- This passage is often preached, yet I never felt like I understood what exactly Paul was getting at with each piece that’s mentioned. What are the specific needs? What are the specific dangers? What specifically has God given us?
- In preparing, I tried to dig deeper. For instance: “having your girded your waist with truth” -what does that mean? Why a belt image for truth? What does it symbolize? How does it play into the spiritual battles we face?
- In digging, I think (not surprisingly) that each of these is here because it’s a major concern in spiritual warfare and God’s provision in each case is just what’s needed to combat the problem.
- I’m addressing this as seven ways to lose a spiritual fight so that we can begin each point by highlighting the mistakes that we make and problems we encounter as we get into spiritual fights and then move onto God’s perfect provision in each case.
SEVEN WAYS TO LOSE A (SPIRITUAL) FIGHT:
1. Get tripped up.
- v. 14 - “. . .having girded your waist with truth.”
- What does “girded” mean? It simply means “wrapped around.” What we’re talking about here is a belt.
- This is an important piece in two ways.
a. People back in that day often wore long flowing robes. One need before you went into battle was to tuck your long robe into your belt. Why did you do this? Because if you tried to move around much with that long robe, you’d inevitably trip on it and fall down. In battle, getting tripped up could be a death sentence.
- Think of a bride’s wedding dress. It’s usually at least floor length. Think of the trouble she has as she tries to negotiate the stairs up to the platform. She usually has to hand off her bouquet and use that hand to pull up her dress a bit, all the while using her other arm to hold onto her father to keep from falling down. Imagine trying to do any kind of strenuous physical activity (running, climbing stairs, etc.) in that kind of a dress. It wouldn’t take long for you to be on the floor.
- Why is this belt a belt of truth, as opposed to a belt of grace or a belt of justice or something else? It’s because if you don’t know the real truth, you’re constantly going to be getting tripped up. One small example: Jesus said in our relationships to others that we should respond to their mistakes with forgiveness. Many disagree with that and live their lives keeping a careful mental record of wrongs committed and malice received. As a result of that, those people live not in victory, but are constantly tripped up by resentment and bitterness and hatred. It happens because they don’t know the truth and therefore are constantly tripped up by the lies they take for truth.
b. A second, although less important, point here is simply that if you don’t have your belt (which would normally hold your sheath), then you aren’t going to have your sword as you walk into battle. Spiritually, if you don’t know the truth, you definitely aren’t going to have the power of the Word of God flowing through your life.
2. In the midst of the battle, lose heart because of your mistakes.
- v. 14 - “. . .having put on the breastplate of righteousness. . .”
- What is meant here by “righteousness”? It simply means that we have been made right before God because of what Jesus has done for us. We have been justified by Jesus’ blood.
- Sometimes, though, as we sin (especially in the midst of battles where we should be boldly standing for Christ), we will begin to get discouraged and our heart begins to question whether our mistakes are the proof that God can’t use us effectively. The matters of the heart are primarily emotional and a sense of discouragement and defeat can envelope us emotionally.
- It is in this moment that we need protection for our heart and God provides it in the form of a breastplate. This is a piece of armor that would protect the chest and abdomen. That is, it protects your heart.
- When we begin to feel ourselves sinking because we’ve made some mistakes, our defense is the absolute knowledge that our righteousness is not based on anything that we do, but on what Jesus did for us. We are defended from Satanic attack by the confidence we gain in knowing that what Christ did for us cannot be taken away, even by our mistakes and sins.
- Does this mean that we excuse our sins? Absolutely not. This is not meant to be an avenue toward laziness. It simply gives us the courage to know that God can still use us and that we aren’t done for because we have sinned because our status as soldiers was not founded on our perfection, but on His perfection.
3. Get knocked down.
- v. 15 - “. . . and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. . .”
- “shod” simply means to “bind up” or “put on.”
- “preparation” brings with it the idea of steadiness. Remember that Paul has been talking primarily here about standing (vv. 11, 13, 14), so the idea here is standing in a way that is solid and steady.
