Ephesians 6:13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
God’s command to the believer is to take the whole armour of God. The reason for God’s command to take the whole armour is because of one statement, that ye may be able to withstand and to stand. This one little phrase tells the believer that at some point in their Christian walk they will have to stand and withstand the evil day, and without the armour of God they will fail to stand. There are several things God is showing the believer through this verse.
First, the evil day will come. God did not say, “if the evil day will come, but He said in the evil day. In other words, it is not “if” it will come, but it is “when” it will come. For me to tell you that you will never face the evil day is a lie. Just because you are saved does not mean that you won’t face evil days. The evil days are the days that will try to hurt you. No matter how much you try to avoid those days, they will come in your life.
Second, you must be prepared for the evil day because you don't know when it will come. God was saying to put on the whole armour of God before the evil day comes. My friend, don’t wait for the evil days to come to put on the whole armour of God, but put it on so that when it comes you can stand and withstand that day.
Third, some evil days will be worse than others. Some days we will just have to stand, but then there will come days when we must withstand. You will notice that you take the stand first, and then you must withstand after the stand. To take a stand means you declare what you believe and don't change; to withstand means you will have to resist attacks because you stood. You will never withstand the attacks if you never take a stand, and you will never take a stand if you don't put on the whole armour of God.
I want you to notice that withstanding is an offensive position and not a defensive one. The reason God commands us to take on the whole armour of God is because to withstand is moving forward despite the evil days trying to get us to stop. You never withstand the evil days of life by running to recuperate, but you withstand the evil days by resisting through continued service. Nobody has ever recovered from the evil days by taking time off, but they recover from the evil days by withstanding.
Now, I want you to notice that we stand to put on the whole armour of God before we have to withstand. Notice that verse 14 says, Stand therefore. You take a stand by walking with God, living a righteous life, going soul winning, attempting works of faith, and using the Word of God to help others. You don't do one of these things, but you do all of these things. You stand and do these things to be girded with the armour of God.
However, the evil days will come, and you must withstand those days by continuing to walk with God, live a righteous life, going soul winning, attempting great works of faith, and using God’s Word to help others. You will never withstand the evil day if you stop any of these things. The key to withstanding the evil days when they come is not to stop what brought the attack, but to step up the offensive to ward off the attack. This is the only way to withstand the evil days.
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