July 19

Read: Ephesians 6:10-18

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).

Better Armor For More Pressure

God’s whole armor of entire sanctification is provided to enable a man to stand. But to put on that armor is also to challenge the devil to use his whole arsenal of weapons against us.

Until a man tries by God’s grace to live above sin, he is not aware of how deeply involved he has been. Until a man trusts the Holy Spirit to keep him from all sin, Satan never tries his utmost to test that man. He doesn’t have to. The man commits sin and admits that he does. He is not seriously concerned about it, and expects to keep on sinning more or less. The devil knows that such a man is safely in his power. One sin leads to another. One sin anesthetizes the spirit so that the next sin hurts less. At last, God-given conscience is deathly quiet. The man does not suffer because he no longer resists. He does not feel defeat because he no longer tries to be victorious.

When we depend on the Holy Spirit for continuing sanctification, we must expect something different. Paul knew that the man who went all out for God was in for a fight — “We wrestle… against spiritual wickedness.” Instead of God taking us out of the skirmishes at the fringe of the battle, He sends us with His combat teams to penetrate the enemy lines. Our human nature inclines us to choose a small fight with our bare fists. God’s plan is for an all-out battle — but equipped with His whole armor.

Prayer For Today

O God, I do not ask for fights less fierce, but help me to put on and to keep on the whole armor that You have provided.