- It seems odd in the middle of an extended war analogy to speak about “peace,” but the peace spoken of here is an internal peace. Peace is not the absence of trouble; peace is the presence of God. Having Jesus in your life doesn’t mean that you won’t have struggles and difficulties, but it does mean that you can face all of that with an inner tranquility and calm that defies conventional understanding. That kind of peace comes, not because the world has suddenly quit throwing problems at us, but because we have found peace with God through Jesus Christ. I have an inner peace that remains no matter what outward circumstance I may face.
- Understanding all that, one of the dangers for a soldier is that they will get knocked down because they are not solidly planted in their battle stance. When their feet are not securely and ready, a heavy blow might knock them off their feet. In battle, ending up on the ground is often a death sentence.
- We enter battles with the solid footing of knowing that the gospel has brought inner peace into our lives. Turmoil surrounding us does not have to translate into turmoil within us. (The NIV captures it nicely: “. . . and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”) The peace we have within us is a firm footing for the war around us.
4. Give up at the first sign of stiff resistance.
- v. 16 - “. . . above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
- This is a much easier image to understand. It is our faith that is our protection in times of attack.
- Some Christians presume that our spiritual battles should be won quickly, decisively, and easily. When resistance comes, many walk away. We are able to stay in the battle because of our faith that even if this battle is tough, we know we are on the winning side.
- When a church believes Jesus’ promise in Matthew 9:37-38 that there is a great harvest to be had, but then don’t see that harvest as quickly as they had hoped, they need faith in God’s promises. When a Christian is battling a recurring temptation and claims 1 Corinthians 10:13, it takes faith to trust that he can stand up under the weight when it doesn’t magically vanish.
- We need faith to believe that God is working and winning even when the battle in front of us right this second looks tough.
5. Doubt that you’ve got what it takes to be a soldier.
- v. 17 - “And take the helmet of salvation. . .”
- A helmet obviously protects your head. Here I believe Paul is thinking of our minds and, specifically, the doubts that can plague us.
- “Salvation” means “delivering, saving.” It is referring to the moment when we accept Jesus into our lives.
- One problem that some Christians struggle with is wondering whether they really were saved. The mental doubts about their salvation can take them right out of the battle and onto the sidelines.
- Earlier Paul talked about the breastplate that protected our heart (that primarily had to do with emotions). With the helmet, he is focusing on the mental reservations and doubts that can create uncertainty. 1 John 5:13 indicates that we can know for certain that we have eternal life, but that kind of confidence is foreign to some believers.
- We are to counteract those doubts with the knowledge that we were delivered by Jesus. We have experienced His salvation by our genuine belief. Sure, things can get intense sometimes in the middle of a serious spiritual battle, but we can have mental confidence because our salvation is solid in Jesus’ death and resurrection and our simple belief.
6. Show up empty-handed.
- v. 17 - “And take. . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. . .”
- This one, like the shield of faith, is fairly simple to understand. The Bible is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). We must know the Word well in order to be able to use it skillfully. When we do, it is a most powerful weapon.
- Conversely, when we know little about the Bible, it is like walking into battle empty-handed. No soldier today would walk into a war zone without his weapon loaded and ready, yet many of us walk daily in the midst of tremendous spiritual warfare with our hands empty and, because of that, our lives vulnerable.
7. Never radio for air support.
- v. 18 - “. . . praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. . .”
- One way to think of this is to envision us as the soldiers on the ground, fighting these spiritual battles with the terrific resources that God has given us. Still, we often need more firepower to deal with strongholds and significant enemy resistance. For that need, Jesus has given us prayer as the opportunity to radio back to HQ and call up exactly the resources we need to be able to win the victory.
- If we rarely pray, it shouldn’t be a surprise to us if we lose most of our spiritual battles, since we’re trying to fight with just a fraction of the power and resources that are available to us.
