Verse 13
Wherefore, take up the whole armor of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
The nature of the Christian warfare is further evident in this. It is not so much an attack against evil, as it is a warding off and foiling of evil's attack against the Christian which is indicated by the emphasis upon "stand." The forces of evil on earth have been mightily offended and wounded by the gospel of Christ; bitterness and hatred against the truth are to be expected everywhere.
In the evil day ... The notion that Paul here referred to "the time which the horoscope has designated as dangerous, when the unlucky star is in the ascendant,"[21] is ludicrous. Nothing could have been any further from the mind of the apostle! What is meant, of course, is the day of crisis or decision; and, as Hendriksen pointed out: "In order to stand one's ground in the day of evil or crisis, let him stand his ground today!"[22] Over and beyond this, there also looms the certainty of the final judgment on the last day.
[21] Francis W. Beare, op. cit., p. 739.
[22] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967), p. 286.
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