When I was growing up, we used to sing a song at church that went like this:
I remember singing that song and really listening to the words. The armor is the full armor of God. It was a catchy, upbeat chorus. I believe now that God was using that song to sow seeds into my heart that I should not lay my armor down. Now in this season of my life I can understand that much better.
God has always enabled His people to fight to win. In the Old Testament there are numerous passages of where God told the men in charge to go forward and He would fight for them. When they obeyed Him they were victorious. In the New Testament we are given instructions on how to apply the full armor of God so we can stand against the schemes of the devil. When we are in the full armor we are victorious.
The one thing the Bible does not tell us is when it is okay to take the armor off. From Genesis to Revelation you will never find a time that tells us it is okay to lay our armor down. In the natural, after a battle, the men would take their armor off and put it away until they needed it again. In the supernatural, we have to put on the full armor of God, not just one or two pieces, but fully suit up for battle and we are never to take it off. We have to be ready because the devil knows his time is short so he is not going to take a break from trying to discourage us from serving God.
REVELATION 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
We read Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus and we are warned in chapter five to walk cautiously as wise men and women taking back our time because the time we live in is evil. It was true then and it is even more true today. We have to take back our time because we are allowing the enemy to distract us and cause us to watch videos, movies, news programs, and social media posts that are taking our eyes off of Jesus and onto the state of the world around us. We can get so discouraged and frustrated, and even become fearful when we look at what is going on around us. It's time we take back our time and we use it to further the Kingdom of God. It's time we start using our gifts and talents to help encourage one another and lift each other up. Let's stop looking at what is happening around us and feeling defeated. We can see the evil and pray for God to shine bright in the darkness through you and me.
EPHESIANS 5:15-17 (15)See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, (16)Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (17)Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Paul finishes his letter in Ephesians chapter six with detailed instructions of how to fight the good fight of faith. We are given the instruction, the reason, and detailed instructions of what piece of armor goes where. Today we are going to take a closer look at the full armor of God because it is so important to know why we have each piece. None of the armor is outdated or obsolete. We need every single piece as much today, if not more than they did in the time Paul penned this letter.
EPHESIANS 6:10-20 (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 ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12)For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (13)Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14)Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (15)And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16)Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (17)And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: (18)Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (19)And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, (20)For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
As we break this passage down, let's first start out with drawing strength from God. He is the source of our strength. In Nehemiah 8:10 it says the joy of the LORD is our strength. We get joy of the LORD when we are in His presence. The Bible says in Psalm 16:11 in the presence of God is fullness of joy! We draw strength from God when we are in His presence. That is the first part of suiting up is being in His presence. The first part of getting prepared for the battle is laying at the feet of Jesus and growing strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is not our own strength. Remember how God told Gideon to go in his own strength? He did not say that Gideon would be successful in his own strength, but he had to go. He had to start doing the thing God wanted him to do. He had to be obedient and then Gideon found strength in God alone. The same is true for you and me. We are to say yes to the call and willingly go where He tells us to go but we can never do it alone. God doesn't expect us to. That is why lesson #1 in how to suit up for battle is drawing strength from God when we are submerged in His presence.
In verse 11, Paul explains why we need to wear the entire armor of God. He tells us that in order to be successful, we have to know why we are suiting up in the first place. So that we may be able to stand against everything the devil throws at us. He is going to sling discouragement, slander, hatred, jealousy, envy, wrath, strife, mistrust, anxiety, and fear at us to prevent us from reaching toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14) There is a God and there is a devil. There is a heaven and there is a hell. If someone does not believe that, nothing changes. There is still a God and there is still a devil. There is still a heaven and there is still a hell. We will be fought hard if we are in the Lord's Army, but we will win every single battle. We will be victorious every single time. Why? Because God fights our battles. We must be obedient, standing firm in the full armor, and trusting God completely.
Sometimes we find ourselves at war with one another. In our culture today you have different camps. Some are liberal, some conservative, others somewhere in the middle. Some vote for one party, another for another party, and yet others for independent. There are those who believe all humans are created equal in the image of God and others who believe they are superior because of what color they are, where they were born, if they have money, and other ridiculous reasons. We do not war with one another. It is not black vs white; rich vs poor; skinny vs fat; nerdy vs athletic. We do not fight against flesh and blood. The person who makes us so angry we could spit nails is not really the problem! The enemy at work in their life is the problem. We are in a spiritual battle and that will never change until Jesus comes back in His glory to wage war against the prince of darkness and Jesus will prevail! Whose side are you on? I am on the Lord's side.
