Ephesians 6: 10-17
Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, STAND, having your loins girt about with truth. And having on the breastplate of righteousness. Your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And above all, taking the shield of faith wherein you are able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked. And, take the helmet of salvation. The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
Paul says there are 6 pieces of armor to protect our flesh from the darts of satan. Back in the time of Paul soldiers fought with swords, spears, and arrows. Armor was a valuable part of their weaponry to protect their bodies from harm. No doubt these pieces of armor saved many warriors lives. Let's see how this armor can save us from being destroyed by the devil. First, consider the helmet. This piece of armor protects the head. The intellect resides in the head. It is the intellect that enables us to reason. This is where we think about what happens after death. In other words, we think about our salvation. The intellect is usually where the devil will strike first. He knows that if he can cause you to think his way, he can control you. His favorite topic is salvation. He tries to make you think that there are other gates to salvation outside the righteous gate, Jesus Christ. The "new age" beliefs in buddaism and reincarnation along with other false religions come from the wiles of satan. Therefore, he will try to destroy your faith in Jesus. He will always base his type salvation on flesh. The domain of flesh is death. Flesh is always under the law of sin and death. He will say to us," Believe in reincarnation, you will have a second chance". Reincarnation is a religion of flesh .....death. Or he will say, " Oh, if you live a good clean life and help your neighbor you will live after death." "Why, you already live a better life than most Christians do". ROMANS 2:1 says that if you judge a man for his sin and then do the same thing, you have judged yourself. Why? You know it is wrong because you judged him for it, therefore, you are just as guilty as he is, even if he is a Christian, God judges according to truth. Or he will say, "If God is a God of love, he will never send you to an everlasting hell." Once this writer had a doubt like this. While thinking about it one day, and questioning God about it; the Holy Ghost spoke to me and said, " Son, if you will stop worrying about the existance of hell, and start worrying about staying out of it, you will be much better off". Later on, I realized that I just did not want to face up to living my life the way God commanded me to. I was using hell as an excuse. He will say that men can find salvation in all religions. He will point to the wise sayings of Buddha or Krishna, but he fails to point to the poor, starving, backward societies that these religions bring fourth as their fruit. The society and political systems of any people are a direct reflection of their religious beliefs. At the time of the first world war you could count on one hand the number of nations that had democracies.
THe devil uses man made philosophies based on the theory of evolution. Freud, the psychoanalyst, said that man has a subconscious memory based in our evolutionary animal origin that is concerned only with sex, and self-preservation. He postulated that any time that a person inhibits these two needs we become psychotic. Humanistic philosophies and the science of psychology come from this thinking. It came as a "great flood" that was cast out of the mouth of satan, the dragon. From this came the atheistic thinking of Lennin and Stalin. It also brought fourth the perverted, mystic, humanistic thinking of Hitler. He actually thought that he was some kind of a god, but he was a murderous madman possessed of the devil who murdered millions of people.
People who are deceived with this humanistic thinking say that they are tolerant of all religions, but they hate what they call "fundamental" Christians. They can have a very unusual hate for all those who confess Jesus as the only way, the only truth, and the only life.
With the helmet of salvation we protect our intellect. What is salvation? When we are saved; what are we saved from? Our sins, yes, but more than that, we know that the wages of sin is death. Therefore, we're saved from death. He gave us the sign of Jona the prophet. He arose from the dead. He beat death! He said because I live you shall live too. If there had been no Jesus, we would have no hope of eternal life. Even if there really was reincarnation it could only end in death. For reincarnation is based on flesh and flesh must sooner or later die. Our universe is like a huge clock that is running down; it too must die! Jeramiah, the prophet, said cursed is the man who trusts in the arm of flesh. Jesus said know you not that you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God. That which is flesh, is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit.. Put on the helmet of salvation that you might protect your intellect from the devil's lies.
