Volume 3 Issue 5

HEAVENLY ARMOR

“F

inally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:10-13) Every soldier needs the right equipment to fight if he is to be successful. Nations spend multiple billions of dollars doing just this. America prides itself on possessing the latest technologically advanced equipment and weaponry the mind of man can produce and training its military men and women in the proper use of them. Even though it does have its limits the result is a military that is truly awesome. Other nations covet our sophisticated weaponry, realizing the impotency of their own weaponry, and thus, send spies to steal our military secrets. Oftentimes they become strong because we are strong, doing whatever it takes to seize what is ours and make it their own. We, of course, do not like that. We search out these spies, and when found, punish them, and attempt to alleviate the damage their espionage has done.

Man is extremely diligent when it comes to sacrificing whatever is necessary to achieve military superiority. Unfortunately, Christians are not nearly so diligent to secure for themselves the weaponry, the armor, God has provided for us in order to fight the war we find ourselves in. In fact, many Christians either rely on the armor of other Christians, asking for prayer when they themselves never pray, or attempt to fight spiritual battles “naked”. This condition is illustrated in the book of Acts. Seven sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva, had witnessed Paul exorcising demons by invoking the name of Jesus. They tried this, but the results were totally different for them than the results Paul experienced. Coming upon a demon-possessed man, these sons said, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” (Acts 19:13) In other words, they were telling the demon to come out of the man. The demon’s response is very revealing. “‘I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house NAKED and wounded.” (Acts 19:15-16) The demon knew Jesus was the Son of God, and he had heard about Paul, but these seven sons he did not recognize as a threat because they had no spiritual weaponry. They were spiritually naked, defenseless, so the demon simply exposed (literally) them for the imposters they were. The Greek word for “wounded” is where we get the English “traumatize”. No doubt these men were.

The story of David, when he was a young boy going out to fight the giant, Goliath, also illustrates the folly of attempting to fight in borrowed armor. Goliath stood over nine tall. As well as being physically large he was a Philistine warrior who had been trained in warfare from his youth and now wore the best armor available. “And he had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze. He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders. And the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron; his shield-carrier also walked before him.” (1 Samuel 17:5-7) Day after day Goliath would taunt the Israelites as the two armies faced each other, challenging them to send out their best warrior so they could fight; nevertheless, no one dared to fight this giant. Everyone in the Israelite army, including King Saul, himself a man of above average height (1 Samuel 9:2), was intimidated by Goliath. It was not until a shepherd boy, a boy who was not even in the army, was sent by his father to check on the welfare of his older brothers, that Goliath would find someone willing to face him in battle.

When this shepherd boy, David, came up to his brothers, Goliath once more began his taunt, defying the armies of Israel. David was not intimidated, however. Instead, he seemed somewhat surprised that someone had not already killed Goliath for his insolence toward Israel and God. He asked those standing around him, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26) This show of bravery did not sit well with David’s older brothers; being among those who were cowered by Goliath. No one likes to have their character questioned, especially by one they look upon as less than their equal. Thus, David was brought to King Saul. It was time for David to put up or shut up. The men who took David’s question as a personal affront to their courage probably thought David would back down when coming face to face with the possibility of having to actually fight Goliath. Instead, David told King Saul, “Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:32) Saul’s first reaction is likely what ours would have been. “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” (1 Samuel 17:33) Yet, David convinced Saul, that the Lord would deliver Goliath into his hands. Saul, seeing that David was determined to fight Goliath, proceeded to cloth him in his armor along with his sword. This, of course, did not work. As noted above, Saul was a tall man, and David, a boy. The armor did not fit and David was not comfortable with Saul’s sword. Instead, David chose five smooth stones from a brook as his weapon, clothed only in his shepherd clothes. When Goliath saw him, he was indignant that a mere boy would dare confront him, especially a boy with nothing more than a stick to fight with. He swore at David and told him he would feed his flesh to the birds and animals. David’s response to Goliath’s threats is very revealing. “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, BUT I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OF HOSTS, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands.” (1Samuel 17:45-47)

