Do You Know How To Apply The Armor Of God?

The Seven-fold Armor of God—Part One

Ephesians 6: 10-18 (read it.)

Introduction:

We recently studied Ephesians 6:10-13. There, we saw that we were to find our strength in the Person of Christ, his indwelling Holy Spirit, and that He has sent us to live in this World as lights in a dark place. God tells us “stand against the enemies of our souls, and do not be dismayed by the evil in the world.” We are to announce the judgment and the salvation of God, as His Ambassadors.

As we move on, and learn about the Armor of God, we see “seven” pieces of armor listed. We often associate the number seven, in scripture, with “completeness” or “completion.” The final Judgments in the Revelation come in three waves of seven, nested within one another.

We talk about the “Last Trumpet” ending the reign of Man on Earth. It is the seventh trumpet of Judgment on the Earth, during the great Tribulation. There are many examples of such “things”sevens,” Old and New Testament. I don’t want to overemphasize it, though, because, as they say, “sometimes seven just means one more than six.”

However, in this particular case God has offered us something, and it is a perfect gift, as mentioned in James 1:17 “Every Good gift and every perfect Gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” So, while I do not want to “overemphasize the number seven;” in this case, it seems to bear out what Paul says about the armor—it is the “whole” armor of God…it is complete in every way.

Five Primarily Defensive Weapons:

First things first: (v. 14) “Having your loins girt about with truth”

As a small child learns to dress himself, he learns very quickly that we put on our various garments on, in a specific order. You can’t put your shoes on before your socks, for example. Well, the first thing God says is that we are to “stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth….”

Consider the Truth of God’s Word to be a belt. If you watch a carpenter’s crew gearing up for work, you will see that one of the final things they put on is their tool belt. It holds all their hand tools, and frequently a few pounds of nails, screws, or other fasteners. But it goes on last.

The Truth of God’s Word is similar: It upholds everything else. Without the truth of God’s Word, nothing else in the Christian Life is valid or helpful. This belt, unlike the carpenter’s tool-belt, however, comes first. God says to “gird up our loins” with the truth of God’s written Word. It is the foundation for all the rest of the armor, and it must be put on first.

Everything Depends upon the Truth of God’s Word

All of our existence as believers depends on this one thing: God’s Word is True! It either is, or it isn’t. We are not looking at a smorgasbord, from which we are to choose what to believe. There are certainly many parts we understand poorly, and probably some we don’t understand at all. (Daniel complained about this, in Daniel chapter 12. The speaker told him that that portion was not for him, but that it would be understood by the people of the end times.) But it is all “God-breathed”—”God-inspired.” It is all true!

Bear in mind that the door to the truth is the will, not the intellect. It is very seldom possible to “argue” someone into believing. Ultimately, we recognize that we have a choice to make, and we choose, either to receive the voice of God, or to reject it.

After I chose to believe God’s Word, I had to depend on Him to give me more information to confirm that choice. I discovered that, once you begin looking for the “fingerprints of God” in your life, believing that His hand is at work, you will begin to see His hand everywhere. God has big hands, and He leaves big fingerprints.

What if I don’t Believe the Whole Bible?

But if you decide to deny him, there will always be a plausible doubt—a reason not to believe. Ultimately, it requires more faith to disbelieve God’s Word than to believe it, as there is such an super-abundance of evidence in His favor. If I choose to doubt, then I must believe in my own wisdom, for which I have a lifetime of evidence that it is not worthy of faith.

Or, I may believe other humans: “wise men” who continually give me reason (via news stories, and governmental decisions, and scientific community shenanigans) to know that their wisdom is no better than mine…maybe worse. So, the choice is clear: I either believe the Word of One whose track-record is perfect, though sometimes mysterious, or that of humans who continually make bad decisions.

