Verses 5, 6

The expression, as unto Christ, is striking. What is not done according to God ought not to be done; but as to our own will, we must have submission and spiritual discernment, to know when submission ought to be absolute. When there is no evil, by submitting myself, I act as from God, without asking whether the authority is wise or not; I am wise in obeying; and so, every time that the question is as to obeying my master, I do it without troubling myself about what he tells me; I do what he wishes, no matter what; I do it as in the sight of God-I do it for God.
Verse 7.
It little matters where God has placed me in this world, provided I serve Christ; and this principle can be applied to the most ordinary things of life; even if I light a fire, I can do it as for the Lord; and how honorable that makes it! What I do, is for Him, and because He wishes me to do it; and I do it with good will for the Lord Jesus, serving Him with love.
Verse 8.
The Christian religion has found its way into the midst of evil, and given liberty where there was none; it has given it even to the poor slaves, and that without taking them out of their state of bondage. The Gospel does not touch that position. Paul acknowledges slavery as a right, when he sends back Onesimus to his master, telling him that in grace he would treat this slave as a brother. Christ comes in where sin reigns. It is a power superior to all here below, and which subsists in the midst of what is found here.
Verse 9.
Ye are slaves of Christ, and servants of Christ, and with Him there is no acceptance of persons; ye servants, ye can serve Him, however low your condition be as to this world; and ye masters, ye ought to serve Him whatever are your advantages here below.
Verse 10.
Here is strength! What joy to be able to say: If I am weak, Christ is my strength. We do not enjoy this strength when we are at a distance from the Lord, and when we parley with circumstances, instead of retiring into Jesus by prayer. If we gave ourselves to prayer, all would soon be overcome.
Verse 11.
We must put on the whole armor of God; for if we have only truth and not righteousness, or only righteousness and not truth, the devil may reach us. The first counsel which the Spirit gives us here is to have on the whole armor; and the second the whole armor of God; because the arms of man are useless against spiritual wickedness. The man of the world does not know that he is the object of the attacks of Satan, and in truth he is rather his slave than the object of his attack; but the Christian is the object of his attack, and if he is not clothed with the whole armor of God, the darts of the enemy reach him. None can resist him but the one who is thus clothed, for Satan is always there using wiles and artifices; he is often as a lion, but more habitually as a serpent, and he tries to reach us and introduce the point of his weapon; he seeks to deal his blows wherever he finds a part of the body unprotected, not clothed with this armor of God.
Verse 12.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, that is to say not against man, as the Israelites, who had to fight against the Canaanites; no! but against spiritual wickedness, against the powers of this world. When the flesh acts in the Christian, Satan can attack him; the flesh has no power whatsoever against Satan. " He that is born of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John 5:16). We have a perfect example in Jesus. The new man in us is never tempted. These evil powers are in the heavens, whence they are not yet driven out; and in their wickedness they act not in a gross but in a spiritual manner. Christ is still sitting down and his enemies are not yet put under his feet; but we have this promise, that the God of peace will bruise Satan under our feet shortly. It is of all importance not to be terrified by him, for in Christ we gain the victory over this enemy of our souls; but it is needful for us to be aware of these ambushes, and to know this power which is acting against us.
That which guards us is the power of the Spirit in the path of obedience. The presence of the enemy in the heavens has spoiled and continues to spoil all the good that God ever committed to man; this is true, even in Christianity here below, because the heavens are not yet changed; the atmosphere is evil. But it is said: "Resist the devil and he shall flee from you." If Satan meets Christ in us, he flies, for Christ has conquered him; but the flesh does not resist him. If I am in the flesh the enemy overthrows me, as we have an example in Peter. Peter, after his fall, could strengthen his brethren; because he had learned to know himself and his weakness, as well as the power of the grace of Christ. It is well to remember that when walking in the Spirit, we are sheltered from the darts of the enemy.
Verse 13.
