“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Ephesians 5:22-25
The Christian marriage is a type of Christ’s relationship with the church with the two essential ingredients being love and obedience.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour 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 saints;” Ephesians 6:10-18
Here we have the Bible passage on Christian warfare with the “whole armour of God” being recommended to the believer. This armour consists of five pieces of protective gear for the head, the feet, the loins, the chest and a shield. Then there is one offensive weapon, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. With the word “stand” being used three times in the passage ( verses 11, 13,and 14 ), it appears that God is stressing the point that the Christian must spend most of his life standing his ground and protecting himself from evil influences rather than being a spiritual Rambo who is always taking on the enemy. Yes, we do have the word of God for advancing the cause of Christ, but we must not neglect the call to stand our ground and protect our testimonies, our families, and our churches. To add to this balance, we are admonished to be praying always” in verse eighteen, which explains why the soldier wasn’t given any leg greaves in verses ten through seventeen: he’s on his knees in prayer.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6
God will perform His work in us “until the day of Jesus Christ ” which means this is a great verse on eternal security.