Put On the Full Armor of

God

Christian’s are involved in a spiritual war.

Believer’s in Christ are involved in a great struggle against invisible, spiritual enemies.

We can face our foes with courage, and we can be victorious.

The Bible gives us these three comforting assurances.

1.God is in ultimate control

2.The Power of Satan and his followers is limited by the

presence of Christians

3.Satan’s ultimate destruction is already guaranteed

The devil and his emissaries can go only as far as the Lord permits.Take Job for instance, Satan could do only what God allowed.

Believers have been redeemed from the power of this evil world-system.They are like a preserving salt in this world.

Christ, by His death and resurrection, has “disarmed principalities and powers.” Thank God, we who know the Lord are on the right side, the

winning side.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

The Apostle Paul named a number of items that are part of “the whole armor of God.”

Ephesians 6:13-18; Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your waist with truth, 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.

The whole armor of God:

THE BELT OF TRUTH

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

THE SHOES OF THE GOSPEL

THE SHIELD OF FAITH

THE HELMET OF SALVATION

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

When the Believer stands against his spiritual adversaries, he should be wearing:

THE BELT OF TRUTH

In verse 14, the apostle instructed believers to “stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth”.

The idea is that before a soldier can take his place in the ranks, he must be outfitted and trained.

The believer must be taught truth accurately. This is the belt of the Christian soldier.

The Roman soldier’s belt was tied in several places to stay in place, so that no matter how the soldier moved about, fell down, climbed hills, etc., the belt was always in place with weapons at the ready. As Christians we should keep the belt of truth securely with us and ready to use against Satan’s army, every day.

When the Believer stands against his spiritual adversaries, he should be wearing:

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

To ward off the attacks of Satan and his evil emissaries, we must consciously choose to live a life of obedience, uprightness, and holiness.

When a believer’s life is characterized by righteousness, his testimony is effective, souls are won to Christ, and the power of Satan is restrained. The devil trembles at the sight of a godly person. The righteousness of God is basic protection for the believer. The belt of truth combined with the breastplate of righteousness is the basis for the edification of the Christian.

In order to be victorious, the Christian soldier must also be wearing:

THE SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE

Our feet are to be shod, as Paul said, “with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

By this he meant that we must communicate God’s good news. Having experienced the peace that comes through faith in Christ, we should always be ready to share the gospel with others. In fact, when we do not witness, we become more vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy of our souls. the gospel of peace...we are to be ready at any time to minister the gospel. Note that all believers are included in this command. Every Christian is in full time Christian service, always on the front line.

The Christian soldier must also be wearing :

THE HELMET OF SALVATION

In the struggle against our adversaries in the unseen world, we must understand that our faith has led us into a real, present, and personal salvation.

Every believer should remind himself often that he has been redeemed, that he has passed from death to life, and that he is no longer under condemnation.This assurance of his salvation makes him a confident, joyful Christian, and the kind of person over whom Satan cannot exercise control. It is the soul which is said to be saved; and the soul is in the head (with its mentality, volition, self-consciousness, emotion, sin nature). So it appropriate that the helmet is used to represent salvation.

When the Believer stands against his spiritual adversaries, he should be wearing:

THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

The apostle was speaking here of the Word of God. The believer who reads it in faith, who obeys it, and who proclaims its truths to others put the devil and his evil helpers to flight.

No Christian can expect to experience victory without God’s Word. The Lord Jesus, when He met Satan’s temptations in the wilderness, countered with Scripture. In response to each assault He declared, “It is written.” The Christian has no greater means for overcoming the enemy than using the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Maturity and the ability to do God's work comes through years of study of God's Word and practice in using doctrinal principles. Read-- 2 Timothy 2:15.

Yes, we who are believers are in a spiritual battle.We are in warfare against supernatural, invisible members of the unseen world. Therefore, recognizing that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12), let us “take up the whole armor of God.”

THE ARMOR OF GOD

1. The armor of God provides the believer's minimum requirements for success in the spiritual warfare which exists between the forces of God and Satan. Eph. 6.11

2. The conflict is spiritual rather than physical. 2 Cor. 10.3

3. Therefore, the weapons employed are not physical. 2 Cor. 10.4; Eph. 6.12

4. The use of these weapons depends on spiritual power from God, rather than human power, resources or logic. 2 Cor. 4.4; Eph. 6.10

5. The pieces of the armor are symbolic to represent the spiritual issues of preparation, character, service, defense, security and offense.

To Sum It All UP

Eph. 6:12 Because our combat is not face to face with human beings but, by contrast, is in confrontation with demon rulers, military commanders of Satan, world-rulers of the darkness, and spirits of evil in the heavenlies.

Ephesians 6:13Many ask why God allows the Angelic Conflict to continue. One reason is that in every generation, God permits Satan to use his genius to attack the Plan of God and the principle of Grace in the plan. Pressures are brought to bear on believers so that the divine provisions of Grace may be made manifest.

STETEStand FirmEvery

believer is a member of the combat team and is required to take his own part, to stand on his own. We are armed with spiritual gifts and equipment, provided by Grace, to fight against the forces of Satan.