Ephesians 6:10 says, “…be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” Notice, it’s His power and might, not ours. We have no strength in ourselves to stand in, but as Christians we can draw from His strength. The Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
There’s a reason for this exhortation. The powers of darkness are not only real, but powerful. If you haven’t figured it out yet, Satan wars against the child of God, and this warfare is very real! It’s not just your imagination, but a certainty! Paul would continue by saying, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11) Did you say, “Wiles?” “Devil?” You mean, there’s a real devil? The answer is, yes! You mean, there’s a real hell? The answer again is, yes! Contrary to what some believe, the spirit world is very real. Heaven and hell do exist, and the devil is not playing games. His mission is to steal, kill and to destroy and he fully intends to complete his purpose.
Someone might say, “but I’ve never seen the devil.” Perhaps not, but that doesn’t mean he’s non-existent. I’ve never seen the wind, but I’ve felt the effects of the wind. I remember experiencing my first hurricane while living in Mississippi in 1978. I never saw the wind, but the next morning I saw the effects of it with trees down, roof tops blown off and debris everywhere. We were without electricity for a week, and it took months to repair the damages done by this fierce storm. True, I never saw the wind, but I saw the effects of it.
We might not have seen the devil, but we certainly have felt the effects of the prince of power of the air. Satan walks to and fro seeking whom he may devour. I felt the effects of a tornado that hit our house a year later in 1979. Although, I never saw the wind, I certainly saw the damage it caused. Yes, the powers of darkness are very real. The Christian must be spiritually minded to know and understand the forces that are behind the scenes working to stop, hinder and or to destroy God’s work, especially the true Church.
But Jesus said, “…upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) In other words, the powers of darkness will not triumph or overcome or conquer the Church of the Living God! Jesus is the head of the Church and the Rock of our salvation! Satan may fight with all his forces, but there’s a greater force that it cannot prevail over — Jesus Christ! “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
“Wiles” refers to tricks, schemes, plots and plans. The enemy plots against the Christian for no other purpose than to cause them to stumble or fall. He wants to taint their witness for Christ or cause them to do something outside of the will of God. Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. The devil said to Jesus, “If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.” (Luke 4:3) The devil wasn’t putting into question whether Jesus was the Son of God, because he knew! Even the demons believe and tremble! This statement is made in the Greek indicative mood. It could be said, “Since you’re the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.” (Luke 4:3) Since Jesus is the Son of God, He has the power to feed his hunger. Therefore, use the power to turn the stone to bread. For Jesus to do this would be taking an action outside the will of the Father. Therefore, it would have been sin.
The devil will tempt Christians to do something outside the will of the God. In other words, take matters into your own hands. Do what you want to do. Satisfy your hunger pains. Just do it! You be in charge of your own destiny. Fulfill your own desires. Sound familiar? Is this not what we see and hear in the modern church today? Many seem to be desire driven, rather than Spirit led. Let’s comfort the flesh. Let’s feed the flesh! Let’s cater to the flesh. Let’s be seeker-friendly. Make the flesh feel as comfortable as it can! We don’t want to offend anyone with the truth these days.
The enemy will plot, plan and scheme ways to cause the Christian to stumble, but we must be wise, vigilant and aware of his schemes. How? Paul said, “Put on the whole armor of God.” (Ephesians 6:11) To put on the armor of God is to put on Christ. Christ is the armor! If you have Christ, then you have the armor. For those who are saved, they have Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within their hearts.
The question is, “if we have Christ, then do we not already have the armor.” The answer is, yes and no. We do have Christ, but we must implement by faith the armor of God. In other words, we must live and believe in that which Jesus has already provided for us through Him. To do this means we must believe it and walk in it! It’s not enough just to have an intellectual knowledge, but to practice it by living according to the Word of God!
For instance, to put on the Girdle of Truth is to live in truth! Jesus is the Truth! Truth is the fundamental foundation of our faith! Christianity isn’t based on lies, stories or myths, but based on truth! It’s not enough just to say truth, but truth must be lived! To live truth is to live in obedience according to God’s Word! The Scripture says, “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) Praise God! Be encouraged! Stand strong! Everything we need is in Jesus. We have the victory! Put on Christ! Put on the armor! Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might!