In this episode we continue our discussion of the armor of God. Bible scholar Clinton Arnold says we need to “appropriate” the armor of God, but Paul says we must stand in it. Clinton’s teaching on this topic leads to false spiritual processes. We can stand in the armor of God because these are things that we already have in Christ.
We also discuss Hellenistic magic in Ephesus. We quote from early documents to show that these pagan spiritual practices influenced Christians in Ephesus, and we discuss the sons of Sceva from Acts 19. Mystical folk religion was influencing the church of Ephesus, so Paul exhorted them to stand in the gospel.
We do not need techniques to manipulate the world of the spirits. We do not need Christian incantations or amulets to interact with the spirit world – we need to stand firm in the promises of God.