11/24/2018            Who’s fighting Whom?

Ephesians 6:14-18

Laying in bed, early one recent morn, Father had me thinking about the woman my childhood friend, Ron, and I met at the Golden Corral as we celebrated Veterans Day (free meal, you know).  She was in our same age bracket and though she was never “in” in the military her deceased husband had been a career man. 

We got to talking as we were in line to get into the Golden Corral so we sat together and continued talking.  Eventually ‘religion’ was mentioned which Ron brought up that I was into more than he.  Part of my prayer is that Father keep me sensitive as to where other people are at in their relationship with God so I didn’t jump into a religion vs relationship situation (and shake some booties) but Father did lead me to mention what He has been showing me very recently – the significance concerning how the ‘natural man’, the ‘spiritual man’ and the ‘heart of man’ are impacted by the natural and spiritual realms (as if that may not shake some booties!). 

Because some of what I was sharing that night was as fresh as the morning dew (some just that morning), I only had (and still only have, as of this writing) the basic concept.  Father is still working out the details.  In fact, even as I jot this (and previous adjustments leading up to this publication) down, revelation continues to come.

In studying the Armor of God, Father has shown me the three areas that are addressed, the natural man, the spiritual man and man’s heart. 

He showed me how the first three pieces of the armor, the girdle of truth, breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace all reflect protection for the natural man.  The shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the Sword of the Spirit all protect the spiritual man.  I said, Father, that’s only six pieces of armor covering only two areas.  Then Father asked me “What about verse eighteen?”  Always praying in the Spirit, watching and praying for the saints.  All about where our heart is!  I said “Wow! That’s pretty cool.”  Father showed me that the first three pieces don’t require salvation to be true.  People who don’t know the Lord can (and some still do) refrain from lying.  They can live (what they think) is a righteous life and they can read the bible.  May not understand it, but they can read it.  Without the leading of the Holy Ghost, they can only get a 

‘surface’ understanding of what the Word says (John 16:13). 

This is where faith comes in.  We have to have faith to receive Jesus into our hearts (1 John 5:10).  If we don’t believe who He is, we’ll never accept Him.  If we don’t have Jesus in our hearts, the bible will never truly open for us.  Faith is the beginning of our spiritual experience (Heb. 11:6) and it carries through protecting us from the fiery darts of the enemy.  If we don’t believe in our hearts that Jesus is for us, how can the shield of faith protect us? 

The helmet of salvation is self-explanatory (I think).  I mean, through Jesus, our eternity is secured (1 John 5:13) but without some sort of faith, we would never have accepted Jesus to begin with. 

 Also, without Jesus, how can we effectively use the Sword of the Spirit how can we rightly divide (understand) what is before us without His guidance through the Holy Ghost dwelling in us (Heb. 4:12)?  All this deals with our spiritual man.  After all, the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and the Word of God IS Jesus Christ and Jesus IS God (Eph. 6:17, John 1:1)!  The sword shows us how to deal with what is before us and without Jesus we would have no effective sword and Father had to give us a touch of faith to receive Jesus to begin with.  Ergo, our spiritual man is being dealt with.

Father gives us the Holy Ghost when we accept Jesus into our hearts (John 14:16-17), but Jesus promised His disciples a greater impact on their lives once they receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is evidenced by speaking in the Spiritual language (tongues) God gives us at that time.  Jesus says that when the Holy Ghost is come upon us we shall receive power (Acts 1:8).  Power (strength) to do what?  For one, live this life in this world.  To have the authority to do what Jesus did (just as He said we could John 14:12-14) while He walked with us and helps us to witness to His love in this world.  Paul says we should always be “…praying … in the Spirit …”.  Communicating with Father with our heavenly language because the Spirit speaks mysteries (1 Corinth. 14:2).  We should always be watchful for we don’t know when or how the enemy will strike.  And because we all need support, we should pray for the saints and they should be praying for us.  These things reflect where our heart is as well as strengthening our hearts in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Father knows our hearts (Jer. 17:10) and He wants our hearts to always be right with Him (Acts 8:18-21).

