PUT ON THE ARMOR OF GOD
Good Morning, Father! Good Morning, Jesus! Good Morning, Holy Spirit!
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ARMOR OF GOD
An expression that symbolizes the
combat equipment of a Christian soldier
who fights against spiritual wickedness; the full resources of God which are available
to all who take up the cross and follow
Christ. Because our spiritual enemy is stronger than we are, we must "put
on the whole armor of God" <Eph. 6:11,13>.
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Why
put on the armor of God
Eph 6:10
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might.
To
Be Strong in God’s power
11
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil.
To stand
up against the devil
12
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.
Our enemy
is not man but it’s spiritual it's
the devil.
13
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. (NKJ)
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Romans. 12:1 Heavenly Father, according to your Word, I present my body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable in your sight.
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And this is how it is done.
Ephians. 6:14 -17 Now Father, I gird my loins about with truth. I put on the breastplate of righteousness, I shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, I take the shield of faith wherewith I shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And, I take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God.
How often EVERYDAY.
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Isaiah.58:8 And according to your Word, the glory of the Lord is my rear guard.
Now Heavenly Father, I put on the garment of praise and I thank you for the armor you have provided for me to dress in this day. I am completely covered, IN THE NAME OF JESUS, according to your Word, Father.
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A deeper
background Ephesians 6:10-18 (from Matthew Henry's Commentary)
The spiritual
warfare
Here is a general exhortation to
constancy in our Christian course, and to encourage in our Christian warfare. Is
not our life a warfare? It is so; for we struggle with the common calamities of
human life. Is not our religion much more a warfare? It is so; for we struggle
with the opposition of the powers of darkness, and with many enemies who would
keep us from God and heaven. We have enemies to fight against, a captain to
fight for, a banner to fight under, and certain rules of war by which we are to
govern ourselves. "Finally, my brethren (v. 10), it yet remains that you
apply yourselves to your work and duty as Christian soldiers." Now it is
requisite that a soldier be both stout-hearted and well armed. If Christians be
soldiers of Jesus Christ,
I. They must see that they be
stout-hearted. This is prescribed here: Be strong in the Lord, etc. Those who
have so many battles to fight, and who, in their way to heaven, must dispute
every pass, with dint of sword, have need of a great deal of courage. Be strong
therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting. Let a
soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his
armour will stand him in little stead. Note, spiritual strength and courage are
very necessary for our spiritual warfare. Be strong in the Lord, either in his
cause and for his sake or rather in his strength. We have no sufficient strength
of our own. Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice, and our natural
strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of God. In his strength
we must go forth and go on. By the actings of faith, we must fetch in grace and
help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our
Christian work and warfare. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in
a reliance upon God's all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of his might.
II. They must be well armed:
"Put on the whole armour of God (v. 11), make use of all the proper
defensitives and weapons for repelling the temptations and stratagems of Satan--
get and exercise all the Christian graces, the whole armour, that no part be
naked and exposed to the enemy." Observe, Those who would approve
themselves to have true grace must aim at all grace, the whole armour. It is
called the armour of God, because he both prepares and bestows it. We have no
armour of our own that will be armour of proof in a trying time. Nothing will
stand us in stead but the armour of God. This armour is prepared for us, but we
must put it on; that is, we must pray for grace, we must use the grace given us,
and draw it out into act and exercise as there is occasion. The reason assigned
why the Christian should be completely armed is that he may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil-- that he may be able to hold out, and to
overcome, notwithstanding all the devil's assaults, both of force and fraud, all
the deceits he puts upon us, all the snares he lays for us, and all his
machinations against us. This the apostle enlarges upon here, and shows,
1. What our danger is, and what need
we have to put on this whole armour, considering what sort of enemies we have to
deal with-- the devil and all the powers of darkness: For we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, etc., v. 12. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not
against ordinary human enemies, not barely against men compounded of flesh and
blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly considered, but against the
several ranks of devils, who have a government which they exercise in this
world.
(1.) we have to do with a subtle
enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as v. 11. He has a thousand ways
of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old
serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting.
(2.) he is a powerful enemy:
Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous, they are vigorous;
and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of
the world are the seat of Satan's empire. Yea, they are usurping princes over
all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan's is a kingdom of
darkness; whereas Christ's is a kingdom of light.
(3.) they are spiritual enemies:
Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it.
