Today’s Topic
I have been writing a series of blogs on Spiritual Warfare and if this is your first time visiting one of my blogs on this topic, I want to encourage you to read the previous blogs that I have written on this as they build off each other. Below you will find a link to each of the blogs in this series thus far.
The Whole Armor of God
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
In our IMI International House Church, also known as a small group or life group, we have been reading through Ephesians 6:10-18 for the last several weeks. Studying how God equips Christians to stand firm against the devil’s opposition by protecting ourselves with all of God’s armor. This is a passage in Scripture that I have heard, briefly referenced and taught growing up in the church, but in most cases it lacked addressing the reality of Spiritual Warfare. It was not until I was 21 years old before I discovered what spiritual warfare was because of a spiritual attack I experienced in sharing with my then Christian girlfriend who was aware of spiritual warfare and my pastor at the campus ministry I attended. It was a bit of a shock to me because I had grown up all of my life in the church and once I understood what Spiritual Warfare was, I felt I had spent far too long not equipping myself with the armor of God to stand firm against the devil’s schemes.
The church being unaware of the enemies’ schemes is a reality that faces the western church and specifically I am meaning the European and North American church. Timothy Keller writes that in “Africa, Latin America, Asia and most places in the world the idea of spiritual warfare, of a conflict between spiritual good and spiritual evil is not an unusual concept. Many people in many parts of the world think it really helps them make sense of reality, but we here in the western world find it a foreign concept” (Keller). I will link Keller’s sermon at the bottom of this blog, but I found myself asking while listening to the sermon, “Why do we in the west find the reality of spiritual warfare, a conflict between good and evil a foreign concept as Keller writes?” Keller responds to this question that came to my mind so I will let him share and will move on to more of what I have in mind for this blog.
I want to focus more on this passage in Ephesians in setting the stage for the next seven to eight months because I feel it is time to address, teach and expound this passage. Each month I write one blog and so for the upcoming months I am going to be writing on each piece of God’s armor. This is what we have been doing in our house church for the last several weeks taking each piece of the armor for our weekly meetings. If Paul is writing to urge believers to put on the whole armor of God to stand firm in protecting ourselves against the devil, then perhaps it is time to understand the purpose for each piece of God’s armor.
We have taught on spiritual warfare in our house church before, but with newer members who have never heard of spiritual warfare before and some of the warfare different members were facing the group we decided it was time to revisit this in depth. One of our members whose name is Irene shared about a book that helped her immensely called “Dressed to Kill: A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Warfare and Armor” by the author Rick Renner. It was her sharing about this book which prompted us to spend each weekly meeting teaching on one piece of God’s armor because in Renner’s book he discusses each piece of armor one chapter at a time. I myself have not read this book yet as it has been an excellent resource with Irene contributing during our house church gatherings and so I actually just stopped writing the blog briefly to go and order the book for myself.
It is important to take a biblical approach to spiritual warfare because otherwise you can come across some far-fetched teachings that fall outside of God’s word. The existence of spiritual warfare is taught and shared throughout both the Old and New Testament. There are many things we can learn from the encounters with the invisible realm throughout Scripture and particularly here in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus.
My NLT Illustrated Study Bible shares the following…
Ephesians 6:10-20 gives the fullest NT account of how believers are to protect themselves in their war against the devil. In this spiritual battle, believers cannot rely on their own resources, but must use the weapons the Lord supplies. Significantly, all of the weapons described – except the short-bladed sword – are defensive weapons. There is no picture here of Christians attacking the devil. Though the devil’s opposition is to be taken seriously, Paul’s view of the Christian life does not center on spiritual warfare in an aggressive or offensive sense.
In this passage in Ephesians Paul develops a military terminology for spiritual warfare. In verse 20 Paul writes of how he is in chains, meaning he is in prison as he writes this letter. Paul begins to use this military terminology in writing on spiritual warfare in putting on the whole armor of God. Where did he get this visualization and terminology from? Most likely from the Roman soldiers. Paul was born in Tarsus which was a part of Rome and today is in the country of Turkey. Paul’s parents were Jewish who were Roman citizens meaning Paul himself was also a Jew (until his conversion in Acts 9) and a Roman citizen as we read of how this is an influencing factor to how he is treated on his missionary journey in taking the Good News to the Gentiles.
We learn from this that Paul was often around Roman soldiers and particularly the multiple times he was taken into Roman custody and put in prison giving him ample opportunity to observe and study the Roman soldiers armor. It is from this experience that he takes the visualization from simply human armor to being God’s armor as Paul draws from scripture to help readers of his letter to the Ephesian church. While the world’s nations fight against flesh-and-blood enemies and thus need armor to protect themselves in combat, the Christian’s fight is not “against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NLT). This means that we as Christians need the whole armor of God if we are to stand firm and fight against enemies that are not of flesh-and-blood.
To do so we need to truly understand each piece of the whole armor of God. God’s armor gives Christians the ability to resist the attacks of the devil in the time of evil – when evil seems to prevail – and to keep standing firm. It really is a battle in the unseen world every day and many Christians are being attacked without realizing the dangers we face. As we have been going through each piece of God’s armor in the house church we have noticed how much Jesus is apparent through the whole armor of God. David Butts speaks to this in his book “The Devil Goes to Church: Combatting the Everyday Attacks of Satan” and he writes the following…
There is another aspect to the armor that is tremendously exciting. Do you realize that every part of the armor corresponds to an attribute of Jesus? When we put on the helmet of salvation, we realize that Jesus’ very name means God is my salvation. The breastplate of righteousness reminds us that Jesus has become our righteousness. The fact that Jesus is the truth is brought home as we put on the belt of truth.
The Prince of Peace Himself reminds us to fasten to our feet the readiness of the gospel of peace. As we take up the shield of faith, we remember the Scripture references that speak of Him as the shield that goes before us (e.g., Deuteronomy 33:29). Wielding the sword of the Lord, God’s Word becomes a natural, daily activity for those who follow the Living Word of God. Putting on the armor is becoming clothed with Christ. – David Butts
In the coming months as we move through this blog series together the name of Jesus will be made evident in each piece of God’s armor. This truth has given me more assurance and peace when I put on the armor of God in the daily battlefield of spiritual warfare. God has equipped us as Christians to be able to stand firm against the attacks of the devil in our daily lives as we live our lives as soldiers of God in our mission to spread the Good News. So, in closing let us pray the following prayer when it comes to putting on the whole armor of God. Blessings
Pray this Prayer
“Lord, today I thank You for Your armor. In faith now, I put Your armor on, that I might be fully clothed with You, Lord Jesus, and take my stand against the enemy. I submit myself fully to You Lord, resisting the devil, believing Your Word that he will flee from me. Thank You for the victory You provide daily on my behalf.”
Spiritual Warfare – Timothy Keller
Book Recommendations on Spiritual Warfare
1. The Bible
2. The Devil Goes to Church: Combating the Everyday Attacks of Satan by David Butts
3. Rules of Engagement: Preparing Your Role in the Spiritual Battle by Derek Prince
4. Dressed to Kill: A Biblical Approach to Spiritual Warfare and Armor by Rick Renner