In the preceding verses, it is the general position of the child of God, in evil days, that is looked at. Here it is the armor more in detail that is spoken of. We have seen two things: 1st.-That we must be armed with the whole armor; and 2nd-That we must be armed with the whole armor of God; this armor alone can resist the attacks of the enemy. There are times when we are attacked by the enemy, and when God permits that we should be more or less tried. The whole of this present dispensation is the evil day, during which Satan is allowed to exercise his power; Christ is absent from the earth, and Satan is allowed to exercise his power in it. There are moments when we enjoy in peace communion with the Lord, without being disturbed by the enemy-then all is peace; but there are times also, when we are made to feel the power of Satan; the power of Christ also, without doubt; but it is in order to fight. This is the reason it is said, " Take the whole armor of God." It is the resisting the manifest attacks of Satan that is here spoken of; not only as in the case of the Israelites, of gaining certain victories - of conquering certain territories, and of making progress in the country; this is not the immediate thought of the apostle. Inasmuch as we are filled with the Spirit, we already possess all things; while at the same time we have to carry on a warfare in the heavenly places. Satan tries to destroy our confidence, to withdraw us from enjoying Christ, and to take from us the consciousness that we possess all things in Him. What we have to do then in this position, is to stand firm; all is ours, and if we stand fast we have all. Satan tries to prevent our standing; this is why we are told to put on our armor and to stand fast.
Verse 14.
In this verse the means of resistance are set before us: we must have our loins girded about with truth, or else we shall be like a ship with its sails spread, but no ballast-it would founder; the ballast, which produces the equilibrium is necessary. It is written, "Sanctify them by thy truth; thy word is truth.." and further on, "For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth." Christ set himself apart as the expression of all the truth of God in man; not that He had only the knowledge of the truth; Christ was himself the truth. We ought not only to know the truth, but our affections should be filled and governed by it. If our hearts are full of Jesus, we are sanctified by the truth, as it is in Jesus, which sets us free and which sanctifies us.
The word reins expresses all that is within. The inner affections, the inmost thoughts are turned towards God, the heart is with God; all that is not of Him being judged; I am in communion with Him, I am in his presence, taught by Him. The Apostle urges that our thoughts, our affections, should be governed by the truth; that that which the Spirit teaches us should reign over our hearts. This is what we must begin with; the heart must be at large, set free from the power of every lust and of every spiritual error; at liberty in the truth. We cannot be happy if we allow our hearts to go after all that presents itself to us; for then, in our service, we are not able to resist Satan. Perhaps we are not aware of the evil; the effect of it is not at first felt, but in an evil day it will discover itself. (See Job.) Satan roams around us, and seeks to overthrow us; this is why we must not allow our hearts to go abroad after everything, without paying attention, or without being on our guard; because Satan will have thereby power over us in the evil day. The established Christian discerns good and evil; his thoughts no longer wander about here below. If our thoughts are in Heaven with Jesus, we are in safety. It is impossible for us to be happy here below, if we do not walk in holiness. There, in heaven, we shall be able to let loose our hearts, because there will be nothing there but holiness and the glory of God; but here, in the presence of the enemy with such deceitful hearts, we must have Truth to govern them: "Having your loins girt about with Truth." It is the application of what is in Christ to the affections, in order that the heart may have the understanding of spiritual things, and walk according to Christ.
Be it observed, that all we have just said is true of each and every Christian; for he is in the truth, he has righteousness by faith, he possesses the Gospel of Peace. But the Apostle desires that we should use these graces in our practical walk. If our hearts are guided by the Spirit of Jesus, we have the consciousness of walking in practical righteousness in all that concerns us; Satan will have nothing to say against us in the evil day, nothing which will weaken us in our conflicts with him. If the conscience is not good, if righteousness is not realized, we have no strength; we must hide ourselves in the day of battle. When Satan attacks the children of God, he does it according to the holiness of God, and they would be overthrown, by having things on their conscience about which a worldly person would feel no uneasiness. The Spirit acting on the conscience cannot but give to holiness all its strength; arid for him there is but the holiness of God. Also the nearer we are to God the more will Satan seek to surprise us. It is impossible for any one to have a just estimate of the holiness of God unless standing fast in grace, and unless firm against the attacks of Satan. If we do not walk before God according to the light, which we profess to have, God's strength is not with us; and frequently even God withdraws the light in which we did not choose to walk. If we have failed in anything, we must have recourse to grace. If habitually we walk in the Spirit, as soon as we have stumbled we shall judge ourselves before God; before Satan attacks us; for God is good and faithful in His grace, and we shall be calm. Christ was ever with His Father, and when the evil day came, He was calm (see, for Him who has failed, the example of David, Ps. 32:5. "Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin," etc.) That which the Spirit commands, is to be clothed with the breastplate of righteousness; because with this armor, we have nothing on the conscience. A man cannot handle his sword if he is ill: God begins then, as we have said, by strengthening the man himself; then He speaks of the testimony which he ought to bear. God will have the soldier prepared for the battle.
