10-27-2018 The Armor of God (12-9-2012)

         The Natural                             The Spiritual                                       The Heart

Ephesians 6:10-13

Finally my brothers, be strong in the lord in power and in might.  Put on the whole armor of God so you might be able to withstand the tactics of the devil.  We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but rather against principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to withstand the evil day and once you have done everything you are able to do, continue to stand fast.  [And see the salvation of our God (Exod. 14:13-14).]

FYI      

Orders, choirs or ranks of angels.  Drawn largely from Gal. 3:26-28 (nature of God’s children), Matt. 22:24-33 (in resurrection like God’s angels), Eph. 1:21-23 (Jesus has authority over…) and Col. 1:16 (all things created through Jesus) as defined by Origen *, Dionysius ** and Tomas Aquinas ***.  I add (by permission) Dan. 10:1-21 (prince of Persia) and Eph. 6:12 (we Wrestle against…). 

1^st sphere – heavenly servants of God: Seraphim (burning ones-caretakers of God’s throne), Cherubim (four faces-guard way to tree of life), Thrones (elders-represent God’s justice and authority), 2^nd sphere-governors of creation: dominions (lordship-regulate duties of angels), virtues (strongholds or power-signs & wonders), powers (authorities-supervise operation of celestial bodies), 3^rd sphere-principalities (rulers-over peoples or nations), archangels (chief angel-apparently seven who stand before God), angels (messengers-deal with living things-including us).  

I mention angels so we can see that they operate, not only here on planet earth, but in the heavenlies.  Now, the heavenlies are not just around the throne of God, but everything between there and earth as well.  Demons have a similar ranking except they do not stand around the throne of God or anywhere near it(Psalm 5:4).  However, they do have one who disperses them – Satan/Lucifer and he disperses them into specific realms. They’ve also been cast out of heaven along with him (Isa. 14:10-16, Ezek. 28:11-19, Rev. 12:7-9).

THE ARMOR

1.         Ephesian 6:14 The Girdle (belt) of Truth

What does it do?

            Protects our body core

            The core is strong, the body is strong

            Keeps upper body firm and fast

            Helps head to be stable, eyes can focus better

            Enables leg strength for better foot positioning (to stand)

What do we do?

            Speak truthfully (Freudian slips will reveal what is truly in our hearts)

            Be founded in God’s principles, they brings forth truth

            Keep God’s law of love (the Holy Ghost reveals His truth)

            Obtain Spiritual strength to be better able to resist the enemy (truth shall set us free)

We strengthen our core because we know the grace Jesus brings us (1 Peter 1:13) into a greater knowledge of Him.  We know that when we hear the truth, we hear Jesus (John 18:37).  Paul said to imitate him as he imitates Jesus (1 Corinth. 11:1).  Paul demonstrated the truth which comes from Jesus.  We should do likewise.  No “little ‘white’ lies”.  A lie is a lie – an untruth.

2.         Ephesians 6:14           The Breastplate of Righteousness

What does it do?

            Protects our chest (heart)

            Brings God’s righteousness into our lives

            Gives us the will to withstand the enemy

            As we live for God, we know He is always with us

            Our obedience is our righteousness

What do we do?

            We learn of God’s righteousness through scripture

            Believe God (faith is counted as righteousness)

            Be obedient to His Word (obedience brings righteousness)

We need to remember that our righteousness is with God through Jesus Christ, Our Lord (1 Corinth. 5:21).  God considers us when we have utmost respect for Him and hate evil (Job 1:8).

3.         Ephesians 6:15           Shoes of the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace

What do they do?

            Guide our footsteps in God’s ways

            Brings peace of God into our lives

What do we do?                     

            Learn to trust God, His peace comes into our hearts (we know we shall prevail)

            Living (walking) in His love opens the door to our peace

As we understand scripture, we grow in understanding His love so we have His peace

We should be thankful that God’s peace rules in our hearts (Col. 3:15).

4.         Ephesians 6:16           The Shield of Faith

What does it do?

            Protects us from the attacks and onslaughts of the wicked one       

            The enemy throws fiery darts at us, they fall harmless when they hit the shield

What do we do?