If my confidence is in God’s Word, then the rest of the Armor is at my disposal. If not, then I have nothing. In similar fashion, the Ancient Roman soldiers attached much of their armor to, or suspended it from the belt. They secured the belt, first: If the belt failed, the breastplate fell away, and the sword sheath would be gone. Choose to put your daily, living Faith in the truth of God’s Word. He is worthy of your faith.

How to Protect the Heart: The Breastplate of Righteousness

The Breastplate, of course, is just what it sounds like—a plate, or shell, to cover the chest and abdomen from a frontal attack. The Roman soldier was primarily a foot-soldier, and when facing enemy soldiers, his vital organs needed protection from swords, spears, etc. …and primarily from the front. He wasn’t supposed to retreat.

God says that the Breastplate in the Christian’s armor is Righteousness…but not the righteousness of the believer, primarily—the believer is too fallible for that to hold up for very long. Where can we get a righteousness that will hold up under the attack of Satan? And how will it protect the heart of the believer?

Where Do We Get the Breastplate of Righteousness?

Turn in your Bible to 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who (Christ) knew no sin, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in Him.” That is the only righteousness on which we can depend…the Righteousness of God, imputed to us through the Blood of Jesus. Genesis 15:6 says “Abraham believed God and He (God) counted it to him (Abraham) as righteousness.” That is our only source of Righteousness. Paul says, in Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

When our conscience accuses us, and Satan chimes in, condemning us for the sins of the flesh and of the mind, we can rest on the righteousness of Christ. “Yes I am a sinner! That is why Jesus went to the Cross! His blood paid the price: The full price for my sin. I have become the Righteousness of God in Him.” Do I consciously “feel” that way? No!

Feelings are not Reliable

My “feelings” are bound up in my experience, and my daily experience tells me that I am a sinner. The fact, however, is that I am now in Christ, not in the flesh, and His righteousness has become mine. God no longer sees me in my old sin nature. It is vitally important to grasp this truth, because without it you will constantly be under attack from the enemies of your soul: They will tell you that you are “not good enough” to be a child of God, much less His Ambassador.

Our defense against this sort of attack, whether from our own flawed conscience, or the world, or Satan himself. is to freely confess that on our own we have NO righteousness, but that in Christ we are completely Holy and Righteous, just as He is. That is hard for me to imagine!

Fortunately, I do not have to imagine it: turn to Ephesians 4:24. “…and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true Holiness.” Notice that it says that this New Man is “created.” The person in focus, here, is not the indwelling Holy Spirit, but the new nature of the believer. The Holy Spirit is God…He is not a created being. But the person who has been born again is a new Creation in Christ (2^nd Corinthians 5:17.)

And that new Man, the new nature of the Born-again believer, is created in Righteousness (Christ’s Righteousness!) and true Holiness. Wow! What a powerful statement about our position in Christ. That is why we can say with confidence, that in Him we are secure forever! That is why we can use the Breastplate of Righteousness—Christ’s Righteousness, to protect our hearts from the attack of the Evil One.

What About Shoes?

A soldier can only fight so long as he has firm footing. God calls us to prepare our feet with the “preparation of the Gospel of peace.”

The Roman army issued its soldiers a pair of hobnail sandals. He strapped them on before battle, or whenever he was on duty. They were sturdy, and solid. The sandals were made to be of maximum durability, strength and secure footing: Not necessarily for comfort. Armies today issue similar footgear to their soldiers: durable, with good all-terrain traction, and (in jungle climates) breathable fabric, to avoid excess moisture and possible fungus infections.

We are to constantly be preparing for service by reading and reviewing the scriptures, and specifically the “Gospel of Peace.” How does that differ from the Gospel of Grace? Effectively they are one and the same. Nearly every Epistle in the New Testament begins with the phrase, “Grace be unto you, and Peace…” or something very similar, within the first verse or two. And it always comes in that order: Grace, resulting in Peace.

At Peace WITH God!

