THE ARMOR OF GOD
EPHESIANS 6:10-13
EPHESIANS 6:10-13
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
OBSERVATION:
I am a bit saddened to see that we do not talk much about the armor of God. I also have to plead guilty. I have not gone to this passage enough in my teachings at The Ark. In the 1980s, there was a good amount available on the subject. We even purchased a plastic armor of God set for Matt. We had to take it away from him when he continued to hit his sister with the sword of the spirit.
Maybe the emphasis has moved away from this important passage because we don't want to acknowledge that there is a devil.
Maybe the idea of spiritual warfare went a bit too far, and now people equate it with a crazy fringe element of the body of Christ.
But we need to give this passage our attention. We still need to be strong in the Lord. We are still having to stand against the schemes of the devil.
And by the way. Just because we don't talk about Satan much does not mean he disappeared. He is still very real. Spiritual realities are not subject to our increased technological advances. Nor is the spiritual world not real simply because so many have placed their faith in science.
No, we are still having to wrestle with spiritual forces. And we still need to take up God's armor so we can withstand and stand in the evil day.
I believe the diminished importance of God's armor is one of the reasons we are seeing so much alarming deception and division in our nation today. People are looking to blame social and political forces, but we need to start at the top. Our first fight is not with flesh and blood.
APPLICATION:
If the armor of God has been given to us, then God obviously knew we were in a fight. Who needs armor when there is no threat of danger?
So, it would help us to understand what that armor is and how we can utilize God's armor to stand. Verses 14-18 spell out what God's protective armor is. Also, part of His armor is an offensive weapon. The sword of the spirit which is the word of God.
Jesus said His words would not pass away. Peter said God's word lives and abides forever. So, God's armor has not passed away either. And we need that armor today and will increasingly need it in the days ahead.
PRAYER:
Thank you, Father. You have given me Your armor, and it still is effective against the schemes of the devil.