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Standing Against Evil
Ephesians 6:10-18
by Kenneth Francart
Many times each of us looks for good and sees evil. At this time, there appears to be an
abundance of evil, which is what the lord has commanded us to guard against.
Eph 6:10-18 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; By putting on the
whole armour of God we can persevere and win in the fight against darkness and the force of
evil.
We have lounged around and basked in the light of the Son without giving heed to our
responsibility to God's Word. We have taken God and the Salvation He offered too much
for granted. That's very much like saying, "Thanks for my salvation, now go and save
someone else." We would not do that to a friend who has moved "heaven and earth" to
help us. Now, here is our God, who is more than a friend, He's our Creator/Father, and
Jesus more than a brother who gave His life for us. How do we treat this relationship?
We don't.
Some of us pay homage once a week when we play church or pray as we go to bed that way
our duty is done. I've got news for all of us. We have NO DUTY to perform to God. We have
a responsibility to live so others will see Jesus living in us. We should be so grateful and so
in love with our Lord and Saviour that we should want to be in His company and with others of
like-mindedness all of the time. Our hearts should be so full of joy that we cannot live
comfortably away from that union. We should long for the gathering of souls who love God,
Jesus and the Holy Spirit-the church. Not the physical dedicated building, but the souls that
form the brick and mortar, which pulls the body of the church together.
This is how we put on all the armour of God. We seek out and find one who has the Helmet
of Salvation, the Breastplate of Righteousness and so on from head to toe. By studying their
experiences and the Word of God we garner truth from reality and Scripture that makes us
fully armoured warriors in the Lord's army.
When a friend assists us we don't normally say, "Now, how can I help you?" Instead we look
around and when the opportunity presents itself, we pounce to the aid of our friend. That's
how it should be between God and His army. When we are confronted with the lost, God
has said we are to sow the seeds of Christ that others might reap and reap what others have
sown. John 4:37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. 38 I
sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered
into their labours. If we are confronted with the fiery darts then the shield of faith will quench
them. The means that the darts will have no effect as the Faith we have and put to use puts
them out like water on a campground fire. There will be a lot of steam and smoldering embers
but that shield of Faith will stomp out the embers and scatter the debris so they can't flare up
again.
What we are doing is letting our Lord and Saviour work through us. See, the armour is
protecting us as we go through our daily lives. His Word goes forth convincing and cleansing
from the darkness more souls. Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save
that which was lost.
Have you noticed throughout Ephesians 6:10-18 that there is NO aggression on our part. We
do not march into battle nor do we not run from the battle either. We are to stand. Verse 11
reads, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to STAND…" Verse 13
tells us twice that we must "withstand" and "stand". Verse 14
reads, "Stand Therefore…" and from there to verse 18 scripture tells us HOW.
"How" is the clincher in these verses. With full preparation, and to do this we must know the
enemy, know his weapons, know his strategies and have the have the defenses against them.
The first line of defense is truth - John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me. When truth, or Jesus, is your foundation everything
else has a solid footing that cannot be washed away.
Righteousness is a direct birthing of truth and brings with it full knowledge of our salvation,
our faith and the gospel of peace.
Saving the best part for last, we are to be armed with God's Word. We must study.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We must hide his word in our hearts -
Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
So, now, if we don't swing the sword or charge at the enemy what do we do? We stand!
Verse 10 reads, "—be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."
That's right! We stand and behold the power of God as He and His Angels do battle and defeat
the power of darkness. We definitely do not cower in fear and trembling. Rom 8:31 What shall we
then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:35-39 35 Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Remember that shield of Faith? If it were not for that shield, those fiery darts of doubts, greed
and lust could get through in an instant. The aggressor is and always has been Satan, the
fallen Angel, Lucifer. From the Garden of Eden to the battle of Armageddon the Devil has
always been the aggressor. Remember how Jesus was tempted in the wilderness? His faith
founded in the truth of God's word is what sent the devil into a fit. All Jesus had to say was,
"It is written…" (Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.)
Those temptations are no different or more subtle than what we face each and every day. We must
keep that shield of Faith constantly before us. Lower it for and instant and those darts will
find their mark.
So we study God's word and hide His word in our hearts. We learn of our Salvation and keep
the truth ever before ourselves just as we do with that shield of faith. Then when we are fully
armoured for battle, we turn to the Lord in Prayer. Verse 18 Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints. Prayers of Joy, Prayers of intercession for all the church, Prayers for the lost to be
found, Prayers of Glory and Honor, and Prayers of Thanksgiving make up the full array of battle
prayers. We are asking our Lord to reach out and turn the power of darkness into blessed
Son-Light.
Appendices:
I'm going to list the armour in order from head to toe. There is not one more than the other in
importance but that each does its part to form the whole armour.
Helmet of Salvation
Breastplate of Righteousness
Loins girt about with Truth
Feet shod with the Gospel of Peace
Shield of Faith
Sword of the Spirit
Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit
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having God's grace in our life
knowing we stand sinless before God
That Jesus cannot and will not fail
Letting God be visible in all we do
Trusting God above all
Having God's word hid in our heart
Knowing only God answers prayer
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All verses quoted from the King James Version of the Bible
This exposition was written with the direction of the Lord to Kenn Francart
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