In the Christian life we battle against powerful evil forces, headed by Satan, a vicious fighter. To withstand his attacks, we must depend on God's strength and use every piece of his armor. In the Book of Ephesians, Paul is not only giving this counsel to the church, the body of Christ, but to all individuals within the church. The whole body needs to be armed. As you do battle against "the evil rulers of the unseen world," fight in the strength of the church, whose power comes from the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that we need to wear the whole armor of God and that our strength must come from the Lord's mighty power from within. When we put on God's armor we will be able to stand safe from ALL strategies and tricks of Satan. "For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies - evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world" (Ephesians 6:12).
We as Christians must take care of our spiritual life, because our Christian life is in grave danger. The grave danger that exists is that this very moment there is a war that is being fought and some people are being seriously wounded in the battlefields. Some people don’t even realize or recognize that they are in a war. This war is not being reported by the news media. The television doesn’t show us the graphic pictures of the attacks. There is no graphic statistics that depicts the many souls that are being lost. The radio stations are not broadcasting any reports about the mutilations nor casualties that happens on a daily basis. But regardless of the lack of information being disseminated, the war rages on and this war has been fought since the beginning of mankind.
There are two armies that is participating in the war, the army of God and the army of Satan. This is why God tells us to, "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12)
Every piece of God's armor is needed to resist the enemy and it consist of these pieces:
1) The belt of truth,
2) The breastplate of righteousness,
3) Shoes with the preparation of the gospel of peace,
4) Shield of faith,
5) Helmet of salvation,
6) Sword of the Spirit.
1). Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14)
"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth." Truth is the belt that holds all the other pieces of the armor in place. The belt is an essential part of the armor, but in reality this piece is perhaps the most important of them all. The Roman soldiers belt was the piece that held their armor together. The belt held everything in place, and it was from there that they hung their weapons for battle. Why do we need the belt of truth, because Satan is a liar and the only way that we can defeat him is with the TRUTH. There are two ways in which truth is a part of the armor of God. First, it refers to the truths of Scripture. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Those wonderful truths that are in the Bible - God loves us, we have salvation through the faith in Jesus, God's love and salvation has set us free from sin and death, and these truths set us free from the lies of Satan.
2). Breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14)
The breastplate of righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus. Looking at this piece of armor worn by the soldiers of that time, we would discover that it was a piece made of heavy leather, and in some instances reinforced with pieces of metal. This piece covered the soldier from his neck down to his waist. This piece was designed to protect the soldier’s vital organs. Our breastplate is to remain faithful to God. For the Bible clearly tells us, "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith - and this is not from yourself, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is Jesus' righteousness that covers us and protects us. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
3). Shoes of the gospel (Ephesians 6:15)
"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." The footwear of the Roman soldier were sandals made out of heavy leather, and oftentimes they had metal spikes on the souls. The reason for this was because the sandals could also be used as a weapon and the spikes did provide the soldiers with better stability in the battlefield. God wants us to take a stand and to stand firmly on His word of Truth. Our footwear is the gospel of peace, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).
4). The Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16)
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." The armor of the soldiers back then was coved with thick leather and measured approximately four feet high. The soldier would use this weapon and would move it from side to side to protect him during battle. The shield that we as Christians use to protect ourselves from the attack of the enemy is FAITH. This faith is not something that comes from within us. Absolutely not! It is a gift from God to us, but it must be fed. How do we feed our faith? We feed our faith by listening and reading the Word of God. When we walk with God and study His Word, our faith grows and develop until it becomes a shield, protecting us and allowing us to live a victorious life in Jesus. That’s why Paul can boldly say, "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" (Galatians 2:20). And we can experience this as well, as we use the shield of faith to withstand everything that Satan throws at us.
