23rd August 2024

Stand firm

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIVUK)

For most of the troops of the First World War, the daily trauma of witnessing the horrors of war, day after day, watching their friends and comrades get blown up and whole battalions obliterated took its toll. The few confused, terrified men who shirked their responsibility and fled their post, soon learned that there was no way out of the horror – if they ran from German guns, they would be shot by British ones.  

Many soldiers were suffering from shell shock and ‘Thousands of men were in stages of mental collapse, driven near insane after seeing their friends massacred on the battlefield.’ ¹ Nevertheless, 306 soldiers of the British and Commonwealth armies, many of whom were still teenagers, were shot at dawn by firing squad, by their comrades, between 1914 and 1919 for desertion or cowardice. 

In the final chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells us that Christians are also in a fierce battle, but our enemies are not flesh and blood. Instead, they are ‘…the powers of this dark world and…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ (v.12). Paul’s concern is that we don’t flee the battlefield, and several times encourages us to stand firm: ‘…take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (v.11); ‘…you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then…’ (vv.13-14). The question is, how can we stand firm in the heat of battle?

Paul’s advice is to put on the full armour of God (vv.11,13), which is just another way of saying ‘…clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 13:14), or ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 13:14 ESVUK). This means Jesus himself is our armour. He is the belt of truth (John 14:6 NIVUK). He is our breastplate of righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). He is the gospel of peace that we stand on (Ephesians 2:13-14, 17). He is the shield of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). He is our helmet of salvation (Titus 3:6). He is our sword, the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17, and John 1:1).

Putting on God’s armour means that in every trial and temptation, by faith we appropriate Christ’s strength instead of our weakness. By faith we cry to him for deliverance and strength to persevere. Jesus alone is the way we can avoid spiritual shell shock. Jesus is our full armour, capable of protecting us from every onslaught of the devil, and enabling us to stand firm in the battle. Let’s remember at the dawn of each day that we are clothed with Jesus.

Prayer
Loving Father, we praise you that we are protected by your armour: Jesus himself, and that in your Son you have equipped us with everything we need to stand firm and win the battles that confront us. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Study by Barry Robinson

¹ Shot at dawn: Men and boys ‘absent without leave’ during World War 1 | Blog | Findmypast.co.uk

About the writer:
Barry Robinson is a minister in Grace Communion International and Regional Pastor for Southern England, the Midlands, and Wales

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church