Ephesians 6:13 Commentary and Bible Study

We are to take or to take up the armour of God. It is no use if the Christian is aware of all the armour available to him but never uses it, never deploys it in battle readiness. The right attitude of mind is essential when going into battle for otherwise we will be taken by surprise and all the armour in the world will do us no good. The soldier knows that his enemy wants to terminate his life and his sense of danger provokes him to take proper measures for his protection. There is no compassion in the heart of this enemy, for Satan is intent on our eternal destruction in hell. We are therefore to take it up and put it on, because we are certain to need it; we are certain to have to engage.What does the apostle mean by the evil day? It may be a climax of temptation, that the devil is working up against us. We have given him ground; you have been looking at wrong things. You have almost instructed him how to do it to you. He is stirring up lusts within. The evil day may certainly be a climax. It certainly refers also to the end of time when the temptations thrown at believers and the world in general will vastly increase. But the apostle says here, because this is a lifelong battle, ‘take unto you the whole armour of God.’ Hear the urgency in the words, ‘that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day.’ Then he comes to a final stand: ‘and having done all’, having employed every one of the six pieces of armour prayerfully every day, having done all that, you will stand by grace. The words ‘having done all’ imply a prolonged campaign in which we will have to go on patiently resisting and maintaining all our responsibilities to God. There will be many battles along the way. Finally, we will at the end of life stand and reach that triumphant point where we know that we have won and that nothing more can be done to harm us. This was the great joy and assurance that Paul had at the end of life when he could look back on all the Lord’s deliverances throughout a lifetime of service. This armour is provided by God who knows the strength of our enemy; it is sufficient to enable us to stand. God has not sent us into this unequal contest without providing all that we need to take on so mighty a foe. He does not send us as cannon fodder into the battle for his own military purposes with little care about our survival, as so many earthly generals have done. He loves and cherishes each soldier of Christ for each one of us is also his child. What father would send his entire family out onto the battlefield with complete indifference to their safety? You will have proved the armour, its protective power, its strengthening power, its effectiveness, and you will enter into glory finally prepared and fully equipped. That is the apostle's exhortation before we come to the individual pieces. Oh, to finish the journey having proved the armour, every piece of it.