God has not left us helpless and hopeless but has given us weapons and armor to confront the Devil and his attacks upon our minds.
What putting on the armor of God and spiritual warfare is NOT!
- Spiritual warfare is not about empty actions that make us feel like we are accomplishing something when in fact nothing has changed.
- Putting on the armor of God is not some superstitious ritual we do to protect us from the devil. I’ve known individuals that put on the armor of God each morning. They recite the verses and imagine the putting on of the armor. That may be well-intentioned, but if they have to do it every day the question is, “when did they take the armor off?”.
What it means to put on the Armor of God.
Putting on the armor of God IS about taking seriously all that Jesus has provided for you. His salvation, His security, His Holy Spirit and His Word, the Bible. It is about becoming a warrior for Jesus! A warrior understands training, discipline, hardship, sacrifice, and victory. We are called to be soldiers for the Lord!
The Whole Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”.
Verse 12 “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”.
Verse 13 “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”.
- You just can’t choose the armor you like or want, you need the whole armor of God for the armor to be effective.
Verse 14 “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth
- Jesus is God in the flesh (Phil 2:5-7).
- Jesus came to save (John 3:17).
- There is no other way to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
Verse 14b having put on the breastplate of righteousness“,
- Righteousness has to do with doing what is right in God’s eyes, not in your eyes.
- It is living by the spirit of the Ten Commandments. Not the letter of the law but the spirit of the law.
- It is loving unconditionally all people because God has created them.
- It is represented by manifesting the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22)
Verse 15 “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace“;
- It means to be ready in season and out to present the testimony that Jesus has given you. That testimony is about what He has done for you. He has saved you, healed you and restored you
Verse 16 “above all, taking the shield of faith with which,
- Faith is seeing the invisible, the spiritual realm.
- Faith has to do with actions and not just words
- Faith is believing what God has said in the Bible even when we don’t understand it.
Verse 16b you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one“.
- Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1John 4:4).
- He has not given you the spirit of fear (2Tim 1:7)
- You are bold for Jesus
Verse 17 “And take the helmet of salvation,
- Always remembering that you were bought with a price and you are no longer your own
- Mindful of Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.
Verse 17b and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God“;
- The Word of God will stop the enemy of our souls in his tracks. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4). Jesus responded with the scriptures from the Word of God!
Verse 18 “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints”.
- We pray not only with our minds, but perhaps more importantly in the Spirit (Tongues). The spirit always prays perfectly for our needs because the Spirit knows what to pray for. Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God”.
Misguided Spiritual Warfare
One of the church’s greatest challenges is to distinguish between the spiritual struggle and other social, personal, and political struggles. Some believers and even groups become easily distracted, “wrestling” with human adversaries instead of warring against the invisible works of the Devil in the spiritual realm.
Conclusion
2 Timothy, “1 You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You, therefore, must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier”.
- In other words, you can’t be a part-time Christian. Jesus gave all for you and our Lord expects all from you!
