"FROM THE MISSION" Armor of God “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. 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. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Eph. 6:11-18 More widely preached and worthwhile topics from the Book of Ephesians, or from all of scripture for that matter, are hard to find than that of the Armor of God. More convincing spiritual realities are also hard to find than the clear results of believers putting on, or failing to put on this Armor. The testimonies are everywhere amongst those who firmly believe that the Lord controls all of the universe and everything that goes on in our lives. The Armor of God is real and works better than anything man can do because God is its maker and its power to protect. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt. 10:28 Surely we want our bodies to be protected, but Christ has shown through His life, death, and resurrection that when it comes down to it, eternal matters of the survival of our souls are, by very far, of the utmost importance; there is nothing more important than this. I’m not looking forward to a rough or painful death of my body, and I hope this doesn’t occur, but this is so far below the profound, almost desperate, concern for the David that lives beyond this body. How does one protect the spirit and take himself beyond death? We don’t! Christ does, and He both protects us and escorts us beyond death. It is most certainly a cooperative protection and salvation. We choose to accept Jesus’ forgiveness, Lordship, and salvation and He grants our true heart of faith secure passage into everlasting life. When we remember and choose to put on the Armor of God, our faith is reaffirmed in the Lords perfect protection of our spiritual being. I have heard that some believe we put on the Armor of God only once and it stays on until we have no more need for it in an age beyond sins influence. I prefer to put it on daily (sometimes more often), piece by piece, consecrating each piece until I’m covered. The sandals of the gospel of Peace speak of “walking”, that is, living in a Spirit of Peace; whole, with nothing missing or lacking. This Peace is completely unique to Jesus; “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27 The Belt of Truth is none other than; “The way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6 And this TRUTH is quite the opposite of the lie of the world which says there is no God who is Creator, Jesus is just a man, there is no heaven or hell, we can "make up" our own version of God, and we are the master of our fate. This truth will become a terrible or wonderful shocking reality on the other side of the death of our bodies when everyone who ever lived will be resurrected before Jesus. The breast plate of righteousness is that fantastic covering of Christ’s righteousness over our hearts (and all over us, for that matter) which has been imputed to us by Jesus’ atoning sacrifice of Himself for all sin. This piece and the next piece have really been made with blood and tears; “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave HIMself for me.” Gal. 2:20 ‘For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin." Heb. 12:3, 4 The helmet of salvation speaks of the peace and confident expectation of life everlasting. It is properly worn on our heads to offer protection from deadly deceptions from the enemy of our souls; “When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; this I know, because God is for me. In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (What can the accuser of our souls do to us?) Psalm 56:9, 11 The shield of faith is referred to being that which “above all” should be taken up. It is the first line of defense. It’s the -*maneuverable guard which we hide behind, deflecting all attacks form the evil one. It is what the Lord has called Himself and His saints agree; "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." Gen. 15:1 “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, the Shield of your help and Sword of your majesty?” Duet. 33:29 “For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12 ‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:12 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield…” Psalm 84:11 The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, read repeatedly by the Christian, digested in meditation, hidden in our hearts, recalled in spiritual battle by the Holy Spirit, and sharper than a two-edged sword. This sword motivates and ensures forward motion and spiritual maturity in the one who is familiar with it and knows he cannot live without it. He knows without it he will rather fall back and die defenseless because he has no offense against a superior enemy without Gods sword. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Matt. 24:35 “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97 “I am the bread of life. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." John 6:48, 51 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You”. Psalm 119:11 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:26 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Heb. 4:12 When all the armor is in place through the Holy Spirit by faith we would remiss to not do as the apostle Paul exhorts us to; “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Rom. 13:14 From a familiar reference of the armor in all it’s strapped-on battle-ready metallic imagery, we go to the solid reality of the ACTUAL armor of God; Christ Jesus, through whom nothing can penetrate against His will as we hide in His infinitely strong tower. For all the incredible holy power it has to protect us, the armor is still put on by mere mortal men. The verses preceding the description of the armor in Ephesians say; “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.” Eph. 6:13 This may seem out of place with the dependability we can place on Jesus and the infallible protective nature of the armor, but “the evil” day is something that everyone faces. This refers to monster-size trouble; that which is seen by us as unbearable. It also refers though to the constant reality that life just feels like it is wrong in so many ways on low level hum, all the time. This trouble can be even more insidiously damaging than full blown calamity. The armor can withstand the end of the universe, but there is still a human being inside of it, sometimes just trying to remain standing. I have literally been unable to stay on my feet as my heart disintegrated. I did not physically die and the armor held the pieces of me inside of it. God has done the reconstruction since then, and the work proceeds. As the soldier gets more and more dependent on the strength of the Commander, he claims, from the inside out, power from another world and another source with unbroken, undoubting faith. This combination of supernatural mind, body, and spirit united with the Creator of the universe IS able to withstand, to stand, and to advance the kingdom of God, by His ability only, and only for sake of Jesus’ HOLY NAME.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 03:28:11 +0000
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