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No.2.
The Spiritual Armour (6: 14 - 18).
pp. 136 - 140
In the doctrinal section we learn of the great and wonderful spiritual blessings that are
ours in Christ. By faith we enjoy them now, but the full realization is future. Now, we
have the earnest, or foretaste, a pledge of the blessing to be enjoyed later.
We read of the will of the Father, who chose us and adopted us into the family with an
inheritance in view. The work of the Son is set out, the redemption through the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of His grace.
The witness of the Spirit includes the sealing with that Holy Spirit of promise, and in the
A.V. we have the phrase "after that ye believed". Eph. 1: 13, 14 reads in the N.I.V.,
"And you also were included in Christ when ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy
Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who
are God's possession--to the praise of His glory". No wonder the apostle Paul exclaims
in verse 3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ".
Satan is in opposition to God's plan. We believe that Satan is a defeated enemy, but
the war is not yet over. We are subjected to attacks by the enemy, and we are unable to
withstand the wiles of the devil in our own strength. We must rely on the power, the
mighty power, that is given to us, and remember what Christ has already done. So the
apostle Paul write in Romans:
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers . . . . .
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus" (8: 37-39).
The extent of the victory of Christ is wider than we often think. He is victor over
death and the grave, and that is indeed wonderful for it leads us to think of the
resurrection power, but in the passage quoted above we see a long list of those things
which cannot separate us from the love of God. In Col. 2: 15 we see another viewpoint,
the victory of Christ over principalities and powers:
"And having spoiled the principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly,
triumphing over them in it" (A.V.).
"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them by the cross" (N.I.V.).
Let us now look at the spiritual armour. We must emphasize that the armour is
"spiritual". Paul says in II Cor. 10: 4 "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but
mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds". In Rom. 13: 12 he refers to
the "armour of light" and in II Cor. 6: 7, the "armour of righteousness".