Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV) 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
A formula or a recipe on how you can take a stand against the enemy. Paul uses the word “stand” 4 times. Our stand depends upon our daily taking up or putting on the armor of God.
Life is more spiritual than we ever thought or could have imagined. There’s a spiritual dynamic in every situation we encounter. There are no problems that are too big for God. We have won the victory, but we need to know how to be dressed.
V. 11 our battle is not against other people, our battle is a spiritual battle. The enemy is counting on us getting it wrong and fighting the wrong battle. Perhaps what happens is the Christian soldier shoots at other Christian soldiers.
He says “....do this that you might take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Satan looks for our weak spots, for openings in our armor where we might be weak. So we need to put on this full armor and take our stand. I think the devil takes more time scheming than we do defending.
1st century Christians understood this illustration of the soldier.
The Belt of Truth -- this is the foundation. The belt keeps everything in place. We commit to the truth. We will stand on truth. We need to put on the belt of truth every day. It allows us to move in authority and gives me a confidence.
The Breastplate of Righteousness. It guards our heart. When we put it on and pray, we have God’s righteousness which protects us. Our heart does not get wounded as easy.
The Shoes of peace. Jesus gives us peace, not like the world. It surpasses everything. We are carriers of the good news. It brings us peace.
The shield of faith. It puts out the fiery darts of the enemy. As we pray with the shield of faith, it brings us protection and with it, we have the ability to walk toward the enemy and have victory.
The Helmet of Salvation. It guards the mind. My thoughts are protected and we have the mind of Christ.
The Sword of the Spirit - the Word of God. It’s an offensive weapon. (Hebrews 4). As we grow in the Word, it protects us not just in a defensive way, but an offensive way.
Pray in the Spirit - This often is excluded from the armor, but I believe it goes right along in the spiritual battle, that is, praying with or in the spirit, all kinds of prayers.
Jesus went to the cross. He has won the victory. Let’s claim His promises and put on this full armor. It gives us access, it invites in the Holy Spirit and drives out the devil.
We do this so that we can fulfill all that God has for us.