Verse 15.
He who is holy and righteous in his practical walk is the one who is in communion with God, who is at peace and restful in all his connections with God, and vigilant as to that which is good, knowing that Satan goeth about; but he is without fear, knowing that he walks together with God; and having nothing which disquiets him in his walk, the consequence is that he is at peace. This title of peace is one given to God more than any other (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20; Rom. 16:20, etc). There is one thought which is predominant in the character of God, it is peace. The soul which is thus in God is full of peace; he enjoys fully the gospel of God; he enjoys this grace; his soul is in peace, and coming forth from immediate communion with God to walk through this poor world, in this spirit of peace all his steps are marked with peace; this character sets its impress on all his walk in this world. God having given to the soul this place before Him, He begins to teach it to walk; and the walk of such a one here below partakes of this gospel of peace, of this peace which we first enjoy with God through the gospel, through the work of Christ, and which, setting us in communion with God, makes us happy in that which is good, and enables us, by this communion, to overcome the sin and rebellion of the heart. All that we meet with makes manifest in our walk by the Spirit the peace which we enjoy. It is beautiful to see a soul which brings the power of this peace into the world.
In this faithful walk, the Christian meets with the fiery darts of the wicked one; the more faithful he is, the more also will Satan seek to trouble him; if he can cause a wicked thought to cross the heart, that is a dart! but the soul of the faithful is at peace; nothing can trouble him, though Satan tries to disturb this peace. If secret self-complacency glides unto the heart, it is the enemy who seeks to take away our confidence. We see Christ in this calm and perfect confidence, in the midst of His suffering (John 18:11); peace keeping His soul, not that He could feel joy in drinking the cup, but he felt it in receiving the cup from the hand of Him who gave it to Him; nothing could shake His confidence; all the darts of Satan were quenched on the shield of faith. At the moment when He was broken-hearted, crushed by the iniquity of men, He said, " I thank thee, O Father!" (Matt. 11:25). When we meet with a trial, instead of complaining of others and reproaching them, we ought to take refuge in God; but frequently we do the very opposite, we distrust God; if we meet with difficulties, we reflect on God, and reproach Him with the iniquity of man; Satan seeks to produce mistrust; this is why the apostle says we must take the shield of faith.
Verse 16.
Entire confidence in God is needed. From this position we see all the storms below us, we are at peace; but if we have not this confidence, there are things which trouble us. This is our position; we are on the earth, the flesh still in us; Satan is in the heavens, but Christ is still higher, at the right-hand of God. Christ (in order that faith may be put to the test) has not yet driven out Satan; but if by faith we lay hold of the
truth that Christ has done everything, that He has gained the victory over Satan, and that He is gone up far above all heavens, to the right hand of God, we are then above all circumstances. I know Christ; I am near to God: I see things according to God and not according to circumstances. We see in Numbers, when the water failed, Israel threw the blame on God, and Moses thought about himself and his own personal importance. We frequently behave ourselves in the same way in affliction, but it is a want of confidence in God; Satan would like to break the links between us and God; but God has given us evident proofs of His love by giving us His Son, who has all power in heaven and on earth. Satan cannot take from us this grace; but if our loins are not girded about, our communion is interrupted.
Verse 17.