            Believe God in all things

            Do not doubt God’s word, it will not come back void

            My shield is before me, I don’t even consider retreat

By our faith in Jesus, we shall overcome even the world (1 John 5:4). 

5.         Ephesians 6:17           The Helmet of Salvation

What does it do?

            Protects our mind – all aspects

            Gets us into right thinking

            Living for Jesus (salvation) helps us to effectively apply all the armor

What do I do?

            Continually read the scriptures for God’s deeper understanding

            I have accepted Jesus into my heart, now I need to live for Him

            By learning and knowing His will for me

            Bringing his love into my heart and applying it to my life

Our helmet is the hope of our eternal fellowship with Father in Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:8-9).

6.         Ephesians 6:17           Take up the Sword of the Spirit

What does it do?

            The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and the Word of God is Jesus Christ

            The bible is the written Sword of the Spirit, it reveals what God has for us to know

            An offensive weapon to use against the enemy

            It reveals truth before me as the Holy Ghost reveals even the deep things

            It is the words I need to repel the enemy

What do I do?

            Study the written word so I can know the living Word (Jesus)

            And apply appropriate measure into my life and against my foe

And we know that the Sword of the Spirit is sharper than any two-edged sword even separating the soul and the Spirit (Heb. 4:12).

7.         Ephesians 6:18           Pray with all supplication in the Spirit and for my brothers

What does it do?

The Holy Spirit gives me wisdom to know how to pray

He shows me what to do       

He helps me speak what needs to be spoken

            He gives me direction (in all situations)

            He supports me especially when I make decisions in accordance with God’s will

            He prays in my stead when I don’t know what to pray or how

What do I do?

            1.         Pray in the Spirit

2.         Watch (know what going around us)

3.         Pray for our brothers and sisters in the Lord

Learn to pray “in the Spirit”

Listen to the Holy Spirit’s leading (of course I have to know God’s voice first)

            Apply what He tells me

Father would that we all would pray in the Spirit but we need to speak to edify our brothers and sisters in the Lord (1 Corinth. 14:5)

The Armor impacts three areas of our lives:

1.         Natural Man

A          Girded with truth (girdle or belt)

Our midsection is our body’s corps or support ergo our innermost being should be grounded in God’s truth and that truth should be what supports our very being.  We should always be truthful and honest in all that we say and do.

B          Breastplate of Righteousness

Our heart is protected and rooted in God’s righteousness ergo we always seek and do those things which glorify God.  Our heart’s desire should be what God’s will is for us and to always be obedient to His Word.

C.         Shoes of the Preparation of the Gospel of peace

Our feet should always walk down the pathway, for which Jesus has set the example, by being rooted in God’s Word.  We should live in and share freely God’s peace and love.  We need to understand God’s Word so we can know how God expects us to live.  Freely we have received, freely we give.  So we go into all the world (which Father calls us to Matt. 28:191-20).

2.         Spiritual Man

A          Shield of Faith

Because we believe God (without faith it is impossible to please Him) we trust that He will perform all that He has said and we speak and act boldly because we know that He is with us

B          Helmet of Salvation

Because we renew our minds daily, our thoughts and hope are focused on the idea that we will be with the Father through Jesus throughout eternity and we do our best to live life in this world as though we are already in the next.

C          Sword of the Spirit

As Jesus completed the half-truths Satan set before Him in the wilderness, through the Holy Ghost we are grounded in God’s Living Word via God’s Written Word so we can rightly divide all those things that come before us and respond with confidence, knowledge and truth.

3.         Attitude of Application

A          Pray for ourselves (what we need/desire) in the Spirit

We need to pray for ourselves that God will love us, guide us and protect us and strengthen us in all that we do.  If we don’t know how to pray for ourselves the Holy Ghost will help us (our Spiritual language).  Otherwise, how can we know how to pray for others?

B          Watch

We need to be aware of what’s going on around us and pray with perseverance into that situation that God’s will be performed and that we can stand against whatever the enemy brings. 

C          Pray for the saints

We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus that God will love, guide and protect them in all that they do and that they will be obedient to His Word.

The Armor of God is Spiritual

We don’t put it on in the morning and take it off at night (in the natural, it would be cumbersome to sleep in but where would the protection be when we sleep if we took it off?)

