Read Ephesians 6:10-18
Whose armor are you wearing, may sound like a strange
question, but it is only logical that in a conflict, if one side is armored, so
would the other. If God makes available
to us armor, then it only goes to reason that the fallen one has armor as
well. In the struggles of life, we have
to choose whose armor we will wear. The
armor we choose ends up deciding on which side of the conflict we end up fighting.
In 2 Corinthians 11:14, we are told that Satan loves
to disguise himself as an angel of light. Counterfeit and confusion are his
specialty. His armor is not going to be
glaringly demonic, but deceptively similar to the armor of God. He offers the same pieces: helmet, breastplate,
and studded combat boots, as well as the weapons of a sword and shield.
The helmet of God’s armor is salvation. It protects our head with the assurance of
eternal security no matter what we face.
The counterfeit helmet of our enemy is one of false security –
convincing us that “as is” really is good enough and the substitutes we are
trusting are sufficient. He is the
father of lies (John 8:44). The “security” he is passing off actually makes our
minds more vulnerable. He really doesn’t
care if we get our brains scrambled and heads knocked off, he only wants to
diminish the number and power of those fighting for Jesus.
As part of His armor, the Lord extends to us His
breastplate of righteousness. Isaiah 32:17; Philippians 4:7 and Hebrews 12:11, all assure us that a right
relationship with the Lord results in a genuine peace that guards our
heart. It is a righteousness that comes
from Him and Him alone. The breastplate
of the fallen one is a breastplate of self-righteousness – what we do to
look and sound good and godly, even do godly type things. They may make us feel good and impress
others, but in warfare we would be wearing an inferior, inadequate costume of
rags. (Isaiah 64:6)
The third part of armor worn when Ephesians 6 was
written was combat boots. What made this footwear different than ordinary
sandals was that embedded in the soles were sharp stones or pieces of glass
that helped brace the soldier in hand-to-hand combat and gave him sure footing
on slippery slopes. It is the gospel,
the good news of Christ, knowing who Jesus is, what He taught and all He has
done on our behalf that secures our footing and gives us traction in the long
march of service. The grace of it all
motivates those in the Lord’s army to keep fighting. The fallen one’s boots are
embedded with bad news. Worry, anxiety
and fear are favorite motivators that keep people fighting against the Lord and
falling for Satan’s deception.
Then there are the weapons, beginning with the shield.
A shield is not just something to hide behind, but an active weapon that not
only deflects the enemies attempted blows, but can be used to jam, trap and
strike the enemy. Many an enemy has been
sent flying off their feet by a well-swung shield. Both shields are one of faith. The one Jesus extends to us is His
trustworthiness. It is faith in Him to
be who He says He is and do what He promises to do. The fallen one’s shield is
faith in what we can see, do, know or prove: religion, mankind’s supposedly
innate goodness, good works, feelings, logic, science, power and control … just
to name a few. Satan offers a variety of
shields. None of them stand up to the word of God that is able to slice through
even thoughts and intentions. (Hebrews 4:12)
Words are the primary weapon in this warfare. Ephesians 6 identifies the sword of God as
truth. Satan also fights with words.
Sometimes they are straight lies and deception; other times they are words that
sound a lot like the Sword of Truth, but he wields it with a deceptive hand
making what is true a lie and not truth at all.
As evident in the encounter between him and Jesus in the wilderness
(Matthew 4:1-11), the devil knows Scripture and willingly uses and abuses it
any way he can in his attempt to defeat Jesus.
If we don’t have a firm grip on what is truth, he can easily out duel
us.
We need to put on the full armor of God. It is our only defense against Satan. It is also the only armor the fallen one
fears in battle. He is not afraid of our
version, because he knows he is the one who deceptively supplied it. We need to “be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.” This all begins by putting on Christ (Romans 13:14),
the harness of truth that holds all the pieces of armor in place. (John 14:6) The old us won’t fit in the armor made to fit
Christ’s body. So, we need to “put on the new self, which
in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the
truth” (Ephesians 4:24), a “new self who is being
renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.” (Colossians 3:10)
If the armor seems a bit too big, then “we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:15)
Making It Personal
To “put on Christ” is
actually putting your old life in His hands and accepting Him into
your life as Lord and Savior. Have you “put
on Christ” and the “new self” He offers through faith in Him? (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 10:9,10)
Putting on Christ is also partnering with Jesus on a
daily basis. How can you daily “put on
Christ” and the full armor of God?
What does it mean to you that the fallen one only fears
the armor of God?
Have you faced failure in what turned out to be a
spiritual battle because you were wearing the wrong armor?
How does that experience motivate you to “put on the full armor of God so that you
will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil”?