The salvation of a soul, once brought nigh to God, is a settled thing; it is a helmet, a defense which guards him from the attacks of the enemy. There is a difference between this blessed position and that of working for salvation. In my battles with the enemy, I have on my head the assurance of salvation; He cannot touch me, I have eternal life; Satan cannot break in upon that; this gives boldness in the conflict; having the consciousness that God has saved us, we go on, the head lifted up (not proudly as to the fear of God), but trusting in Him, fearing nothing. Such is the case when we have the affections on Christ; we are so set as to be enabled to go on with boldness, by power being given to us to use the armor of God. This is what God desires for us. It is a blessed position, to stand fast in the conflict. Truth applies to the judgment in the inner man; practical righteousness guards the conscience from the assaults of the enemy; the power of peace gives a character to our walk; confidence in the love of God quenches the poisoned arrows of doubt; the assurance of salvation gives us boldness to go onwards.
We have seen in what precedes, that the apostle begins by setting before us that which gives inward strength, viz., the armor defensive against the attacks of the enemy. Now he speaks of the offensive weapons, and begins with the sword of the Spirit, as the means of resisting the power of Satan in the evil day; he speaks of the sword as a means of standing; the helmet is placed before the sword, because if there is not this confidence, this assurance, we cannot even handle the sword of the Spirit. All the threats, the warnings and precepts as to sanctification, become so many means, in the hands of Satan, to lay hold of us by, if we have not the confidence that God is for us; without this confidence, Satan can use even the Word of God to overthrow us. This word is called the sword of the Spirit, not of the understanding, but of the Spirit in us. It is the Spirit of God who alone can handle the sword of the Word. It is the Spirit who recalls the suitable passage at the moment of temptation (we have a striking example of it in Christ, in the hour of His temptation). We may reason about the things of God, but that does nothing for us against the' enemy; the Spirit must act in us and apply the word. It is evident that if we have grieved the Spirit, if our loins are not girded, the Spirit cannot be there to handle the word; on the contrary, in that case, Satan employs it against us. If the Christian has not this happy consciousness of being for God, he has nothing to say when Satan presents a temptation before him; the smallest warning of the word troubles and overthrows him, because the word is not through the Spirit, a weapon in his hand against the enemy; but it is in the hand of the enemy against him. It is true that God uses the word as a means of convincing of sin, and thus awakes the soul by acting on the conscience; but every time that this word is not made use of on the principle of grace, it is not the work of the Spirit of God. If this conviction of sin leads us to mistrust God, it does not proceed from Him, but from the enemy; the Spirit convinces of sin through the word, but it shows the refuge in Christ; it does not drive to despair.
The word is represented to us as a weapon for us to handle, for it works in two ways: first, the Spirit, in using the word, can act in us by presenting to us the object which fills our hearts with joy and hope; but, besides, He can use it when He would convince us of sin. The Spirit will indeed show us what are the consequences of sin, but He will never tell us that Christ is not sufficient for our soul. The Spirit cannot deny the testimony which He bears to the glory and to the work of Jesus in grace; He can use the holiness of God to produce in us the deepest feeling of sin; but He will never tell us that God is not a God of grace towards us. To the Christian who has peace, and to whom the love of the Father has been revealed, it is perfectly clear, that if he has any other feeling about sin, it is not the Spirit of God which produces it. If we have failed, the Spirit will make us sorrowful, but He will never tell us that the Master of the House is not our Lord; this thought would be the fruit of unbelief. But here the Apostle goes a little further; he supposes faith to be in exercise, and he places the word in the hand. Satan will tell us that we are not able to use the sword of the Spirit. Then this same spirit, who recalls the passage, silences Satan. Again, look at Christ in His temptation, Christ who never lost His confidence. The Spirit was there in power. Christ had his loins girded, and He had on the breastplate of righteousness; He was calm and knew how to use the very passage which was suitable for the circumstance. Paul supposes a Christian who is standing fast in this power of the Spirit, and who completely stops the mouth of Satan, when he tries in a thousand ways to make him fall. Such a Christian having all the defensive weapons, is able to handle the sword of the Spirit, and when the Spirit in him is not grieved, He bears witness to the favor of God. The word of God is the most powerful of the weapons of the Christian's strength.