The Full Armor

Good Morning,

Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

This verse of Scripture, and those that follow, are more than just a little bit familiar to all of us who have been attending services and heard preachers preach for any length of time at all. It is, certainly, excellent advice and that which follows this verse tells us exactly what "armor" it is that we ought to be donning in our fight against the devil and his minions.

So, let me as each of us who reads these words every day a question. How do I, how do you, face each day when we are blessed enough to be able to waken and rise from our beds? Let me take a guess here and say that the majority of us DON'T do as Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and clothe ourselves in the "full armor" that God has provided for us. Wouldn't you say the same thing?

Let's read the verses that give us direction in doing what it is that we really DO know we should be doing. (I'll copy all of the verses from this section here so that everything is in the correct context.)

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)
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 saints.

"The belt of truth...the breastplate of righteousness...the gospel of peace...the shield of faith...the helmet of salvation...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

I don't think that it's necessary for us to go into long and detailed explanations for each of the pieces of "armor" that are listed here. We've heard the sermons and read the verses many times, I'm sure. I don't think that I'm smart enough or glib enough to add much, if anything, to that which you've already heard, read, and studied in the past.

What I'm hearing this morning from the Lord is that we need to be much more diligent in actually "wearing" this "armor" that He has provided for us and to stop thinking that we can fight the enemy in our own power and by our own efforts. That, my friends, isn't possible. God is telling us clearly that we need Him in order to ward off that which the enemy throws our way. The Holy Spirit is ready and waiting to be with us in our battle against Satan and his demons. What we have to do is to call on Him and be willing to don this armor God has provided.

As is an ongoing theme in most of which I hear from God, it's our choice, just as all of life is filled with choices, to don the "full armor of God" or to continue to attempt the fight with our meager, human abilities. In and of ourselves, even in concert with a huge congregation of believers, we cannot defeat the devil without God being right there with us and being obedient in doing as He says we should in our "struggle...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 heavenly realms."

Okay. The ball is in our court, as they say. Let each of us go to God in prayer and allow Him to speak to us as to exactly we should follow His instruction.

He will be with us and guide us in this battle. With Him, we will win it. Without Him, we are most surely lost.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David