~ Introduction to “The
Whole Armor of God” ~
“Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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” (Ephesians 6:10-13).
A Different Army
~ The Christian Army differs from
other armies in that there is no discharge (cf. Ecclesiastes 8:8). It is an on-going spiritual war without
end. The end will only come when Christ
returns to earth in His second coming.
Sadly, while there are no honorable discharges from spiritual warfare on
earth, we can choose to go AWOL! What a
tragedy that is for any believer. How
such a traitor must grieve the hearts of all three members of the Trinity.
Defense and Offense
~ In sports there is a saying
that “defense wins championships.” Perhaps
the truth of that reality is the reason the Apostle Paul describes three primarily
defensive tools, two primarily offensive tools, and one which functions both
ways.
Consumables ~ To
fight the spiritual war we are given three primary on-going resources—the
consumables of war—which are the Word of God, prayer, and the Spirit of
God.
The Word
of God might be likened to our food
and water, as well as our arsenal of ammunition. “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm
119:103). “Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10b). In the
parable of the sower Jesus said, “The seed is the Word of God” (Luke
8:11b). “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall
give him will never thirst. But the
water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up
into everlasting life” (John 4:14). When Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan, He used the written
Word of God as His ammunition (Matthew 4:1-11).
Prayer is communication with the Commander-In-Chief. As such it provides tactical directions from He who is responsible for the overall
strategy. Prayer provides both direction
and strength. A key benefit of prayer is that it aligns our
will with His will. Prayer changes our
thinking process—a root issue for effectiveness as a Christian soldier. Our supreme role model exemplified this. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of the
Father who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34-35). Jesus’ life was characterized by His prayer to
His Father, “Not my
will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
As our
Commander He sees the big picture and because of that He has plans that are “above and beyond all that we ask or think”
(Ephesians 3:20). Still, in order to
carry out our role in tactical battles He provides constant feedback and direction
to us. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be
given to him. But let him ask in faith,
with no doubting” (James 1:5-6a).
The Spirit
of God could be likened to fuel
or our recharging station. Jesus said, “The
wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where
it comes from and where it goes. So is
everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). The
Christian is commanded to “be filled with the
Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:18a-19). The
Spirit of God also recharges us by assuring us of truth. Jesus said, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He
will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority” (John 16:13a).
Overall Objective
~ The Word of God, prayer, and
the Spirit of God all work together with and in us. Jesus gave us an example of how we should
pray by beginning with the overall objective of this war: “Thy will be done on
earth” (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2).
Armor
Word Pictures
~ In Ephesians 6:10-20 the
Apostle Paul provides us a list of the Christian’s armor for this war. Paul without doubt had a clear image of the
Roman soldier and his armor—since he experienced much contact with soldiers
during his frequent imprisonments. In
fact, Paul was in prison as these word pictures came to him (cf. Ephesians
6:20). It is important to realize that
while this armor is invisible—it is very real!
But it must be used consistently and correctly and when done so provides
real protection and tools for not only defending against spiritual onslaught
but for advancing in the spiritual war.
The
End Result
~ While each piece of armor is
for the individual, we are not alone.
There’s power in the blood of Christ—He has already won the war at the
Cross, but we are engaged in important battles.
The war is won—but we are responsible for winning the skirmishes which
we encounter. We can only be effective
by using the armor which He provides.
In subsequent posts we will examine each piece of Christian
armor identified in Ephesians chapter 6 including its importance and symbolism.
don’t miss this
~ (1) God has given
the equipment and everything we need to succeed for Him. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and
godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). (2)
When we avail ourselves of all the provided resources we are in actuality
putting on Christ Himself. “…let us cast off the
works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. [“God is light” (1 John 1:5)] Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness,
not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Romans 13:12-14).
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