What time is it? How often have we asked ourselves or others that question? It’s a common question asked many times throughout the day. Is it time to get up? Is it time to eat lunch? How much longer until work is done for the day? And sometimes, we ask the question in a more general sense – Is it time to make a large purchase or commit to a life-changing decision?
Time is also the centerpiece of our next verse from Paul’s teaching on putting on the whole armor of God. Paul writes, “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” (Ephesians 6:13, NLT) Thematically, Paul is ramping up toward the list of the various armor pieces and is underscoring their importance to his readers.
We can restate his premise in this way – If one puts on every piece of God’s armor, then they will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil and remain standing firm. Today, we’re going to concentrate on the middle part about resisting the enemy during the time of evil.
When is the time of evil? Paul’s language and word choice are that of an indefinite unit of time, but not one that is particularly long. Meaning that the time of evil could be a moment, an hour, a day, or perhaps longer but not long enough to be called an age. Paul’s overarching point is to be ready at all times since we never know what is next coming our way.
When a moment or time of evil arrives, our mission in Christ is to resist it. To push back against the pressure. James wrote, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7, NLT) The pressure of evil takes on many forms, such as temptation, threats to our well-being or reputation, moments of persecution, attacks on our faith and trust in God, and the fear of harm. How do we resist the Devil? By humbly sealing ourselves in God’s whole armor and standing firm against the pressure.
Consider this. No one can survive the deepest depths of the ocean or the vast vacuum of space without protection. Special submarines are required to explore the deepest ocean depths, and astronauts must wear a space suit before leaving their capsule. Likewise, followers of Christ must wear all of God’s armor to survive in a world hostile to faith and Christ’s light. Wait, that’s not quite right. We don’t simply survive in God’s armor; we stand firm. In battle, the winner is the last one standing.
“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:14–17, NLT)
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