5). The Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17)
"Take the helmet of salvation." The helmet protects the head and the head is perhaps the most vital part of our body, because it is where our thoughts of the mind resides. This clearly defines the significance of the spiritual warfare in simple terms, because the battle is for our minds. This piece of armor could never be left behind, nor misplaced, or ignored, because it is the one that covers our head, our thoughts and feelings. Satan knows that if he could control our thoughts, the way we think, he would be able to manipulate us to act the way he wants us to act and this will separate us from God. The helmet of salvation is a true knowledge that we are saved by grace. When we have a sure knowledge of our salvation, we cannot be moved by Satan's deceptions. When you are certain who you are in Jesus, then you know that your sins have been forgiven and you have a peace that nothing can disturb. We can be certain about our salvation, because the Bible tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
6). The Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
"And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit - which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). This Sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon. All the other weapons are defensive weapons, so that we could stand against the enemy, but now Paul is talking about the sword in which we can begin to move forward in the war against Satan. You don’t want to drop your sword nor have it dulled. Our first offensive weapon is in our arsenal that can drive Satan into a complete retreat is "the sword of the Spirt" which is the word of God. The Bible clearly tells us, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than ant two-edged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). Imagine all of those thoughts that goes on in your mind, those little thoughts that we keep stored away and cornered-off, that we think no one knows about, but we forget that God knows everything. Then verse 13 tells us, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." God knows all of our thoughts and the intentions our of hearts.
In the Book of Matthew, chapter four, Jesus shows us very clearly how to use the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Matthew 4:1 says, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." So there Jesus is being driven by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. We don't understand God's process and purpose in our lives, we simply must trust God in all things. Sometimes we must go through tribulations and temptations to bring out the best in us and there is Satan trying to bring out the worst in us, and only God knows how it will end and who will win.
So there Jesus is in the desert and after fasting for forty days and forty nights he is hungry. So the devil comes and tell Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Please note, that Jesus did not nor have ever acted independently from His Father's will and so Jesus tells the devil, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but to every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Jesus was saying that there are things that are more important than bread and the cravings of the body. We as human beings suffers from physical desires which are not good. Satan wants us to use these cravings that are artificially created by him and go against God's instructions for us. Satan wants to fulfill those desires of alcoholism, drugs and anything that causes any cravings to control you and he does it on various levels and various ways. He offer you a particular craving thinking that you will be able to control it and it consequences. So after you give in to it, then you can’t control it nor the consequences, then he makes you think that now you have messed us so badly there is no use even trying to go to God to fix it. That is why we must use the Word of God to fight against every temptation that our body crave for that is not good for us.
Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him to stand on the highest point of the temple and told Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Jesus tells him, "It is written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test." The Bible tells us in Psalm 91, "If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone" (Psalm 91:9-12). The only place in the Bible that God says test me is in Malachi 3:10, when God says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."
So again the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and he said to Jesus, "All of this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me" (Matthew 4:9). Jesus told him, "Away from me Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." Then the devil left him, and the angels came and attended to him. What can the devil give Jesus that He doesn’t already possess? What belongs to the Father, belongs to Jesus. What Satan really wanted for Jesus to do was to bow down and worship him, really it is what he wants all of mankind to do. He is very deceptive, and so many people are really worshiping him today in so many different ways. He is being worshiped through false religions, because if you don’t believe in Jesus then you are part of a whole different spiritual world and you are allowing Satan to bedazzle you with his deception. Satan doesn’t play by any rules and he is the quintessential example of what is totally evil, because all he knows about is evil and that is all that he does.
What Satan really wanted Jesus to do was to avoid dying on the cross. Once Jesus died it would be Satan's defeat. When Jesus died he made Satan powerless. This was the greatest battle that ever took place on this earth. Jesus had to die because He was the only One who could pay the penalty for our sins. He was able to do this because he was fully God and was able to take on our sin debt. He was able to stand before God as our substitute and representative. Matthew 20:28 tells us, "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be serve, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. God being gracious and merciful sent His Son to become a human and take the punishment that we deserve. Christ bore the wrath of God on the cross on our behalf, and that satisfied God's justice, because Jesus paid the price for our sins.
We must understand that we are in a spiritual war and the war is for our minds and it is very real. This war we cannot see with our human eyes nor can it be detected by our human spider senses, but believe me, it is very real. But yet the war rages on with so many casualties. We must be alert at all times, always watching for the things that appear to be unimportant or insignificant. That is why the Apostle Paul closes the list of the whole armor of God by saying, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). We must bathe ourselves in ALL prayer because prayer brings us into the fellowship and communion with God and only His armor can protect you.
God's Word is never changing and God has the final victory. The Book of Revelations tells us, "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). And it gets better and better. "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12-15).
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