We Are in a Battle
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 NASB
Sometimes it takes a number of English words to adequately communicate the meaning of the one Greek word. Words such as deliverance, healing, safety, and wholeness bring a larger view of the salvation our God has provided. They also give us a larger view of the areas of attack from the enemy; areas such as demonic strongholds, sickness, disease, and persecution. Each one of these represents areas of battle in which the believer engages. Then, there are the daily challenges of the flesh and dealing with temptation.
Wearing the Armor of God
Put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:14b–16 NASB
We must put the armor on daily. The practical application of God’s armor is to help His warring church conquer evil. Ephesians 6 clearly identifies the forces behind the battle. Do I believe the Word of God concerning the battle? The proof of my belief is found in obedience through application. “Put on the whole armor of God.” This is not a suggestion, but a command.
Take up the full armor of God, (are you?) so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Have we done everything?) Stand firm therefore having girded your loins with truth. [Emphasis added]. Ephesians 6:13–14 NASB
The armor begins with truth. The belt of truth holds all the armor together. Consider what Jesus said about the truth: So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free?’” John 8:31–33 NASB
Deception can be ruthless. Throughout Jewish history, they were in bondage to the nations around them. For seventy years, the Israelites were captive to the Assyrians. At the time of Paul, they were captive to Rome. They really were slaves and the one speaking to them was “the Son of the house.” “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever’” (John 8:34–35 NASB). We are no longer slaves, but sons. We must put on the belt of truth every day, exercising our position in Christ against the enemies of our soul. Gird yourself with truth every day. All truth is eternal. In this case, truth is a man. Paul said, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:14 NASB). Five elements of entering into truth are honesty, confession, repentance, receiving and giving forgiveness. Releasing others who have sinned against us opens the prison door and sets the captive free!
The breastplate of righteousness covers your heart region. Righteousness is a heart issue. The enemy shoots his arrows at our hearts to try and kill the life of God. Many have received arrows from others, from childhood through adulthood. We can have great difficulty in our Christian growth because of the wounds we received to our hearts from the past. The Lord wants to heal us from the inside out. As we are healed, it is important to put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect one’s heart and stay spiritually healthy.
Putting on the shoes of the Gospel of peace is necessary for our daily walk. We are to walk in peace and bring peace wherever we go. Just as we take time to prepare our natural feet for walking, we must take time to prepare for our walk-in Christ. It begins with intimacy with our heavenly Father. As we experience peace in the morning with the Lord, we are readied for the day and our experience with others.
Paul wrote, “Taking up the shield of faith.” It takes effort to put on the armor, but it is a necessary daily activity. We are called to walk in faith. It is the person of faith that overcomes the world. It is the person of faith that advances the Kingdom of God. It is faith that pleases God: “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 NASB). The devil hates people of faith because they cause great problems in his kingdom. Only through faith do we “extinguish” his flaming arrows. The picture Paul is illustrating is that of a Roman soldier. The Roman soldiers would stand together with their shields interlocked. As believers, we are to “interlock” with other believers against the enemy’s attacks. We do not have to go into the battle alone.
The evil one has a very ordered kingdom. He rules his domain with control and oppression. His purpose is to cause chaos for God’s plans. Satan is ruthless in his attack on God’s kingdom purposes and God’s covenant people. Paul outlines what we are up against in this battle. Many Christians try to meet the challenges they face through their own natural reasoning. The wisdom of man is not sufficient to deal with the kingdom of darkness. It is important for believers to understand the warfare in which they are engaged. The armor is very important to our success in the battle.
It cannot be emphasized enough how important righteous living and a life of faith become as they relate to the subject of spiritual warfare. Allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart daily and expose any area that has not been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and surrendered to His kingdom rule. Invite the Holy Spirit to establish in your life habits in an atmosphere of faith. Repent of any areas He reveals that are not motivated by faith. Paul reminds us, “Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23 NASB).
Paul says that we must “take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17 NASB). They are not placed in our hands; rather we must take responsibility for picking them up. The helmet of salvation covers our head. Salvation is holistic in its nature and is intended to minister daily to our souls. The soul has three main areas that need to experience God’s salvation daily: the will, the emotions, and the mind. All three areas need to be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. The mind has at least five areas which the Lord wants to bring into conformity to the mind of Christ. Satan has his designs on each of these areas as well.
The five areas of the mind are described by Paul. We read in Colossians about the affections of the mind. “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2 NASB). Paul mentioned our imaginations in 2 Corinthians. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV). He wrote about the conscience in 1 Timothy. “keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Timothy 1:19 NASB). Paul described the use of memory in 1 Corinthians. “if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2b KJV). Finally, the Bible illustrates our ability to reason in Acts 19 when Paul “entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8–9 NASB).
We must “take up the sword of the Spirit.” The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. It is two-edged and can be dangerous if mishandled. One edge cuts away the fleshly nature of my own heart. The Word of God is essential in changing my perspective and helping me see from God’s point of view. The other edge is the side of the blade for helping free others. When the sword is handled properly, bondages can be cut off those to whom you are ministering. It is important to read, study, memorize and meditate upon the Word of God. When we give ourselves to these four areas, we will become skillful with the sword of the Spirit.