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Spiritual Armor Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. The apostle Paul is saying, “Be fully clothed with all the weapons of our warfare that we might stand against the wiles of the devil.” Paul no doubt had in mind here the armor worn by the soldiers of the Roman Empire. Whatever way Satan is attempting to rob you and destroy you can be overcome, and you can be victorious by putting on the “whole armor of God.” The “wiles” mentioned above in the text from Ephesians means every kind of “cunning art, deceit, craft, and trickery.” You can believe that Satan is out to get you by whatever method he can. We are told that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood,” but against Satan and his demonic realm. To the Ephesian church the word “wrestle” depicted a Greek wrestling contest where victory was achieved when a man was able to press and hold down his opponent with his hand upon his neck. Make no mistake; the warfare is real, but “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” You cannot fight this battle in the energy of your flesh and be victorious, “for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” You need to be spiritually dressed with the fullness of Christ.
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