Cp. 4 Understanding our Armor - Part 1A

It’s been said that the “best offense is a good defense” and that brings us to step 2:Understanding the Armor of God and how to use it. Let’s read Eph. 6:10-18 -
10)"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but againstthe rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.14) 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. 18) And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

In verse 10 we are told to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” This isn’t an option or a suggestion, it’s a command. A command from God if you believe that the bible is inspired by Him. Weak believers are ineffective believers and God wants us to be effective for Him and to do our best at all times, not just when we feel like it. Christianity is very hard work but the Holy Spirit enables us to accomplish the tasks that God sets before us. Next in vs. 11 &13 we are told to “put on” the full armor of God. This also is something that we must do. We aren’t babies and it isn’t God’s job to dress us. In vs. 12 we are told of “our struggle”, not God’s. This is our battle to fight not God’s. He does, however, promise to assist us in our fight and He has provided our armor and armed us with the weapons of our warfare. It is up to us to “fight the good fight of faith”. You might be wondering to yourself, “Doesn’t the bible say the battle is the Lord’s!” That phrase is found in 1 Samuel 17:47 and it is telling of David’s fight with Goliath and we need to understand that David still had to go out and fight Goliath. As spiritual warriors our victories are offered up to the Lord to bring honor and glory to His name. As David fought for the honor of Israel and the God they served, so we in our spiritual battles fight for the name of Christ and as servants when we do anything in His name it is so He may receive the praise and glory, not us.
I once went to an apostolic church that had written in their Sunday School materials and I quote, “Christians are never supposed to fight the devil we are to just plead the blood of Jesus for our protection”. Once I read that, I never went back to that church again. Unfortunately, there are many Christians out there who take that approach and then wonder why they never get the victory and are stuck living defeated lives. The most important pro-active thing we are to do comes next. Vs. 13 tells us to ”stand our ground and after you have done everything, to stand.” In 1 Chron. 21:1 it tells us that Satan stands against us and we must stand up against him. We must recognize his tactics. He accuses us (Rev. 12:10) , making us feel unworthy, he devours our testimony for Christ (1Pet. 5:8), he hinders our work (1 Thess. 2:18), he tries to deceive us (2Cor. 11:14) and he tries to tempt us into immorality (1Cor. 7:5). As Christians we must guard against his attacks utilizing the armor and weapons God has supplied for these occasions. It is imperative that we stand our ground with forceful determination. We need to resolve in our spirits not to give a toehold to the enemy. In addition to our spiritual armor and weapons we must be knowledgeable of the bible as believers and adequately live the Christian lifestyle. We must possess an uprightness of conscience, live a godly and holy life, have a working knowledge of the scriptures and make daily intercessory prayer for the health and well being of the church universal as well as your local body of believers.
As utilized within the context of Eph. 6:10-18, “prayer” obtains blessings and “supplications” avert evil. The wrestling or struggle it refers to in vs.12 is the type of combat we must do. This is a hand-to-hand, toe-to-toe, personal, individual struggle against the forces of evil that we as believers must engage in. A spiritual warrior must bring discipline to his/her thought life and actions. You must have a new attitude, a greater focus and a more balanced biblical world view. As noted earlier spiritual warfare involves protecting our territory from outside invaders. We as believers should always stand and “face” our foe. There is no retreating or turning back.
Now that we understand the seriousness of our warfare and the inner determination it takes to fight against the rulers, authorities, powers and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms we come to our armor and the proper way of using this spiritual attire. I believe that the number three symbolizes completeness. Three is the number of the Holy Trinity which is our example of complete and total unity of mind, body and spirit. The number seven is the number of God and it is only fitting that the armor and weapons total seven. There are three outer pieces, the breastplate, the belt and the shoes and there are two defensive pieces, the shield and the helmet along with two offensive pieces, the sword (the word of God) and the spear (prayer). Eph. 6:10-18 doesn’t call prayer a spear but traditionally and historically, it has been utilized that way when referencing this passage.
The first part of our outer armor is the belt of truth. The KJV uses “having our loins girt about with truth.” We must wear this belt with all sincerity and good conscience. It’s possible that “truth” is mentioned first because lies and deception are the enemy’s most effective weapon. If the devil can succeed in deceiving us then, in a manner of speaking, he has disarmed us before the battle begins and the advantage is his. This belt isn’t our truth but God’s truth and another reason the belt is mentioned first because it holds all the other pieces of the armor together. Someone has summed up God’s truth this way: “God is who He says He is, I am who God says I am. God does what He says He will do and I can do all that God says I can.” The bible tells us to come to the truth, believe and know the truth, handle accurately the truth and to obey and be established in the truth. We are also to speak the truth, walk in the truth, declare the truth and worship in truth. We must settle firmly in our hearts and minds and become totally convinced in our spirits that God’s word is the truth. Another way of summing up the truth is to recognize that “truth is that which agrees with the final reality.”
The bible tells us that the truth will establish us, sanctify and purify us and allows us to rejoice because the truth has set us free! John 8:32 - "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (NIV) The belt of truth not only holds and connects all the pieces of the armor, it covers the gaps and the unsightliness of the separate pieces. It also strengthens the loins which enables the soldier more comfort in his battle or march.
Next we come to the breastplate of righteousness. While we should have truth in our words we also must have righteousness in our works. We receive this righteousness from Christ. Phil 3:9... "and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." (NIV) also Rom 3:22 - "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:…"(KJV)
The breastplate is used to protect our vital parts. To the Christian that means protecting our soul and spirit and only evil spirit daggers can harm them. These daggers are the sins we commit when we fail to successfully protect ourselves. The righteousness of a pure heart before God instills in the believer the courage to perform God’s will but sin in our hearts and minds makes us feel naked and vulnerable. The knowledge that we aren’t in a right relationship with Gods gives us a spirit of fear. As the scripture teaches though, “perfect love casts out fear” so as we determine in our mind that God loves us perfectly we are able to overcome and repent of our momentary doubts.
Gal 3:27 - "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."(KJV) When we put on Christ we are putting on our armor. We aren’t battling with our weak truth, righteousness, peace, faith or salvation. We are putting on the truth of Christ, the righteousness of Christ, the peace and faith of Christ and are covered with the salvation bought by Christ so the more faith we have in Jesus Christ, the stronger our armor and weapons become! Truth and righteousness are connected together and our armor must be worn at all times. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It must be a constant and not taken off and put back on like an article of clothing. Someone has compared the Christian walk like this: Our heart is a garden and Jesus is the fountain of Living Water that sustains us. Holiness is the life blood that flows through us that we may bring forth upon ripening the holy fruits of the spirit and make them evident in our lives. The fruits of the Spirit are found in: Gal 5:22-23...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. (NIV)