Ephesians closes with the very colourful passage – a battle between the spiritual forces of evil and the Christian soldier who has put on the full armour of God (Ephesians 6).

In Ephesians, Christians have been told to sit, walk and stand!

In Chapter 2 even though we were dead in transgression and sin, God in love and mercy made us alive in Christ and raised us up with him to be seated in the heavenly realms (Eph 2:1-6).

The appropriate response is to walk (live) a life worthy of the calling we have received (Eph 4:1 c.f. 4;17, 5:2, 5:8 & 5:15).

And to be ready by putting on the full armour of God so that when the day of evil comes we may be able to stand our ground, and after we have done all we can – to stand (Eph 6:10-13).

When Christians stand for Christ we stand for all that is good and right. That means we stand against Satan and we stand against all that is evil and wrong. Not surprisingly, Satan is not pleased and so it should be no surprise that trouble will come. Satan does not play by any rules and so we need to ensure we are ready for what he will try and throw at us.

The good news is this. Christ has his number. He knows his schemes. He is not troubled nor humbled by Satan’s attempted to bring him down. And neither should we.

Christians bear the name of Christ. Our best stand is more than enough for whatever it is that Satan will try and so our best defense is to stand in Christ.

This week (and every week)

1. Be Strong and Stand Firm – our confidence rests in the cross and the victory that has already been won by Christ.
2. Put On and Take Up – be dressed for the battle and put on godliness which trumps each trial, temptation or distraction.
3. Pray – don’t do this alone. Talk to the one who has saved you, dressed you and stands for you.