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Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
(Ephesians 6:10-11)
We are unarmed, unprotect, and held captive. We have no idea that there is a spiritual battle taking place. We think that in pursuing our own desires and passions we are living life as it is meant to be lived. The truth is, we are slaves to sin. Humanity has bought into a lie that we exist for ourselves and to please ourselves. Thus, we pursue our own pleasures without any interest in God or awareness of the life He intended for humanity when He created this world. Because we are held captive, we have no protection from the schemes of the devil. Actually, he has convinced us that he has our best interests at heart. Since we are getting what we think is what we want and need, we blindly follow along after him, all the time denying and even rejecting the things of God. We are unaware that we are constantly under attack by this enemy who hides himself from us or may even claim to be our friend. We have nothing to protect ourselves from our enemy. We are in his camp and have been deceived into thinking that this is our home. All the time we are kept from the light of truth and even told that God is our enemy, when in reality, it is God who desires that we be set free by the truth. Our capture is constantly working on us to keep us convinced that we are in good shape and in control of our life and destiny. He tells us that God has lied to us and that we will not surely die, or that death is not what it appears to be. Thus, we are unprotected captives in the clutches of our enemy.
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Those who begin to break free from this spiritual bondage do so through the work of Jesus Christ. It is not through our own efforts for we do not even realize we are captive. Yet, by the grace of God, the light of truth starts to penetrate our darkness. We begin hearing the good news about Jesus Christ and his reign over the kingdom of God. We are told about our bondage and that it is Christ who has come to set us free from sin and death. On hearing this good news we come to believe it is the truth. The victory the enemy had won in the Garden of Eden over humanity in getting us to believe lies about God, is overcome as we believe the truth about God through His Son whom He sent for our redemption. In being delivered from the clutches of the enemy by hearing and believing the truth, we enter into what can be called the basic training of hearing and responding to the truth. The truth is the first piece of armor God equips us with for the spiritual battle that is raging around us. Truth is the belt by which everything else is held in place. It protects us from lies and girds us up for battle. Jesus Christ identifies himself as the truth. In him is truth and he is truth. Our coming to trust Christ is our entry into truth and our learning from him builds us up in truth. As we do what he says, we are strengthened by the truth. Though we may not understand it right away, we receive the full armor of God when we come to faith in Christ. Just like a soldier who has to learn how to defend oneself, to use the weapons available, and to understand the enemy's tactics, it takes time for us to mature in Christ and learn to utilize the armor God has equipped us with. The clearer the truth is to us, the more clearly we recognize the armor God has given to us so that we can stand firm.
We have received all the armor, but we are susceptible to the enemy's attacks. This is because we lack knowledge and experience, and because we are still learning what it means to trust Christ and to follow him. As we are established in the truth, we grow in our understanding that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. This is a mystery of our faith. In our being in Christ and he in us, we have a right standing with God. Our sins and the sentence of death have been put upon Christ. He became sin, who knew know sin, in order to reconcile us to God. It is in our being reconciled to God that we receive the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. As we grow in our knowledge and love of God, we come to recognize that, like Abraham, our believing God has resulted in His crediting it to us as righteousness. We are rightly related to God in that we believe Him. We have done nothing on our own to earn righteousness, nor could we. God in His grace took the initiative to reconcile us and gave the means by which we are reconciled. He said that if we believe Him, we are righteous in His sight. He made this known to the world through His Son and we have believed. This righteousness we receive from God is also a piece of the armor He equips us with. It protects our heart just like a breast plate protects the chest and heart of a soldier. The enemy can no longer attach our heart by accusing us of being unfaithful to God or accusing us of the sins that have been forgiven us in Christ. We are protected by God. Our right standing with God is His doing and includes the firm footing that enables us to stand. The footing or footwear God has given to us that enables us to stand is the gospel of peace. That through Christ we have peace with God. It is also this footwear that enables us to travel around proclaiming the good news to others so that they too may find freedom in Christ. He is our firm foundation, our firm footing on which we stand in the day of evil. It is the good news of his reign in our life as a believer and his disciple here and now, as well as the good news that there is an eternal life awaiting those who are faithful to him when he comes in his kingdom. Through righteousness and the gospel of peace with God we are equipped to resist the powers and forces of darkness that we battle against. Our heart and our feet are protected. The righteousness of God we have in Christ is upon our chest. The gospel message of Christ sent from God is upon our feet. These are the pieces of armor God has also given to us. These are Christ given for us and to us so that we may stand for God.
