The Whole Armor of God
Eph 6:10-18
11-11-07

When we get saved, we enter into a spiritual battle with an unseen adversary.  He is very clever and knows more about us as his enemy than we know about him.  So, God has given us armor to protect us in this battle.  There are 6 pieces of armor mentioned specifically.  There is one additional piece not mentioned but its function is.

The armor we use is supernatural, allowing us to fight in the strength of the Lord and in the power of his might [10].  We can see examples from the Old Testament where the Lord fought battles for Israel by his strength and power.  David won more wars and battles than any other king in Israel.  And he said, “I will go in the strength of the Lord God,” Ps 71:16.  When Jehoshaphat was nearly overrun by the Moabites, Ammonites and the inhabitants of mount Seir, he prayed to the Lord and the Lord answered, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude: for the battle is not yours, but God’s,” 2 Chr 20:15.  Thank God that we have the victorious king to strengthen us in our battles (Rom 8:37).

When we gird ourselves with the whole armor of God, we are able to stand against the wiles of the devil [11].  We are hopeless to stand against him without our armor.  So, as a soldier girds on his armor every day, likewise, we must arm ourselves daily for the fight.  Our object is to keep standing though we might get knocked down a few times (Prov 24:16).  It’s like the decision in a fist fight; the last man standing is the winner.  So stand.

Our enemy is not flesh and blood [12].  However, be sure of one thing, he will certainly use people to further his cause against you.  In times like these, you must realize that the devil is behind a lot of the trouble among Christians.  So, remember who the real enemy is. 

We have four spiritual enemies [12].  We fight against principalities.  These can either be heavenly principalities (Eph 3:10; Dan 10:13, 20) or they can be earthly (Tit 3:1; Jer 13:18), where the earthy are kings and princes who are guided by the devil (Eze 28:2).  We fight against powers.  Again, these can be heavenly or earthly (Eph 3:10; Tit 3:1) like Rev 13:2.  We fight against rulers of the darkness of this world.  These are rulers in the world who follow darkness rather than the light of Jesus Christ (Jn 8:12; Lk 22:53; Col 1:13).  We fight against spiritual wickedness in high places.  These are like the unclean spirits and fallen angels (Job 1:6; Matt 12:43-45).

While we are constantly in the battle, there seems to be a certain time when we encounter a more severe attack by the enemy.  Paul calls this the “evil day,” [13].  Jesus had several of these but most notably we are reminded of his wilderness temptation (Matt 4).  Likewise David was attacked over the census (1 Chr 21:1).  Job was attacked (Job 1:12; 2:7).  Paul told Timothy about a serious attack from which the Lord delivered him (2 Tim 4:17).  We must be ready and armed.

Now here are the pieces of armor you are to learn to use.

The Truth – [14] – used to gird your loins – if you fail to acknowledge the truth, you can be taken captive by the devil at his will (2 Tim 2:25-26).  That’s why the devil relentlessly attacks the truth with his lies (Jn 8:44)

The Breastplate of Righteousness – [14] – used to protect your chest and heart – living right is a great defensive strategy against the devil – when a Christian chooses to sin and do wrong, he opens himself up to defeat by the devil – he leaves his heart unprotected (Prov 4:23)

The Gospel of Peace – [15] – used to shod your feet – we have to continue to preach the gospel to others – the devil wants the preaching of the gospel to stop (Acts 4:18-20) – to keep out of his snares that he has laid for our feet, we have to keep moving with the gospel – keep preaching no matter what

The Shield of Faith – [16] – used to defend against the fiery darts of the wicked – we defend ourselves like Jesus did by trusting the words of God (Matt 4; Rom 10:17) – read, believe what you read, memorize, and quote scripture

The Helmet of Salvation – [17] – used to protect your head and mind – when we get saved, God gives us the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) – we no longer have the “insane” mind of the world; rather we are given a “sound mind,” (2 Tim 1:7) – when standing against the enemy, our minds must be renewed (Rom 12:2) constantly

The Sword of the Spirit – [17] – which is the word of God, used as an offensive weapon to attack – this weapon is sharper than any two-edged sword – it is the weapon that turns the “lion” back – it is the weapon that the Spirit of God uses in us to keep winning the lost and edifying the saved

Prayer – [18] – used to protect the knees and shins like leg greaves – leg greaves are unnecessary in our armor because we stand in prayer by kneeling.

Notice there is no armor to cover the back.  We are not to be cowards who retreat from the fight.  We are to resist the devil and he will flee from us (Jas 4:7).

 

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