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.
that you may be able to withstand
God’s responsibility is to give us weapons for spiritual war; our responsibility is to resist and take a stand against evil (1 Pe 5:8, 9). The word “withstand” means to stand against. The idea is that we are to fight and oppose the demonic world. The purpose of our armor is to hold our spiritual ground and not to cave in or give up.
in the evil day,
The “evil day” is when Satan assaults our soul; it is the day of temptation of our person. This is the day we need to have our armor donned.
and having done all,
The Christian needs to come to the place where he has done everything necessary for spiritual war upon his soul. Having donned his spiritual armor, he will carry this spiritual battle to its ultimate conclusion.
to stand.
The word “stand” means to withstand, stand against. Christians need to be prepared for satanic assault on their souls. The believer then can make his stand against satanic assault (Jas 4:7).
PRINCIPLE:
Once the believer makes all preparations necessary, then he is ready to stand against the devil.
APPLICATION:
When we appropriate the promises of God indicated in our spiritual armor, we can handle Satan’s attacks on our souls. We do not need to invent our own strategy for defeating the devil because God has already provided the means to do so. All we have to do is “put on” what God has already provided. By this we can stand our ground.
The Christian must be counted upon to stand against the forces of evil when they come. We have to do everything within the power that God gave us. Satanic power is supernaturally strong but not omnipotent. There is no equal duality in the universe whereby both God and Satan stand on equal ground.
The devil will tempt us with doubts, anxiety, and pressures of life. We make a stand against these things in the power of God. “Stand” is a word of defense. We win the battle by repelling attacks of Satan. His attempts to keep us from our privileges in Christ strike at the heart of who and what we are. We hold to what we have by defense. We contend earnestly for the faith (Ju 3). We do not allow any biblical ground to be taken from us (1 Co 16:13). The Christian maintains certainty in God’s Word and possess assurance in what God is doing.
