INTRODUCTION:
It comes as a shock to the new believer that the Christian Life is a battleground and not a playground. We can always tell when a new believer is starting to mature, because they always find themselves fighting battles. This is a good sign because as Spurgeon used to say, “Satan never kicks a dead Horse!” If we are going to win the battle, we must know the enemy possess power. We must also understand that we have equipment to attack him and protect ourselves from him. Over the last four weeks, we have learned the strategies Satan uses against us. This week we will see the spiritual equipment and armor that God provides. In order to stand therefore in the heat of battle, believers need every piece of God's armor. The order of the pieces listed in the following verses is the order in which a soldier would put them on.
I. Full armor is required.
A. Paul emphasizes that the full armor of God is required
1. Therefore, the believers' response to the reality of this warfare should be to take up the whole armor of God.
2. The armor is ready for us; we merely need to take it.
• "Take up" is a technical military term describing preparation for battle.
• The armor is available, but the believer must "take it up" in order to be ready.
3. We would be remiss to do otherwise, for the battle is real, and we are Satan's targets.
• Only with the armor will believers be able to withstand,
• a word describing standing against great opposition
• It would be impossible to stand on our strength alone.
• Christian soldiers must be able to hold their ground and not flee or surrender under Satan's attacks.
4. The whole context implies that we have the victory.
• We must participate in Christ's victory over Satan.
• We know the outcome of the war, but individual battles can be lost if any believers have not done all in order to stand
5. The area left unguarded in our lives is shore to be the area that Satan will attack.
• Personally accepting and appropriating the defense, which is already yours in Him; with a view to your being able to stand against the strategies of the devil, the diabolos, the dread "Accuser" of the followers of his great Adversary, Christ, always lying in wait for their unreadiness and failure.
II. The Girdle of Truth
A. Satan s a liar
1. The bible calls him the father of all lies
2. We must oppose him with truth
B. In order to stand therefore in the heat of battle, believers need every piece of God's armor.
1. The order of the pieces listed is the order in which a soldier would put them on.
C. First, Paul wrote, fasten the belt of truth around your waist.
1. This belt, also called a girdle, was about six inches wide. Probably made of leather, it held together the clothing underneath as well as holding the other pieces of armor in place, such as the breastplate and the sheath for the sword.
• It may have contained a "breechclout," an apron that protected the lower abdomen.
• It may have also braced the back in order to give strength.
2. When the belt was fastened, the soldier was "on duty," ready to fight. A slackened belt meant "off duty." Christians, however, must face each day with a fastened belt, ready to fight the battle when needed.
3. As the belt formed the foundation of the soldier's armor, the truth is the foundation of the Christian life.
• This "truth" refers to the believer's character as a person who can be relied on for the truth.
• It certainly also refers to the truth of God's Word and his message in the gospel.
4. If we could not be absolutely sure of our faith, if we were not sure that Jesus is "the truth" (John 14:6), then there would be little use for the armor or in attempting to fight any battle.
• God's truth, as revealed to us through Jesus Christ, forms the foundation of victorious Christian living.
5. When the enemy, the father of lies (John 8:44), attacks with his lies, half-truths, and distortions, we believers can stand on the truth we believe.
• Jesus prayed for his followers: "Sanctify them by Your truth.
• Your word is truth" (John 17:17 ).
III. The Breastplate of Righteousness
A. Next, the soldier must put on the breastplate of righteousness.
1. A breastplate was a large leather, bronze, or chain mail piece that protected the body from the neck to the thighs.
• Isaiah 59:17,.
2. “Protecting the vital organs, the breastplate was a vital piece in the soldier's armor.
• No soldier would go into battle without his breastplate.
3. “Righteousness" provides a significant defense; it gives the evidence that we have been made right with God and that this righteousness has been given us by the Holy Spirit.
• Believers have been made righteous through the blood of Christ.
B. Righteousness is the opposite of Satan's complete wickedness.
1. Satan seeks to prevent righteous living.
2. When the enemy, the accuser (Revelation 12:10), tries to convince us that we are not really saved, that we just keep on disappointing God, and that we're "poor excuses" for Christians, we can stand up to him because of the righteousness we have been promised through our faith in Jesus Christ. "
• Romans 3:22 .
IV. The Shoes of Peace
A. A soldier wore special sandals or military shoes that protected his feet without slowing him down.
1. Made of soft leather with studded soles.
2. This allowed them to march farther and faster they could dig in and hold their ground when in hand-to-hand combat.
B. Believers also need special "shoes"— the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
1. How you stand determines how you fight
• If a fighter loses his footing he loses the fight
• The gospel is our solid footing
2. The Word of God is the gospel, or Good News, that brings peace.
3. In other words, believers are ready for battle because "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard [their] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).
• They can stand firm, with peace, even in hand-to-hand combat, because they know that they are doing right and that they are on the winning side.
• Christians are in the battle both with the inner peace Christ has already given and the desire to produce that peace in the hearts of others.
• This can only happen as they share this "gospel of peace" with those who have not yet heard and accepted it.
