How to Prepare for Battle,
by putting on “The Whole Armor of God”
In the coming weeks we will look more in-depth at a more comprehensive breakdown of these verses in Ephesians 6:10-20. Our battel is not against Republicans, Democrats, Whites, Blacks, Latino, Asians, Men or Women. (Highly recommend the book by Andy Stanley “Not In It To Win It”) The battel is a spiritual one, and we need to FIGHT back and get ready for Battel! We as Christians know that the ultimate battel, we will be victorious. But we were warned by Christ Himself to prepare for a fight. And fight we must on every front.
Luke 22:36-37 (NKJV)
36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
Otherwards GET A WEAPON!!! Again, not just a physical but including a physical weapon, but also and most importantly a Spiritual defense and weapons as well!
Ephesians 6:10-20
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which, you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. NKJV
Per Charles Barclay commentary.
Paul suddenly sees a picture ready-made. All this time he was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier. Night and day soldiers were there to ensure that he would not escape. Paul was literally an envoy in a chain. Now he was the kind of man who could get alongside anyone; and beyond doubt he had talked often to the soldiers who were compelled to be so near him. As he writes, the soldier’s armor suggests a picture to him. The Christian too has his armor; and part by part Paul takes the armor of the Roman soldier and translates it into Christian terms.
There is the belt of truth. It was the belt which girt in the soldier’s tunic and from which his sword hung and which gave him freedom of movement. Others may guess and grope; the Christian moves freely and quickly because he knows the truth.
There is the breastplate of righteousness. When a man is clothed in righteousness, he is impregnable. Words are no defense against accusations, but a good life is. Once a man accused Plato of certain crimes. “Well then,” said Plato, “we must live in such a way as to prove that his accusations are a lie.” The only way to meet the accusations against Christianity is to show how good a Christian can be.
There are the sandals. Sandals were the sign of one equipped and ready to move. The sign of the Christian is that he is cager to be on the way to share the gospel with others who have not heard it.
There is the shield. The word Paul uses is not that for the comparatively small round shield; it is that for the great oblong shield which the heavily armed warrior wore. One of the most dangerous weapons in ancient warfare was the fiery dart. It was a dart tipped with tow dipped in pitch. The pitch-soaked tow was set alight, and the dart was thrown. The great oblong shield was made of two sections of wood, glued together. When the shield was presented to the dart, the dart sank into the wood and the flame was put out. Faith can deal with the darts of temptation. With Paul, faith is always complete trust in Christ. When we walk close with Christ, we are safe from temptation.
There is salvation for a helmet. Salvation is not something which looks back only. The salvation which is in Christ gives us forgiveness for the sins of the past and strength to conquer sin in the days to come.
There is the sword; and the sword is the word of God. The word of God is at once our weapon of defense against sin and our weapon of attack against the sins of the world. Cromwell’s Ironsides fought with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other. We can never win God’s battles without God’s book.
Finally, Paul comes to the greatest weapon of all–and that is prayer. We note three things that he says about prayer.
(a) It must be constant. Our tendency is so often to pray only in the great crises of life; but it is from daily prayer that the Christian will find daily strength.
(b) It must be intense. Limp prayer never got a man anywhere. Prayer demands the concentration of every faculty upon God.
(c) It must be unselfish. The Jews had a saying, “Let a man unite himself with the community in his prayers.” I think that often our prayers are too much for ourselves and too little for others. We must learn to pray as much for others and with others as for ourselves.
Finally, Paul asks for the prayers of his friends for himself. And he asks not for comfort or for peace but that he may yet be allowed to proclaim God’s secret, that his love is for all men. We do well to remember that ever Christian leader and every Christian preacher needs his people to uphold his hands in prayer.
Next week we will start with; “We need to Know Our Enemy”
