It’s time to suit up with God’s armor!
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt
of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and,
as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of
peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which
you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17 (ESV)
We are told to put on the belt of truth. Because Satan is a liarer, (John 8:44), we must be
controlled by the truth so we can combat his lies. This belt, like our contemporary belts, also
serves to hold the “outfit” together.
Next, it’s the breastplate
of righteousness. A breastplate was made of metal plates or chains and
covered a soldier from the neck to the waist, front and back. It symbolizes our
righteousness in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) as well as our righteous life in Christ (Ephesians 4:24). Satan can
accuse, but if there’s nothing for him to grab onto, he must fall mute (as he
did with Job, and as the “advisers” had to do when they looked for fault with
Daniel [Daniel 6:4]).
The shoes of the
Gospel gives us the peace of God (Romans 5:1). We can’t defeat the devil if
we aren’t at peace with one another
(James 4:1-8). We are ambassadors for the Gospel wherever our feet take us.
The shield of faith
protects our bodies from Satan’s fiery darts. In Paul’s day, these shields were
about 4 feet high and 2 feet wide and were constructed so each shield would
interlock with the next person, forming an impenetrable wall. This would resist
the literal “fiery darts” shot in combat. Satan’s darts are lies, blasphemous
thoughts, hateful and bitter thoughts, and the sins that we most crave.
Our heads and minds are covered by the shield of salvation. Satan easily deceived Eve, and he wants to
deceive us as easily.
But I am afraid that as the serpent
deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere
and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians
11:3 (ESV)
We prevent Satan from attacking our mind my Bible study and
prayer. When we study, we learn and grow. The more we grow, the greater our
ability to withstand Satan’s attacks.
You therefore, beloved, knowing this
beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless
people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter
3:17-18 (ESV)
In our original passage, the final item of armor is the sword of the Spirit. This is our
offensive weapon, and in Roman times it was used for close combat . The writer
of Hebrews says the Word of God is even sharper than a sword.
For the word of God is living and
active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and
of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions
of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
A “real” sword dulls with each use, but the Word of God
sharpens us. The sword of the Spirit isn’t operated by human hands; a member of
the Trinity is there to guide it. Although the Word of God “cuts to the heart”
to convict us of our sins …
Now when they heard this they were
cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers,
what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts
2:37-38 (ESV)
…it ultimately heals us and brings us eternal life. When we
use God’s Word against Satan, we deal a crippling blow that hinders his work. Jesus used the Sword of the Spirit to defeat
Satan in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13). Satan knows enough Bible to quote verses
(Luke 4:10), but like his disciples (false teachers), Satan misquotes the Word
to twist its meaning. (Be careful when you quote Scripture that you don’t
take it out of context or skip words. Even the little words matter!)
The whole armor of
God is a beautiful picture of Jesus – the Truth (John 14:6), our
righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), our peace (Ephesians 2:14), whose
faithfulness makes our faith possible (Galatians 2:20). Jesus is our salvation
(Luke 2:30) and He is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14).
We’ll look at prayer on Monday. May your weekend before
Christmas be stressless and blessed, and please remember that it’s not YOUR
birthday we celebrate – Christmas is Jesus’ birthday.
Great work - blessings to you for your dedication to God's word.
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