Spiritual Warfare -- Continued
In our last session we discussed the reality of living in a world at war. Of course we are not referring to any of the myriad skirmishes that occur in many places all over the earth. No, the war we are talking about is a spiritual war that takes place every day, all day long. It has been raging ever since Satan was cast out of heaven for rebelling against his creator and attempting to be equal with God.
When you arise every morning, you are faced with this ongoing battle. When you lay your head on the pillow at night, it rages on. Satan and his horde are absolutely committed to one final solution for you and all those you love and hold dear. He wants you annihilated.
So you must understand that there is no living at peace with him. You cannot hope to achieve a level of peace by giving him any quarter in your life. And you can be assured that he will never give you any quarter as well. He is not subject to the rules of war defined by the Geneva Convention. No, like Jesus, you must stand your ground and never ever give in to his suggestions, lies, and demands.
And that is why Paul wrote these words in Ephesians 6:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Eph. 6:10-18 (NIV)
As we pointed out in the previous session, the day of evil is here. And it is not what we think. We look around us and point out the moral decay of our culture. We witness the terrible things that happen in third world countries. We mourn the loss of hundreds of lives in an airline tragedy. These are all the result of a world at war. So let’s take a practical look at how we should prepare ourselves every day for this war “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” How can we “stand firm”?
Let’s take a look at the various pieces of armor that Paul talks about and discover how we may put them on and use them in this ongoing battle.
Belt of Truth
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,…”
It is interesting that Paul mentions this piece of armor first. Now I know you may be thinking, “How is a belt a piece of armor?” We use it to hold our pants up, right? Or for a lady it may be just an accessory for her outfit. But for a soldier or peace officer it’s an anchor for all kinds of defense hardware.
It holds a flashlight, a pistol, a taser, handcuffs, two-way radio, a baton, all kinds of tools. A military person will have similar hardware, but will also probably have lots of extra ammo, a canteen, a survival knife, etc. During the time that Paul wrote his letter, the Roman soldier’s belt was an anchor for the sword and dagger.
So this belt of truth that Paul refers to is an anchor for all kinds of weapons and spiritual hardware needed by a spiritual soldier. And what is the truth that Paul is referring to?
The first thing that comes to mind is the Bible. We cannot hope to know what God knows unless we are really into his word. So part of your preparation every day should be to saturate your mind on some section of his word. And it needs to be a section of scripture that addresses some lie that Satan is telling you in some area of your life. This is very important. The lies that Satan is telling you are different than they lies he is telling someone else. His attacks on you are specific and personally tailored.
What this means is that the armor you wear will be different than the armor that another Christian wears. If you try to fight your battles with someone else’s armor, you will be frustrated and defeated all the time. Let me give you an example.
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 1 Sam. 17:37b-40
If David had gone out to meet Goliath using Saul’s armor, the story of David and Goliath would have turned out much differently. So now you see what I mean when I say that Christian armor is to be personally tailored, not just some generic one-size-fits-all uniform.
When you strap on the belt of truth, it must be God’s personal truth about you. I am not saying that truth is relative. No, Truth with a capital “T” is absolute. But the truth that needs to be applied to you as an individual soldier is dependent on the battles that you are fighting and the lies that Satan is perpetrating on you. I mentioned some of them earlier, so let’s just take an example and work through it.
The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Judges 6:11-16
This is one of the most encouraging stories in the Bible. Here’s Gideon, down in the bottom of a winepress, literally a hole in the rock, threshing wheat so his enemies wouldn’t notice and steal it. This had to be an incredibly dusty and grimy job. The way wheat was threshed in those days was to beat the sheaves with a stick to shake the wheat off the stalks. Then the whole mess was thrown up in the air with a shallow basket and the wind would blow the chaff away. Have you ever been on the back side of a combine? If so, you know just how dirty this work is. Now, imagine doing this down in a hole in the ground.
So Gideon is down there threshing wheat, trying to keep from being discovered by his enemies, and the angel of the Lord comes along and says, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon looks around to see who else is in the winepress. Then he goes, “Who, me? Mighty warrior? You’ve got to be kidding me!” I’m a wuss! Look at me! I come from the least important tribe in Israel. I’m the weakest and least influential person in my tribe! I’m a nobody with no influence and no power! But guess what happens next. The Lord is undaunted by Gideon’s lack of confidence. Nope! You’re the guy. You’re the one who is going to save Israel and defeat the Midianites.
