THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD PT 2
EPHESIANS 6:13
Last week we began to look at the 6 items of equipment that make up the full armor of God...items we must have to be able to not only stand when the enemy comes at us...but to allow us to have complete and total victory over him. Let's turn to Eph.6 read 13 17
We've examined the first three the belt of truth...the breastplate of righteousness...and the shoes the feet that are fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Today I want to show you how the last three are also vital in making up the full armor we so desperately need to have in our spiritual battle against Satan...begin with shield of faith.
There are 2 different words for shield in New Testament Greek. One is a small, circular shield that is typical of what we usually see in the movies. The other one is a long rectangular shield and is taken from the word for a door because it is shaped something like a door. (riot police) That is what Paul speaks of when he says "the shield of faith."
A properly trained Roman soldier could use that shield so that no part of his body could be reached by enemy arrows or whatever they would send at him. It protected him completely. And this is the kind of faith Paul is speaking about when he refers to it as a shield.
When we go out against Satan and give him any trouble...you can be sure he will counterattack. He may attack our minds...our hearts...our bodies...or our finances. So we need to have a shield that completely covers us cause he'll attack any area he can reach.
If he can't attack us..then he'll attack those closest to us. If you are a married man, the first thing that Satan will attack is your wife. It is almost guaranteed. It is one of his greatest ways to get back at you. So you must have a shield big enough to protect everything for which God has made you responsible...including yourself, your family and all God has committed to you.
Now, when we look at faith as being part of spiritual armor...we find it's mentioned twice. The breastplate, as we saw in Thessalonians, is one of faith and love which are crucial parts of righteousness and here we see that the shield also represents faith.
Each use of the word "faith" must be understood slightly different. The breastplate is faith for our own personal righteousness...each has individual covering. But the shield is faith for protection and provision not just for us but also all whom God has committed to us. This is what covers everything.
...when Satan can't get at me personally...he attacks something God has committed to me as areas of my responsibility...like my family...or because I'm the pastor church members. Need to hold out the shield of faith...rebuke the power of confusion...and restore peace and order....It is a shield of full protection and provision.
And it'll be effective as long as those individuals stay within the boundaries of protection.
Next we find the Helmet of Salvation. When we looked at the breastplate, we saw that it protects the heart. And the helmet obviously protects the head. But we need to see that this represents the mind. So we're talking about a protection for our thoughts & ideas.
Now, I keep bringing you back to the fact that the battleground in the spiritual warfare we engage in is in the mind. And because of that we need to be especially careful to protect our own minds. One of the things that I've learned from personal experience came because of my motorcycle accident some years ago...where I learned that a head wound can drastically limit the effective use of the rest of the faculties.
One of my injuries was a severe concussion..an injury that limited my movements and the activities I could do, things I usually did w/o even thinking about them. Being a football fan I see players get their "bell rung" and often they aren't sure where they're at...hold up fingers to see if they can do something as basic as count. A head injury affects these areas.
A very good friend of mine was involved in a motorcycle accident where he received a tremendous blow to the head. I went to see him but he was unable to do anything...he couldn't talk, or walk...he couldn't even breathe on his own. He only had a couple small scratches outside...he looked perfectly fine. But we found out a few days later he was brain dead. He was unable to sustain his own life. Outside looked fine inside he was dead.
In the spiritual this is also true of Christian workers. I've been privileged to be associated with many great men and women of God in various ministry positions...people used mightily by God. But many times they allowed themselves to be wounded in the head.
And by this I mean that they allowed themselves to become prey to depression...or began to mistrust other Christians... This problem in their mind prevented them from being the effective workers for God they were called to be. Being wounded in the head...they could not use the rest of their equipment.
I have seen this happen to me personally as I struggled with a sense of depression and hopelessness. And it made it very difficult for me to communicate with others and to be an effective minister. It was a struggle to keep going...and the only thing that looked good was to just quit and go back to a 40 hour a week job where I could live a "normal" life.
But in Isaiah 61:3 I read... That was my problem...that's what I needed to be delivered from this spirit of despair. I read other Scriptures dealing with deliverance...prayed a simple prayer of faith...and God delivered me from that spirit of despair.
But that's not the end of it. I need some kind of protection for my mind to prevent this from coming right back again. And that's what we find in Ephesians 6...the helmet of salvation. But let's examine this piece of equipment a little more closely to see how this all fits.
