God's Armor
Kaiser Söze from The Usual Suspects (yup, I’m quoting Kevin Spacey’s character from this awesome movie) once said, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” [1] The Apostle Paul and his contemporaries knew better though, and so, taught and fought against this otherworldly entity from the power of God, through Christ, and by the Holy Spirit. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as a whole speaks of salvation as the grace of God (2:4-5) and expounds greatly on the unifying work of Jesus Christ (2:13, 16; 4:3-6). God is sovereign and loving, bringing new life to those who know and accept His Son. What of the last chapter of the letter to the Ephesians then? Although believers are saved by faith and not through works (2:8) faith is an active obedience to God’s Word, so that one cannot simply sit idly by, but must strive to become more Christ-like. The spiritual battle then, Paul asserts, occurs because if true believers walk in a way worthy of our ca