#455 - "Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You"

The tune, “Wachet Auf,” is familiar, but the words of this hymn may be relatively new to you. The hymn is described by the German hymnologist Eduard E. Koch as “a call to arms for spiritual conflict and victory.” The author of this hymn, Pastor Wilhelm Arends, takes the idea of being a soldier of Christ Jesus, put it into the context of an epic battle scene, and gives us a solid dose of Christ-centered theology.

1. How is the devil pictured in the Bible? What is his whole purpose on this earth?

Satan means “Accuser.” The devil means “Liar.” The devil is pictured in the Bible as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), a snake (Genesis 3:1), the ancient serpent and the great dragon (Revelation 12:9). His purpose is devour us, to lead the whole world astray, to lie to us about God’s truths and accuse us of our sins. Stanza 1 describes the work of the devil: “For Satan has designed your fall.”

2. Because Satan is constantly on the attack, what kind of weapons does God give you? Are these primarily defensive or offensive weapons?

Against Satan, we do not use man-made weapons, but we use the sword of God’s Word. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Paul, a prisoner in Rome also writes about the power of God’s Word: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained” (2 Timothy 2:8). Satan can put us in prison, but he can do nothing against the Word of God. Stanza 1 directs us: “Wield God’s Word, a weapon glorious; Against each foe you’ll be victorious.” The Word of the Spirit is both a defensive and an offensive weapon. … The gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). The gates of Hades are fixed and stationary. They do not attack us. We attack them. We go on the offensive.

3. What are the other weapons to be used in this battle against Satan?

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17).

4. We have all of these things with which to fight the evil one, but in the second half of this first stanza, we learn of something even more astounding than weapons that we ourselves are to use. What else does stanza 1 tell us about this battle with Satan?

Christ the Savior comes to fight for us! Jesus said, “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house” (Matthew 12:29). Jesus had been accused of being in league with the devil, that’s why he could drive out demons. But Jesus showed that He was stronger than the “strong man” of Satan. The Hymnwriter adds, “The strong ones yield to Christ, our shield.”

5. Stanza 1 carries the idea of a battle. How would you describe stanza 2?

The first stanza is about fighting against the devil. The second stanza is about our lives of sanctification. Though the battle still rages, Jesus has already defeated the devil and won the war. Because of this we ask to live as Gods’ children, having the Holy Spirit poured on us.

6. Now that Jesus has won the victory, we can return to our hedonistic lifestyles, right?

Wrong! St. Paul emphasizes the lives of the Christians in Corinth with the past tense of the verb. He emphasizes that these “were” the lives of these Christians. Everything is different now. “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9). The Hymnwriter emphasizes, “Let new life to us be given that we may look to you in heaven.”

7. What did God use to make us His own children?

The blood of His Son. St. Peter writes, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18). God makes us His own through His Son’s blood shed for us. He keeps us His own by pouring out His Holy Spirit over us: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). Because of the shedding of the Son’s blood and the outpouring the Holy Spirit, “we may love you more, hearts o’erflowing; and then shall we, from sins set free, sing praise through all eternity.”