Okay, there it is. One, we need to know what God’s armor is.
Two, we need to have all of it. And three, we need to put each piece on. Why is
this so important? So that after the spiritual battles you will still be
standing, and standing firm! Without God’s armor and weapons, the Devil may
very well destroy you. So, it is absolutely imperative for all of us to get
this and employ it in our lives.
We’ve covered verses 10 through 13, so let’s look at the
armor from verses 14 through 18.
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body
armor of God’s righteousness (v. 14).
I like that. First of all, Paul says, when the enemy
attacks, stand your ground! “Yeah, why should I be moved, devil? You are attacking
one of God’s children here. I have the truth of God and the reality of all that
He is. God is good, He is present with me, He is all powerful, He is perfect
and right in all of His ways. He is merciful and kind, and He is my refuge and
strong tower of defense. God is working all things out for good for me, because
I love Him and I am His child. You can’t do anything that my God doesn’t allow
you to do. And I trust my God!”
An analogy for the belt of truth could be a weight lifter’s
belt. Have you seen one of those? It is that thick, leather belt they wear
around their waist when they are lifting those heavy weights. Without it, their
bodies begin to buckle under the pressure of all that weight on their
shoulders. But with the belt around their waist, their bodies stay straight and
upright and can hold the weight for a moment, until they set it down.
We have the truth on our side. Who God is. What He has done.
What He is going to do. His character. His mercy and love.
So, #1, the belt of truth. And #2, the body armor of God’s
righteousness. When you come under attack, think of the truth of God and the
truth of who God is; think of how God is perfect in all of His ways. Think of
His character and know that He is working out His perfect plan and perfect purpose
for you.
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News
(the Gospel) so that you will be fully prepared (v. 15).
Jesus said, I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and
heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be
troubled or afraid (John 14:27). The peace that we have, that has come to us
through the Gospel, is the peace of Jesus Christ Himself, the peace of God
dwelling in us. Isaiah said that Jesus will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And we have access to this
peace through Jesus. Amen? Amen!
We are not fully prepared for the attack of the devil unless
we put on the peace of God, the truth of who He is, and what He is doing in our
lives. We need the peace that only comes from knowing Him. The peace that comes
from the Gospel is like entering into a rest. We are resting in what Jesus has
done for us, not what we have or have not done for God. He has done it all. We
are saved by grace through faith alone, not by works, so that no one may boast
except in God and in His goodness and faithfulness. And we are resting on what
He is going to do for us, not what we can or cannot do. Oh, the perfect peace
found only in the presence of our Lord. Be in that place! Be at peace with what
God is doing in your life. Be at peace with where you are at “in Christ.” You
are in Christ and He is in you. You are in God’s hands. Remember the storm that
Jesus calmed? While they were afraid, He asked the disciples why they had so
little faith. He was with them and they should have known that He would save
them. Be at peace. Only in our Savior may true and lasting rest be found.
Okay then, the 3rd piece of armor for us to “put on” is
resting in our relationship with Christ and being at peace because of our
salvation in Him. Putting on the peace that comes from the Gospel is another
necessary piece of the armor in order for us to be prepared for the attacks
that inevitably will come. Let us seek that rest in the presence of the Lord
Jesus daily.
In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to
stop the fiery arrows of the devil (v. 16).
Faith here I think refers to standing firm in our trust in
God with our lives, knowing who He is and that He intends good for us. Faith is
seen, it is born out, when we are standing our ground against the enemy as he
lies to us or when the attacks keep coming, because we know that God is
Sovereign in all things. Our gracious Father works all things out for good for
those that have faith in Him. We need to stand strong, continuing to put our
faith in Jesus to accomplish His perfect will in His perfect timing in our
lives.
I love the illustration the Holy Spirit uses in this verse
for faith. When our faith is strong it becomes like a shield that stops the
fiery arrows of the devil. I can picture a large, thick metal shield being held
up against some nasty and fiery arrows. But, I see those arrows bouncing off of
the shield. Just, bing…bing….bing, falling all around and the little fires burning
out. Notice that there isn’t just one arrow. Isn’t that true? It seems when we
are under attack it just keeps coming, one after another. Make your faith like
that big, heavy iron shield. Strong and impenetrable, and keep holding it up
against those arrows. One after another they come, but the enemy will exhaust
his resources at some point, so hang in there and keep that shield up.
So, #4, keep your faith strong and focused on the Lord and
who He is and what He is doing. He is the Creator of all things and all things
are held together by Him. He will never let us down!
Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God (v. 17).
The fifth and final piece of armor to put on is salvation,
and we are to put it on like a helmet. Okay, but what does Paul mean by “put on
salvation?” Here’s one possible answer. I think Paul may mean two things here:
the hope of our eternal life in Christ and the unpayable debt we owe to Christ
for this salvation He has freely given us.
When we are faced with trials and temptations, when the
devil is attacking our finances or our loved ones, when we are weak or being
persecuted, when things are happening that we just do not understand, look to
the cross. Look to the salvation that God has so freely given to us as a gift,
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We could not make ourselves
right with Him, He did it for us. God humbled Himself and became a man and went
to the cross for you and me and for the whole world. That is the sacrifice that
He made for us. We need to stay focused on the eternal life that He worked out
for us. We need to stay focused on our true home, God’s kingdom. Colossians 3:2
says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” When we remember
that we have eternal life, we remember that nothing can or will ever separate
us from the love of God in Christ, not even death. No matter what is happening,
He keeps our souls safe for all eternity with Him.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it
mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted,
or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the
Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being
slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory
is ours through Christ, who loved us ( NKJV says, “we are more than conquerers
through Him who loved us”). 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever
separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers
of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed,
nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen? Amen.
The sixth thing Paul tells us to do is not to “put on”
another piece of armor, but to “take the sword of the Spirit”, which he explains
is the Word of God.
So, we have five pieces of armor to put on, and now our
weapon to take with us is the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures that make up our
Bible.
Imagine being on the battle field with all that armor, your
helmet and your shield, but with no weapon. And you are out there with no
communication device to speak to your commander, your fellow soldiers or allies
in this battle. You probably wouldn’t last too long out there. We have been
given all the armor and now we just need to put it on. But we must take a
weapon for the battle, and our weapon is God’s Word. His word is truth, it is
alive, active and effective, piercing through the heart like a sharp, two-edged sword. It goes out and
does not return without accomplishing what God set out to accomplish by it.
Going through these verses in Ephesians, learning to put on the whole armor of
God, is a perfect example of the wisdom, strength and power that we have
available to us through His Word. It is the Word that spoke all things into existence.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says:
3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 We use
God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of
human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud
obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious
thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
God’s Word and our prayer life are the weapons we use to
knock down the strongholds that the enemy has taken and to take them back in
Jesus’ name. These are our spiritual weapons.
So, that is the armor of God and our weapons to fight with,
His Word and prayer. Prayer is like a communication device that a soldier might
use on the battlefield to reach his commander or fellow soldiers. We must use
prayer to reach our High Commander, and we must stay in close coordination with
our fellow “soldiers.”
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay
alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (v. 18).
On the battlefield, we can be in constant communication with
our Commander. Through prayer we can be asking for help, getting instructions
and directions, and just being comforted and encouraged by Him. Prayer is key
in this battle. Notice, Paul doesn’t say, “don’t forget to pray every once in a
while.” He says, “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.” If a
soldier is out in the battle and only getting the directives from his/her
superiors every once in a while, how can they expect to have victory? We need to be in constant
communication with our Savior for His strength, His wisdom, His power and His
direction. Lord, help me to call on you more, even constantly!
And we should never forget the fellowship of the believers.
Some of us have gotten into the habit of skipping church. And I’m not here to
judge or beat anyone over the head, but my wife and I had missed church for
some time when we moved to a new state, so we know firsthand. And now that we
are back and plugged in, the blessings of our new friends in the Lord are
indescribable. There is nothing like loving, Christian fellowship in the Lord.
These are God’s fellow soldiers on the battle field, and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
They need you and you need them if you are going to have any victories in this
spiritual warfare raging all around us, all of the time.
Okay, so to summarize, we found five pieces of armor to put
on, one weapon to take with us, a communication device to stay in constant
touch with our High Commander and the support of our fellow soldiers in Christ.
For armor, put on truth like a belt and the body armor of
God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Gospel.
Hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil and put on
salvation as your helmet. Take the sword of the Spirit for your weapon, which
is God’s Word. And pray in the Spirit at all times and on all occasions for all
believers everywhere.
Stay alert in this battle against Satan and his army. Both
Paul and Peter exhort us to stand firm against the devil and to stay alert. And
be persistent in your prayers for all of God’s army everywhere.
By God’s grace may He arm us, empower us and keep us through
this battle. The war has already been won by Christ at the cross. Give us
victory in our battles, Lord Jesus. And, may Your Kingdom come soon!
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