When we believed the Gospel of Grace, we were made new creatures in Christ, and, whether we are aware of it or not, we are permanently at Peace with God…He is no longer at odds with us, as He no longer sees us in our sins. Romans 5:1 says, “Being justified (declared righteous) by faith we have peace with God. We don’t have to seek it. Peace with God is eternally ours!

Having the Peace of God is another matter. We confess our sins and cast our cares on Him to have the peace of God. We have the peace of God when we are walking in the Spirit, and casting our cares upon Him because He cares for us. Philippians 4:6, 7 says that we are to be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, we are to make our requests known to Him, so that the Peace of God can be our daily experience. If we don’t, it won’t!

The firm footing from which we can offer eternal life to the lost, and upon which we stand against the enemy, is the fact that we are permanently at peace with God. We are no longer his enemies, and never will be so again.

And The Shield?

We are told that, above all, we are to take the Shield of Faith, with which we shall be able to quench all the flaming darts of the wicked. All who are Born Again have experienced saving faith. We are saved by Grace, through Faith in His Blood. (Romans 3:25) There is no other way offered, though many false teachers propose “alternate routes.”

But the living faith, mentioned here, is our daily dependence on God for wisdom, protection, guidance, and strength. This concept has been taught from earliest times, in both the Old and the New Testament. Gideon was told, “Go, in this thy strength: have I not sent thee?” Solomon taught, (Proverbs 3:5, 6) “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.”

Omni-directional Defense!

Doubts can be thrown at us from any of our enemies. The World constantly heaps doubt on the Christian, either flatly denying the truth of God’s Word, or calling into question the character of God and His followers. Our own flesh, the most devious of our enemies, does the same thing, saying, “Well, that doesn’t feel right…I’m not comfortable with that…” But (again) our feelings are not reliable indicators of truth. God’s Word is!

Our comfort or discomfort are also not reliable as indicators of truth. Our old sin nature will never be comfortable with God’s Word—it cannot be, according to Romans 8:7. So why should I even consider its claims? Satan will use any means available, to cast doubt on God’s Word. Remember how he used the serpent against Eve: “Yea, hath God surely said…?” and “Ye shall not surely die…” Satan begins by casting doubt on the Word, and then calls God’s character into question. He first suggests that perhaps the Word is not reliable, and then flatly calls God a liar.

All of these sources of doubt stem from the Evil One. Our defense against all of these attacks is Faith. It does not matter how I feel about something: What God says is what matters.

It does not matter what the World says about God—they have already rejected Christ and His Word: They are an incredibly unreliable measure of truth. And, ultimately, if our confidence is in His Word, then we need not fear Satan’s “flaming Darts of doubt,” however he delivers them: We will meet them with the Shield of Faith!

The Helmet—Protecting the Mind

The pieces of armor are all tied together by a common theme: The truth of God’s Word, and the secure position of the believer in Christ are the reason they all work. What can we do to protect our minds? The heaviest doubt or fear, particularly for a young believer, is that somehow we can lose our salvation…that somehow we have not done enough, and that God will abandon us.

Little children, toddlers especially, frequently fear separation from their mothers. Even older children sometimes fear abandonment, especially if they come from a broken home, or have gone through foster homes and adoption at a later age. The Christian is under attack from Satan in that same vein. He whispers, “Well, that was too much for God, brother! You have sinned your way out of Grace, now, sister!”

Sadly, this idea is even taught in some churches. How can I possibly put on the Helmet of Salvation if I am not sure I am saved, and/or I am not sure that I cannot lose my salvation? How can my mind be free to serve Christ, if I am constantly focused on “working to keep” something that I cannot lose?

There are two things to bear in mind here:

God the Son (Jesus) says you can have eternal life today: You do no have to “wait ‘til you die” to find out if you have it. (John 5:24)
God wants you to know that you have it. (1^st John 5:11-13)

Rest in the promise of God, believing His promise regarding your salvation. Then you will no longer be subject to Satan’s attacks on your mind. You are wearing the Helmet of Salvation!

