The Full Armor Of God

The Full Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-20

Good Morning

Please open your Bibles to Ephesians 6 as we look at the pieces of the Armor of God which are essential for Christian warfare…

In the first three chapters of the Book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes about all that God has done for us through Jesus and how spiritually rich we all are in Christ.

Then, beginning in Ephesians 4 through Ephesians 6:9 Paul tells his readers who are in Christ, how we are to live as Christ followers, as a proper response.

Finally, In Ephesians 6:10, Paul tells his readers how we live for Jesus in this broken world, as we will always be met with real spiritual opposition.

So today, we are going to talk about how to stand strong for Jesus during spiritual attacks.

I. We need His Strength.

Read Ephesians 6:10

Notice vs. 10, “Finally”; based upon our position in Christ, now in order to walk worthy of the call with which we are called…Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Our Christian walk is not a playground; it is a battleground, and we must be on our guard at all times.

Christians do not fight for victory, we fight because we already have the victory; our victory is already won because of the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Be strong means that the Christian, is to strengthen themselves in the Lord!

The strange thing in Christianity is that we are told in order to be strong in the Lord; we must become weak in our own abilities.

2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

2 Corinthians 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NKJV

The Lord did not give this thorn in the flesh to punish Paul;

He allowed this thorn in the flesh to show Paul the divine strength he could have by relying on Jesus.

Paul was a very strong man; but he was only strong when he was weak in his own flesh, and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

If we want lives of strength, we must recognize and admit our weaknesses, as we receive God’s grace to strengthen us.

II. Our power source.

Read Ephesians 6:11

We can access our power source by getting dressed with the right clothes… vs. 11, Put on the whole armor of God!

As a Christian soldier, the Lord has dressed us for success for spiritual battles; as we put on the whole armor of God!

Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison, so he had an example of the Armor, a Roman soldier would wear, as he was actually chained to a Roman soldier.

Satan’s power is limited; but the Lord’s power is limitless and as His children, we share in the Lord’s power.

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. NKJV

Whether we need power to fight the temptation of sin, or the power to submit to one another, or the power to resist the schemes of the evil one; we should rely upon the Lord.

We are told to put on the armor…“That we may be able to stand

Stand means to place, to put, to set; to fix or establish. Some versions of the Bible say to stand firm.

Many Christians are defeated in their Christian lives because they are not seriously engaged in the warfare to which the Lord has called us.

The Apostle Paul is encouraging the soldiers of Christ to take courage and to hold our ground against the plans of the devil; because of our allegiance to King Jesus.

And we Stand against the wiles of the devil. The word wiles is like the word method; or to lie in wait and use trickery.

What are the schemes of the devil towards Christ followers? Jesus told us what the devil’s schemes are in John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.

We need to be aware of Satan's schemes so he won’t outwit us.