August 13, 2019 – Click here to listen
Today I was studying Ephesians and the passage about putting on the full armor of God stood out to me. The real enemy in our lives is not any particular person. No matter how evil someone might be, rest assured they received their direction from Satan. Spiritual warfare is a WAR between two opposing forces. As with any war there are serious casualties and it’s a serious battle. Some of those people Christians love to hate are themselves casualties of spiritual warfare. Paul has given us spiritual military training to protect us as the battle rages on. Whatever you do, keep in mind that this is no imaginary war and is just as real as the one being waged in Afghanistan or wherever. The stakes are high.
During his discussion Paul talks of putting on the full armor of God each day. Paul mentions six pieces of armor, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet protected by the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (the word of God.) Intriguing to note that all but one is defensive. Only the word of God is offensive. Gives you an idea of the power of our weapon the Holy Bible.
Note that Paul mentions armor for every portion of the front of our bodies, but interestingly nothing for our backs. I assume retreat is not an option and we are to face our enemy (Satan) head-on and not run away from battle like cowards. Since the primary battle takes place in our minds our brains are protected by the helmet of salvation. The assurance of salvation defeats the doubts concerning life after death that are put there by Satan. And when there is no fear of death there is courage to fight to the finish.
As I read this passage I realized that at the end of the day Paul is using the full armor of God metaphor to represent putting on Christ. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God wins every battle. Christ embodies all of that and He is the only one who ever defeated Satan. We must emulate Him now and forever. To sum it up, Christ is the key to winning the spiritual war that we all face. Follow the light!
Selah . . .
Romans 13:12
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.