Father also showed me how the spheres and choirs of angels (according to Origen, 184 AD – 254 AD) also reflected angelic interaction in these three areas.  The third sphere deals with the natural man.  It contains Principalities (rulers), archangels and angels, all who are responsible for what goes on in this natural world. 

The second sphere consists of dominions (lordships), virtues (strongholds) and powers (authorities) which deals with matter (creation) and ruling spirits.  If you will – the heavenlies.

The first sphere includes Seraphims who continually glorify and praise God, the Cherubims who protect God’s throne and then the Thrones who serve God’s justice and authority.  Think about it.  When we enter God’s presence (spiritually we enter His throne room) and can’t help but praise Him. We enter His presence and we are under His protection.  And when we enter His presence we willingly subject ourselves to His justice and authority which are administered (to us) only for our benefit. These are things that deal with our heart, our relationship with our heavenly Father.     

More recently, Father had me up at four AM, one morning, showing me how the law (the Ten Commandments, Exod. 20:3-17) also dealt with these three areas.  The last five commandments (killing, adultery, stealing, lying and covetousness) deal with the natural man, Four and five (honoring the Sabbath and mom and dad) deal with the ‘spiritual man’ (how we view things around us) and the first three (no gods before Jaweh, no idols and not taking His name in vain) deal with our relationship with the Father, our heart. 

He wasn’t finished.  He reminded me of the three temptations of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11) (originally He  had shown me this one a while back).  Jesus fasted for forty days so Satan knew (in the natural) He had to be hungry.  So he tempted Jesus with the stones, then the pinnacle of the temple and then the mountain which overlooked nations.  The stones into bread – the natural man; jump off the pinnacle – the spiritual man and all these nations, putting Satan first – our heart. 

 There’s more.  He showed me how Jesus’ ministry follows suit.  For thirty years Jesus lived as we do.  He walked a mile (or three) in our shoes and didn’t sin.  Then He spent three and a half years teaching us how to deal with our spiritual man.  THEN He ascended back into heaven, sending the Holy Ghost back to dwell within us so He could continually help us to grow within our heart.  That is, impacting our attitudes and our relationship with the Father. After all, didn’t He tells us I am in you and I would that you would be in me as the Father is Me and I in the Father (John 14:11-21).

He also showed how the Godhead influences these three areas.  Jesus came to this earth to redeem the natural man (because we are born into sin – thank you Adam & Eve).  The Holy Ghost helps us to get our spiritual man ‘together’, while Father (working through Jesus & the Holy Ghost) works on our relationship with Him, getting our heart right.

I said “Lord, that’s only six areas (the armor, the angels, the Law,  temptations of Jesus, life of Jesus and the godhead).  Six is the number of man, our weakness.  I’m not comfortable with that.  What about seven?”  I searched my mind and heart but for the love of me I couldn’t come up with a seventh area.  Finally, Father said to me “Buck, are you (humans) a three part being?”  I said “Yes.”  “What are they?”  I responded “Body, soul and Spirit.”  Then the light came on 

and I humbly received the ‘duh’ award as Father helped point out that our body is the natural man.  Here, our soul equates to the spiritual man and our spirit relates to our relationship with Father, our heart.  SEVEN! (God’s number representing spiritual completeness!)

So Father has shown me six areas that are broken down and interfacing with our three part being – natural, spiritual and our heart.  He’s shown me areas (in scripture) where He has pointed this out to us so we can be aware of the need to address all three areas of our being so we can live fully in Christ Jesus.  So we can successfully stand against the enemy (Satan). Father doesn’t leave us hanging on our own (Heb. 13:5) as He shows us the protection we have and the help we have at our disposal.

PTL!!!

All of this to ask the question “Who is fighting whom?” 

Father gave me the example of two women contending over one man’s affection (hey, I’m a guy – my perspective).  The woman coming up on the short end of the stick will submit to trickery, deceit and anything else to promote her cause to ‘win her man’.  So, even though at times, she may hurt the man, who is her real opponent?  The other woman, of course.  But she knows she can’t defeat the other woman in a fight (fair or otherwise), so she turns and works on the subject of the other woman’s affection.  In the end, the sad thing is, the woman may not even really want the man.  She’s simply fighting to keep the other woman from having him. 