Verse 12 explains the enemy is at work in principalities. What is that? Rulers of the darkness. This is not some sci-fi movie script. These are real forces at work and according to Darby's Bible Synopsis they possess an evil energy that has mastery over those who do not know how to resist it. Brothers and sisters this is why it is imperative that we take this seriously. We can be deceived and enslaved if we are not aware of who the real enemy is.
The powers and spiritual wickedness in high places refers to the heavenly realm in which they reside. God does permit these evil forces to be at work at times, but remember God is good all the way through. There is no evil in Him (Psalm 92:15) and so He will work all these bad things for our good for His children according to Romans 8:28. But we have to be suited up and ready for these wicked attacks.
God wants us to do everything we can to stand in the evil time. He says after you have done all you can, stand! Standing is not a light assignment. Have you ever stood for a long time? It is physically fatiguing to stand for a long period of time. Your legs start aching. You get tired. Your back can start to hurt as your posture changes and shoulders slump. It is not easy to stand. But God gives us the strength we need! (Psalm 121:2, 7-8)
To have your loins girt about with truth is to wear truth like a belt. The loins are on the right and left sides of spinal column, below the "false" ribs and the hip bones. The belt is symbolic because when a belt is secured, in our society today it holds up clothing. So there is security in having truth surrounding us, but it's more than just that. In the Roman soldier's attire it was a place to hang their sword. We haven't talked about the sword yet, but the belt of truth is a place to hold up the truth of God's Word. It needs to be secure around the waist, not hanging loosely. We cannot grab hold of any version of truth the world throws at us. We must be like those in Berea. Acts 17:11 says they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily, They were taking everything they heard and holding it up to the reflection of God's Word to see if there was truth in what they heard. We have to do that! We must do that!
Before verse 14 ends we see that we need the breastplate of righteousness to go with our belt. Why is a breastplate important and what is the righteousness we need to cover ourselves with? A breastplate covers the chest. It is protecting a vital organ, the heart. When we cover our chest we protect our source of life; we protect our emotions; we protect our feelings. It is multifaceted and not to be discarded. Do not think the breastplate is of no value. We must wear the righteousness of God over our heart. We are to protect our heart because out of it flow the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23) As we follow after righteousness we find life (Proverbs 21:21). When we believe in God it is accounted to us as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Romans 10:10) When we believe in God, and trust Him to be our Redeemer, our Lord, our Savior, we are guarding our hearts. This is a place the devil loves to attack us. We get hurt feelings. The seat of our emotions, where we can hold a grudge, harbor unforgiveness, lose courage, feel defeated, is the one area the devil targets us every single time. If we are not covered by our identity in Christ Jesus we are an open target! Satan's lies have no effect on a heart set on God's truth.
Next verse says to put on our spiritual shoes prepared with the gospel of peace. We are called to be peacemakers. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." If it is possible, we must take the characteristics of God and live at peace with everyone. That is hard but it is possible. We need to wear shoes in battle. We have to protect our feet that will carry us to the mission field God has prepared for us. If our feet are unprotected we will get blisters and sores and cuts. We will not be able to walk far, then we will start hobbling along, and before we know it we are sitting on the sidelines nursing wounds we would never have been subject to if we were prepared with feet coverings. When we expose ourselves to the culture of our times and we are not under the protective armor of God we will get hurt and wounded and damaged. We will be sitting on the sidelines wondering why we ever tried in the first place. Daughters and sons of God get up! This is no time to quit. Get your fire back. Bandage the wounds, let the Holy Spirit pour His healing salve into the wounds and put your shoes on! The fight is on! How do we get those shoes on? Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Jesus said in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." We are kept in perfect peace when our minds are on God. I can't stop thinking about God. He is always on my mind. We commune throughout the day. I walk in perfect peace. I have troubles and trials but I am at peace. The armor is not to prevent the battles, it is to prepare you for the battles.
Verse 16 says above all the other pieces of armor, you really need to take the shield of faith with you. It is with faith that we are protected from fiery darts of the wicked one. Fiery darts sounds painful and they are! You will know when you have been hit with a fiery dart of the devil. If you have no faith and you are not holding up the shield, you will get hit hard and it will be felt! Those darts are painful because they are meant to keep you from ever having faith in God. The fiery darts are memories of how your childhood was; reminders of how it felt to be reprimanded in front of others in the office; the shame of the area you compromised. On and on it goes, friends, to discourage us and defeat us. It is the painful regrets and bitter memories of the past that haunts us and holds us back. The chains clamp tight around our wrists and we are limited in what we can do. Don't doubt God. Don't look at the situation. Look at what God said about it. Walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)
The shield of faith will quench ALL of the fiery darts of the wicked one. It does not say it will extinguish the big ones, or the small ones, or a few of them....it clearly says, "wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." That is why no weapon formed against us shall prosper. (Isaiah 54:17) Faith is the shield because we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). The salvation of God protects us. How do we get faith? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Read the Word of God. Let that Word come alive in your heart. Let the Word guide your steps. Let it lead you and direct you in the way you should go. Allow it to empower you to make good decisions. It is God's Word that changes us.