Do we have the helmet of salvation just because we're saved? Is it automatic? No way! That can't be the case because Paul was writing to Christians when he said to put on the helmet of salvation. Why would he tell us to do something we've already done?
Let's look once again to 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (READ)
Look at that phrase "...the hope of salvation." Here we can see very clearly that the protection for the mind is hope. And when we have a valid faith...we have a valid hope.
Much of what many claim to be faith is merely wishful thinking. "I hope God will help me...I hope this will all work out...I hope I will survive...I hope I hope I hope. Some will even throw in the words "I believe" but they have absolutely no basis for really believing that what they hope for will come true.
But when we have a real foundation of faith...we can build a valid hope based on the Word of God that will in fact protect our minds. So what is hope? It's not wanting something so bad that you somehow convince yourself that it just has to come to pass.
Hope is a steady, quiet expectation of good that is based on the promises of God's Word. It is a continuing optimism that is just as real as the Word of God. And this is what will protect your mind.
Hope is an optimistic attitude that always chooses to see the best and will not give way to pessimism...depression...doubt...or self pity. And what is the basis for such a hope? Turn to Romans 8:28 (READ)
If we really know that everything that happens in our lives is being worked together by God for our good...then there is never any reason for pessimism and doubt. Hope...optimism is the helmet. If we keep it on, our minds are protected against all Satan's subtle attacks of doubt...discouragement...self pity...mistrust...etc.
And there are a great number of passages dealing with hope. Let's look back to verse 24 of chapter 8...which reads: "For in this hope we were saved"....the KJV says "for we are saved by hope" Now what does that mean? Simply put "No Hope, No Salvation" Hope is an essential part of our salvation experience.
Being without hope should never be the condition of the Christian. If we have Christ then we have hope. Colossians 1:2 says it in a way that is familiar to many "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
So if Christ is in you then you have hope. And if you don't have hope...it's just as if you weren't a Christian. You may not have actually lost your salvation...but you're not living in the true experience of salvation. Hope in your mind is an essential part of your salvation experience.
Now look back to the book of Hebrews chapter 6 where we find 2 beautiful pictures of hope. READ v. 17 20a The first picture of hope we see here is that of an altar. You may remember that under the Old Covenant, the altar was a place of protection from the avengers of blood. If someone was after vengeance because of something you did or was thought to have done...the only safe place for you was to go to the altar.
And the writer of Hebrews is saying that when all the pressures are against you when you're up against it...run to the altar...catch hold of the horns of the altar and don't let anything pull you away. The altar is your hope!
Secondly, hope is like an anchor that reaches into the very presence of God. In this world we are often like a little boat out on a raging sea...and everything around us seems so unreliable and changeable. There's nothing to give us security and stability.
If we are ever to have any security and stability we need an anchor that reaches beyond the cares and burdens of this life and goes right to the Rock of Ages. That is something that is steadfast and sure...something we can count on. So when we have hope, we are anchored!
Hebrews 10:23 tells us this ..."let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess..." We need to keep on hoping...be optimistic...it's the protection for your mind! It's the helmet you need to protect you from the doubt and discouragement of the devil.
Now to the last of the six items Paul lists as weapons of spiritual warfare...and that is the Sword of the Spirit. Now, there is one thing that distinguishes the sword from the other five items we've looked at. The sword is the first item that is not strictly defensive.
We are aware that the sword is used to fend of attack, but it is also the weapon we use to drive off the devil. If we put on all the other items of equipment we might be able to prevent the devil from actually wounding us...but we'll never be able to drive him from our presence. The only thing that can do that is the sword...which is called the Word of God.
Now the Bible compares God's Word to a sword because God's Word pierces and penetrates. READ Hebrews 4:12
What this shows us is that God's Word penetrates to every area of human personality. It penetrates to the marrow...which is the innermost part of our physical being. It also penetrates and divides between the soul and the spirit...which is the deepest part of our personality.
This item was something that we see used by Jesus and one place that we may overlook is found in Revelation 1:16. This is where John had a vision of Jesus in heaven...and one of the things he saw in his vision was a sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus. (READ)
That double edged sword is the Word of God coming out of the mouth of Jesus. And just a few weeks ago we looked at how Jesus used this sword in His earthly life. The clearest picture is found in Matthew 4 where it describes the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
And we need to point out that every time Jesus encountered Satan personally...the only weapon He used against Him was the sword of the Spirit...the Word of God. Let's read these verses from Matthew to refresh our memory...(READ 4:1 11)
Now, there are some interesting things about this passage I'd like to point out. First, neither Jesus nor Satan ever questioned the authority of Scripture. They both knew the power and authority of the Word.