The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our
enemies because they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The
devils are wicked spirits, and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke
them to, spiritual wickednesses, pride, envy, malice, etc. These enemies are
said to be in high places, or in heavenly places, so the word is, taking heaven
(as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading out of the air between the
earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the devils assault us.
Or the meaning may be, "We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly
things;" so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to
prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to
obstruct our communion with heaven. They assault us in the things that belong to
our souls, and labour to deface the heavenly image in our hearts; and therefore
we have need to be upon our guard against them. We have need of faith in our
Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, as well as
of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch in.
Thus you see your danger.
2. What our duty is: to take and put
on the whole armour of God, and then to stand our ground, and withstand our
enemies.
(1.) we must withstand, v. 13. We
must not yield to the devil's allurements and assaults, but oppose them. Satan
is said to stand up against us, <1 Chr. 21:1>. If he stand up against us,
we must stand against him; set up, and keep up, an interest in opposition to the
devil. Satan is the wicked one, and his kingdom is the kingdom of sin: to stand
against Satan is to strive against sin. That you may be able to withstand in the
evil day, in the day of temptation, or of any sore affliction.
(2.) we must stand our ground: And,
having done all, to stand. We must resolve, by God's grace, not to yield to
Satan. Resist him, and he will flee. If we distrust our cause, or our leader, or
our armour, we give him advantage. Our present business is to withstand the
assaults of the devil, and to stand it out; and then, having done all that is
incumbent on the good soldiers of Jesus Christ, our warfare will be
accomplished, and we shall be finally victorious.
(3.) we must stand armed; and this is
here most enlarged upon. Here is a Christian in complete armour: and the armour
is divine: Armour of God, armour of light, <Rom. 13:12>. Armour of
righteousness, <2 Cor. 6:7>. The apostle specifies the particulars of this
armour, both offensive and defensive. The military girdle or belt, the
breast-plate, the greaves (or soldier's shoes), the shield, the helmet, and the
sword. It is observable that, among them all, there is none for the back; if we
turn our back upon the enemy, we lie exposed.
[1.] truth or sincerity is our
girdle, v. 14. It was prophesied of Christ <Isa. 11:5> that righteousness
should be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. That
which Christ was girded with all Christians must be girded with. God desires
truth, that is, sincerity, in the inward parts. This is the strength of our
loins; and it girds on all other pieces of our armour, and therefore is first
mentioned. I know no religion without sincerity. Some understand it of the
doctrine of the truths of the gospel: they should cleave to us as the girdle
does to the loins, <Jer. 13:11>. This will restrain from libertinism and
licentiousness, as a girdle restrains and keeps in the body. This is the
Christian soldier's belt: ungirded with this, he is unblessed.
[2.] righteousness must be our
breast-plate. The breast-plate secures the vitals, shelters the heart. The
righteousness of Christ imputed to us is our breast-plate against the arrows of
divine wrath. The righteousness of Christ implanted in us is our breast-plate to
fortify the heart against the attacks which Satan makes against us. The apostle
explains this in <1 Thes. 5:8>, Putting on the breast-plate of faith and
love. Faith and love include all Christian graces; for by faith we are united to
Christ and by love to our brethren. These will infer a diligent observance of
our duty to God, and a righteous deportment towards men, in all the offices of
justice, truth, and charity.
[3.] Resolution must be as the
greaves to our legs: And their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace, v. 15. Shoes, or greaves of brass, or the like, were formerly part of the
military armour <1 Sam. 17:6>: the use of them was to defend the feet
against the gall-traps, and sharp sticks, which were wont to be laid privily in
the way, to obstruct the marching of the enemy, those who fell upon them being
unfit to march. The preparation of the gospel of peace signifies a prepared and
resolved frame of heart, to adhere to the gospel and abide by it, which will
enable us to walk with a steady pace in the way of religion, notwithstanding the
difficulties and dangers that may be in it. It is styled the gospel of peace
because it brings all sorts of peace, peace with God, with ourselves, and with
one another. It may also be meant of that which prepares for the entertainment
of the gospel, namely, repentance. With this our feet must be shod: for by
living a life of repentance we are armed against temptations to sin, and the
designs of our great enemy. Dr. Whitby thinks this may be the sense of the
words: "That you may be ready for the combat, be shod with the gospel of
peace, endeavour after that peaceable and quiet mind which the gospel calls for.
Be not easily provoked, nor prone to quarrel: but show all gentleness and all
long-suffering to all men, and this will certainly preserve you from many great
temptations and persecutions, as did those shoes of brass the soldiers from
those galltraps," etc.
