Since the beginning of time, man has been assaulted by a devious adversary. Even though many like to believe he doesn’t’ exist, our current world and culture proves otherwise. And God, through His infinite wisdom, knowing the beginning and the end, has provided us with everything we need to fight this invisible enemy and win. If you are someone who has studied scripture you already know where I am going with this but hear me out. It’s always good to have a refresher. For those of you who are curious about the Armor of God and want to know more, keep reading.
Before we begin, however, I want to pray for you and this blog and allow God to have right of way in our lives and in this message.
Heavenly Father, I humbly come before You, thanking You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for using me for Your purpose and glory. I prayer, Father, for my readers, that You would meet with them and grant them Your wisdom. Help us, Lord, remember that in Your Son, Jesus, we have everything we need to combat the enemy. Help us to stand on Your Truth and trust that You are with us and are in control. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!
Found in Ephesians 6:14-18, the Full Armor of God is laid out perfectly for the reader(s) to understand what God has given us to combat spiritual warfare. For context, the Book of Ephesians was written while Paul was in prison after being detained by the Romans for bolding speaking about Jesus. Even though he was behind bars, Paul was still ministering and spreading the gospel. It’s interesting that the Ephesians epistle (letter) was circled throughout several congregations, which suggests that Paul was trying to encourage more churches than the one in Ephesus. Paul wanted to encourage the early church to keep spreading the gospel, even thought the church was being heavily persecuted.
The whole letter basically emphasizes the truth that we all are united as the body of Christ, which is exactly what the church is. It’s more than a place you go to on Sunday morning. Paul’s message throughout most of his writings is that salvation is by is by faith alone and not through anything we can do “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Paul knew that we needed Jesus Christ to save us because we couldn’t do it ourselves. “As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one’”(Romans 3:10-12).
He also knew the persecution he and the early church were facing had demonic influence and he wanted to make that very clear. Because of the difficulties they faced, “ Paul, through the Holy Spirit gave us all a battle plan; the Armor of God. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:10-13).
Some people today do not believe that Christians are under any sort of spiritual assault and to be quite frank, that baffles me. When we believe in false teachings, we place ourselves right into the hands of the enemy. I can assure you that we are in fact right in the middle of a spiritual war. But I have great news! We are not alone. God is with us, and He has given us all that we need to make it through this challenging life. For one, He gave us Jesus Christ and it is through Him that we have the Armor of God. All scripture points back to Jesus. Let’s look at our text for this topic and explore it further.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6: 14-18).
There are seven pieces to the Armor of God and each one plays a key role in our protection against spiritual warfare.
1). The Belt of Truth: used in ancient combat to secure both armor and weapon so that the soldier could move freely. Just as in ancient times, we have to anchor ourselves in the truth. “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” We must remember who we are in Christ. If we are rooted in His truth, we are protected against any lies of the enemy.
2). The Breastplate of Righteousness: provides protection of all major organs, including the heart. Righteousness isn’t something you and I can achieve on our own. If we could God wouldn’t have sent Jesus to pay for our sins. Our righteousness comes from our faith in Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). When we embrace that, we protect hearts from being hardened against God. Keeping our eyes on Jesus is vital.
3). The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace: soldiers need sturdy and reliable footwear to stand their ground and to advance. For us, these shoes equip us to be representatives of the Prince of Peace; Jesus Christ, in a world full of turmoil and opposition. As we spread the good news of Jesus and perform the Great Commission; “ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19),we become instruments the kingdom helping bring about reconciliation between God and man.
4). The Shield of Faith: a critical piece of Armor that protects against direct assault of the enemy. The “fiery darts of the enemy” cannot penetrate a believer who places their faith in God. One of the most successful tactics of the Satan is his ability to twist lies just enough to make it sound like truth. Take Eve’s encounter with the serpent, for example: (Genesis 3:1-5). “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve took attention off the truth and gave into the lies of the enemy, thus the fall of man. Our faith in God creates an impenetrable barrier, enabling us to shield ourselves as long as we keep our eyes, hearts, and minds on Him. Through faith, we can overcome the world with confidence because Jesus overcame the world for us. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
5). The Helmet of Salvation: shields our minds against the mental attacks from the enemy. Satan’s goal is to turn as many people away from God as he can. The Helmet of Salvation reminds us of our eternal hope is Jesus. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9). When we recognize the promise of our salvation, we become less vulnerable to discouragement. If you have reoccurring thoughts about the validity of your salvation, those thought are not from God, it’s Satan.
6). The Sword of the Spirit: the word of God, both defense and offense. Through reading, studying, and meditating on the word of God we equip ourselves with divine wisdom; something that goes beyond ourselves and something that we cannot achieve on our own. Armed with the word we can counter world views that go against what God has already said. A lot of Christians today have fallen prey to false doctrine because they don’t read scripture for themselves. Take a look at the gender crisis we no doubt face. Scripture says that there is only male and female, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27), yet many “believers” have adopted the notion that you can be anything you want to be, regardless of what God says. We have to read the word of God for ourselves.
7). Prayer: the underlining foundation of the Armor of God. Prayer is the direct communication with God allowing us to seek His guidance, protection and strength. Prayer allows Him to be our center focus. We invite God into our situations, decisions, and into our lives and tap into the spiritual resources needed to withstand the challenges we encounter. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6). There are so many verses about the importance of prayer, but this one is my favorite. We must have communication and relationship with God.
I know this one was a little long compared to my other blogs, but this is an important topic, and I wanted to make sure to give you guys as much information and encouragement as I could. The Armor of God is so well known, but is it so well known that we forget to actually wear it? If you have read my most recent blog, you know that God has laid it on my heart to dig deep into His word and I want each of you to be apart of this journey too. So much that I have created a YouTube channel, as mentioned previously. If you haven’t read that one, go check it out. Thank you so much for hanging in there and reading this entire thing. I pray that God speaks to you, and that you develop a closer relationship with Him. Thank you, always, for your support and encouragement. Until next time, God bless!
Amber
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