We do replenish it daily – bang out the dents, repair the chinks and shine it up (through prayer-confession and our daily devotions) for each day so we can be fully prepared to face the new day in God’s power and strength (no weak spots) so that we might be able to stand against the wiles and attacks of the enemy.

In summary

Consider 1 John 5:7-8:  There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three are one.

There are three that bear record in the earth, the Spirit, the water and the blood and these three agree in one.

Notice the connection:  Father, Son and Spirit.  Water, blood and Spirit.  The Holy Ghost connects us with Father.  That’s why He has taken up resident within us through our profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

And consider 1 Corinth. 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you.  In the mouth of two or three witness shall every word be established. 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one set of witnesses.  The water, blood and Spirit are another set of witnesses.  Two sets of witnesses connected by a common factor (the Holy Ghost) are connected together in unity.  Because the Holy Spirit is common, when we agree with Father, we have five witnesses to accomplish whatever (The Father, the Son, the water, the blood and the Spirit) is set before us.

We read the bible so we can learn how God thinks – what He does.  We learn how God thinks so we can be on the same wavelength and hear His voice when He speaks with us (1 Sam. 3:1-9).

So we see, through the armor, God addressing the natural man three situations, the spiritual man three situations (though each with a different piece of the armor) and man’s attitude or heart three situations.

Take note that the armor has three main sections, the angelic order also has three sections and Father is a triune being.  The armor deals with the natural man, the spiritual man and his attitudes or heart.  Angels have a group that deal with the natural man, the spiritual man and God’s immediate realm (the heart).  Jesus has redeemed the natural man, the Holy Ghost gives us spiritual guidance and Father?  Father deals with our hearts (attitudes).

When Paul was in Athens (and everywhere else for that matter) he tried to find a common denominator – what people were familiar with - and how can he use that as a springboard to Jesus? 

With the armor, God addresses the natural man first because that’s what we are all familiar with.  The angelic realm deals with the natural man and so does Jesus.  Again, it’s what we’re most familiar with.  Then the armor moves into the spiritual man so we can receive power to do what we need to be doing.  The angelic realm also deals with the spiritual man – to fight for or against that which is beyond the physical realm.  We also have the Holy Spirit within us so we can fight that which is unseen.  Then it’s capped it with attitude, operating in God’s love.  Our prayer life impacts the physical world around us as well as helping us to combat spiritual realities.  Angels break down demonic, unseen, barriers so we can realize God’s calling and or blessings in our lives.  And Father helps us, through our prayer life, to do that which is right and be victorious in every aspect of our life.     

Yes we pray for ourselves but also for our brothers and sisters in the Lord (especially) and then for those in authority over us (especially but not limited to ‘in the church).  Jesus tells us to pray for those who govern over us (in the world) because, believe it or not, God has ordained them to that position and we pray so that it might be well for us in our lives.  We also pray for our neighbors so they might learn about Jesus and give their hearts to Him.  Of course it never hurts to do a little witnessing here as well.  We can always pray that God saves someone but when it is within our power to share Christ we discover that we may be the means God intends to use to draw people into His kingdom.  Faith without works is dead.

Once we put it on, we need to prove our armor.  We can’t use someone else’s armor.  We need our own.  Just as David couldn’t use Saul’s armor to go out and fight Goliath (1 Sam: 17:38-40).  Once we put on the armor we have to learn how to effectively us it.  And that’s where scriptural knowledge and prayer play a most important part as we learn how Father intends to use us to accomplish His goal – salvation for the lost. 

Now that we’ve put on the armor of God and are “prayed up”, we’re ready to go into battle (Jude 20-21).  Or, at least, we should be.  Right?

Amen

References to angels is based upon:

*          Origien (@184-254 AD) Alexandrian scholar & theologian (believed soul pre-existed manifestation.

**        Dionysius (the Areopagite) A judge and convert of the apostle Paul.  Considered the first bishop of Athens, present at Paul’s :Unknown God” speech.

***      Tomas Aquinas (@1225-1274 AD) Roman Catholic Dominican priest, respected philosopher and theologian.

Other “scholars” have also addressed angels.  That list is at the end of the Wikki page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_angelology) shares more insight.