Verse 17 gives us the helmet of salvation. The helmet is protecting your brain, your thought process, your mind, your way of thinking, your judgment, your decisions, your ideas, your creativity. Do you see how important this is? Do not leave the helmet off. Do not think you can go a day without it. It is too important to miss. This is the devil's favorite playground...the mind. He can start twisting your thoughts, messing with your imagination, magnifying problems that are not that serious, and causing you to doubt the things you have learned about God. If the devil sees us without our helmet on, we are in trouble! He is coming hard for us because if he can control our minds he can control our destiny. He will change our direction and we will follow him straight into the flames of hell. Do not be deceived. The helmet of salvation is truly that. It is the protection of your mind reminding you that you are redeemed, you are blood-bought, purchased of God, and you are victorious in Christ Jesus. When we slip off our helmet for a moment, we are at risk of being hit with a bullet from the enemy. Now you can see why we must never take off the armor of God. Safeguard your thoughts. Romans 12:2 says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
In the same verse, we get our only defensive weapon. Now we are introduced to the sword of the Spirit. This is the drop-kick to the devil that we have at our disposal 24/7. It is effective 100% of the time to defeat the enemy. It is the Word of God. In the wilderness, after Jesus had fasted 40 days and 40 nights he was tempted of the devil. He was told of all the things He could get if He would compromise, bow down, give in, lower His standards. Three times He was tempted, and three times Jesus answered: IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! (Matthew 4:1-11) We have the same weapon. It is irreplaceable. It is indestructible. It never fails. It never loses power. It is a sure-fire way to win against the powers of darkness every single time, in every single battle you face. We can grab our spiritual sword, which is the Word of God, and defeat the devil every time!!!!
As we bring this Bible study to a close, we finish Paul's letter in verses 18-20 telling us to pray in the Spirit and watch without giving up. We must be praying and asking God to help us and to help others and then with expectancy be looking for the answer. We must believe God can do the BIG, the HARD, and the IMPOSSIBLE things for us. Nothing is too hard for God! (Jeremiah 32:27) (Mark 10:27)
We are to boldly speak the truth of God's Word. We will offend some. The goal is not to be offensive, but God's Word is going to offend some people. God's Word holds us to a much higher standard than the world has and when others see what we are doing, it makes them uncomfortable to be around us. When we choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, it creates an atmosphere where others look at their own lives and if they are not hitting the mark, they can get upset with us for doing the right thing. How often has someone watched us politely decline something that does not align with our values and their response is, "Well, it's not that bad." "There's not that much cussing." "It's not going to hurt anything." We need to ask ourselves, "What does God's Word say about it? What would Jesus think? Can this hurt my witness and my testimony?" Let's start standing up for what we know is right and true and good. We do not need to feel bad for making righteous choices.
Verse 20 says we are ambassadors for God. We are the lights, the living testimonies of God's truth. We are to light up the darkness and shine bright so others may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) That is our mission! That is our goal. We should be unashamed in our walk with the Master. We are not cast-aways. We are not disposable. We have great worth. We are children of the Most High God. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and we are sanctified by Him. Our sanctification is a life-long process. We won't get it right every day, but we can keep trying. God offers grace and mercy and His wonderful love and forgiveness. We can strive to be perfect but we know we will fall short. Everyone does! (Romans 3:23)
Friends, rejoice in knowing that we are in a winning battle! We have God on our side. He has given us perfect armor and God recently reminded my friend that His armor does not fail! We can see that when we have the full armor of God on us, we will live a life of victory and not defeat. We can hold our heads up high. We cannot ever take off the armor of God until we are in the presence of our Savior and King and it is no longer required. I'm singing it now:
God bless you!
~Bridgett Owens
May I always suit up with the armor of God and never take it off!! How important it is to always be equipped!
ReplyDeleteYes! God grant that prayer. Keep your daughters and sons suited up and ready for the attacks of the enemy!
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