The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-17 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

I believe that Satan (the father of lies) tries to use doubt and negative feelings in Believer’s to trip up our faith, produce fear and put the children of God on the defensive. But with our citizenship in heaven, I recall 2 Timothy 1:7-8 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. Do not blush or be ashamed then, to testify to and for our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for His sake, but with me take your share of the suffering to which the preaching of the Gospel may expose you, and do it in the power of God.”(AB) And with this spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind, discipline and self-control that the Lord has given, we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Have you ever heard the phase, “I read the end of the book and we win!”? That book being the Revelation in the Bible – the word of God. Fear not.

Ephesians 6:11-17 “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Note that the Christian is neither to attack nor advance, but stand firm against the devil’s assaults in battle on the spiritual level, trusting in the armor truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith and salvation. To stand facing the adversary because (I’ve heard that) the armor was heavy and open on the backside, so to turn and run would expose the unarmed body to the ferocious attacks of Satan. Note also that the full armor of God consists of five defensive pieces (the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation) to protect, and one offensive item (the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God). With these, we are not only well armed to confront the devil’s schemes, but fully armored and secure. Live in the truth of the Kingdom of Creator God, in the right relationship with God Almighty, in the Good news of the Price of Peace, in the grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ and our salvation in no other, and the living Word of God found in the scriptures for in the holy Bible alone. This is the whole armor of God. Put it all on daily and stand firm, for we do it all for our Lord & Savior Jesus.

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

In Christ, Brian