Armor of God and Resisting the Devil

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

³For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. ⁴The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

⁸Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

¹²The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.