Ephesians 6: 10-18
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 armor of God , that ye may be able to stand 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, and,
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
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The first thing I want to reiterate from scripture is that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds - 2 Corinthians 10:4 - that is to say; we don't battle in the same way that the world does. We are not using physical tools of warfare, but rather trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us to bring down evil that comes against us.
The scripture begins with the admonition; "Finally My Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might" which admonition we would do well to heed. In John 15:5 KJV we are told by Jesus; "For without me you can do nothing." So it makes sense that we are told to be strong "in the Lord" and the power of His Might. We are finite and he is infinite. We are weak and he is Omnipotent. We are vacillating and he never changes one iota. Trusting in our own strength we will miserably fail, but in his strength there is always victory.
Next we are told to put on the whole armor of God. To go to war with part of our armor on is foolish. We need every piece that God has provided for us. The reason is clearly spelled out for us in verse 12. We are not fighting a battle with men, but rather with dark, spiritual beings with powers above our pitiful human powers. We fight an enemy we cannot physically see and so we need every weapon we have at our disposal. But we don't need to fear them since God has prepared us weapons that can utterly and soundly defeat them. Let's look at some of those weapons.
We are to have our loins girt about with truth and the truth comes through the word of God. To reach our potential we must be students of the word so that it flows from us as naturally as water will flow over a dam. To accomplish this we must obey the injunction given to us by God's servant, Paul; "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth." That is a command, not a suggestion. We can't possibly have the word of God flow out from us if it is not embedded in us. To wield this weapon we must absorb it in such a way that it can be used. We must be like a treasure hunter digging deeper than the surface to find the treasure in God's Word we desire. We are not left to our own devices to obey this command since the Bible gives us assurance that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.
The breastplate of righteousness can be considered as what covers and protects our hearts. The righteousness is not our own but the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. What greater and more powerful protection could we ask for? It is in him that we have hope and power and all things essential to victory over these beings. It's his name and through his blood that the powers of darkness must flee. This breastplate protects us from self-exaltation if used correctly. In humility and dying to self we gain great victory over the forces of evil that tempt us to pride that is always offensive to God.
The gospel of peace is our next weapon. Our feet are to be shod with the gospel which indicates to me that we have the equipment to run with the gospel and bring the message of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Oh, how the devil despises those who dedicate their lives to brining this message to the lost. He will use whatever weapons he may have to stop that because through the gospel we are tearing down his kingdom and taking treasured souls he would see damned forever and bringing them to Jesus for deliverance and eternal salvation. While the angels in heaven rejoice when there is a soul saved, the demons scream in agony and Satan fumes madly in the disgrace of defeat.
That's when we need the shield of faith to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. Satan will come against us in fury to keep that one soul out of God's kingdom on the new earth of Revelation 21 KJV. I always tell my fellow Christians, "If Satan isn't bothering you, perhaps it's because you aren't bothering him." That only makes sense! If we are a threat to a worldly enemy, we force them to pay attention to us. It works the same way with our spiritual enemies. Our faith must be strong to shield us from the darts of the devil and his imps. What are these darts? Pride, temptation, lust, laziness in spiritual matters, self depreciation, and many more too numerous to name. So our shield of faith is a vital piece of armor in keeping us spiritually alive in the fight and to protect our hearts from all these things.
The helmet of salvation protects our minds from so much garbage the enemy would throw our way. Thoughts are a tool Satan loves to use to bring us down. All the darts mentioned above piecing our minds could enter our hearts, and scripture tells us that "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." What is truly within us will come out, and sometimes we speak things that we would like to take back and can't. Salvation protects us to some extent, but our will must be loving and serving the Lord 24/7 if we are to avoid speaking ungodly thoughts that the heart repeats through the mouth. So in verse 17 we see that we need the gift of salvation coupled with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. The more we fill our hearts with God's Word the more we will not be speaking ungodly things. God's word is said to be "Quick and powerful. sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and Spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." We are also instructed to guard our hearts with all diligence. This must be as much a part of us and as natural to us as breathing.
The last weapon is the one most disregarded by Christians and yet vitally important in every way. Prayer is our way of communicating with our Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus. Someone once wrote, "Seven days without prayer makes on WEAK." Prayer puts us in connection with the Lord, much like a plug puts us in touch with the power that lights our buildings or businesses or chapels and our streets when it is dark. Prayer is intended to be a two-way communication where we honor the Lord. We need to be as ready to listen as we are to speak our our prayers. Jesus gave us the perfect example of prayer. It begins with "Our Father which art in heaven" and ends with "thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Everything else is in between that, but the focus isn't supposed to be on our needs but he who said "I am the beginning and the end." Our prayers should be centered in God above all. Prayer needs to be specific and as the 18th verse says, we need to persevere and pray for "all saints." I have yet to meet someone who is satisfied with their prayer life. If we are honest we fall far short of God's intended purpose in regard to this vital weapon.
So there is so much to learn from this portion of scripture. We will not prepare for a battle unless we realize that one is going on. Even then, since we are not aware of the war it is probably because we have been comfortable in our walk with God and careless about how far reaching this is in changing the world for Christ. God has placed all these weapons in our hands because we are in need of them every day and all day. It's also because millions are waiting to hear from someone who is hearing from the Lord. Let's ask God to help us move beyond every hindrance that keeps us from the battle. Millions have not heard the gospel. It's far past time to armor up!
C R Lord © 9/21/2024
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