Daily Devotions
Ephesians
"Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
Text: Ephesians 6:11
THE IMAGERY DRAWN FROM WAR
The Scriptures use the imagery of war quite extensively. The reasons are very obvious.
1. They are easily understood
a) In the ancient Old Testament days
Israel was constantly at war with one nation or another. Apart from the reign of Solomon, Israel was always at war.
b) In the New Testament period
Rome ruled the world. The Pax Romana (Peace of Rome) came at a high price. Rome waged war to bring about peace.
2. The imagery of Armour
a) Every army equips its soldiers with a suit of armour.
b) The Roman armour was used as an illustration for the Christian spiritual armour.
3. The aptness of the imagery drawn from war
a) The Scriptures speak directly of a spiritual warfare.
b) Hence, it is most apt to use the imagery of armour for illustration.
A SPIRITUAL BATTLE
Paul was not the only apostle who sought to alert his readers concerning a spiritual warfare. The apostle John took great pains to describe a mighty spiritual conflict between Satan and the Lord. Let us pay close heed to the following text. Let us seek to comprehend the significance of the following text.
And war broke out in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought with the dragon;
and the dragon and his angels fought,
but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them
in heaven any longer.
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world;
he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
REVELATION 12:7-9