People who study the apostle Paul’s armor of God passage most often focus on the pieces of that spiritual armor: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, etc. However, I ask you to consider the reason Paul gives for putting on that armor of God. In Ephesians 6:11 (NASB95), Paul writes: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (emphasis mine). Verse 13 continues that theme: “take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” And then verse 14 begins, “Stand firm.”
Are you picking up a pattern? “Stand firm” is not limited to Ephesians 6. Paul encourages the Galatians to stand firm (5:1, NIV), as well as the Philippians (4:1) and the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:15). James also encourages believers to stand firm (5:8), as does Peter (1 Peter 5:9). Standing firm spiritually is a major theme of the apostles’ teaching.
My favorite “stand firm” passage is 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NIV): “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” This verse consists of four terse commands, each closely related to the others.
Command 1: Be on your guard. In Greek, this command is expressed in one word: gregoreo. In its secular usage, this was a military term meaning “Be alert! Be vigilant!” Paul borrows this command from the military and applies it to our spiritual warfare against the lies and enticements of the world, the flesh, and the devil. “Watch out!” he commands throughout his inspired writings. Watch out for false teachers and false gospels. Watch out for temptations to stray from focusing on Jesus. Be on your guard!
Command 2: Stand firm in the faith. Paul uses “the faith” here exactly as Jude uses it in Jude 3: “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (NIV). In other words, the faith in which we are to stand firm is the good news about Jesus, that Jesus himself preached: In Jesus, the kingdom of God has come.
Command 3: Be courageous. As in Command 1, this term in the Greek is one word: andrizomai. A more accurate translation might be “Act like men!” Courage is part of that, but the emphasis seems to be upon maturity. “Exercise a mature-in-the-faith courage!” is Paul’s command. Maturity in the faith is a theme throughout 1 Corinthians. In 14:20, Paul has just pleaded with these believers “do not be children in your thinking . . . but in your thinking be mature” (NASB). To stand firm in the faith, one must be mature in the faith.
Command 4: Be strong. A bit more Greek? This command is a verb in the passive voice. Passive verbs receive rather than perform action. A better translation than “Be strong!” is “Be strengthened!” The spiritual strength we need to stand firm in the faith is not something we can create ourselves. It is something God creates within us as we submit to Him in Christ. Be strengthened!
Four spiritual imperatives: Stay alert! Stand firm! Behave mature! Be strong with God-given strength! That’s a recipe for Christian faithfulness.
*Reprinted from The Bible Advocate, July-August, 2021.