[4.] faith must be our shield: Above
all, or chiefly, taking the shield of faith, v. 16. This is more necessary than
any of them. Faith is all in all to us in an hour of temptation. The
breast-plate secures the vitals; but with the shield we turn every way. This is
the victory over the world, even our faith. We are to be fully persuaded of the
truth of all God's promises and threatenings, such a faith being of great use
against temptations. Consider faith as it is the evidence of things not seen and
the substance of things hoped for, and it will appear to be of admirable use for
this purpose. Faith, as receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, so
deriving grace from him, is like a shield, a sort of universal defence. Our
enemy the devil is here called the wicked one. He is wicked himself, and he
endeavours to make us wicked. His temptations are called darts, because of their
swift and undiscerned flight, and the deep wounds that they give to the soul;
fiery darts, by way of allusion to the poisonous darts which were wont to
inflame the parts which were wounded with them, and therefore were so called, as
the serpents with poisonous stings are called fiery serpents. Violent
temptations, by which the soul is set on fire of hell, are the darts which Satan
shoots at us. Faith is the shield with which we must quench these fiery darts,
wherein we should receive them, and so render them ineffectual, that they may
not hit us, or at least that they may not hurt us. Observe, Faith, acted upon
the word of God and applying that, acted upon the grace of Christ and improving
that, quenches the darts of temptation.
[5.] salvation must be our helmet (v.
17); that is, hope, which has salvation for its object; so <1 Thes. 5:8>.
The helmet secures the head. A good hope of salvation, well founded and well
built, will both purify the soul and keep it from being defiled by Satan, and it
will comfort the soul and keep it from being troubled and tormented by Satan. He
would tempt us to despair; but good hope keeps us trusting in God, and rejoicing
in him.
[6.] the word of God is the sword of
the Spirit. The sword is a very necessary and useful part of a soldier's
furniture. The word of God is very necessary, and of great use to the Christian,
in order to his maintaining the spiritual warfare and succeeding in it. It is
called the sword of the Spirit, because it is of the Spirit's inditing and he
renders it efficacious and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. Like
Goliath's sword, none like that; with this we assault the assailants.
Scripture-arguments are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with.
Christ himself resisted Satan's temptations with, It is written, <Mt.
4:4,6-7,10>. This, being hid in the heart, will preserve from sin <Ps.
119:11>, and will mortify and kill those lusts and corruptions that are
latent there.
[7.] prayer must buckle on all the
other parts of our Christian armour, v. 18. We must join prayer with all these
graces, for our defence against these spiritual enemies, imploring help and
assistance of God, as the case requires: and we must pray always. Not as though
we were to do nothing else but pray, for there are other duties of religion and
of our respective stations in the world that are to be done in their place and
season; but we should keep up constant times of prayer, and be constant to them.
We must pray upon all occasions, and as often as our own and others' necessities
call us to it. We must always keep up a disposition to prayer, and should
intermix ejaculatory prayers with other duties, and with common business. Though
set and solemn prayer may sometimes be unseasonable (as when other duties are to
be done), yet pious ejaculations can never be so. We must pray with all prayer
and supplication, with all kinds of prayer: public, private, and secret, social
and solitary, solemn and sudden; with all the parts of prayer: confession of
sin, petition for mercy, and thanksgivings for favours received.
We must pray in the Spirit; our
spirits must be employed in the duty and we must do it by the grace of God's
good Spirit. We must watch thereunto, endeavouring to keep our hearts in a
praying frame, and taking all occasions, and improving all opportunities, for
the duty: we must watch to all the motions of our own hearts towards the duty.
When God says, Seek my face, our hearts must comply, <Ps. 27:8>. This we
must do with all perseverance. We must abide by the duty of prayer, whatever
change there may be in our outward circumstances; and we must continue in it as
long as we live in the world. We must persevere in a particular prayer; not
cutting it short, when our hearts are disposed to enlarge, and there is time for
it, and our occasions call for it. We must likewise persevere in particular
requests, notwithstanding some present discouragements and repulses. And we must
pray with supplication, not for ourselves only, but for all saints; for we are
members one of another. Observe, None are so much saints, and in so good a
condition in this world, but they need our prayers, and they ought to have them.
The apostle passes hence to the conclusion of the epistle.
(from Matthew
Henry's Commentary)
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YOU KNOW YOUR IN A WAR BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE DRESS. IF WE WERE NOT GOD WOULD TELL US TO DRESS CASUAL. ---- BARBARA RICHMOND
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