Spiritual Warfare: Putting On The Whole Armor Of God
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! As we conclude our series on spiritual warfare today, let us thank God for his immeasurable love, grace and power towards us in Christ Jesus. Once, we were dead —enslaved by sin, at the mercy of the devil, and heading toward eternal separation from God. But now, by grace through faith, God has made us alive in Christ, and blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.
One of these spiritual blessings is the armor of God. All the benefits of the Gospel of Christ are readily available for us. Let’s look at Ephesians 6:14-18:
Truth & Righteousness — “fasten on the belt of truth” and “put on the breastplate of righteousness”. We abide in the Truth through God’s Word, and we walk in newness of life, covered by the righteousness of Jesus (see ‘Spiritual Warfare: How Do We Fight?’)
Peace & Faith — “as shoes for your feet … 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”.
When we face trials and temptations, it is easy to feel defeated and fearful. We can practice and develop the habit of preaching the Gospel to our hearts. In Christ, we have peace with God and with one another. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). This Peace is an objective fact (it is true even when we don’t feel it). The Gospel then gives us readiness, traction, and energy to persevere — as we look not to ourselves but to him who justifies us (see ‘Will you make it into heaven?’).
The Hope of Salvation — “take the helmet of salvation” (the hope of salvation - 1 Thessalonians 5:8). In Christ, we are fully justified before God, and we await His return. When Jesus returns, he will make a new heaven and a new earth where his righteousness will dwell perfectly. There will be no more sin, evil, sorrow or death. This hope does not make us complacent. On the contrary, it motivates us to prepare our minds for action and live soberly (1 Peter 1:13). Whatever we lose here, we can be certain that our eternal gains are infinitely greater.
Prayer - “pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication”. The Scriptures show that God works powerfully in our hearts and lives through prayers. This is not because of some inherent power in us. It is God’s sovereign choice to act through our prayers.
Let us therefore persevere in approaching the throne of Grace, with confident humility, through the blood of Christ. We can bring any and every requests before our Father — our praises, thanksgivings, laments, petitions, and confessions.
The Word of God — take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”. We already discussed the vital importance of meditating on God’s Word and storing it in our hearts. We can do so through reading, listening, memorizing, bible studies, or even writing it down. The word of God is living and active because God is eternally living and active. His Word nourishes our souls and illuminates our paths. Through it, the Holy Spirit renews our minds, comforts us, encourages us, convicts us (guarding us against hardened hearts) and teaches us. More importantly, through the Word, we grow in knowing Jesus and delighting in Him. We can yield the truth of God’s Word as a weapon against the lies of the enemy, the deceitfulness of sin, and the fears that arise in our hearts.
Ephesians 6:14-18 has so many more applications but I hope this blog has been both helpful and encouraging. Yes, our enemies are real and powerful but we are forever united with Christ who “is before all things, and in him all things hold together”. He “disarmed the rulers and authorities... and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them”. He “is seated far above all ruler and authority and power and dominion... not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Colossians 1:17, 2:15 & Ephesians 1:21-23).
Jesus’ power far surpasses that of evil forces. In Him and in the strength of His might we can stand firm. Remember the Gospel and be of good courage!
All scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)