Do you see what’s happening here? The Lord is just continuing to speak the truth to Gideon. He’s not letting him get by with repeating the same old lies that Satan has been perpetrating on him his whole life. He just continues to speak the truth to Gideon, to chip away at the lies until Gideon has the confidence to take action against his enemies.
So the first thing you do each morning (or evening, if you start your day in the evening) is to figure out the truth that God wants you to apply that day. How do you do this? Well, just think of the most powerful lie that Satan is trying to perpetrate on you right now. Then search for the truth from the Bible, from the works of others, from what you hear God speaking to you, and begin speaking that truth to yourself. This is prayer! This is Jesus speaking to you. This is the way you put on the belt of truth. It is the truth that Jesus wants to plow into your life right now in order to root out and cleanse the lies of Satan. It is dismantling, piece by piece, brick by brick, stone by stone, the strongholds he has erected in your soul.
Let me give you an example. Satan has been telling me all my life that nobody cares what I think or what I have to say. This lie has affected every area of my life since I was a young child. As a result I’ve felt that no one respected me. It’s affected my relationships on every scale – my family, my marriage, my career, etc. So, what truth do I need to put on each day?
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Cor. 2:15-16
So what is God speaking to me through this? I have the mind of Christ. As such, what I have to say is important – as a rule. I can depend on God today to guide my thoughts and my words so that what I say will be valuable to others. It will build them up and provide encouragement, guidance, motivation, or whatever else is needed.
So now, do you see how this works? The belt of truth is first because Satan is a liar and the father of all lies.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. – John 8:44-45
Breastplate of Righteousness
What’s the next piece of armor mentioned here in Ephesians 6? It’s the breastplate of righteousness. Who’s righteousness? Mine? No way. What does Paul say?
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. – Romans 7:18
So we see here that we do not possess any righteousness of our own. But this verse alone is no good. This is one of those verses that Satan loves to take as a stand-alone piece of Scripture that he can twist into a club and beat us up with every day, all day long. And he’ll do it!
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” Rev. 12:10
Did you know that Satan accuses your before God day and night? He is constantly doing battle to destroy you. And he accuses you to your face every day. He’s the one who is constantly reminding you of your failures, your past sins, your shortcomings. So what do we do?
Put on the breastplate of righteousness.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. – 1 Cor. 1:30
So what is the sin that so easily besets you right now? What is Satan accusing you of today? Start personalizing this truth as you start your day. I have the righteousness of Christ! Hit me with your best shot! Fire away! Satan cannot hope to penetrate the righteousness of Christ.
Footwear
Next is footwear: “.. your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” There are two key words here: readiness and peace.
A soldier doesn’t saunter out onto the battlefield wearing flip-flops. Have you ever watched a championship tennis match. The guy serving the ball is getting all set up to smash the ball barely over the net in excess of 100 mph. What’s the person doing on the other side of the net? Standing bolt upright with his tennis racket dangling at the end of his limp arm? No way! He is hunched over, knees bent, swaying back and forth, racket at the ready.
So too, when you start your day, you’re going to be strapping on the shoes of readiness. No spiritual flip-flops are going to work in this environment. You are poised and ready for anything Satan tries to throw at you.
What about this business about the gospel of peace. What does peace have to do with spiritual warfare? Let me ask you something. Have you ever watched a good basketball game twice? Except the second time, you watch it with a friend who hasn’t seen it yet and doesn’t know how it’s going to turn out. When things are tense and it looks like the game is going south, your friend gets all bummed out. But what do you do? You’re at peace. Why? Because you already know how it’s going to turn out.
The same thing is true for our battle with Satan. First of all, he has already been dealt the death blow 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross and then rose from the dead. His doom is sealed. And we know how it’s going to turn out in our life as well.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Rom. 8:31-39
So we strap on our spiritual footwear at the start of the day ready to take on whatever Satan wants to throw at us, knowing that in the end we, through Christ Jesus, are going to win out.