David was not blind, nor naïve. He saw the weapons Goliath possessed, but more than that, he saw the weapons he possessed; not the sticks and stones Goliath saw, but the armor of the Lord. Had David relied upon Saul’s armor to protect him, Goliath would have surely killed him, but because David faced Goliath in the name of the Lord, he was invincible. By the way, do you know why David chose FIVE stones, when he only needed one? Five is the number for GRACE. Thus, symbolically speaking, it was by grace that David was saved from Goliath. Also the fact that David had four stones left after his fight with Goliath is a testimony to the truth of Paul’s statement in Romans 5:20: “but where sin increased, grace ABOUNDED all the more.” Goliath’s great size certainly corresponds to “sin increased”, but it only took a fraction of the “grace” David possessed to overcome that sin. God’s grace is always sufficient for the trials, tribulations, and battles we face in life. David could rightly testify to the truth of God’s words to Paul when He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) David’s physical weakness made room for God’s strength.

What does all of this mean for us? First, we need to recognize that we fight not against physical enemies, but against “the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) As Christians it is not people that we war against; it is the SPIRIT(S) behind those people that we wish to destroy. This is what is meant when we are told to love the sinner, but hate the sin. The sinner is not our enemy, but the sin is. Thus when we go to war against sin it is important to be, like David, rightly armed.

Thus, we are told by Paul what that heavenly armor is. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with TRUTH, and having put on the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the SHIELD OF FAITH with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. And take the HELMET OF SALVATION, and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the word of God. With all PRAYER and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:14-18) Heavenly armor consists of SEVEN components. Seven is the number for God in creation and bespeaks of spiritual perfection on this earth. It is by clothing ourselves with, and using, these seven articles of armor that we will fight our battles in the strength of the Lord, not relying upon what the world or the unspiritual might consider necessary for victory.

We are told to gird our loins with truth. This becomes clear when we understand the significance of the loins. The loins are responsible for REPRODUCTION. They make NEW LIFE possible. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the TRUTH, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6) We are to gird our loins, that which we give birth to – thoughts, words, and actions – with Jesus Christ. There is a saying among Christians, “What would Jesus do?”, that captures this thought well. We walk in NEWNESS of life and make it available to others when it is Jesus that PRODUCES our thoughts, words, and actions. It is a scientific fact that kind gives birth to kind. That is, dogs give birth to dogs, cats give birth to cats, humans give birth to humans, and so forth. The same is true spiritually. If we speak the truth we will be known as honest, forthright people, which will lend credence to the Gospel when we tell others of Jesus. On the other hand, if we speak lies, people will naturally question the truthfulness of the Gospel and possibly reject it as untrustworthy. The war will be lost before it begins.

Next, we are told to put on the breastplate of righteousness. It is the heart that is protected by a breastplate. It is also the heart that reveals the true character of a person. Jesus confirmed this when He said, “The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the HEART, and those defile the man. For out of the HEART come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” (Matthew 15:18-19) A heart unprotected from worldly, godless contamination is quickly overcome with evil and its condition is just as quickly revealed. Man, saved or unsaved, may consider himself essentially good, that is, righteous, but God knows better. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) What man considers righteous is often self-righteousness. It is not the righteousness the born again person receives from the Lord, it is the righteousness that man achieves outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul, speaking of the Jews who refused to accept Jesus as Messiah, said, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not SUBJECT themselves to the righteousness of God.” (Romans 10:2-3) The breastplate of righteousness that man forges is cast from good works, from service given expecting something in return, from worship that seeks to curry favor with God, and ultimately, from pride. This breastplate will not protect the heart, and thus, the life, of anyone. It will look good on the outside and people who see only what a person DOES and not what he IS, will be fooled into thinking it is the righteousness of God. However, the breastplate of righteousness that God forges is cast from submission to His will, from serving those who cannot repay, from worshipping God BECAUSE He is God, from humility, recognizing the proper relationship between God and man “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” (Psalms 51:17)

We are told to shod are feet with the gospel of peace. It is difficult to make any progress with ill-fitting shoes. Our life in Christ is to be founded upon the truth that Jesus has brought the good news (gospel) of peace to His creation; He has come that sinners might be reconciled to God. Thus, we are to STAND upon the truth that, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Once we have made peace with God through the blood of Jesus, we can extend that peace to others as we “wash” their feet and prepare them to receive a life that seeks to walk in peace with others. We can walk together as brothers and sisters in Christ, advancing His Kingdom.