The next piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. Whenever men fight with swords they will most always go for the heart. This is a fast fatal blow. The devil always goes for the heart if the assault on the intellect fails. That's why we need the breastplate of righteousness. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one knows what a terrific blow this can be to the heart. When a person looses a child or anyone who is very close to them it hurts very deeply. Many people without the breastplate have fallen away because of this blow to the heart. We know that one of the last things that Jesus did was to give the apostle John the responsibility of caring for his mother. He probably would not have done this if his father, Joseph, were alive. He must have died at some point earlier in the life of Jesus. The prophets said he would be a man acquainted with sorrow and grief. This was most likely a hard blow to his heart. In Jesus's culture the eldest son spent much of his time with his father learning his trade. In his culture it was customary for the eldest son to take care of his parents in their old age. This is why he appointed her care to John. Even in his pain and agony he showed his human love for his mother.
When someone disappoints us this can cut deeply into our hearts. Some of us tend to place too much deep trust in a beloved minister or another person we hold in high esteem. If they do something evil it can wound our hearts deeply. A blow to the heart is one of the lowest blows that satan can render to a person. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Be in right standing with God. The only way to be in perfect standing with God is to be in Jesus Christ. Lay all of your burdens on him. He is strong but you are weak.
The closer that we get to God the madder it makes satan. Sooner or later he will throw everything at us all at once. He comes in like a flood. He assaults the intellect, the heart, and can even make us sick. Job was a good example of this. He took Job's family, his material wealth, and even his friends turned against him. The devil took over his wife and she told him to curse God and die. His friends advised him to give up because God hated him. But what did Job do? He said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord". "Though he slays me I will trust him". Job put on the shield of faith. Job lost everything, he was sick and in pain. There is no doubt that satan was working on his mind and his heart as well. Yet he believed in God. He had faith in him. The shield of faith is a moveable part of the armor. Whenever the rest of the body is just about overcome we can move the shield in front of that part to give the protection needed. The shield of faith is knowing that Jesus has said," I will never leave you or forsake you. No temptation will come on you but that God will make a way to escape. Faith is knowing that you can stand on God's promises no matter what. Believing and trusting God is the shield of faith.
Have you ever been to a church in which there was no peace in it? One faction was fighting the other faction. A friend of mine told me about a church that had split into two factions. One group sat on one side of the church, and the other group sat on the other side. The preacher was always between the two warring factions and his preaching was ineffective. The town's people couldn't visit the church because if they sat one side the other side got mad, so they quit coming to church, and there were no new converts. The devil had taken away their peace because of their selfishness. He will send busybodies shod with the shoes of desention to stir up trouble. They go to and fro with gossip and lies. These are the ones that are always taking offence. The church of the apostles was attacked this way. Some of the people said that the Jews got all the food and the Greeks were not getting their share. Peter had to appoint officers to allot the food and other necessities so that the apostles could attend to God's work. The first organization of the church had begun. The demons in hell must have shouted with glee to see men organizing the church instead of the Holy Ghost. The devil can work on men but he can't handle the Holy Ghost. He can work in a church organization but he can't do anything with a body of people who are joined in love one for the other. Therefore, be shod with the shoes of peace. Love one another, praise one another when its deserved, look for good things in your neighbor, help support the weak, be cheerful, give, asking nothing in return. The gates of hell cannot stand against love one for another.
Back in the days when men wore armor, there was a cover that they wrapped about themselves that was sort of like a cloth of many chains woven together. This acted as a protective covering to keep the arrows and swords from penetrating into their bodies. It protected the bowels and the groin area. Paul called this part, the girdle. He said to wrap yourself in the girdle of truth. We know that as long as we keep this body of ours draped with the promises of God, we are safe from the fiery darts of satan. These promises are from the heart of God to his children. This writer read a book of history not long ago that was written by a famous "new ager". He stated in this book that the religion of the Jews was unlike all the rest of the pagan religions all around them because their God made promises and he carried them out. These promises can be found throughout the old testiment. The devil will not make promises because he knows that he is unable to keep them, and his people will know him for what he is, a liar. This is why he has tried to stop God's word from coming to pass all down through the ages, but praise God, he is unsuccessful. He keeps us safe from the thrusts of satan who would destroy us by using sex and our bellies to cause us to loose our birthright into the kingdom of God just like Essau lost his. Please note that there are six parts to the armor of God. Six is the number for flesh. It's the number for man. These six armor parts protect our flesh. Flesh is the same as self in the bible. Self is very susceptable to the wiles of the devil. The girdle of truth keeps the devil from using our frail emotions and appetites from destroying our walk with Jesus. Praise his great name!