Shield of Faith
Let’s move on to the next piece of armor, the shield of faith. What is its purpose? To extinguish all the fiery darts of Satan. The pieces of armor we’ve talked about so far are preparatory. This piece of armor will be used during the day. Whoosh! Out of nowhere comes this flaming arrow, ready to take us out. You get a phone call from a police officer in the town where your daughter is attending college telling you that your daughter has been in an accident and is in the hospital. Immediately Satan begins his attack. She’s going to die. If not, she’ll be paralyzed for life. She’s in a coma and will never wake up. You should never have let her take that car to college with her. You should have insisted that she attend junior college first before sending her off somewhere out of your cocoon of protection. If only you had been a better parent, she wouldn’t have gone so far away to college. Now she’s going to die or be maimed for life and it’s all your fault.
That’s what the shield of faith is for! You raise it when you see the arrows being launched. You say, “No!” to Satan’s lies and stand firm in your faith that God has good things planned for you and your daughter and that you’ve done everything you knew to do to protect her. Out loud, speak the truth and watch the fiery darts bounce off and smolder on the ground.
Helmet of Salvation
Like the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation is a defensive piece of armor. When you put it on at the beginning of the day, you say, “I am a child of God. Jesus paid the price for my salvation and I stand firm in this fact.” The single most frequent tactic that Satan uses is to convince us that we really aren’t a child of God. Look at what he said to Jesus.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” -- Matt. 4:1-7
Do you see this? Did you ever think that Jesus was tempted to doubt that he was the Son of God?
So too, if Satan can get us to begin doubting our relationship with Jesus, he knows that he can begin to rain blows down on our head.
We put on our helmet of salvation by reminding ourselves throughout the day that we are a child of God, a brother of Jesus, and heir to everything that is his.
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. – Rom. 8:17
Sword of the Spirit
The last piece of armor mentioned in Ephesians 6 is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Now you see why I say it is important to fill your mind with Scripture. As you do this, you can take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Cor. 10:3-5
When we have prepared ourselves properly, we can wield the word of God deftly and precisely. And we can bring it to bear against the body of deception that Satan has erected in this fallen world. But we must keep it personal. Don’t use the sword of the Spirit to do collateral damage. Many folks who claim to be fighting the good fight of faith are doing nothing more than swinging the sword wildly, clumsily whacking off the limbs of fellow believers, piercing others with their arrogant grasp of Scripture. That is not what the word of God is for. Once Satan gets us focused on peripheral issues, things outside his own personal war against us and the ones we hold dear, he knows that our spiritual armor is worthless.
When God created the universe and the world we occupy, He simply spoke and it came into being. Later John wrote "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:1
For our spiritual armor, like the other pieces, the sword of the Spirit - the Word of God - is not some tangible object we strap on or wield, but instead is of spiritual substance. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than and double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. This verse in Hebrews plays on the analogy that a sword is a weapon that is destructive. It penetrates deeply and separates parts of an enemy's body. And the Sword of the Spirit does the same, except that it makes judgments about thoughts and attitudes.
All of us have thoughts and attitudes that have snuck into our hearts and minds as a result of the lies that Satan has convinced us to believe. They are like constant companions that live in our homes, ride with us to work, accompany us as we sleep and sit with us as we relax. They are so pervasive and we feel so comfortable with them that we hardly notice their presence. Then one day the Spirit makes us aware of them and that's what the Sword of the Spirit is for. Once you become aware of this lying enemy, you plunge the Sword of the Spirit into the companion of lies and watch it die as the truth of the Word of God destroys it.
For us, the Sword of the Spirit is the words of truth that we speak to this companion of lies that we have become accustomed to. We take exactly the same approach that Jesus, the Living Word of God did, when Satan accompanied him in the desert of temptation. He answered every one of Satan's tests with the Word of God. When you speak out loud the truth of God's Word about you, the companion of lies will die.
Homework
Okay, so how do we go about putting on the armor of God each day? As a homework assignment, I’d like for you to prepare your personal spiritual armor using the following guidelines.
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Footwear – Readiness and Peace
Shield of Faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
When you arise every morning, you are faced with this ongoing battle. When you lay your head on the pillow at night, it rages on. Satan and his horde are absolutely committed to one final solution for you and all those you love and hold dear. He wants you annihilated.
