We discovered that the authority we have is vested in our spiritual armour and we must learn to use them if we are going to be able to stand against Satan and his wiles.
The purpose of putting on Gods armour is to be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Without Gods armour believers will be defeated by the strategies of their adversary.
1. Belt of Truth: Ephesians 6:14b
Paul begins his teachings on the spiritual armour with the Belt of truth; this is very important because the belt was the central part of the armour that held all the armour together. Without the belt the whole armour would go loose. Jesus is the truth, and He has revealed himself through the word of God, in essence the truth is the word of God. Without Jesus and a strong word base it is impossible to hold all the armour together. Having the belt of truth in place in
our lives includes:
- Faithfulness in practicing the word of God, which is the truth.
- Relying on the word of truth irrespective of the challenges you find yourself in, will help hold everything together to work for your good. 2 Cor.6:7; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Tim 2:15
CONSIDER THIS Are you walking / living in the truth of the word?
2. Breastplate of righteousness: Ephesians 6:14 c
The breastplate was designed to guard the heart of the soldier. The heart is a very important part of the believer. What enters and stays in the heart can corrupt the heart; we must therefore guard our hearts from all kinds of unrighteousness. I Cor. 1:30 Righteous living guard a believer’s heart against the assaults of the devil, just as it protected the chest of soldiers who wore them. The breastplate also protects the breast from injuries. The breast is used for feeding young ones; Christians who wish to walk in righteousness must learn to raise younger ones in the word of God.
CONSIDER THIS… How are you guarding your heart from unrighteousness?
3. Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace Ephesians 6:15
This refers to a believer’s stability in the gospel which gives him peace to live for Christ, and the ability to stand victorious in battle. The shoes will help us to stand firm in God. This is very useful in times of difficulties and challenges. Satan will try to attack in areas that will affect our stability and we must depend on God’s word to do what God requires from us.
Ephesians 4:14; Col 4:12; Prov. 24:16; Ecclesiastes. 4:10; Micah 7:8
CONSIDER THIS Discuss some of the things that has made you stable as a Christian
4. Shield of faith Ephesians 6:16
A Christian’s resolute faith in the Lord can stop and extinguish all flaming arrows of the evil one aimed at him Psalm 91:4-5.
Sometimes Satan hits us with certain arrows that cause us to question our faith. Examples of arrows from the enemy include the works of the flesh such as lust, fear, and pride Gal 5:19-21
When we are attacked with such arrows we must stand on our faith in Gods word to counteract the enemy’s attacks.
CONSIDER THIS... How can you build up your faith to be able to stand firm in the days of challenges?
5. Helmet of Salvation Ephesians 6:17
The helmet protects the soldiers head, the head is where the mind is. Satan can sometimes attack the mind of the believer with arguments. These arguments sometimes challenge the very basis of our faith. Satan asked Eve “did God really say you should not eat of every tree in the garden”. Sometimes Satan will raise arguments such as “What is really wrong with premarital sex? “. When he brings these arguments you must depend on the truths of our salvation to deal with such attacks.
2 Cor. 10:35; 3:14; 4:4
CONSIDER THIS... What are some of the attacks Satan has launched on your mind and how did you deal with it?
6. Sword of the Spirit Ephesians 6:10
This is the only offensive weapon in the armour. The others help us to defend ourselves but this one helps us to attack. The sword is the word of God, your knowledge of the word of God will help you fight back when the enemy attacks. Speaking the word of God in prayer is the two edged sword you can use to fight back the enemy. Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 5:26 Jesus used this sword to combat the devils assault 3 times in Mathew 4:1-11
We must therefore make every effort to develop our quest to studying the word of God. Getting involved in activities in church such as bible studies, quite time and listening attentively to sermons preached by your pastor in church can help widen our word base
CONSIDER THIS... How can one develop his potency in the word so as to be able to effectively use the sword of the spirit in battle?
CONCLUSION
It is evident from our discussion that a believer’s armour is the word of God. We must make conscious effort to develop our knowledge in Gods word in order to be able to stand against the enemy.
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