Second, the basis of every temptation against Jesus was a temptation to doubt. Every time Satan began with the word "if," he was casting doubt on something. Again, this shows that the battleground is the mind.
Third, as we already mentioned, Jesus did not vary His method of dealing with Satan...He always used the Word of God against him. "It is written...it is written...it is written."
It's significant that Satan can quote Scripture...but we must understand that he always misapplies it. The devil tried to use Scripture against the very Son of God...and if he did it against Jesus he might very well do it against you and me. So we must know the Scriptures inside out and we must know how to correctly apply it if we are going to be able to handle the devil.
We have to be very careful of people who quote a lot of Scripture but misapply it and try to tempt us to do the wrong thing...supposedly for the right reasons. And so many times this happens...people use what they believe to be biblical truth...but wrongly applied it can be a very effective tool in the hands of the devil.
But the Word of God properly applied it will defeat the enemy every time. Jesus didn't answer the devil with theology...he didn't use the name of a church or denomination...he didn't tell which rabbi taught Him...He always went straight to the Word of God!
It is written...It is written...It is written...And after the third thrust of that double edged sword Satan backed off...he had enough. And you and I are given the privilege of using that same weapon.
In our main text, Ephesians 6, where Paul speaks about the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God...the Greek word he uses for "word" is rhema...which always primarily means a spoken word.
And the important thing about this is that the sword of the Spirit is not the Bible on the shelf or on the night stand. Just having a copy of the Bible doesn't scare the devil in the least. But when you take the Scripture and quote it directly...then it becomes the sword of the Spirit.
Remember when we read in Revelation 1...Jesus wasn't carrying the sword of the Spirit...He was speaking it out. This spiritual warfare is one that rages in the mind...but is won not by thinking about things...but by speaking out loudly and boldly It is written!
One last thing of significance I want to mention...and that is the phrase "the sword of the Spirit." This shows us that there is a cooperative effort involved between the believer and the Holy Spirit.
We must take the sword...the Word of God...the Holy Spirit won't do that for us. But when we do take the sword in faith...then the Holy Spirit will give us the wisdom and the power to use it...and use it effectively!
Well, we've now covered all 6 items of protective armor...the belt of truth the breastplate of righteousness...the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace...the shield of faith...the helmet of salvation...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
If we put on and use all these protective items God has provided us with...we will be totally protected from the top of our heads to the soles of our feet. BUT... there is one area where there is no protection...and that is our back. This is very important and it has a two fold application.
First, never turn your back on the devil...because the moment you do you give him a great opportunity to wound you in your unprotected area. In other words Don't give up! Never turn around and say, "I've had enough. I can't stand this. I can't take anymore!"
That is turning your unprotected back on the devil and you can be sure he'll take advantage of your moment of weakness and wound you severely, maybe fatally. Quitting may seem like the easy way out...but it always leads to defeat.
Second, we're not always able to protect our own back. In the legions of Rome the foot soldiers always fought in close ranks. They were trained to fight this way and they were also taught never to break rank.
Every soldier knew the soldier on his right and on his left...so if he was being attacked and could not protect his own back...he knew there would be another soldier there to do it for him. I believe the same should be true for us, as Christians.
We can't go out as isolated individuals and take on the devil's kingdom. There are no Lone Rangers in Christianity at least none that survive. We must come under discipline...find our place in the body...and know who stands on our right and our left.
We have to be able to trust our fellow soldiers. Then, when the battle begins and the fight rages...we will be able to know who will be there to protect our back when we can't do it ourselves.
The real tragedy of Christianity is that many times it is the one who is to be protecting your back is the one who wounds you. But when we know who our enemy really is...and we equip ourselves with the spiritual weapons provided for us...we will be effective in our fight against the real enemy of our souls...and we will win be able to stand strong.
But these items are defensive...and no war was ever won strictly by defensive means. There's much more involved in our battle...and next week we'll begin looking at some powerful offensive weapons...weapons that will bring about complete victory when used in conjunction with these defensive items we've covered.
