Spiritual Armor

Ephesians 6:10-17 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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.

It took two weeks for our men’s Wednesday night bible Study group to discuss our way through this critical portion of God’s Word, but this was Pastor’s design. To dig and pull out the deep meaning of this spiritual armor for application in our life walk here today. The passage starts out with positive reinforcement to be strong. Not in ourselves, but in the Lord and in his mighty power. Our human effort is inadequate, but God’s power is invincible. We are being called to action … “be strong” in Christ and His power because, like it or not, the reality is that there is a spiritual battle going on for hearts, minds and souls in this world. We are to equip ourselves to take a stand against the devil’s battle plans and attacks. This is a spiritual battle by forces of evil in the heavenly realms, not against human opposition, and cannot be fought using human resources. I read a quote the other day that echoed this call to every Child of God: "Regardless of whether we can fathom the evil and carnage that some rabid monsters do, we must be prepared and ready to respond to evil at a moment's notice."

I think that, many times, we can read a passage like this and take it lightly because we don’t look for trouble, we really don’t want to hear about Satan, we don’t want any “day of evil” or spiritual attacks coming our way. My best friend’s daughter wrote me from college, that she would stop each morning before starting her day and put on the full armor of God, piece by piece, to be prepared and ready to respond against the powers of this dark world and the evil one. It was real and she stood firm in truth, in righteousness, in the gospel, by trust and complete faith, standing on her promised salvation and her eternal home, holding the sword of the Spirit that she read and knew and brought to mind daily. Her character, as a daughter of God was her defense, trusting Jesus and maintaining an active and “right” relationship with the Lord. I cannot read this passage again, without stopping and thinking about what she wrote me. She was protected and supported in her solid faith and at peace; not in fear, but ready for what battle came her way. She could stand firm against the flaming arrows (the deceitful lies, the sinful temptations, the luring distractions and even the outright evil and hatred) that come, because Christ had her back and the Lord has our back too.

Child of God, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, put on the full armor of God for the spiritual battle, and stand firm.
In Christ, Brian