So you must understand that there is no living at peace with him. You cannot hope to achieve a level of peace by giving him any quarter in your life. And you can be assured that he will never give you any quarter as well. He is not subject to the rules of war defined by the Geneva Convention. No, like Jesus, you must stand your ground and never ever give in to his suggestions, lies, and demands.
And that is why Paul wrote these words in Ephesians 6:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Eph. 6:10-18 (NIV)
As we pointed out in the previous session, the day of evil is here. And it is not what we think. We look around us and point out the moral decay of our culture. We witness the terrible things that happen in third world countries. We mourn the loss of hundreds of lives in an airline tragedy. These are all the result of a world at war. So let’s take a practical look at how we should prepare ourselves every day for this war “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” How can we “stand firm”?
Let’s take a look at the various pieces of armor that Paul talks about and discover how we may put them on and use them in this ongoing battle.
Belt of Truth
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,…”
It is interesting that Paul mentions this piece of armor first. Now I know you may be thinking, “How is a belt a piece of armor?” We use it to hold our pants up, right? Or for a lady it may be just an accessory for her outfit. But for a soldier or peace officer it’s an anchor for all kinds of defense hardware.
It holds a flashlight, a pistol, a taser, handcuffs, two-way radio, a baton, all kinds of tools. A military person will have similar hardware, but will also probably have lots of extra ammo, a canteen, a survival knife, etc. During the time that Paul wrote his letter, the Roman soldier’s belt was an anchor for the sword and dagger.
So this belt of truth that Paul refers to is an anchor for all kinds of weapons and spiritual hardware needed by a spiritual soldier. And what is the truth that Paul is referring to?
The first thing that comes to mind is the Bible. We cannot hope to know what God knows unless we are really into his word. So part of your preparation every day should be to saturate your mind on some section of his word. And it needs to be a section of scripture that addresses some lie that Satan is telling you in some area of your life. This is very important. The lies that Satan is telling you are different than they lies he is telling someone else. His attacks on you are specific and personally tailored.
What this means is that the armor you wear will be different than the armor that another Christian wears. If you try to fight your battles with someone else’s armor, you will be frustrated and defeated all the time. Let me give you an example.
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 1 Sam. 17:37b-40
If David had gone out to meet Goliath using Saul’s armor, the story of David and Goliath would have turned out much differently. So now you see what I mean when I say that Christian armor is to be personally tailored, not just some generic one-size-fits-all uniform.
When you strap on the belt of truth, it must be God’s personal truth about you. I am not saying that truth is relative. No, Truth with a capital “T” is absolute. But the truth that needs to be applied to you as an individual soldier is dependent on the battles that you are fighting and the lies that Satan is perpetrating on you. I mentioned some of them earlier, so let’s just take an example and work through it.
The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” Judges 6:11-16
This is one of the most encouraging stories in the Bible. Here’s Gideon, down in the bottom of a winepress, literally a hole in the rock, threshing wheat so his enemies wouldn’t notice and steal it. This had to be an incredibly dusty and grimy job. The way wheat was threshed in those days was to beat the sheaves with a stick to shake the wheat off the stalks. Then the whole mess was thrown up in the air with a shallow basket and the wind would blow the chaff away. Have you ever been on the back side of a combine? If so, you know just how dirty this work is. Now, imagine doing this down in a hole in the ground.
So Gideon is down there threshing wheat, trying to keep from being discovered by his enemies, and the angel of the Lord comes along and says, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon looks around to see who else is in the winepress. Then he goes, “Who, me? Mighty warrior? You’ve got to be kidding me!” I’m a wuss! Look at me! I come from the least important tribe in Israel. I’m the weakest and least influential person in my tribe! I’m a nobody with no influence and no power! But guess what happens next. The Lord is undaunted by Gideon’s lack of confidence. Nope! You’re the guy. You’re the one who is going to save Israel and defeat the Midianites.
Do you see what’s happening here? The Lord is just continuing to speak the truth to Gideon. He’s not letting him get by with repeating the same old lies that Satan has been perpetrating on him his whole life. He just continues to speak the truth to Gideon, to chip away at the lies until Gideon has the confidence to take action against his enemies.
