Conclusion
The passage dealing with the full amount of Paul’s writings on the armor of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-20. In it we find that we are to be strong in God’s ability, not in our own ability, and in it we find that we can utilize His power, and not our own power. This is why the armor is called God’s armor. It is not visible, yet we are told to wear it.
We are to stand against the devil. In most cases he cannot be seen. Yet we are to stand against him. He and his evil angels often come against us through other things.
Consider Job, God told Satan that all Job had was in his power (Job 1:12), but he was not to touch Job himself. Satan departed from God and the winds blew down the house Job’s children were in (Job 1:18, 19). The Chaldeans attacked Job’s camels and killed all his servants except for one (Job 1:17). The fire of God fell on Job’s sheep and his servants with all being burned up except for one (Job 1:16). Job’s donkeys were feeding and the Sabeans attacked and killed all Job’s servants except one and took the donkeys (Job 1:15).
A second time Satan came before God and was given permission to touch Job’s body but not kill him (Job 2:1-8). Job then came down with boils and felt miserable (Job 2:13).
From Job’s perspective he was being attacked by five different things but in reality there was just really just one: Satan. Mother Nature was against him for the wind blew down the house of his eldest son. Destructive wind is a natural occurring event. The fire of God, I do not take to be lightening, but rather something like napalm exploding in the air and falling to earth as fire. This is not, normally, a natural occurring event but requires the supernatural to accomplish it. The Sabeans and the Chaldeans are both two separate groups of people yet they acted in accord with the other events. After all Job’s possessions were gone he became sick as well. All appeared to be isolated events but really they were not. Satan orchestrated the events.
Paul writes that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). These are influencing much of the evil deeds we see in the world today. Our attack as Christians must be on these evil beings which are unseen.
Our attack is made through prayer, songs of praise to God, preaching and speaking the word of God, testifying to what God has done for us, and taking authority over Satan.
The armor of God enables us to stand against the attacks of Satan and to advance under fire.
1. The helmet of salvation is being saved by faith in Jesus Christ and knowing you are saved.
2. The breastplate of righteousness is the righteousness we receive by faith in Jesus as well as living a righteous life because we are righteous.
3. The belt of truth is knowledge of what truth is and loving the truth. This includes the word of God, The Lord Jesus Christ, and whatever else is true. As my Theology Professor used to say. “All truth is God’s truth”. Also, as my Philosophy Professor told me one day after class. “For an argument to be logical the assumptions on which the argument is based must be true. Otherwise the argument is illogical.”
4. The shoes of the armor are the preparation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This means that one is prepared to present the gospel. The gospel is:
A. That Jesus was conceived in the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.
B. Jesus lived a sinless life and fulfilled all the law.
C. Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate.
D. Jesus took the sins of all humanity in His own body on the cross and received against Himself the wrath of God against those sins. Having been separated from His Father. When the process was complete Jesus said, “It is finished”.
E. Jesus was buried and rose from the grave the third day.
F. If a person believes this and repents of his sins by confessing to God that he a sinner; he is then forgiven and Jesus enters into his heart.
5. The shield of faith is the faith that a person has. This faith can be increased by reading, hearing, and meditating on the word of God and having fellowship with other believers. It shields us from the attacks of the enemy.
6. The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, the Holy Bible which is also known as Scripture, God’s Word, or “Thus saith the Lord”. This is what man is to live by (Deuteronomy 8:3).
We are to engage in prayer by making supplication for the saints and people in authority and for all men for God’s desire is for all men to be saved. Daniel prayed for twenty-one days before he received his answer. It was held up by the Prince of Persia. Daniel prayed until he received an answer from God.
We are to watch, be alert as to what is going on around us, and persevere in our prayer.
The Apostle Paul asked for prayer for himself which indicates that those servants of the Lord that have a great ministry need our prayers.
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