Does this sound familiar?  The spiritual battle for our souls!  Satan trying to keep us from our rightful place with our Father in heaven????  It’s not that he wants us all that bad.  He just doesn’t want God to have us.

We have a three-pronged battle to fight.  The natural man, the spiritual man and where our heart abides.

We are a three part being: with our body reflecting the natural man, soul reflecting our spiritual man and our spirit reflecting our heart.  The law in the last five commandments reflecting the natural man, the forth and fifth reflect our spirit man then the first three expresses that this battle is a real and a fight for our hearts.  It is emphasized in Jesus’ life, ministry and resurrection.  And even in the three recorded temptations which Jesus faced in the wilderness.  The stones, the pinnacle and the mountain all point to the reality of the need to address all three areas.  Oh, and don’t forget God, Himself, in the Godhead, He shows us the three areas that need our attention as Jesus (the Son) has redeemed our bodies, the Holy Ghost helps our spiritual man to stay in proper alignment and the Father deals with our hearts.  Then the armor of God, which He gives us for our protection: the belt, the breastplate and the shoes for the natural man, then the shield, the helmet and the sword for the spiritual man and finally praying in the Spirit, watching and praying for the saints to get our hearts right.  

You say “You said there were seven areas!”  Right, God also gives us the angels to help us in our fight.  The three spheres (mentioned above) provide help for our natural man (sphere #3), our spiritual man (sphere #2) and our heart (sphere #1).

As I said, we have to be aware of all three areas of contention (body, soul & spirit) if we are to give 

ourselves to the One who truly loves us (Father through Jesus) and become aware of  all He has provided to  help us to victory over the forces of darkness.  After all, we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood.  We do contend with powers, principalities, rulers of darkness and spiritual 0wickedness.  Don’t we?

Praise the Lord!  We are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ.  All we have to do is realize what we are fighting, the protection Father provides us then take up the weapons He has afforded us.

Amen?

11-10-2018         The fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The first fruit of the Spirit is “love’.  Why?  Because the rest of the fruit are a product of love.

I have three songs for you.  The first is “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers, the other two are children’s songs.  They are simple but to the point and I think they get the message across.  I thought you might enjoy them, too.

Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield formed the group “the Righteous Brothers” and Bobby took the lead in Unchained Melody.  Father put “Unchained Melody” on my heart because it is a powerfully done song.  Bobby is singing, of course, about a lost love, a girl, but if we just turn the direction of the song and focus on Jesus, how would we feel if our relationship with our Lord were severed?  Just how close is our relationship with Him?

 Unchained Melody,   Fruit of the Spirit Worship Song,    Fruit of the Spirit for Kids

What does ”Unchained Melody” have to do with the fruit?  It reflects how we need to approach Father so the fruit of His Spirit may abound within us. 

I’d like to present a brief overview of each of the fruit of the Spirit so we may have a general idea of what we should be seeing in operation in our lives.

So, if our relationship with Jesus were severed, what would we be missing?  The fruit would diminish and disappear until that relationship is repaired.

LOVE

When we talk about love, we have to mention at least four things or areas o of our expression of love.

Love God the Father above all else:  1& 4) We love God above everything else and our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:26-28); 2) Men, we love our wives as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25); and 3) Raise our children by nourishing them and admonishing them in the Lord (Eph. 5:4).  In these, we cover God, family and those around us.  Express Christ’s love in us towards all.

My wife and I went to something called “Marriage Encounter”, the Episcopal (the denomination) version – twice (I was a little dense).  Here, husbands and wives were supposed to learn how to love, respect and communicate with each other.  What Father showed me that behind God, my wife was the most important thing in my life.  I was to treat her as the most precious thing in my life, in this world.  We did exercises on how to be honest with our feelings by writing them down then discussing them with our spouse.  We (OK, I) discovered how to listen to each other without getting hurt or angry so we could effectively work towards resolution of problem areas.  It took me a little longer, but we eventually got there.

We should seek the Father as the woman who stopped everything to find her lost coin (Luke 15:8-9).  Then we become like the four beasts and the twenty-four elders (Rev. 4:6-11) giving God thanksgiving and praise for all that He has done. 