So the first thing you do each morning (or evening, if you start your day in the evening) is to figure out the truth that God wants you to apply that day. How do you do this? Well, just think of the most powerful lie that Satan is trying to perpetrate on you right now. Then search for the truth from the Bible, from the works of others, from what you hear God speaking to you, and begin speaking that truth to yourself. This is prayer! This is Jesus speaking to you. This is the way you put on the belt of truth. It is the truth that Jesus wants to plow into your life right now in order to root out and cleanse the lies of Satan. It is dismantling, piece by piece, brick by brick, stone by stone, the strongholds he has erected in your soul.
Let me give you an example. Satan has been telling me all my life that nobody cares what I think or what I have to say. This lie has affected every area of my life since I was a young child. As a result I’ve felt that no one respected me. It’s affected my relationships on every scale – my family, my marriage, my career, etc. So, what truth do I need to put on each day?
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Cor. 2:15-16
So what is God speaking to me through this? I have the mind of Christ. As such, what I have to say is important – as a rule. I can depend on God today to guide my thoughts and my words so that what I say will be valuable to others. It will build them up and provide encouragement, guidance, motivation, or whatever else is needed.
So now, do you see how this works? The belt of truth is first because Satan is a liar and the father of all lies.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. – John 8:44-45
Breastplate of Righteousness
What’s the next piece of armor mentioned here in Ephesians 6? It’s the breastplate of righteousness. Who’s righteousness? Mine? No way. What does Paul say?
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. – Romans 7:18
So we see here that we do not possess any righteousness of our own. But this verse alone is no good. This is one of those verses that Satan loves to take as a stand-alone piece of Scripture that he can twist into a club and beat us up with every day, all day long. And he’ll do it!
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” Rev. 12:10
Did you know that Satan accuses your before God day and night? He is constantly doing battle to destroy you. And he accuses you to your face every day. He’s the one who is constantly reminding you of your failures, your past sins, your shortcomings. So what do we do?
Put on the breastplate of righteousness.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. – 1 Cor. 1:30
So what is the sin that so easily besets you right now? What is Satan accusing you of today? Start personalizing this truth as you start your day. I have the righteousness of Christ! Hit me with your best shot! Fire away! Satan cannot hope to penetrate the righteousness of Christ.
Footwear
Next is footwear: “.. your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” There are two key words here: readiness and peace.
A soldier doesn’t saunter out onto the battlefield wearing flip-flops. Have you ever watched a championship tennis match. The guy serving the ball is getting all set up to smash the ball barely over the net in excess of 100 mph. What’s the person doing on the other side of the net? Standing bolt upright with his tennis racket dangling at the end of his limp arm? No way! He is hunched over, knees bent, swaying back and forth, racket at the ready.
So too, when you start your day, you’re going to be strapping on the shoes of readiness. No spiritual flip-flops are going to work in this environment. You are poised and ready for anything Satan tries to throw at you.
What about this business about the gospel of peace. What does peace have to do with spiritual warfare? Let me ask you something. Have you ever watched a good basketball game twice? Except the second time, you watch it with a friend who hasn’t seen it yet and doesn’t know how it’s going to turn out. When things are tense and it looks like the game is going south, your friend gets all bummed out. But what do you do? You’re at peace. Why? Because you already know how it’s going to turn out.
The same thing is true for our battle with Satan. First of all, he has already been dealt the death blow 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross and then rose from the dead. His doom is sealed. And we know how it’s going to turn out in our life as well.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Rom. 8:31-39
So we strap on our spiritual footwear at the start of the day ready to take on whatever Satan wants to throw at us, knowing that in the end we, through Christ Jesus, are going to win out.
Shield of Faith
Let’s move on to the next piece of armor, the shield of faith. What is its purpose? To extinguish all the fiery darts of Satan. The pieces of armor we’ve talked about so far are preparatory. This piece of armor will be used during the day. Whoosh! Out of nowhere comes this flaming arrow, ready to take us out. You get a phone call from a police officer in the town where your daughter is attending college telling you that your daughter has been in an accident and is in the hospital. Immediately Satan begins his attack. She’s going to die. If not, she’ll be paralyzed for life. She’s in a coma and will never wake up. You should never have let her take that car to college with her. You should have insisted that she attend junior college first before sending her off somewhere out of your cocoon of protection. If only you had been a better parent, she wouldn’t have gone so far away to college. Now she’s going to die or be maimed for life and it’s all your fault.
