of the believer.
Belt of truth;
Breastplate of righteousness;
Footwear of peace;
Shield of faith;
Helmet of salvation;
Sword of the Spirit.
Each piece of clothing is designed for protection
in both a defensive and offensive posture, for the believer living in this
devils world. All are an integral part
of the believers dress. All work
together for the complete protection of the believer. And, all are required.
The believer does not have the option of selecting
one or two pieces, but must put on each and every piece for the complete
coverage and protection of himself against the onslaught of evil that saturates
this world.
Satan is the unseen enemy. His policy of evil is an
integral and deceitful and subtle component of the function of this world.
Wiles, ‘methodeia’ means traveling over, journey, trickery,
lie in wait. This means that Satan does
not have to face you on a daily basis or even face you at all. His policy is
installed into this world and has been since the very first generations. He merely planted the seeds of the first
concepts of evil, and thereafter humanity has amplified and enhanced those
policies on his own, doing Satans work for him.
Evil travels from person to person, generation to
generation, region to region. It
migrates from concept to concept, from philosophy to philosophy, from belief to
belief. Evil rules beliefs, attitudes,
norms and standards of cultures, regulations of governments, rituals of
religion.
Evil is so ingrained in the daily lives of all of
humanity, that without any defensive mechanism, there is no protection from, and
total defeat by, its power and control.
On your own, you cannot defeat nor even protect
yourself against evil.
Evil is so sophisticated that multitudes of people
believe that their form of righteousness, their form of political correctness,
their form of social reform, their form of human good, is sufficient to protect
them against evil and even promote them in Gods eyes, when in fact they are so
bound up in evil that they do not even know it.
Put on, is a command, not an option, not a choice,
not a cafeteria to pick and choose from.
It is a command to clothe yourself with the protections that God has
made available to you and each and every believer, if they want to avoid and be
protected from the evils of this world, and more than that, if they want to
advance in Gods plan for their lives and purpose and meaning to the point of
absolute and total completion of their lives as God intended.
And a stand is what you need in order to withstand
the onslaughts of the world and all anti-truth and anti-God aggressions against
you. To stand means to hold your own, to
be independent of all external and internal attacks against your essence
against your character, against your spiritual life.
The world is so vast for any given person, and the
enemy that rises against you is so numerous, that without some form of
protection, you will fail and be defeated soundly. You cannot withstand the onslaught of the
world when you lack Gods protection.
And Gods protection begins with doctrine, or the
body of truth, which when communicated and heard and learned and used, begins
the systematic construction of Gods defenses, within your soul, through which
no assault can penetrate.
