Necessary Or Optional?
Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
I believe all of us would agree that being strong in the Lord and the power of His might is a good thing. How to get there is the challenge. How do you become strong in the Lord? There are different ways to approach this topic, but I don’t believe Paul was sharing verse ten in isolation. What he says next, again, remembering that he is writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, will give us some insight.
Verse eleven gives us a way to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God so we can stand against the wiles of the devil. I don’t believe it’s a stretch to connect being strong in the Lord and putting on the whole armor of God. We will not take a detailed look at the armor, but God’s armor is available to God’s people. God’s armor is not something that anyone can put on. The armor is connected to who we are in Christ. Righteousness and salvation belong to believers, not those outside of faith in Christ. So the armor is available to all who have professed faith in Jesus as Lord.
And the armor looks to be important. One, it’s God’s armor, so if it’s from Him, it should be important to us. And being from God, it should be a blessing in our lives. We put on the armor so we are able to stand against the wiles, or schemes, or strategies of our enemy, the devil. I realize some people balk at the very idea of a devil, but there is too much Biblical evidence of his existence. And acknowledging the existence of a devil makes the evil we see in the world more understandable. Paul writes that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. There are spiritual forces and rulers of the darkness in this world. Just because we are better educated today does not mean that these spiritual forces have ceased to exist. Recognizing their existence also makes us more alert and conscious that we are not living in a spiritual environment with no resistance. We need the armor of God so that we can stand and resist the darkness that comes our way. Not every feeling or sensing is internal; some are because there are spiritual forces arrayed against us.
I understand that we don’t normally acknowledge the presence of evil spiritual forces. There have been times in church history when people focused on these powers and principalities way too much. The objective is not to become devil-conscious, looking for evil around every corner. But we do need to be spiritually aware. In the previous chapter, Paul encouraged the church to redeem or make the most of the time because the days were evil. In this sixth chapter, Paul defines some of the evil that exists and encourages the church, again, to take up the armor of God so they can stand and keep standing.
Without going into great detail, the armor is based on spiritual components because the armor is spiritual in nature. Truth is the truth of God’s Word. Righteousness is given to us by our relationship with Jesus. The gospel of peace is how we operate in our relationship with the Lord. The shield of faith will stop the attacks of the enemy from destroying us. The helmet of salvation would include all that our salvation in Christ has done for us and protects our minds. And the sword of the Spirit is God’s Word that has come alive to us and something we put in our mouth and use offensively.
So is the armor of God necessary or an option? From this passage, we can discern that God’s armor is not automatic; we have to be proactive in putting it on. But it will allow us to withstand what our enemy throws our way. So, if we want to stand and keep standing, God’s armor is totally necessary.
Prayer
Lord, show me how I can put on the whole armor of God. You have given it to me for a reason, so it is not out of my reach.