That’s what the shield of faith is for! You raise it when you see the arrows being launched. You say, “No!” to Satan’s lies and stand firm in your faith that God has good things planned for you and your daughter and that you’ve done everything you knew to do to protect her. Out loud, speak the truth and watch the fiery darts bounce off and smolder on the ground.
Helmet of Salvation
Like the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation is a defensive piece of armor. When you put it on at the beginning of the day, you say, “I am a child of God. Jesus paid the price for my salvation and I stand firm in this fact.” The single most frequent tactic that Satan uses is to convince us that we really aren’t a child of God. Look at what he said to Jesus.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” -- Matt. 4:1-7
Do you see this? Did you ever think that Jesus was tempted to doubt that he was the Son of God?
So too, if Satan can get us to begin doubting our relationship with Jesus, he knows that he can begin to rain blows down on our head.
We put on our helmet of salvation by reminding ourselves throughout the day that we are a child of God, a brother of Jesus, and heir to everything that is his.
Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. – Rom. 8:17
Sword of the Spirit
The last piece of armor mentioned in Ephesians 6 is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Now you see why I say it is important to fill your mind with Scripture. As you do this, you can take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Cor. 10:3-5
When we have prepared ourselves properly, we can wield the word of God deftly and precisely. And we can bring it to bear against the body of deception that Satan has erected in this fallen world. But we must keep it personal. Don’t use the sword of the Spirit to do collateral damage. Many folks who claim to be fighting the good fight of faith are doing nothing more than swinging the sword wildly, clumsily whacking off the limbs of fellow believers, piercing others with their arrogant grasp of Scripture. That is not what the word of God is for. Once Satan gets us focused on peripheral issues, things outside his own personal war against us and the ones we hold dear, he knows that our spiritual armor is worthless.
When God created the universe and the world we occupy, He simply spoke and it came into being. Later John wrote "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:1
For our spiritual armor, like the other pieces, the sword of the Spirit - the Word of God - is not some tangible object we strap on or wield, but instead is of spiritual substance. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than and double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. This verse in Hebrews plays on the analogy that a sword is a weapon that is destructive. It penetrates deeply and separates parts of an enemy's body. And the Sword of the Spirit does the same, except that it makes judgments about thoughts and attitudes.
All of us have thoughts and attitudes that have snuck into our hearts and minds as a result of the lies that Satan has convinced us to believe. They are like constant companions that live in our homes, ride with us to work, accompany us as we sleep and sit with us as we relax. They are so pervasive and we feel so comfortable with them that we hardly notice their presence. Then one day the Spirit makes us aware of them and that's what the Sword of the Spirit is for. Once you become aware of this lying enemy, you plunge the Sword of the Spirit into the companion of lies and watch it die as the truth of the Word of God destroys it.
For us, the Sword of the Spirit is the words of truth that we speak to this companion of lies that we have become accustomed to. We take exactly the same approach that Jesus, the Living Word of God did, when Satan accompanied him in the desert of temptation. He answered every one of Satan's tests with the Word of God. When you speak out loud the truth of God's Word about you, the companion of lies will die.
Homework
Okay, so how do we go about putting on the armor of God each day? As a homework assignment, I’d like for you to prepare your personal spiritual armor using the following guidelines.
Belt of Truth
- What lies is Satan perpetrating on you?
- What truth can you claim in opposition to his lie?
Breastplate of Righteousness
- Memorize a scripture affirming that you have the righteousness of Christ. Quote this out loud during the day when you feel condemned for past failures.
Footwear – Readiness and Peace
- Write a statement about the fact that you will be vigilant regarding Satan’s attacks today.
- Write a statement or quote a scripture that affirms that ultimate victory is yours.
Shield of Faith
- Write a statement of faith (relational trust) concerning a particularly difficult situation you expect to encounter today.
Helmet of Salvation
- Write a statement concerning your position as a child of God.
- Quote a passage of scripture that affirms the blessings of being a child of God.
Sword of the Spirit
- Prepare a prayer that you will say today when confronted with an accusation against you by Satan.
- Memorize a verse that you can recite when confronted by the accuser.
