We've Got A Fight On Our Hands

He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth. In the west, people will respect the name of the LORD; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD. [Isaiah 59.17-19]

This passage gives amazing depth and Old Testament connection to Paul's exhortation to the church in Ephesus.

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 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. 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. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. [Ephesians 6.10-18]

The depth Isaiah brings to Paul's explanation is a passionate and furious vengeance of justice, not upon flesh and blood enemies, but upon evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, mighty powers in this dark world, and evil spirits in heavenly places. It's pay-back time!

The "armor of God" is not a feel-good passage the words of which inspire us to prop our feet up and take a nap! No! It is a call to spiritual arms and spiritual warfare NOW! Evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, mighty powers in this dark world, and evil spirits in the heavenly places are never on break and so neither should we be.

Paul refers to Satan's tactics as "strategies" (in the NLT, and "wiles" in the KJV). The first thing about the enemy's strategies Paul appropriately addresses is that we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies. In a word, our fight is against Satan. This clearly explains the passion, fury, vengeance, and pay ...back Isaiah detailed.

Even as I write this, I sigh with hesitation just really not wanting to have to fight. Can't we just love God and each other and everything will be okay? I mean, it's hard enough to fight flesh and blood, but I am being instructed to fight that which I cannot see? But I'm really not ready and I just don't feel like it...

Here's the deal. If God used words like "divine passion, pay them back, vengeance," and "fury" to describe His attitude toward His enemies, how should we think He will look upon our apathy when the apostle Paul clearly pointed out that this is our fight too? May God forgive our lack of concern!

In this highly intelligent society in which we live, more and more of man's problems are studied and explained in purely natural terms (as opposed to spiritual terms). Consequently, most people's first thought today when encountering a problem is natural scientific cause-and-effect. It is only "natural" then that the spiritual goings-on are given no thought ...at least until man has no solution to fix the problem. All the while, the spiritual enemies of God and man are wreaking havoc in the background unnoticed and unconfronted.

Think for just a moment. If Israel in the Old Testament represents God's people, the Church, today, then, doesn't it make sense that Israel's Old Testament enemies represent something today too? Indeed they do! Evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, mighty powers in this dark world, and evil spirits in the heavenly places!

We've got a fight on our hands!

Every piece of armor Paul mentioned is undeniably tied to the Word of God. Don't believe me, study it yourself! It is ALL directly related to God's Word! And, if every piece is related to the Word, then every piece (not just the shield) is related to FAITH! What we might conclude from this is simply that we will not overcome the enemies of God outside of faith. We MUST be students of God's Word.

Father, forgive our apathy toward the fight of faith we are all called to. Help us to passionately feed on Your Word to build our faith to overcome every strategy of our enemy! So be it.