Next time we will talk about the offensive weapons in the Christian’s armor.

In the meantime, please meditate on the five defensive weapons God has given you, to defend against your enemies, and be at peace. If you want to read ahead, consider how the Word of God and Prayer can be used as offensive weapons.

May the Lord richly bless you as you walk with Him and firmly stand against your enemies.

March 29, 2025March 29, 2025

Do You Know The Spiritual Enemies in Our Spiritual Warfare?

The Spiritual Enemies in Our Spiritual War

Ephesians 6:10-13; Judges 6:11-16

Introduction:

Ten years ago, I saw a panel-discussion about the then-recent attack on the US embassy in Syria. Eventually, an Islamic-American woman in the audience asked, “Why are you not answering ideological questions with ideology, and discussion, instead of proposing war?” (No one had mentioned Islam. Everyone had focused on the violent attack that had occurred, and had carefully ignored the reason behind the attack.)

A woman on the panel replied that the world has about 1.2 billion Islamic people, and (as the woman in the audience said) about 75% of them desire peace. However, she pointed out that the only ones willing to discuss matters were the peaceful ones . The remaining 25% (300 million people …nearly the population of the United States) do not want peace, will not discuss it, and absolutely commit themselves to the destruction of Western Civilization.

Active Involvement?

On the other hand, even most of those do not get “actively involved.” Obviously, it only took nineteen jihadists to destroy the trade towers, killing nearly 3000 people. During WW2, most Germans wanted peace…however, the Nazis overruled, because the peaceful majority didn’t resist them. Sixty million people died as a long-range result. She cited other examples in which the “peaceful majority” proved to be irrelevant: Only the violent minority made a difference. Sadly, only those willing to fight for their beliefs become relevant in history.

The Quran calls all Islamic believers to wage “Jihad” (violent “holy war”) against all infidels. In contrast, nowhere does the Bible tell Christians to use violence to achieve their goals. (Israel was commanded to fight, and they did. Obviously, they still do so today. But the Church is not Israel.)

Instead, the New Testament addresses Christians: A different sort of war is in view. Furthermore, the scripture says we are soldiers in a spiritual war, with deadly spiritual enemies, all of whom are absolutely committed to our destruction. If we want to earn eternal relevance, (and not fall prey to those enemies) we must embrace the fact of spiritual warfare: And…we must be personally involved!

So, How Do We “Stand” For God?

In Ephesians 4:1-6:9, Paul told us how to walk with the Lord. He changes the subject (though it is closely related) in Ephesians 6:10, saying how we should stand for the Lord.

We tend to think of “Christian warfare” as a lot of “guerilla-tactics:” Sneaking around, looking for a chance to “slip in a good word, edgewise.” Sorry. That is not what it is about! It is not to be a “battle of wits:” (Compared to the enemies Paul describes, here, we are nearly “witless.”) And remember: The people against whom we try to use our “spiritual zingers” are not enemies. They are working with our enemies, but they are truly victims, just as we ourselves have been.

**Be Strong In the Lord, and in the Power of His Might**

Paul’s first command is: “Be strong.” Notice that the command is to “my brethren”—born again believers—children, together, of their real Father in heaven. In John 8:44,Jesus said that the world’s people are not by nature the children of God, but of Satan. That sounds harsh, but it is simply the truth…and in Ephesians 2:3, Paul agrees that we all began in that position.

But as Christians, he commanded us to “be strong.” Notice, too, that that is not the whole command. If he only said, “Be Strong,” we all might join gymnasiums or lift weights, trying to “obey the command of God”…and we would all be wrong. He says, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His Might.” This has nothing to do with physical strength.

How Does God’s Strength Enter the Picture?

