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of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to
stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having
on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace; Above all taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye
shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the
helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints; And for
me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to
make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds:
that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that ye also may
know my affairs, and how I do, Tychius, a beloved brother and faithful
minister in the Lord, shall make known unto you all things: Whom I have sent
unto you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs, and that he
might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith,
from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that
love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.   Amen.".
     Not only are the different parts of our armor named above, but there is a
sense to the order of the naming. First, we must be wrapped in the truth of
God. Then comes righteousness, before we start walking in the narrow way. To
walk this narrow path requires faith, as we are assured that we will be under
attack at this point. All of the above can only be accomplished when we are
saved, and led by the Holy Spirit through the word of God. I can't think of a
single sermon I have heard, that the preacher continued on with the balance of
the text. This text is important if we are to truly get the full meaning of
Ephesians 6. I have quoted scripture throughout in prose style rather than

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versified. One concession I have made has been to copy the upper case usage
verbatim. I feel that this also tends to detract from the thought being put
forth, but I didn't feel the liberty to change the text back to it's pre-
versified form. Note for instance the colon at the end of verse 17, with a
capital starting verse 18. Hurried or incautious reading would tend to allow
truncation of the back part of the sentence, which actually ends at the end of
verse 20. I feel that Satan has fragmented our scripture very stealthily.
With diluted scripture our loins will be girt with diluted truth. Most people
probably don't see a problem with versification, but I feel it is another
clear and present danger to our service in the Lord's army.
     My prayer is that I have caused you to pause and reflect about the
responsibilities that accompany the gift of salvation that our Lord Jesus
Christ has given us. Onward Christian Soldier.

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