10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.

11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

14 Stand firm therefore, having Girded your Loins with Truth, and having Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of The Gospel of Peace;

16 in addition to all, Taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.

17 And take The Helmet of Salvation, and The Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

Let's not forget to put on the Full Armor of God daily.

First and foremost each and every new morning.

Matthew Henry on Verses 10-18.

Spiritual strength and courage are needed for our spiritual warfare and suffering. Those who would prove themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace; and put on the whole armor of God, which he prepares and bestows. The Christian armor is made to be worn; and there is no putting off our armor till we have done our warfare, and finished our course.

The combat is not against human enemies, nor against our own corrupt nature only; we have to do with an enemy who has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls. The devils assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labor to deface the heavenly image in our hearts. We must resolve by God's grace, not to yield to Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we give way, he will get ground. If we distrust either our cause, or our Leader, or our armor, we give him advantage.

The different parts of the armor of heavy-armed soldiers, who had to sustain the fiercest assaults of the enemy, are here described. There is none for the back; nothing to defend those who turn back in the Christian warfare.

Truth, or sincerity, is the girdle. This girds on all the other pieces of our armor, and is first mentioned. There can be no religion without sincerity.

The righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, is a breastplate against the arrows of Divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us, fortifies the heart against the attacks of Satan.

Resolution must be as grievous, or armor to our legs; and to stand their ground or to march forward in rugged paths, the feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Motives to obedience, amidst trials, must be drawn from a clear knowledge of the gospel. Faith is all in all in an hour of temptation. Faith, as relying on unseen objects, receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, and so deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a defense every way. The devil is the wicked one. Violent temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell, are darts Satan shoots at us. Also, hard thoughts of God, and as to ourselves. Faith applying the word of God and the grace of Christ quenches the darts of temptation.

Salvation must be our helmet. A good hope of salvation, a Scriptural expectation of victory, will purify the soul, and keep it from being defiled by Satan.

To the Christian armed for defense in battle, the apostle recommends only one weapon of attack; but it is enough, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. It subdues and mortifies evil desires and blasphemous thoughts as they rise within; and answers unbelief and error as they assault from without. A single text, well understood, and rightly applied, at once destroys a temptation or an objection, and subdues the most formidable adversary.

Prayer must fasten all the other parts of our Christian armor. There are other duties of religion, and of our stations in the world, but we must keep up times of prayer. Though set and solemn prayer may not be seasonable when other duties are to be done, yet short pious prayers darted out, always are so. We must use holy thoughts in our ordinary course. A vain heart will be vain in prayer. We must pray with all kinds of prayer, public, private, and secret; social and solitary; solemn and sudden: with all the parts of prayer; confession of sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgiving for favors received. And we must do it by the grace of God the Holy Spirit, in dependence on, and according to, his teaching. We must preserve in particular requests, notwithstanding discouragement’s. We must pray, not for ourselves only, but for all saints.

Our enemies are mighty, and we are without strength, but our Redeemer is almighty, and in the power of his mighty we may overcome. Wherefore we must stir up ourselves. Have not we, when God has called, often neglected to answer? Let us think upon these things, and continue our prayers with patience.

Discipleship notes on 6:10-20

EVIL AND SUFFERING, Satan--Disciples must struggle with superhuman forms of evil, including Satan. God's spiritual armor will help the disciple in these struggles (1 Pe 5:8-9). The enemy causing the evil we face is not a human force we have a chance to defeat in our own power. The enemy is an evil spiritual force led by Satan. The enemy includes rulers and authorities, angelic forces created by God through Christ (Col 1:16) who have rebelled against God and exercise temporary power in our universe. Compare Eph 1:21; 3:10; Col 2:15. Powers may be pagan gods connected with sun worship who cannot bring light to the evil darkness we must endure. Evil is not a problem limited to life on earth. Spiritual forces represent Satan's followers who oppose God on His heavenly territory. Will God or Satan exercise ultimate control of the universe? The Bible assures us God's victory is guaranteed (Eph 1:3,10,14,20-22; 2:6; 3:10; 4:10). We can participate in God's victory by identifying with Him and living according to His will (5:7-20).

6:13 HISTORY, Time--God's history of salvation does not mean history progressively becomes better. God's people still face evil and must look forward to even greater struggle before final salvation comes.

6:14 CHRISTIAN ETHICS, Righteousness--Righteousness is protection against evil temptations. Unless we are slaves to righteousness, we will be slaves to Satan and sin (Ro 6:15-22). Righteousness is also a visible witness to those around us that life in God does not avoid the spiritual perils of this world but rather engages them and defeats them.

6:17 HOLY SPIRIT, Revelation--Paul's metaphor of Christians as soldiers includes only one offensive weapon: the Word of God the Spirit gives to God's people. The Word of God is the gospel message about Jesus Christ proclaimed by Christians (Php 1:14; Col 1:25; 1 Th 2:13). It is called the Spirit's sword for three reasons: (1) the Spirit always works to remind Christians about Jesus; (2) the Spirit guides and empowers the church as it proclaims the Word of God about Jesus; and (3) the Spirit uses the truth of the Word of God to protect Christians. See notes on Mk 13:11; Jn 16:8-11. The message about Jesus is found not only in oral but also in written form, that is, as Scripture. Therefore, the Bible is also the Word of God and the Sword of the Spirit (2 Ti 3:14-17).

6:18 HOLY SPIRIT, Intercedes--The Spirit guides the church in its prayers. See note on Ro 8:25-27. The church is to continue praying, and the Spirit will assist the church through it all.

6:18-20 PRAYER, Intercession--Paul went from the general to the specific. He first urged all kinds of prayer for all saints. Prayer should characterize the life of the Christian. Then he asked prayer for his special circumstances. See note on 2 Th 3:1-5. He was in prison (3:1) and needed fearlessness. Intercession should make specific requests, which lead to the spread of the gospel.

May God be found with us, not against us,

In His Spirit and In His Truth

PJ