Our being equipped with God's armor isn't intended to keep us from the spiritual battle, but so that we can stand in the midst of it. The enemy doesn't give us up when we come to Christ, rather he begins to attack. Once the enemy held us in bondage and fed us with lies. But now we have sided with the truth and girded with the truth, protected in righteousness, and standing on the gospel. Still, the enemy aims his flaming arrows at us, seeking to get us to flee from God and deny Him. Blast after blast flies at us and those around us. Yet we need not be frightened for God has provided us with a shield that extinguishes those flaming arrows. The shield is faith in Christ. We are called to believe him, trust him, and do what he has commanded us. That is faith. As we walk with Christ and do what he says, the arrows of the enemy cannot get through the defense we have been given. It is Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith. It is in him we have placed our trust. He is our shield. Not our own belief, but that our belief is in Christ himself. He has overcome the enemy and is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven until all his enemies are put under his feet. We have Christ protecting us. He is our shield. He is our strong tower. Our faith rests in him and not ourselves or the schemes of the enemy who seeks to deceive us. In addition to Christ as the shield for our body, he is also the protection for our mind. He is the helmet of our salvation. Christ is he who died for us. He is the one who came to save the lost. We were once lost, but he came and rescued us. We are the sheep that went astray which he went after. We are the coin that was lost that he made an all-out search for. We are the prodigal son whom he ran out to meet. In him we have heard proclaimed the great salvation of our God. Christ is our salvation. He is the way to God and no one comes to God except through Jesus Christ. It is Christ who came so that we might have life and have it abundantly. In him there is life. He is life. He is the light of the world, and in him there is no darkness. The enemy will try to bombard our minds with fear and doubt. He will try every scheme he has to deceive us, but our being in Christ and having Christ in us we know the truth of our salvation and of the enemy's demise. We know the judgment to come and the one who was sent to save us in that day of wrath. We have nothing to fear. There is no need to fear the one who may be able to destroy the body, but cannot destroy our soul. We have been bought with a price, the blood of Christ and nothing can be done to convince us otherwise. We have the mind of Christ. We offer ourselves for the sake of others, humbling ourselves in service to our Lord as he offered himself for our sake. We bow our knee here and now to him as our Lord. This knowledge of who Christ is, what he has accomplished, and what he has promised to us who wait for him, protects our mind. Jesus Christ is the helmet of our salvation. Whom shall we fear? No one. Our maturing in Christ enables us to recognize that God has given to us every means that we need to be protected from the enemy. He has given us the only shield that can protect us from the enemy attacks that come as flaming arrows at our body. This shield is faith in Christ. He has also given us the helmet of our salvation which is in Christ. These protect us in the day of battle.
God has equipped us with the armor that girds us up, has put us in right standing with Him, and protects us from the attacks of the enemy. We are fully protected in Christ. Yet, there are weapons for our warfare that we need to be able to wield. God has provided us with a sword for us to use. We are fully armed for battle, not covered in armor to stand around and take blows from the enemy without being able to respond. We do respond and fight our enemy. We do this with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. John's gospel begins by letting us know that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ is the Word of God who became flesh. The sword of the Spirit are the very words of Jesus for Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to his disciples so that we may recall all that our Lord said and did. The Holy Spirit supplies the power of God that goes forth into the world through us as we speak the truth in love for the glory of God. In using the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, we cut through the lies and deceptions of the enemy. By means of the Word, light breaks into darkness and captives are set free to follow Christ. This Word is sharper than any two edged sword. It is sufficient for any and every battle. The sword we have is Christ for we speak of Christ and proclaim the truth. We proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God. We announce the promised second coming of Christ and the judgment to come. We speak of God's grace and mercy extended to all who will believe in Christ. We have a sword with which we do battle. As we mature in Christ, we learn the Word and how to wield it because God's Word does not return void to Him. When we pray, we pray in the Spirit for our battle is not with flesh and blood. We pray for those who proclaim the word of God. We pray for the word to penetrate those darkened hearts still held captive by the enemy. We pray for those who, while calling themselves Christian, have not displayed the fruit found in the Christian life, so that they too may know and love Christ in his fullness and follow him as his disciples. In prayer we come before the throne of God and intercede for our brothers and sisters doing battle. We intercede for those who need to know Christ and the schemes of the enemy so that they may live for God and not for themselves. By way of prayer we receive our marching orders in the battle and hear our Commander directing us to our position. It is not a simulated war game that are engaged in, but a spiritual battle that seeks the souls of human beings. Yet in prayer we are reminded and affirm that our God is bigger than our enemy. God is worthy of our praise for having our eyes fixed on Him we recognize that nothing can separate us from the love of God we have in Christ. With the word of God fixed in our heart and mind, we can proclaim along with Paul that we too are convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beyond our being fully equipped with the armor of God, in Christ we are aware of the schemes of the devil. We recognize that he roams around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. We know that he has been a liar since the beginning and is the father of lies. No, we are not ignorant of the enemy's schemes. What is more, in Christ we have been given kingdom authority. It sounds strange to many ears for our culture has relegated our enemy as if he were some cartoon character, but our enemy is real and in Christ we are instructed to cast our demons. We are to send them packing. James tells us that we are to resist the devil and he will flee. Our battle need not take place by ranting and raving, but by proclaiming the truth and praising our God. Rather than being anxious about anything, we bring everything before God in prayer and petitions, with thanksgiving. We take captive our thoughts and think on those things which are true, honorable, right, and pure. God has equipped us for battle. We are fully armed in Christ. Being mature in Christ means that we don't flee in the day of evil, but we stand firm. We are not taken by surprise for we recognize our enemy. We abide in Christ and keep from being led astray by rejecting false teachers that try to bring another gospel that is no gospel at all. We are not like those who are frightened by the idea of spiritual warfare. Nor are we turned off by it because we understand it is a reality of this world. Neither do we deny it for our Lord warned us and gave us authority. So, we go and make disciples, doing so intentionally knowing that our enemy doesn't give up his captives without a fight. We have been equipped and we engage in the fight of truth and light. Christ is our armor and our commander.
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