Wednesday: Standing on the Ancient Battlefield
Read through Ephesians 6:10-20, noting each time Paul uses some form of the verb stand. Why is this idea so important to him?
We must understand Paul’s military metaphor in the context of the ancient battlefield. What did it mean to “stand” (Ephesians 6:11, Ephesians 6:13-14)? Does the verb suggest a defensive-only posture? Battle speeches included in the writings of Thucydides, one of the great classical authors of battle literature, highlight three successive actions that must occur if a side is to be victorious: (1) soldiers must “close with the enemy,” which means they must march to meet their foes; (2) then, they must attack and “stand fast,” or “stand our ground,” fighting hand-to-hand with their foes; (3) Finally, they must “beat back the enemy” (see Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War [New York: E. P. Dutton, 1910], 4.10.1-5).
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The key moment of an ancient battle occurred with the second of these three actions, when the two opposing phalanxes came crashing together in “a terrible cacophony of smashed bronze, wood, and flesh,” which ancient author Xenophon refers to as that “awful crash.” — Victor Davis Hanson, The Western Way of War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), Pages 152, 153. Standing firm, holding one’s ground at this strategic moment, was the great challenge of ancient battle. In the close combat that would ensue, each side would seek momentum for “the push.”
Paul’s call to arms reflects combat in which soldiers were “bunched together, giving and receiving hundreds of blows at close range.” — Victor Davis Hanson, The Western Way of War, p. 152. This is confirmed by Paul’s depiction of the church’s battle against its foes as a wrestling match (Ephesians 6:12; see Thursday’s study) and in his use of an intensive form of the verb “to stand” in verse 13: “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day” (NKJV, ESV, emphasis added).
This is no relaxed stance! To “stand,” then, is to be vigorously engaged in battle, employing every weapon in close-order combat, a point obvious from the military imagery in Paul’s earlier exhortation to be found “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27, ESV).
| Read Hebrews 12:4. How does this verse help encapsulate what it means to stand in the Lord? What is the corporate nature of this standing as well? |
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The Christian life is a war or a battle.Cunning and trickery characterize this battle.We have to withstand the enemy's knock in this battle.We do not need to really on our own strength.A great effort must be put in order to avoid sin.You will never give up if you consider how Jesus Christ suffered.The purpose of the armour mentioned in Ephesians 6 is to enable us to stand firm.Solomon could be the wisest in the Bible,whilst Samson could be the strongest man mentioned in the Bible,yet they could not stand.
How strong are you?
There is no time to relax. Standing firm is to be vigorously engaged in the battle as the Lesson writer puts it, employing every weapon in a close combat. In Phillipian 1:27, Paul encourages the believers to be unified, as they stand firm in one spirit,contending as one man for the faith. There's a lot of in-fighting in our churches today which makes us not to focus and to allow us " keep the main thing be the main thing", our salvation in Christ.
What does Paul mean when he says stand against the wiles of the devil, or if you prefer, against the schemes of the devil?
I don't have a lot of time this am to come up with my own thoughts, so I turned to Ellen White, and found immediately what I was looking for with the help of my search feature of EGW Writings 2 app.
"This is the scene that is presented to me. But the church must and will fight against seen and unseen foes. Satan's agencies in human form are on the ground. Men have confederated to oppose the Lord of hosts. These confederacies will continue until Christ shall leave His place of intercession before the mercy seat, and shall put on the garments of vengeance. Satanic agencies are in every city, busily organizing into parties those opposed to the law of God. Professed saints and avowed unbelievers take their stand with these parties. This is no time for the people of God to be weaklings. We cannot afford to be off our guard for one moment." Christian Experience and Teachings of EGW 229.2
The rest of the chapter is good reading too, elaborating as it relates to end times. Ephesians 6:10-17
Hallelujah, Paul meant exactly what he wrote: STAND https://biblehub.com/greek/2476.htm. We are to prepare for this cosmic warfare donning and wearing, always, Supernatural armor given us by our Father, because we daily ask Him for Holy Spirit infilling! We are not ever called to go face-to-face with our enemy (human involvement in warfare is neither a fruit nor gift of Holy Spirit). We are to STAND behind Father, Son, Holy Ghost, while They fight. The battle is not ours, but the Lord's(2 Chronicles 20:15-17). As opportunity presents itself, we are to go with the Three Angel's Messages of love, deliverance, and victory over evil, now in this lifetime, and how to avoid the soon coming wrath of God. Jesus drank that "cup" for us!
What does this battle look like in real life? Can you share some examples?
In what way are you involved in that battle?
Sure let me help out here.
Some of the battles we face are:
1) Health challenges
2) Financial problems
3) Addictions to negative things
4)Spiritual problems
The list goes on and on and on.
We are battling against the notion that our faith is outdated - a social construct - and therefore irrelevant in a modern world. The world has moved on to multiculturalism where the powers that be look to change what Christians see as absolute into something that is cultural, and therefore not binding. There are no longer any absolutes. That’s why we need to put on the “whole armour of God” to stand against the devil’s whiles. We need to know whom and what we believe so we don’t get swept along with the current cultural think tank.
Barb - I whole heartedly agree!