Some of the most exciting moments of a battle occur when the troops are rallied behind a dynamic leader, a challenge is issued and the forces are unleashed against their enemy in a triumphant charge. Yet, in the spiritual warfare we are in, God - our General, doesn't call us to charge the enemy. Rather, His command to us is to stand firm.
The apostle Paul has been writing to the believers in Ephesus using a common action-verb: Walk. That indicates a direction of forward movement. In Ephesians 4:1, we are to Walk in Unity; in Ephesians 4:17, we are to Walk in Holiness; in Ephesians 5:1-2, we are to Walk in Love; in Ephesians 5:7-8, we are to Walk in Light; and, in Ephesians 5:15, we are to Walk in Wisdom. It almost seems natural by this point in the letter for that forward momentum to continue, especially when Paul turns to the subject of spiritual warfare. Yet, Paul makes a dramatic switch in the action-verb when we enter Ephesians 6:10-17. We go from Walking to Standing.
In spiritual warfare, the believer is not to:
Attack the devil.
Advance on the devil.
In spiritual warfare, the believer is to:
Hold fast to the ground already gained by Christ and His church.
Hold fast in the various types of attacks Satan will bring. Not all are head-on assaults.
Ok, so we have sought the empowering strength of the almighty God; we understand we must put on all the armor of God; for the purpose of being able to withstand any and all treacherous attacks from Satan and his demonic forces. Tomorrow, we'll talk about that first piece of armor…. The Belt Of Truth.
The Bible makes it clear that believers are involved in an invisible, spiritual battle. This blog, which is a reflection on our Sunday morning sermon-series, attempts to ponder our role in the battle.
No comments:
Post a Comment