Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. I. OF THE OCCASION OF THE WAR. This was partly the success of Satan upon our first parents; and partly God's jealousy for His honour, and His pity for fallen man. II. THE DESIGNS OF THE ONE AND THE OTHER. Satan has lost nothing of the pride, rage, and malice of an apostate spirit, therefore he cannot cease sinning. His revenge and rebellion against God are implacable; however much he trembles before the Son of God, yet he will not submit to Him; his proud malice is nothing abated; he roars against the government of God, seeking whom he may devour. Ceaselessly he labours to defeat the kingdom of the Redeemer, and to set up his own against it. III. WHERE IS THE SEAT OF ACTION? In our hearts. There the devil has a natural right, and thence Christ would dispossess him. Satan, by the Fall, both ruined the original purity of man's nature, and also introduced a sad defilement into both the parts of us, soul and body; rendering the one proud, and the other carnal. To destroy this work of the devil, restoring to us the image of God, taking away our pride, and spiritualizing our affections, is Christ's business. IV. Let us consider THE MANNER OF THE FIGHT. The weapons of Satan are carnal; those of Christ, spiritual. Those of Satan are worldly things, whereby he endeavours to gratify pride, or to nurse indulgence. Jesus, on the other hand, comes with the word of truth, and the power of the Spirit. V. THE ISSUE OF THIS WAR, on the one part and the other. This will be the triumph of the Redeemer, and the confusion of the adversary. (S. Walker, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.WEB: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. |
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