“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints – and for me…” Ephesians 6:14-19a.
Stand, not unclothed, but stand taking up the whole armor of God.
“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. 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.” Ephesians 6:12-13.
Stand therefore because there is no armor for the back. God does not expect us to retreat when He has already told us that He has our back.
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9.
“I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You from those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye [the pupil]; hide me under the shadow of Your wings, from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who surround me.” Psalm 17:6-9.
If we love Him enough to confess and forsake our sins as they are revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, God will always care for us. Even when we are backslidden God cares for us because He is gracious.
But to do great things we must abide in Him.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5.
“Abide in Me, and I in you.” When Jesus says the words, “and I in you”, He is referring to the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Christian.
A person who has not accepted Christ as his Savior does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. As a result, this person is not even a branch.
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” Romans 8:9.
As an aside, there are some sects that believe that if you have not spoken in tongues you are not saved, not having the Spirit. This is a grave error and totally untrue. Read the next verse carefully.
“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14.
That it is Jesus in the Christian can be seen by the following verse.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20.
“I will come in to him and dine with him”, indicates the indwelling and fellowship which is the idea of dining with us.
Jesus said:
“I and My Father are one [one essence].” John 10:30.
The Jews understood this well enough because they tried to stone Him for blasphemy.
Jesus and the Father are one, and being part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is no less one than the Father and Son.
The meaning is that with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them the Christian has the resources of the entire Godhead within them.
I would warrant then that the Christian in the full armor of God has never completely tapped into the greatness of the power of God available to them in Christ.
The Apostle Paul may be one of the few who have done this. But remember this power is for the glory of God, not for the Apostle Paul or you and me.
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-7.
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:8-10.
Yes, beware; the only way to avoid error and grow nearer to Jesus, to abide in Him is to gain a good knowledge of Scripture.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
Without Scriptural knowledge the Spirit is still within you, but growth in Christ will be slow to nonexistent. Christians are not here to tread water.
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12.
The word of God in us is the ammunition of the Holy Spirit. Yes He knows the word of God; He dictated it to the prophets of old, but it is the individual’s job to learn it for himself.
Having taken up the full armor of God the Christian then takes up their only offensive weapon.
“…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [your knowledge of the Scriptures]…” Ephesians 6:17b.
“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. Stand therefore…” Ephesians 6:13-14a.
“The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:29-30.
It is time for Christians to stand in the gap, stand for the nation, stand against atheistic socialism, and stand against the filth and corruption in government, stand that righteous men be elected, stand that the corrupt be prosecuted and not the righteous.
Stand for homeless veterans; stand for the truly poor and needy, stand for an awakening for Christ to fill the nation.
Stand against perversity, the legitimization of pedophilia and abortion which brings wrath upon this nation.
“Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them [Israel]; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 22:31.
Stand for your brothers and sisters among you; stand for the sick, stand for the continued freedom to give out the gospel of Jesus Christ among men, stand, stand, stand.
How?
“…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints – and for me [Apostle Paul]…” Ephesians 6:18-19a.
Praying always, in season and out; being watchful of the things about us.
The world sleeps in the arms of the evil one, the Christian is to remain watchful and aware of the things around them so they can persevere in prayer and intercede in times of peril, even in supplication, which infers an imploring request.
We are to persevere in prayer because Satan never sleeps.
Too often Christians will be asleep when something like abortion comes in and soon enough many of them will think that it is acceptable in certain circumstances such as poverty or inability to care for the child.
But sin is a living thing and things go from something supposedly for an emergency to a form of birth control.
“…but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13.
Praying in holy undistracted prayer in the Spirit through whom we receive power and the words needed to express our needs and anxieties.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27.
Confess your known sins before God and come before Him with clean hands and a clean heart.
“Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…” Hebrews 12:12-15.
“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16.
For those who would say, “I am a Christian but there is no hope for me, I am too far backslidden.” Look at the above verse again, and accept the fact that the humble and contrite heart cannot exhaust the grace of God.
Confess your sins, turn away from them, and return to God, there is always need for one more man or woman on the wall.
As for all Christians let us take these things to heart and intercede as one for the things which make for righteousness.
“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.” James 5:16b-18.
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 1:20.
Stand taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 8-22-18, updated on 3-28-23.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.