As we fight the good fight, faith is to be held in front of us as a large shield. It should be the first thing the enemy sees and the first thing we wield to stop the onslaught of evil we face as Christians. With faith we overcome worldly arguments that attempt to weaken our belief in God and His Word. By faith we believe that God created the world from that which is unseen; we believe that the Bible is His inspired Word that reveals His will for us; we believe that truth is absolute, that right and wrong exist and can be distinguished; we believe in heaven and hell; we believe mankind has been created in God’s image and is thus superior to the animals. Faith exposes the evil of evolution, abortion, homosexuality, and sexual promiscuity. Faith gives us the courage to stand alone if need be, fighting what the world embraces. Faith sees God in control regardless of the circumstances. Faith causes the rest of our armor to fit right.

We are to protect our head (our mind) with the helmet of salvation. We are told to TAKE this helmet, but the word “take” literally means to “receive”. This is significant because salvation is not something we take, but something we RECEIVE from the hand of God. Salvation is a gift. (Ephesians 2:8) It is not something we deserve or demand. Rather, it is the product of grace. God freely offers it to us; we need only accept it. The fact that salvation is pictured as a helmet points to the need of keeping our mind fixed upon our position in Christ. We must remember that salvation is a gift, we do not earn it, and that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29) The enemy wants nothing more than to convince us that we are not saved, that we are not God’s children. When bad things happen to us and our world is falling apart around us, we may be tempted to believe that we are not saved and possibly beyond God’s ability or desire to save us. If he succeeds in this we open ourselves up to all sorts of delusions and discouragement. It is in the mind, the soul, that sin first manifests itself. Thus, we must not allow Satan to deceive us into thinking our salvation is a hoax, for to believe God does not love us is the foundation from which all other sin grows.

The next piece of armor is an offensive weapon; the ones previously mentioned are primarily defensive. Christians are told to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The best description of what this sword is and what it does is in Hebrews 4:12. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” This sword is used to divide things. With it we can determine if something is of the soul or of the spirit. This is important because the soul is comprised of our will, our intellect, and our emotions; the spirit consists of our conscience, our intuition, our ability to worship. The unsaved person operates exclusively from his soul, relying upon his own desires, his own wisdom, and his own fickle emotions. The result is someone who may look good on the outside, but inside he is “full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27) When the sword of the Spirit cuts the soulish man, corruption pours forth as the sin within is exposed, his intentions no longer hidden. His motives for doing what he does are open for all to see. When the spiritual man is cut by the sword of the Spirit, confession pours forth as he recognizes the evil within that God is attempting to excise, thankful that the Lord loves him enough purify him regardless of the pain involved. Obviously, the best place to begin using this God provided weapon of war is with ourselves. Only then will we be equipped to use it rightly on others.

The last weapon mentioned is prayer. It is a weapon that is all too often ignored. But of all the weapons listed, it is the weapon that gives life to the others. It is also a weapon that is frequently misused. Some use it only as a way of telling God what they want or what they think they need. Such prayers reveal the selfishness that is still very much alive within. Prayer is first and foremost to be an expression of our love and adoration to our heavenly Father; second, prayer gives us the opportunity to confess our sins and to ask for forgiveness; third, prayer is our chance to offer thanks to God for all that He is; and lastly, prayer is used to voice our needs and wants. This can be remembered by thinking of ACTS: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. One point to remember about supplication is that ideally, it begins with the needs of OTHERS. Doing so reveals a heart that has truly been touched by God.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” (Psalms 144:1) That we, as Christians, are in a war, is obvious, but we are to fight in such a way that evil is destroyed, not the vessels of evil.

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