The Armor of God

Armor of God (part one)-Ephesians 6:10-13

A. The Enemy

The Christian life is a spiritual warfare. We assault the gates of hell by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and satan and His messengers (both angelic and human) seek to overthrow us through deception and deceit. The devil really has no power over us; He cannot force us to sin or to fall by force. The only weapons He has against us are lies, deceit and trickery. He whispers “a little sin won’t hurt”, or he says “God doesn’t love you” or He casts doubts on the promises of God. His lies are like flaming arrows shot to kill, wound, and destroy lives. We need to put on the whole armor of God. If we do, no weapon that’s formed against us will prosper. If we don’t, we will end up being casualties in the Spiritual war.

B. The LORD is our strength

The command to be strong in the Lord is in the passive voice, ("be strengthened), meaning that we do not rely on our own strength but God’s alone. If we trust in our own strength, we will surely fall. Some trust in horses and chariots, but we will trust in the LORD our God. David did not trust Saul’s armor when he faced Goliath, he said “GOD will deliver you into my hand”. In the same way, it is God’s strength, not ours, that gives the victory.

C. The LORD is our defense

While the strength belongs to the Lord, the act of putting on the armour for battle is up to us. The armor we put on is the “armour of God”. The preposition “of” speaks of the fact that it is God that provides the armour. He gives us everything we need to win the battle. Nevertheless, it is up to us to put it on, yes we are commanded to put it on.

We need to put on the whole armour of God, not just part(s). If any part is lacking, we will almost certainly end up a casualty in the spiritual war. If we put it on, we will be able to stand in the evil day of trial and temptation, because we have done all that is necessary in preparation for it.


To be continued...
 
Back
Top