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Just reading on this beautiful cloudy and cool morning in Ephesians 6, and I had some thoughts that probably haven't occurred to me before about the armor of God that I just want to share. I invite you to print this off and do a Bible study with these initial thoughts.
Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."
The book of Ephesians is a wonderful book, where Paul spends the first
three chapters telling us just HOW MUCH God loves and blesses us, and
who HE thinks we are. Chapters 4-5 then tell us that based upon God's
thoughts about us that we ought to live lives worthy of those thoughts.
So chapter 6 is Paul's wrap up thoughts - "finally..." In other words,
one final word for you, and it is predicated on EVERYTHING else I've
stated. But it's a good word - "BE STRONG IN THE LORD." Gather
strength from all that I've said and don't approach ANY circumstance
thinking you are walking in weakness - BE STRONG IN THE LORD. I love it
- I am not powerless in the Lord in ANY circumstance. Ephesians 6:11, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." The stand command isn't just a "go out there and give it all you've got" command. Paul introduces us to our armor - all of it. Our ability to stand depends upon our wearing of our armor, which is, when it boils down to it, a collection based upon our Christian walk that develops over time. I don't just wake up today and say, "I'll think I'll wear my armor today." No, rather it is something that is given to every believer and that is strengthened AS WE WALK worthy (Ephesians 4:1) over time. You put it on as you walk in the Lord, and while you can START wearing it today, it is strengthened over time the more you wear it. Ephesians 6:12, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." This verse, minus the word not, says that we DO wrestle - although the fight is against spiritual forces which we will see, manifest themselves in many ways. C Peter Wagner has done some studies on the ranks of demonic hierarchy that would be useful for someone who wants to study that, but two thoughts came to me separate of that: - 1) Just a God manifests Himself in us as He lives IN us (Gal. 2:20), the devil and his minions manifest themselves through people who appear as angels of light, or who are flat-out oppositional. Consider Paul's warning to Pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:14 about the opposition he received from Alexander the Coppersmith - the devil uses people, but what we recognize is that we are not to treat the people as the devil, but to recognize them as controlled, oppressed, or possessed by the devil. - 2) The different parts of the armor show us the ways in which attacks come, areas that we will be attacked in - truth, right living, unpreparedness, trying circumstances. The importance of each piece of armor cannot be over-stated in the life of the believer. Ephesians 6:13, "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 firm." Evil days, days where evil seems to be so strong and insurmountable, WILL come. That is why we need to put on the armor, because when those days come (and yes, they WILL come), we will have done everything in order for us to stand strong. So let's get to the armor: Ephesians 6:14, "Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness..." Again, the "stand" command. How do you stand? - 1) With the belt of truth - truth is attacked every single day, and has a long history of being attacked (think of Genesis 3, the serpent saying to Eve, "Is that what God really said?!" Apologetics (which is studying to defend the truth of your faith) is useless if there is no foundation in "truth" to begin with - in other words, what do you believe? How strong is your understanding of it? Have you studied it, and if not, WILL you study it so that you are anchored in the truth? One simple way to make this happen - get into the truth of God's word every day.Read AT LEAST one chapter every day to grow in the truth. Your belt will be firmly fastened. - 2) With the breastplate of righteousness - Paul spends a great portion of Ephesians (chapters 4 & 5) telling us how to grow in this area of righteousness, or right living. Yes, it all begins with Christ living in us, having become our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21) - that's salvation. But once that happens, we are to be people known for right living - who display Christ's righteousness in our lives, walking as children of Light (Eph. 5:9-10). Attacks from the enemy will come to try and defile us, to get us to live unrighteously, to get us to walk again under the yoke of sin's slavery (see Galatians 5). But as Christ lives in us, the righteousness and joy that comes from His life will make temptation and sin less likely to win, and ultimately, undesirable. THAT is an amazing thing (another topic for another time?). Ephesians 6:15, "and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace." I've wrestled with exactly what Paul means here, and I'll go with one clear way to look at this because the other way I believe is already inferred. As we live for Christ, there are situations and God-ordained opportunities that are orchestrated for us to be able to step through a door for sharing our faith with someone else, and the question comes - are you ready? Are you ready to share your faith regarding what God has done in your life? Are you ready to explain the hope that you have (I Peter 3:15)? Are you ready to swallow your fear and speak to that person that God has s clearly laid in your heart? Readiness is important - it was actually a theme from Jesus' teaching, with the idea of being prepared. Are you prepared so that when God puts you in that perfect situation where someone is ready to take a step of faith on their Christian journey, you are able to help them do so? Your feet need to be READY to walk with the gospel. Ephesians 6;16, "In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil." Truth is foundational to our armor; righteousness is living out the truth; readiness is preparedness to share the truth; but faith is where these all come together. Faith is that divine trust that what God has declared in His Word will come true, despite what we see, experience, or feel. How strong is your faith? What things have you seen, experienced, or felt that tries to dampen your faith in God? Just know this - this is a MAJOR area of attack for believers young and old, new and mature - the attack on faith when things go terribly wrong. You see, here's the deal. The devil's fiery darts are the darts to the heart that get us to doubt during the tough times. God has led you down a path, and the first (or second or third) time that things don't go right, watch out for the dart. You have a choice - let the dart hit your heart, or use faith's shield to guard your heart from the dart. Which do you choose? There has to be a point along our Christian journey where we accept what Jesus said in John 16:33, "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” The world will deliver troubles as promised, but "take heart" - guard that heart! Use your shield of faith that says, "Through Christ, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." That's teh shield of faith that the darts can't penetrate. Ephesians 6:17, "Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Salvation as your helmet...without doing an in-depth study into why salvation is the helmet, let me shoot from the top of my head as a man of God. Salvation...around the brain as a helmet...Paul began Ephesians (chapters 1-3) by guiding us into the wonderful truths of who God says we are as Christians, and to wrap your brain around (as much as possible) the truths that should govern our walk as believers (if you haven't taken the time, READ and ABSORB Ephesians 1-3). Salvation is not just me "asking Jesus into my heart." It is what blesses me with every spiritual blessing, makes me realize He chose me, predestined me for adoption as a son, and has bought me back from the devil's clutches and forgiven ALL of my sin (and that's just the first seven verses of Ephesians). Let the helmet of salvation protect your heart and your mind as you realize who you are because of Jesus Christ. But then Paul goes from defense to offense - to the Sword, the sWORD. Like any weapon (to be used spiritually and not to beat physical forces up), the Word of God becomes more and more effective in the hands of the woman or man who continually learns more about it, and uses it. I have found in my own personal walk that for me to consistently and daily take time to be in the Word enables me to use the sWord in almost any situation and find victory and strength. I have a TON of things more to say on this, but for now, how is your sword doing? Is it rusty because it never comes out of its sheath? Do you know how to use it to fight the spiritual battles you will face? Ephesians 6:18, "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." The other offense-minded action we take that couples with the sWord is the practice of prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is talking to God - bottom line. It's not complicated or filled with ten-dollar words - trust me, your prayers are not meant to impress God with your vocabulary or your ability to let the words come out. It's about you talking to God based upon the relationship that you continue to build with God that enables you to come before Him as a son or daughter and ask Him anything...and everything. It is the one thing that devil perhaps hates and fears more than anything else - a praying Christian. There is a ton more to write, but I just had these thoughts and wanted to initially share them. May you continue putting on the armor, learn to use your weapons, and fall in love with God more and more in your daily walk. -P Rob
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