Ephesians 6:13 “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.”
The key word in this is withstand. We must be able to withstand and to do that, we must bear the whole armor of God. So let’s take a look at the word withstand.
with-stand
“verb (used with object) 1. to stand or hold out against; resist or oppose, esp. successfully: to withstand rust; to withstand the invaders; to withstand temptation.
“verb (used without object) 2. to stand in opposition; resist.
The thing that is very important to notice, is that it is not to just resist, but to resist successfully. This means that when we withstand, we are not in the act of resisting, but have already resisted and was successful at doing so. This may be why Paul used withstand when referring to using the armor of God in the evil day, and not just saying stand. Keep in mind that this is of the original language, however for this translation to be this way must suggest that in the original language there was a difference. So what’s the difference you say? It was making sure that when we bear the armor, that we do not stop at just resisting; but rather we resist until the end. Custer’s last “stand” was not just about the battle, but the result of the battle.
