Welcome back to part 2 of our study on fighting and winning your spiritual battles. In part one, we saw how the cross is not the end of Jesus’ work, and how we should proceed to receive everything that He paid to give us, including the indwelling of His Holy Spirit, and being seated with Him in authority and power.
Today we look at what tools we have at our disposal, specifically the armor of God. People may remember being taught about the amor of God in Sunday school as a fun little lesson. But far from a childish topic that most people forget about, the armor of God is a crucial aspect of spiritual battle, and important enough for God to go into detail about in the scripture.
Don’t Be Unprotected!
The Armor of God is a title that many of us should be familiar with. The Armor of God is described in Ephesians chapter 6, which we will be reading momentarily. In Ephesians chapter 6, we will read about how each piece of the armor protects a specific area of of the wearer’s body, and how each pieces is necessary for total coverage.
The Armor of God is so named, precisely because it is God’s armor. The armor belongs to God, and comes from Him. This fact alone should make it something desirable. Yet you would be surprised how many people walk around completely unprotected.
Just as it is generally a bad idea to go into battle without armor, it is even more deadly to go into a spiritual battle without proper armor. So let’s read Ephesians 6:10-18, to see what equipment we have been given:
“ 10Finally, my brothers, 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.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Therefore take to you the whole armor of God, that you 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, with which you 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.”
Now there is a lot of information here, so let’s look at it in bite-sized pieces. Notice in verse 13we are instructed to take to ourselves the whole armor of God. And I invite you to see the details in this seemingly simple statement.
The first part of the directive is to take to you, and the specificity used here is interesting. The verse doesn’t merely say to take the armor, but but to take it to you, to yourself. This is a personal directive. God wants you to take His armor upon yourself, not in a purely theoretical manner, but in a real, substantial, and personal way.
Secondly, we see that we are supposed to take upon ourselves the whole armor of God, not just part of it. The directive here is to take the armor of God in it’s entirely; all of it. Sometimes we as believers become myopic, and very narrow-minded regarding a single aspect, while neglecting other parts. Yet when we do this, we leave ourselves exposed. So God tells us to take not just a piece, or several pieces of the armor, but all of it.
Standing Firm in Christ
In verse 10 we can see that we are told to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Notice that we are not the active agent here. Verse 10 says to be strong in the Lord—very specific! We can also observe that it is the power of His might which we are to be strong with.
Then, verse 11 again instructs us to put on the whole armor of God. It’s a good thing to remember that whenever the scripture tells us to take something, or that we have something, or even to avoid something, there’s always a reason behind the advice. Here in verse 11, we are told to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
The word “wiles” used in this verse, is the Greek word μεθοδεία methodeia, and the literal meaning is “methods” in the negative connotation, such as deception, trickery, or deceit.
It is being covered in the armor of God that allows you to stand against and successfully resist the deception, trickery, and deceitful methods of the enemy, in all of his various attacks.
Oftentimes, the simplest lies of the enemy are the most effective precisely because we are not secure in the truth of Christ, what He has accomplished, and our spiritual identity today in Him.
For example, the enemy may try to convince you that because of your poor performance earlier, that you are no longer righteous in Christ, or that God is angry with you now. The enemy may try to tell you that God has shut His ears to you, and that your prayers and cries for help are not being heard. I’ve even seen people spiral down into a deep pit of hopelessness and despair because they are convinced that they had lost their salvation with no hope of redemption.
My dear friend, none of these lies hold up against the New Covenant reality of Christ Jesus today. And this is why it is so crucial that we heed the instruction of these verses and take to ourselves the whole armor of God; so that we can securely stand against the deceptive attacks of the enemy.
Join Me Next Week…
I invite you to continue this series with me next week, as we study the pieces of God’s armor to better understand how we are protected, and enjoy spiritual victory.
Be blessed.