Now notice that the five parts of armor we have mentioned were defensive weapons. However, no soldier is effective if he has to depend entirely upon defense. The enemy would overcome him by sheer force. He has to be able to strike back and wound the enemy as well. The last part of the armor is an offensive weapon. It is the sword. This sword is the word of God. The word comes from the eternal living God. Because he is all-powerful and eternal His Word is also all powerful and eternal. The word is God!! His very spirit is in his word. It cannot return to him empty and without fulfilling its purpose. He sent his WORD Jesus and after the resurrection he returned to the Father after fulfilling all that was written of him. The word is our great offensive weapon. It cannot be defeated. Though this flesh fights against the powers of darkness that is much greater than itself. This sword is invincible in the hands of one who believes. The devil and all of his demons are powerless against it.
The Word did not return to God without first accomplishing all that it was proposed for Him to do. Yes, Jesus is the word. He was subject to temptation in all things the same as we are. He used this sword while in the wilderness. The devil came to tempt his flesh while he was weak and susceptable after a 40 day fast. The devil tempted him first with his belly. He was hungry, so the devil said, "If you be the Son of God turn this stone to bread. This type of temptation symbolizes all the appetites of the flesh. Jesus wrapped the girdle of truth about him as he answered the devil thus," It is written, you shall not live by bread alone but by every word from the mouth of God". He used the sword of the word on him.
Next the devil took him to the top of the temple and said to him, "If you be the son of God cast yourself down from here, for it is written, He has given his angels charge concerning you and in their hands they will bear you up". This is a temptation of self-importance or the heart. We see this type of temptation in churches that preach faith to the exclusion of all else. Jesus has said," Take up your cross and follow me". Let me tell you Christians, it is the fire of the cross that burns out the dross of self and makes us pure and white. If Jesus said that there is a cross in following him, then believe it. Again, Jesus wrapped himself in the breastplate of righteousness and used the sword of the word. He answered him, "It is written, you shall not tempt the Lord thy God." The devil himself even used scripture this time. But as he always does he used it to support his evil temptation. Many religious cults use scripture that they have gone back into the law to support their existence. The law was given to death; Jesus has given us life.
Then again satan tempted him by taking him to the top of an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. Then he said, "All these things will I give to you, because they are mine to give, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus used his sword again, and said, "Get thee hence satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou worship. In this case the devil used the desire for power and money, the intellect, to tempt Him. Many people are led into the worship of strange Gods because they are not willing to give up the world and follow Jesus into eternal life. But Jesus put on his helmet of salvation that he had in the Father and the evil one fled from him. Three times, Jesus used the offensive weapon, the sword (the word), to defeat the devil. Know this, we must put on the whole armor of God in order to stand against the power of darkness. It is stronger that flesh. We can do this by reading the word of God. What good is a sword if you don't know how to use it? Find out what God has said in his book of the word. Then stand on it for it is unshakable. The time is coming and even now is that the angels will shake that which can be shaken. The Word of God has power in it. It is part of the eternal, all-powerful God himself.
1) When you stand, stand on the Word. It is unshakable.
2) When you pray, pray in the Word. It has to happen.
3) When you think, think on the Word. It is good.
4) When you believe, believe the Word. God is truth.
5) If you will live, live by the Word. The word is eternal.
6) When you love, love like the Word. For God is love.
7) If you will see, see by the Word. Jesus is light.
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