How do we love our wives?  Read Song of Solomon.  Why?  Read Proverbs chapter thirty-one.

When we raise our children in the Lord they won’t depart (Prov. 22:6) or, at least, they will come back.

We should treat our neighbor as we would like to be treated (Luke 6:27-31).   

Read 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen.  Love is the foundation of everything.  When we express true love from our heart, the rest of the fruit will follow suit.  People will see it.

JOY

The book of the Acts of the Apostles gives us a pretty good idea that we can receive joy with our salvation experience (2:25-28, 8:5-8, 13:48-52, 15:3, 20:22-24).  Now, other things can bring us joy (you can do the study), but true joy, as with love, starts with God.  We can’t have true joy unless we love.

So what is joy?  Checking out Strong’s Concordance (2167 and 5479) joy is cheerfulness, a calm delight, gladness or a fullness.  Webster’s, in part, adds possessing one’s desires, happiness, delight and we could probably include contentment.  All products of love.

PEACE

As we are in Christ Jesus, we know that God gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7), but what does that mean to us?

The Greek word used in Phil. 4:7 (1515) means peace, quietness, prosperity, rest and set a one again.  It comes from a root word meaning to join.   Webster’s adds the state of tranquility.

 We may conclude that we find peace when we rest in the Lord, that is cast all our cares upon the Lord.  Jesus says “Take my yoke, it is easy.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

Again, peace is a result of love operating in our lives.

LONGSUFFERING

What is longsuffering?  Putting up with people and being a good martyr because we’re Christian?  How many of us have heard of being assertive?  Jesus was/is the epitome of assertiveness.  Being assertive is being confident in what you are doing or saying.  Assertive is standing your ground knowing that we are correct.  Assertive is being firm.  It is all this but lacking one thing – being aggressive.  Though Jesus blasted the scribes and Pharisees for not being whom they should he didn’t jump up and down or becoming intimidating to get His point across.  Yes He got angry with the money changers in the temple but that wasn’t just sticking it to them.   By their actions, they were desecrating the house of God. 

I speak for myself.  Though I have done a lot of stupid things over the years, even after salvation, Jesus never gave up on me.  He waited me out until I was ready to go where He was leading me.  When I was wrong, He let me know.  When it didn’t matter, He let me go.  some things just didn’t impact my relationship with Him.

Longsuffering is being patient with someone or something until the point is reached where they can deal with the issue, but being there all along to help.  Look at how patient Jesus was with sinners, for while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Rom. 5:8) leading those of His time on earth  and biding with us until we can see the light.  With some, He is so longsuffering, He is still drawing them in at natural death.  Consider how patient He was with the disciples as they learned His ways (read Matt., Mark, Luke & John).

Longsuffering is not yielding our principles as we wait for others to get where they need to be.  We don’t get angry (now matter how dense they are), frustrated or give up, but our love enables us to be longsuffering with them. 

KINDNESS

Kindness can also be considered gentleness which is akin to longsuffering.  Kindness is doing something good for another.  Kindness is treating another with respect and gentleness.  It is being pleasant towards another.  In other words, when we encounter someone, we don’t yell and scream at them or try to bully or intimidate them.  We do treat them as equals, not being a respecter of persons.  God doesn’t consider a person because of his station in life, He treats all alike (Acts 10:34).  Should we do any less?  God’s love operating in us helps us to be so.

GOODNESS

Strong’s defines goodness as benefit, or virtue.  In short, we do things because it is the right thing to do and it’s for another’s benefit.  What does Paul tell us?  All things are done for the edification of the body (Eph. 4:11-13 & 1 Corinth. 14:26).  When we don’t have love in our hearts, we become self-centered, egotistical SOBs thinking only of ourselves.

  

FAITHFULNESS

The three Greek words used to define faith or faithful carry the connotation of trusting, believing, having fidelity (allegiance) towards. 

