¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹ and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

1) When Paul says, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” it means that our struggle isn’t physical. It is spiritual. That’s not to say that there aren’t real physical aspects to our struggles—illnesses, financial troubles, relational troubles, and the like are all very real. But Paul is saying that behind all those physical troubles is a spiritual battle for our souls. The real enemy isn’t the face of the struggle, but the Evil One behind it, Satan. Will we give in to lies that lead to anger and despair? Or will we trust that God will strengthen us to fight for truth and joy in the midst of these battles?

2) Paul tells us to take up the armor of God so we can stand firm in the evil day. Is he talking about the end of the world, or some other specific future day? If we look at a cross reference, we go back just a few verses to Ephesians 5:15-16, which says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Paul is talking about the current days—the ones the Ephesian believers lived in, just like the days we currently live in. We live in a world that is totally messed up by sin, and we need to put on the armor of God every day. Again, our battle isn’t what we see, it’s really against what we can’t see; it’s truth vs lies and the only Victor is Christ Jesus!

3) Our spiritual armor is made up of truth, righteousness, the readiness of the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. These protect us from lies, from the consequences of an unrighteous life, from hopelessness, and give us the tools to fight back against the Devil’s schemes. There is so much to unpack from this passage when it comes to the meaning of the pieces of armor that this short study doesn’t have time to cover it all. I highly recommend that you spend some extra time meditating on these verses today, or read some of the commentaries found at studylight.org to gain further insight.

1) What are my current struggles? What are the spiritual struggles hiding behind them? Knowing that our battles are spiritual can bring meaning to them and give us hope.

2) Although our present times have many reasons for hope, these days are evil, and will be until Christ returns. Is standing firm in my faith a focus for me? Do I see an urgency to walking wisely and making the best use of time?

3) Remember that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and that he has told us how to arm ourselves to stand firm against the devil’s schemes. Be strengthened, be brave!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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