French for “on (your) guard,” this term is mostly used in fencing matches today as an exclamation or direction to be ready to fence and to take the opening position for action. To be on guard is to be ready for action, ready for the opponent’s attack; this phrase appears in Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

These are all verbs, all action directives that Paul gives us. We need to be on guard, stand firm, be courageous, be strong and do everything with love. Be, stand, do.

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Paul is wise to remind us that our fight is not against people. We have an enemy, the devil, who is prowling around like a lion looking for someone to devour. Peter echoes Paul’s action directives when he wrote for us to stand firm against the devil and strong in our faith. Peter’s point of remembering our family of believers is very important to remember because one of the ways that Satan loves to attack is by isolating someone—it’s his most effective form of attack. If Satan can isolate someone from the family of believers, make them feel like they are alone, that no one understands them or cares about them, then he will have an easier time picking that person off. It’s the same thing we see in nature with predators and prey; if the predators can get the prey away from a pack, they will have an easier time picking them off. But if the predator, even one as mighty as a lion, sees that the prey is not alone, they will back off from the attack. Remember that you belong to a great family of believers; you are not alone in this fight.

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.’” (Luke 23:34a)

When the authorities accused Jesus of lying, conducted an illegal trial against Him, hit Him, spit on Him, mocked Him, whipped Him, and nailed Him to a cross, did Jesus fight back? Did He shout insults in return? No. He prayed for them, He asked God to forgive them for all they had done to Him. Jesus knows our fight is not against flesh-and-blood enemies, and He did everything with love.

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:13-17)

“For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” (Galatians 5:17)

In this constant battle, we have armor we can put on to help us stay on our guard, to stand firm with strength and courage. When we take this armor off, when we focus on the temptations and the sinful desires and not what the Spirit desires, we can feel like a soldier who removes his armor in the middle of a fight. It might feel good for a moment to take off the weight of that armor, but as soon as you look around and realize you are in a battle and you are no longer wearing armor, you feel exposed and vulnerable. We are in a fight, a constant battle, and we have armor to equip us and instructions to always be on our guard. Our fight is not against people but against the evil authorities in the unseen world, against our very own sinful desires. Stand firm, be strong, be courageous. En garde. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed