Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS INEXPRESSIBLE GIFT!
For we are absolved through the Word, and on the authority of Christ we are told: "I baptize you; I extend to you the body and blood of Christ; I tear your soul by force from the power of the devil; I set you free from eternal death and damnation; and I make you a child of God and an heir of eternal life." These words which God speaks to us are so grand, eternal, and infinite that we cannot grasp them; for my nature is too weak to be able to endure them. This weakness draws us back and hinders us, so that we do not feel such great joy and gladness as those words and divine promises really bring . . . Yet they are completely true. And surely we must die in this faith.
But we should listen with grateful hearts and with joy, and we should believe at least weakly. Only let us not fight against it, blaspheme, persecute, reject, and deny. The reason why we do not comprehend it firmly and perfectly lies in the wretchedness of our flesh and in the narrowness of our heart, which cannot grasp that incomprehensible glory. Thus Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!" . . . For GOD promises and gives an inexpressible treasure, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, the grace of GOD, the inheritance of heavenly blessings, victory, and the power to trample the devil underfoot. Therefore must I, wretched little man and worm that I am, fight against so many angels, against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12), and indeed without the sword of the flesh, without strength, without wisdom, without power? But how? Believe in the Seed of Abraham, the Son of God. This faith is our victory which overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), vanquishes the devil, and destroys the gates of hell (cf. Matt. 16:18). But it is still a slender grasping and a tiny spark of faith. Therefore in that slender grasping it does not yet appear how great the thing we believe is. May the Lord grant that we endure in faith to the end!