Read the story of Gideon, in Judges 6:11-16. (read it) Israel was a nation under siege, terrorized by roving bands of Midianite raiders. Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh, was secretly threshing some wheat, trying to get it into storage without the Midianites seeing him. (The raiders had a pattern of letting someone else do all the work and then swooping in to steal the harvest.)

The Angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. (From previous studies, we saw that “the Angel of the LORD” always turns out to be the LORD, Jehovah, himself…and, as we further discovered: it is Jesus, in the flesh! This is no exception. In verses 14, 16, and following, the LORD is doing the talking: He called to Gideon, saying “the LORD is with thee, thou Mighty Man of Valor.” And Gideon effectively said, “You’ve got the wrong guy! I am the least in my father’s house, and our house is poor in our tribe. I’m no ‘mighty man’ of anything!”

But the LORD commanded him, saying “Go in this thy might…have I not sent thee?”

God knew who he was dealing with—a scared young farmer, just trying to stay alive and feed his family: but He called him a “Mighty Man of Valor”…and then revealed what made him strong. In the first place, he said, “The LORD is with thee!” and, in the second place, he said “go, in THIS thy might: Have I not sent thee?”

These two facts were what guaranteed Gideon His strength: As a called individual,

God was with him, and
God was sending him on a mission!

(Well! Wouldn’t it be nice if we had those two things?) You know the answer to that: We do!

Our Source of Strength

How do I know God is with us? Because Jesus guaranteed it, over and over. In John 14:16,He said that the Holy Spirit would be with us forever(remember: The Holy Spirit is God.) And, in John 14:18, He said that He himself would not abandon us. In John 14:23, He said that He and the Father would take up their abode with us. And, (Matthew 28:20) in the context of the Great Commission, he gave His promise “I am with thee always, even unto the end of the age!” So: There is no doubt that God is with us: The only question remains: are we with Him?

God went to a great deal of trouble to get Gideon to walk with him. We like to remember Gideon “laying out the fleece,” but we forget that this was specifically an act of doubt. Jesus had just appeared to him in person, and had given him a command. Gideon responded with “How do I know it is really you, or that you are sending me?” The two incidents with the fleece, and the subsequent “night-prowl” into the enemy camp all were given to allay his fears. The Lord really wanted him to do the job, and He really went a long way to “get Gideon on His team.”

**Are You Really On God’s Team?**

So, what does it take to get you on God’s team? He already died for you. (Of course, he died for Gideon, too, but Gideon didn’t know that.) He gave you the indwelling Holy Spirit; (Gideon didn’t have that blessing either.) He gave you the whole Bible. (Gideon may have seen the Torah, but probably only from a distance. We don’t even know for sure that he knew how to read: this was during a very dark period in Israel’s history.) The fact is, today, we have been given more evidence and more blessing than any other group of people in History.

You may think, “Ah, but Israel had the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the Manna in the desert, not to mention the miraculous gushing River of Water from the Rock.” Yes, they did, and they soon forgot them. Gideon had never seen any of those things! He had only heard of them.

You have the written record of those miracles, and you have your own copy of the whole Bible…do you read it? Do you believe Him? God wants you on His team, and He has already promised to be with you. He has already called you, and He has already sent you.

Where Has He Sent Us?

Matthew 28:19, 20 “Go ye therefore and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We treat the Great Commission as if it were the marching orders for eleven or twelve men, but not for us.

But let’s read the rest of it: “…teaching them (that’s us) to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Yes, the Great Commission is to all Christians, throughout all history, in all places, in all the World.

God told Gideon nearly the same things He tells us: “Go, in this thy might: have I not sent thee?” But his marching orders were quite different. He was to wage physical war against the Midianite raiders who were destroying Israel. We are to fight a spiritual war against the spiritual forces of wickedness in this world…not against flesh and blood.

As with Gideon, He says, “be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His might”…not our own strength. Gideon had nothing to offer God except faith and obedience: The same as we have.

