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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

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All right, welcome back. This week we're looking at different passages of Scripture that reveal to us, and remind us, christian men, that we were born for battle. So today we're going to look at what should be a very familiar passage to everyone, and that's Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 20. I'll read it now Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and, having done all to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication To that. So, similar to 1 Corinthians 16, 13 that we talked about yesterday, this exhortation by the apostle Paul is towards the end of his exhortation to the church in Ephesus. So in a lot of ways, this is the climax of Paul's letter. So this is where he's basically telling the reader look, there's a war going on. You've got to be ready. You were born for battle. God will give you the tools to win. Rely on him and not yourself. So let's go ahead and break it down. Verse 10, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. So you might be strong, and a lot of you guys are, but you'll never be as strong as the Lord Because, duh, you are not the source of the strength needed for this battle, god is.

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Verse 11, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. So the armor isn't ours. Okay, we didn't make it. We couldn't make it even if we wanted to. But it is our job to put it on and not just some of it, all of it, or the whole armor. Right, you know, that's what we need to put on.

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And each part of the armor coincides with a part of the gospel Verse 12,. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Okay, so this is giving us the nature of the battle. So most of us in modernity have never seen real battle. And to those listening right now that have served my country and any country in that way, I am forever in your debt. But that's not the kind of battle Paul's talking about. This battle isn't against a rival country or people group, or really any people group for that matter. It's against spiritual forces of evil and darkness Verse 13,.

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Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm standing, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth. So what does a belt do? It holds everything together, and it does so from the center, from the core. What is the truth discussed here? That's the objective truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And having put on the breastplate of righteousness. What does a breastplate do? It protects your heart and your most vital organs, and without it we're supremely vulnerable. And what is the righteousness discussed here? This is our right standing before God, which is imputed to us by God. We can't earn it Verse 15,.

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And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. So what do shoes do? They protect our feet and they allow us to be stable and ready. And so what is the peace discussed here? It's a peace that comes from knowing that we have been forgiven by God through Christ. Verse 16,. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts or arrows of the evil one. So what does a shield do? It keeps you safe from the enemy's attack. What are the flaming darts of the evil one discussed here? It's Satan's favorite attacks of temptation and doubt and unworthiness and accusation.

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Verse 17,. And take the helmet of salvation. So what does a helmet do? It protects our heads and our minds, right? How does this helmet affect our salvation? It reminds us that we have the assurance of salvation because we can be sure of our God and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. So if you're a Daily Blade listener, you already know this. What is the sword good for? It is a primarily offensive weapon, and it is the only offensive weapon described here. And how can the Word of God be an offensive asset? Because it is God-breathed, it is authoritative, it is today and forever relevant and it is sufficient for all things. So God already gives us what we need. We just need to put it on and ready ourselves for battle. See you back here tomorrow.

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Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go. If you want to help equip other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review. Stay sharp.