READING: Ephesians 4-6
Because the battles of spiritual warfare are real and intense, I’ll move straight to the point in today’s devotion. Here’s why we can win spiritual battles, according to all that we’ve read this year:
- God put the battle in creation in the first place (Gen 3:15). He put the enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
- As much of the Old Testament has shown us, God alone is our warrior (see Exo 15:3). He leads us into battles so He can glorify His name among the nations.
- In the battle, the Son intercedes for us, and the Spirit prays for us when we don’t know how to pray (Rom 8:26-27, 34).
- According to today’s reading, the strength we have is God’s strength, and the might we have is His might (Eph 6:10).
- And then, the very armor we wear in His armor: “Put on the full armor of God" (Eph 6:11).
It’s God’s armor, but Paul still told us that we’re to put it on. His point was that while we positionally wear the armor because we are in Christ (Eph 1-3), we must also practically choose to live it out. For example, we wear the belt of truth because Jesus, who is truth (John 14:6), lives in us — but we must still choose to be people of integrity. We wear the breastplate of righteousness because God has made us righteous, but we must decide to make righteous choices. In fact, out of our position in Christ we must model truth, walk righteously, share the gospel, act in faith, live out our salvation, and live and speak the Word (Eph 6:10-20).
More specifically, don’t miss the fact that every piece of the armor is directly connected to "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:17). Truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, and salvation are all grounded in the Word — so much so that we wear all the armor or none of it. Indeed, all the armor is so tied to the Word that it seems impossible to win spiritual battles without consistently, regularly, and obediently reading the scriptures. I trust that living in the Word this year has led you to victory in Jesus!
ACTION STEPS:
- Read Ephesians 6:10-17 again, and focus on how much the armor is connected to the Word.
- Based on Ephesians 6:18-20, ask 2-3 other believers to pray that you will share the gospel boldly.
PRAYER: “God, I’m grateful that You give me Your armor to wear. Thank You for allowing me to live in victory today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Philippians 1-4