The Whole Armor of God – Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Putting on the whole armor is how you enter into Verse 10, being “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” You will not be able to stand against the wiles of the devil without the armor of which the Lord has provided for us in Christ.
What does it mean to “put on the whole armor of God?”
First, it is a decision every individual must make. Deciding to give up your reasoning in exchange for God’s reasoning, you have begun the process of becoming equipped (see Proverbs 23:23). His reasoning comes through two standards, the strength of the “Word of God” and the “Power of His might which is the Holy Spirit.”
It is a recognition that we are in a battle for our lives and the lives of others, not only in the present but also for eternity. It begins with “repentance” from dead works. Dead works speak of our efforts to live right, to do religion with the hope it pleases God, to keep the rules and believe that it will reward us with heaven. Of course, repentance includes our sin condition both the commission and also omission of sin. A condition that is a “nature of sin” that is beyond anything we can do about it. It must be acknowledged that our condition is a lost and dying condition. It is a condition of “hopelessness.” It is a condition of “uncertainty” concerning our eternal state. Many times, it is a condition that is rooted and grounded in pride. Pride says I can take care of myself. I do not need a crutch such as religion. I can pick myself up, thank you very much! O, the strongholds that get a hold on human reasoning through pride. The many arguments against surrendering to God’s accepted sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Once we surrender to Christ, we receive His victory of overcoming the “evil one.” That overcoming life is “His Life” now dwelling in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we die to self, that is, our sin nature we receive His nature rooted in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Before conversion, we were bound by the kingdom of darkness; we just did not know it. Now that the Lord has saved us, delivered us, and gave us power to become “the children of God,” we now enter into His battle to clean up the mess that the devil created in the garden when he tempted Eve and Eve gave into the devils deception. Adam was not an innocent bystander; He knowingly accepted the fruit and joined his wife in disobedience to God’s clear command. The enemy took the first round of the warfare with heaven, but ended up on his belly. Eventually the seed of the women, Jesus, overcame the devil and his kingdom of darkness.
God’s plan from the beginning was a people born from heaven’s Throne by the Spirit of God who would possess the earth. Paul is writing to the Saints of God about their role in the final battle for the nations. This is Satan’s last stand. He is already defeated by Christ, he is now going to be defeated by the people of the kingdom so that the nations will be given to the Lord Jesus Christ (see Psalms 2). We are part of this battle and this victory.
It is the “wiles” of the devil that we are fighting against. It is his “trickery.” He is a deceiver and a liar from the beginning. Jesus said it this way to the apostate leaders of Israel, “You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murder from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).
The devil tricked Eve and he has been tricking people ever sense. He is subtle, like a serpent, and strikes before you know what struck you. He distorts things so one cannot see clearly understand what they are up against. He does all this by attacking the thought processes. His target is areas of the soul. Areas that are part of one’s mind, such as: the reasoning, the imagination, the affections, the memory, and one’s conscience. Many times he works through the emotions. As we understand his targets, we can have a better chance of stopping his attacks through deception.
As Paul states here in verse 11, “put on the whole armor of God.” It will take the whole of the armor to defend one’s self +against the devil. It will take what God supplies. Not Psychology, not learned reading, not all of the ideas that might cross your mind through collected data. I am not saying those areas are wrong or bad, what I am saying, is they are not sufficient for the battle we face. Not carnal, but mighty through God to pulling down strongholds.
Only the Holy Spirit can supply what is necessary to go up against the devil or the “evil one.” This is what Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil or “the evil one.” Here is the answer to that prayer, “putting on the whole armor of God.”
Notice, it is in standing and not running or hiding. It is not necessarily immediate success, but sometimes it is a long term battle that we face. I like the old Hymn that says: “Standing on the promises of Christ my King, Through eternal ages let His praises ring, glory in the highest I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God. Standing, Standing, Standing on the Promises of Christ my King, Standing, Standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.”
Look at what Paul says about his battles in 2 Corinthians 6:1-10:
- We are workers together with Him
- In an acceptable time, I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” (Is 49:8).
- Paul says now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. Isaiah was pointing to the “Messiah’s” coming. Paul is saying that God fulfilled His Word in the coming of Christ and in the “Helper” coming, the Holy Spirit who is in every believer.
- Don’t do anything to stumble your brother (see Romans 14:13).
- Be willing to suffer (4-10) here is a listing of the warfare.