The Battle

Paul often refers to the Christian life as a battle. He tells the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord and put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). He tells Timothy to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 1:18; 6:12) and states that he himself has fought the good fight (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul calls Archippus and Epaphroditus fellow soldiers (Philippians 2:5; Philemon 2) and tells Timothy to suffer as a good soldier (2 Timothy 2:3). So that we are not mistaken in what is being said, Paul makes clear that the weapons of our warfare are not physical. They are God’s truth allowing us to destroy those things within ourselves that oppose God. Such enables us to conquer every thought and bring those thoughts into subjection to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Our weapon is the word of God which is sharper than any two-edged sword and has the capability to cut deep into a person’s life and change them (Hebrews 4:12; Acts 2:37). In warfare, the unity of an army can make all the difference. An army needs to be unified behind a purpose, to know and believe in what they are fighting for. They must be devoted to one another, to never leave a man behind. In addition, their cause should be just and in the end be about saving people from that which would destroy them. In the video attached to this post there is a powerful life example of this. The herd of buffaloes in the video fight in a unified front against the lions to save the life of one calf. Peter said that the devil was like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8) - it is our job to snatch souls from his mouth just as David took lambs from the mouths of lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-36). May we be unified in our cause to save souls from the devil. May we stand together and under the command of our leader Jesus Christ, that we may save many through the battles we fight with God’s saving word, wearing the whole armor of God, and standing strong in the strength of our Lord’s might.