“Stand firm against the schemes of the devil” Ephesians 6:11
Keep your spiritual armor on at all times.
Every battle has an offensive and defensive strategy. Paul outlines the Christian’s offensive strategy in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
Our defensive strategy is to rely on Christ’s strength and put on our spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10-11). Paul was probably chained to a Roman soldier when he wrote to the Ephesians, so he may have been noting the armor that the soldiers wore as he wrote. But unlike Roman soldiers, who removed their armor when off duty, Christians must remain fully protected at all times. That thought is captured in the Greek word translated “put on” in Ephesians 6:11, which carries the idea of permanence—putting it on once and for all.
“Stand firm” in verse 11 refers to a military term that speaks of holding your ground while under attack. When properly used, our spiritual armor serves as a lifelong companion that gives us the ability to fight against the forces of evil and do it without retreating. Just as Jesus personally instructed the churches in Thyatira and Philadelphia to hold fast until He returns (Rev. 2:25; 3:11), so He also instructs us to stand our ground without wavering.
Similar New Testament exhortations call us to hold fast to biblical truth (1 Cor. 15:2), to hold fast to that which is good (1 Thess. 5:21), to hold fast to our confidence in Christ (Heb. 4:6), and to hold fast to our confession of faith (Heb. 4:14). Those are marks of a strong and stable believer against whom the schemes of Satan have little effect.
Is there an area of your Christian life in which you’re not standing as firm as you should—perhaps prayer, Bible study, thought life or personal ministry? If so, confess it to the Lord and begin to strengthen that area today. Don’t give Satan a weakness to attack.