The Whole Armor Of God Series

Living the Christian life is like standing on a battlefield. There is a drastic difference between peacetime and wartime. In the original Perspectives Books Ralph Winter uses the illustration of the Queen Mary ship to illustrate this.

Here is his illustration:

The Queen Mary, lying in repose in the harbor at Long Beach, California is a fascinating museum of the past. Used both as a luxury liner in peacetime and a troop transport during the Second World War, its present status as a museum the length of three football fields affords a stunning contrast between the lifestyles appropriate in peace and war.

On one side of a partition, you see the dining room reconstructed to depict the peacetime table setting that was appropriate to the wealthy patrons of high culture for whom a dazzling array of knives and forks and spoons held no mysteries. On the other side of the partition the evidences of wartime austerities are in sharp contrast. One metal tray with indentations replaces fifteen plates and saucers. Bunks eight tiers high explain how the peacetime capacity of 3000 passengers gave way to 15,000 troops on board in wartime.

How repugnant to the peacetime masters this transformation must have been! To do it took a national emergency, of course. The survival of a nation depended upon it. The essence of the Great Commission today is that the survival of many millions of people depends on its fulfillment. (End of Winters illustration).

There is a call to a wartime transformation we find in Ephesians 6:10-20. We are to put on the whole armor of God. We are on a spiritual battlefield. You must be transformed to fight the good fight.

We need to know who our enemy is in the spiritual warfare. When Paul says, take up the armor of God he uses a command that has a military connotation.

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. (Ephesians 6:12)

Our enemy is a spiritual power. Our enemy the devil, is described as spiritual forces in heavenly places. Paul wants the believers in Ephesus to know that our enemy is the devil. There may be earthy leaders who oppose the gospel. Like Paul was when he was Saul. Ultimately Christ died for them. They are deceived by the enemy, who is the devil.

When Paul calls Ephesus believers and us, to take up the full armor of God, he uses a military command. He also is very clear about who the enemy is in verse 11, it is the devil.

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

We need to know the schemes of the devil. Paul tells us why we should know the devil’s schemes in his letter to the Corinthians. In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11)

You have heard of the frog in the kettle syndrome. If the water is boiling the frog jumps out. If the water is heated slowly over time the frog does not perceive the danger and is boiled to death. We need to be aware of complacency.

As believers we may be conforming to the image of the world. We must be aware that we are not gradually and subtly squeezed to conform to the world. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

Theis is one scheme of the devil to deceive us through our complacency. Watch out for the attitude of complacency. We might say everyone else is doing this worldly thing. We might go with the flow. This will deceive us into spiritual apathy when we need to make a stand for Christ.

Be on the alert for the scheme of deception. The devil will give you truth along with a lie. Some religious systems sound like sound Christian doctrines. It is not until a closer look is made that you find out there are good sounding outward appearance and a deceptive lie inside.

Jesus warns of deception. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)

We must also be aware that Satan will use temptation to destroy us. We will be tempted to be damaging our relationship with God through temptation. Something that looks so attractive yet causes such destruction. It was the scheme of Satan in the Garden of Eden.