The answer
The apostle Paul instructs his disciple Timothy to be strong in his striving, not by human zeal, but by the grace granted to him. He writes to him: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3). For the Christian in his spiritual striving fights against the devil and sin, under the command of the Lord of glory Himself who recruited him, and who is the “captain (or commander) of our salvation” (cf. Heb. 2:10). He is the commander who defeated the devil on the cross and continues now to conquer him through us. St. John Chrysostom says, “The devil shoots darts at me, but I have a sword; he is an archer, but I am a heavy-armed soldier … the archer does not dare to draw near; he shoots his darts from afar.”707
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
707 St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 3.11 (ACW 31:59–60).