“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” - Philippians 4:13
May we keep these sentiments close to our hearts: No enticement or temptation compels me to do anything through the flesh or draw on my soulical desires. Wherever I go, He is the resource I use to navigate; He is the place I remain in at all times. He is not only available in challenging circumstances, nor only for choosing His will in a particular event. He has been accessed by grace through faith, and now I can do all things through Him, rather than apart from Him, as was the case before He died for me and I died and rose with Him. In Him we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). I have been made new, and I am being conformed into His likeness, and I have discovered that I am not alone. All things are being done through Christ.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).
Every piece of armor that I have works in all situations (See Eph. 6:13-18). I do not need to remove it. Everything that must be experienced or accomplished can be done, and is most adequately accomplished, through its use. The pieces and their identifiers: Loins girt about with truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with a ready gospel of peace, shield of faith (with its associated function), helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit (also defined). This is the whole armor of God. Not that He has worn it Himself, though every piece can be traced back to a characteristic or attribute of God. This is the whole armor in its entirety that He gives His children to wear. The child of God sees every piece as having been made available and personally accessible through Christ.
It is by Christ, and only by Christ, that we have come to know God; mankind does not know Him apart from Christ. From lost, He is the way to God; He is the personification of God's will for all mankind, and through Him we are to experience the world around us. Our eternity with God is made possible by Him (See John 14:6). Put another way: To get to God, He is the way you must go; Christ is the truth you must know; and He is the life you are to hold to experience eternal life with God.
Satan seeks to disrobe you, so that you can experience this world as one broken, worn, battered, beaten, doubtful, defeated, discouraged, and torn. But your armor works here. It is not a measure of your accomplishments: Not about all that you have completed; it is not about how much you can lift, or how fast and far you can go through Christ. The truth is that you have been given all you need to do everything through Christ, rather than through yourself. The opportunity afforded you to go at all and in everything through another, rather than through your own strength.
His provision or your own. His timing or your own. His answers or your own. His security or your own. His name or your own. His life or your own. You have been given the distinguished grace of God through Christ, strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man to live all your days and moments through Him.