When we are married, we are faithful to our spouse.  That is that person has now become our one and only.  We don’t date or pursue other people, especially for romantic interludes.  Spouses who practice ‘open marriages’ are not faithful people for they are seeking that romantic interlude with another person.  The same would be true if we confess Jesus Christ as Lord then we go to a church which does not serves the God the Father, Creator of the heavens and the earth.  No matter what religion or even denomination (all that claims to be Christian isn’t necessarily).

Faithfulness means our allegiance is towards only one, the God of the bible, Jehova, the Great I AM.  When we are faithful, God can trust us.  God is always faithful (2 Tim.2:11-13) so we can always trust Him.  God searches the earth to show His strength to those who have given their hearts to Him (faithful) (2 Chron. 16:9).  Whether in the natural or in the spiritual, love is expressed through faithfulness.

GENTLENESS

You’ve heard the expression “gentle as a lamb”?  When someone is as gentle as a lamb they are pleasant, caring calm, gentle, kind and non-aggressive (peaceful).  The word used in Galatians for gentleness means good or kind but its root word carries the connotation of ‘useful’ meaning were are usually pretty easy to work with or perhaps ‘ready’ to work with.  As we exercise that last fruit (temperance) we find that gentleness is an automatic by-product.  Paul tells the Thessalonians that he could have been really rough in handling them but instead he was gentle, like a nurse handling children (1 Thess. 2:7).  Consider how Jesus dealt with the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned.  He reminded her accuser that if they had no sin in their lives, go ahead and stone her.  After a few minutes (or so), Jesus asked the woman where were those who condemned her and she said ‘gone’.  Then he told he that he wouldn’t condemn her either but she should go her way and quit sinning (John 8:1-11).  Gentleness is also compassionate recognizing who may be truly against you and those who just may not know any better.  When we truly love, gentleness should be ‘second nature’.

SELF-CONTROL          

Temperance, or self-control is probably one of the hardest things for people to master.  The word used in King James version of Galatians uses the word temperance which means temperance.  But root word indicates a hindering, or to impede.  We limit whatever it is that we’re dealing with.  WE take charge and don’t let ‘it’ get the best of us (blow our stack or loose control).  If we have an anger problem, we put great effort into not getting angry.  If we eat too much, we learn to cut back on the amount of food we take in.  Temperance helps us to bring anything we do into moderation, or perhaps even elimination.  In the scriptures, we only see Jesus popping His cork only once and that was when he overturned tables and threw the money exchangers out of the temple.  If you remember, they had made the house of God a den of thieves.  They were desecrating the temple of Jahweh (Matt. 20:12-13).  Jesus did not sin in His anger rather He was correcting the situation (Eph. 4:26). 

Self-control is remaining even tempered and not letting your emotions run amok.  That is bringing our body under control of our spirit (1Corinth. 9:24-27) because I yield myself to God (Rom. 6:13).  As I live in His love, then I’m have self-control. 

Conclusion

As I live in God’s love, as I yield to His will, He make it so much easier to deal with whatever situation I face.  His love prevails and I discover that I have joy, peace and good-will.  I see that I have become gentle and longsuffering I find my faith increasing making it easier to be meek (humble) and my self control makes it possible for all the fruit to manifest in my life.

Thank God we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  Should we stray, all we have to do is repent our thoughts or actions, truly repent, and We are forgiven through the blood Jesus shed for us on Calvary.  As I say “truly repent” I mean to have a heartfelt sorrow for what we have done to the degree we make a decision not to do it again – and mean it.  with that decision, we determine to stick to abide therein.  God tells us when we truly confess and repent our sin, He puts that sin behind His back – not to look at it or consider it ever again (Isa. 38:17, Isa. 43:25).  Should we do any less?  Father, through Jesus, through the Holy Ghost, will help us get back up on our feet giving us the strength and confidence to once again press forward in life’s race (Pslam 145:14,  2 Corinth. 4:7-15).

So we are able to run this race because as He has forgiven us our sins, we are able to run this race effectively.  As we run, we endeavor to grow in the fruit He has given us through His Spirit.  We grow by yielding ourselves to Father through Jesus and as the fruit expands and matures in our lives we find that it spills over (outward) into the lives of those around us.  Those around us can then witness the love of God in full operation and hopefully will choose to serve the one, true, living God as well.

Amen

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.