Our Defense Against Evil

So, what is to be our defense against the evil in the world, and, more importantly, against the invisible, active agents of evil around us? (Wait! What’s this “invisible” stuff? Where did I get that?) We will find out in the next few verses that ALL our real enemies are invisible. So, how will we defend against such an invisible enemy?

He commanded us to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the “wiles of the devil.” The word, “Devil” means “accuser.” Satan means “adversary,” or “enemy.” But in this case, we see that ALL of our enemies are under the headship of that one Enemy, the Devil, who (1^st Peter 5:8) “Walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour.”

So, any human defense will be useless; only the armor of God will suffice. The World feeds people video games and movies, many with the idea that “humans can fight demons…” shooting at them, etc. Think! They are invisible. Also, they are completely immune to anything humans can do, let alone bullets, blades and other such nonsense. In verses 14-18, God gives the only weapons that have any effect. We won’t get there today, but you can read ahead and see them: We have a handful of primarily defensive weapons and two potentially offensive weapons. And none of them are in any way connected to human ability or strength.

Gideon’s Experience, And Ours

Think of Gideon again: If you recall, the way God ordered the battle was first to take away all but 300 of Gideon’s troops. Next, God ordained that both hands of each of those 300 soldiers were full: They could not use any weapon in the battle! And, finally, He commanded them to:

Stand
Shine a light(remember the jugs and the torches?) and
Sound an alarm (Alternating between Blowing a trumpet and Shouting.)

Consider: Isn’t that also what He commands us to do?

Stand fast
Shine the light of a holy life (Philippians 2:15, 16; Matthew 5:15, 16)
Sound the alarm of the Gospel—both the “bad” news and the “good” news.

But our enemies and our armor are quite different from those of Gideon.

Who Are Our Enemies?

God’s Word says we have three major enemies, all under the leadership of one Enemy; Satan. He also has henchmen that we call demons, but the main way God lists our enemies is as:

The World
The Flesh
The Devil

(So, why do I say that they are all invisible? We see the world around us every day, don’t we?) No, as a matter of fact: We see the people of the world: people for whom Jesus died. 1^st John 2:2 states that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world: He is the satisfaction of the Righteousness and Holiness of God on their behalf. So, if you think you “see” one of your enemies, remember that he or she is definitely someone for whom Jesus shed His precious blood. And we are commanded to reach out to them with the Love of God.

Our Three Enemies

“The World” that is our Enemy is the World system (of thinking, values, and motivation) controlling all the nations, politicians, and unbelievers of every kind. The people themselves are just sinners for whom Jesus died. The system is, and always shall be, the enemy of your soul.

“The Flesh” refers to our old sin nature, fully given over to self-will. (Even God can’t repair it or redeem it: So, He will do away with it through physical death.) In the believer’s case, this will provide eternal freedom from sin: when the body is resurrected, the only remaining nature will be the new nature. For the unbeliever, it means eternal loss, as the only resurrection they face is the resurrection of the damned; eternal separation from God in the lake of Fire.

“The Devil.”—Satan himself—is the leader of all his armies: not only the invisible evil hosts named here (the “principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world” are angelic beings) and the “spiritual wickedness in high places,” but also of the World and the Flesh, according to Ephesians 2:2, 3. (He is the “Spirit that now works in the Children of Disobedience.”)

Our Goal: To Stand

And, against all these enemies The Lord says to do what? Just stand! But as we stand, He calls us to shine as lights in a dark place (Philippians 2:15), and to sound the alarm of the Gospel, so that we serve as ambassadors of God (2nd Corinthians 5:19, 20.) We are offering His terms of salvation to all who are willing. We cannot re-write history. God will carry out His judgment in His own time. We will let God handle the judgment of His enemies. We are only to reach out to them in Love.

(Next time: The Armor)

Father God, help us to see your presence and your command as the full and sole source of our strength, and to take that command as our own personal marching orders, in Jesus’ Name, and for His sake.