The Spiritual Warrior’s Divine Armor Series

EPHESIANS 6: 14-15

THE SPIRITUAL WARRIOR’S DIVINE ARMOR

[Colossians 3:15- 17 / ]

Satan opposes believers in many ways, some of them direct and

obvious and other methods are indirect and subtle. He is too deceitfully powerful and ferocious for any of us. The promise of Scripture is that in the Lord Jesus Christ we can become victors instead of victims. Through Christ we can stand up against Satan, hold our ground and resist him successfully.

Paul employed the imagery of a soldier equipped for battle to help us understand that we are in a war. He asserts that the Christian through using the whole armor of God and the practice of unceasing prayer finds not only protection but victory in this spiritual conflict. Satan loses the battle with us when we learn to stand our ground against him in the grace and strength provided by our Savior.

This morning were going to learn to appropriate God's ongoing protection for daily living (CIT). God's given us some armor. You need to know how to put it on and how to use it.

Paul uses the armor to represent something that is spiritually real. To understand the reality we must look beyond the figure. So let’s examine the resources at the Christian’s disposal which insure ultimate victory if used correctly. The pieces of the Christian warrior’s armor are listed in various places but are concentrated in Ephesians 6:13-18. By analyzing each piece we will gain a greater understanding of the armor’s purpose and usefulness.

1st, THE BELT OF TRUTH

The Bible has just commanded us to "Take up the full armor of God." It is an urgent command of our General, the Lord Jesus Christ, to all of His children. Everything you need to defeat the enemy, He is putting at your feet. You though are responsible for grasping it and wearing it. Your appropriation of your spiritual armor is a prerequisite to standing firm and fearless against demonic attack.

Paul lived in a different day, so he’ll use the picture of a Roman soldier to depict our Spiritual Armor. If it was a Marine or a soldier it would be a certain kinda rifle, flap jacket, helmet, backpack, etc. God is drawing on what they're familiar with so they understand and remember the kind of protection necessary to stand firm.

Today we’re going to unpack the first three pieces of our spiritual armor. These specific pieces of real spiritual armor believers must “put on” themselves.

The first piece of spiritual armor we must put on is God’s Truth found in verse 14. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth.”

The first thing a Roman soldier would do when he went on duty was to put on his belt. If he was to be active in his duty sation he would tuck his tunic into his belt. To gird up your loins is sort of a weird expression. What it really means is to lift up and tuck your tunic into your belt, so your ready for action, ready for battle.

So the spiritual battle gear listed first is the belt of truth. Jesus said “I AM... the truth” (John 10:6). Soldiers in God’s army must be faithful to Him and to His truth. As children of the light we must love and live the truth. Our lives must be free of any falseness or hypocrisy. We will not be successful in resisting and overcoming the evil of Satan if we are hypocritical or dishonest.

Jesus lives in you, therefore the truth is in you. Yet you are not consistently going to choose the way of truth if you do not abide in the Word of truth, the Holy Scriptures (John 15:10). Christ prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth, Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth is the only authority that God will support. The Bible is the truth (2 Timothy 2:15, James 1:18). We must accept the Bible as the truth, as the only and final authority, without error as originally written.

Satan is the promoter of lies (John 8:44), and he uses them so that we might fall under the power of his kingdom. The believer that is controlled by the Holy Spirit actively embraces Jesus and His Word of truth as His protection against the deception of the devil. We prepare our self for battle by taking hold of God’s truth and living it out in our daily life.

[The loins represent the lodging place of strong desires and longings. We gird our loins with truth so that our desires and longings, both material and sensual, are protected, cleansed, and controlled by God’s truth.]

[The Roman soldier would chinch his belt in order to keep the breastplate in place and to support the back and to protect the kidneys. The belt was placed over the tunic and the ends of the tunic were tucked under it for greater mobility. The sword was also attached to the belt to keep it close to the body.]