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Consequences

 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. (Matthew 4:10)

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9)

And so, we return finally to the passage in Ephesians. We have need of the armor because we are in a war, whether we want to believe it or not. The armor is what gives us the ability to stand. The armor is the power of God made available to us. It is not the only power that God has, but it is sufficient. As Nr, Gornall describes it, we appropriate God’s power by wearing the armor of God.

And if we do not? He suggests there are four consequences. The first is that we are alienated from God. If we refuse the armor and weapons He provides and go off on our own, we are on…our…own. Secondly, we are ignorant. Who rides out to war without armor? Only a fool, says Mr. Gornall. Thirdly, without a weapon, and therefore impotent. We are not the A-Team, or Robert McCall, or John McClane. We cannot turn duct tape and an office chair into an effective weapon. Even if we could, what good is duct tape and an office chair turned into a weapon against a foe who is spiritual? What hope can those provide when we face a dragon?

The fourth consequence is that we conspire with the enemy, committing treason against God. My first reaction to this was that the statement is overblown but consider. If you decide to go it alone, and approach the enemy without effective weapons, you have guaranteed your capture. You have foolishly but voluntarily surrendered to him. You are helping him achieve his goals instead of obeying God. What else could it be called than treason?

No, while we may not appreciate the armor described in this chapter, God has chosen them as the means to defeat our enemy. It is as we learn to use it that we will discover its effectiveness. Until then, we are called to trust God by donning and using the armor and weapons He prescribes.

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