4. When the enemy, the deceiver (Revelation 12:9), offers false ways to peace or tries to get us to focus on our concerns and fears, we Christian soldiers can stand up to him.
• Jesus promised,
• John 14:27.
V. The Shield of Faith
A. With all the pieces of armor mentioned above, the soldier needed to also carry extra protection in the form of a shield.
1. The image was taken from the Roman shield, a large oblong or oval piece, approximately four feet high by two feet wide, made of wood and leather, often with an iron frame.
2. Sometimes the leather would be soaked in water to help extinguish flaming arrows.
• The ancient "flaming arrow" or "fire dart" was made of cane with a flammable head that was lighted and then shot so as to set fire to wooden shields, cloth tents, etc.
• For Christians, this shield is faith—complete reliance on God.
3. Faith means total dependence on God and willingness to do his will.
• It is not something we put on for a show for others.
• It means believing in his promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet.
B. God gives faith to protect the believer
1. Ephesians 2:8
2. James 1:3
3. Peter 1:7
C. When the enemy, the ruler of this world (John 12:31), sends his flaming arrows of temptation, doubt, wrath, lust, despair, vengeance, problems, and trials into our lives, we can hold up our shields and quench them.
1. We are assured that "whatever is born of God conquers the world.
• 1 John 5:4
2. We must take hold of God's full resources.
• Faith gives us the strength to stand against Satan with firm courage, even when he uses his most fearsome weapons.
VI. The Helmet of Salvation
A. The helmet protected the soldier's head.
1. Helmets were made of leather and brass, or sometimes bronze and iron—no sword could pierce a good helmet.
• Isaiah 59:17 describes God wearing a helmet of salvation.
2. The dressed soldier would take his helmet and sword from an armor bearer.
3. In the same way, believers are to take this helmet of salvation, for it is handed to them by God himself.
• First Thessalonians 5:8 calls believers to put on "the hope of salvation as a helmet."
• This "hope" is a certainty—believers have complete assurance that God will do all that he has promised.
• Their salvation, already accomplished, will be consummated when Christ comes to claim his own.
4. Christians, with the assurance of salvation protecting their minds, can stand against Satan's attacks.
• As a blow to the head often means death, so a person without hope of salvation will be easily defeated by the enemy.
B. When the enemy, the devil (1 Peter 5:8), seeks to devour and destroy God's people with empty or evil thoughts, trying to get us to doubt our salvation, we can trust in the protection of the helmet.
1. Our salvation will be accomplished, for God has promised it.
• Romans 5:5
• Romans 13:11
VII. The Sword of the Spirit
A. Finally, the soldier takes the sword of the Spirit—
1. The only offensive weapon mentioned.
2. This refers to the short sword used in close combat.
• The sharp, short sword was one of Rome's great military innovations.
B. The Roman army was called the "short swords" because of its use of the short swords in winning battles.
1. The sword's double edges made it ideal for "cut and thrust" strategy.
2. The Word of God is the Spirit's sword
• Isaiah 11:4-5;
• 2 Thessalonians 2:8;
• Hebrews 4:12
3. The Spirit makes the Word of God effective as we speak it and receive it.
• The Spirit gives the Word its penetrating power and sharp edge.
• Jesus' use of God's Word in his temptation prompts our use of it against Satan (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10).
• With the Holy Spirit within, believers have the constant reminder of God's Word to use against Satan's temptations.
C. When the enemy, the tempter (Matthew 4:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), tries to tempt us to do evil, we have the power to send him away with the word of God.
1. The Spirit will bring the words to mind, for Jesus promised,
• John 14:26
We fight a spiritual battle, but we might well ask who the enemy is? It's not the nonbeliever, although occasionally you will meet a person so full of evil and rebellion against God that he or she actually declares himself or herself the enemy of Christianity. The secular media or world systems work relentlessly to undermine God's truth, but they are not the enemy either, although they are often tools in his hands. Our enemy is Satan and the spiritual "forces of evil." Satan, the deceiver (Genesis 3), the accuser (Zechariah 3), the destroyer (1 Peter 5), is the adversary of our souls and of the souls of our friends and loved ones. As Paul sounded this battle call, he wanted us to know whom we're fighting. The Christian is not only a servant but a soldier; he belongs not only to a home but to a citadel. And to remember the tough surroundings is absolutely necessary if the life lived among them is not to be brushed away in shambles. Suppose you were in a fight to the death with someone and you held a sword in your hands. In the middle of the conflict, your opponent says, "Hey, you call that puny thing a sword? It doesn't look like much of a sword to me. In fact, I don't think it's a sword at all." Would you drop your weapon and try to fight without it? Of course not. Yet often we Christians surrender our weapons to a skeptical world. In 6:14-17 Paul describes our weaponry: the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, footwear of the gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. That is an impressive display of armament, regardless of who believes it. As you engage in spiritual combat, make sure you have and use all the weapons Our enemy is powerful, but he is also a defeated foe. As you prepare to engage him in spiritual warfare, don't be intimidated by his influence. Use the full armor of God and stand together with other believers.
