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Ephesians 6:10-18
You cannot stand against the enemy without your battle rattle. You must be wearing the whole armor of God. The battle is not a natural one, therefore natural weapons are ineffective. Spiritual battles are fought with spiritual weapons. The armor has a purpose, our responsibility is to put it on. In the Christian life we fight against “principalities and powers,” the incredible fiendish powers of fallen heavenly messengers headed by Satan (1 Peter 5:8). To withstand their assaults, we should rely upon God's strength and utilize each piece of his defensive armor. Paul is not just giving his advice to the church, yet to everyone inside the church. The entire body should be equipped. As we fight against “the rulers of the darkness of this world,” battle in the strength of the church, whose force comes from the Holy Spirit. In verse 10: Here we have the two angles united: human undertaking coincided with the Lord's movement. We are to be strong, however in the Lord's strength. The strength of the Lord's obviously alludes to his Spirit. Not by your own strength for man is weak and frail. Sometimes we tend to give in spiritually, but by God's strength we can overcome. In verse 11: “Put on” indicates an action that we must take. It is not like an athletic uniform we put on for the game. We must have all our issued gear, if we forget one piece, we will be vulnerable to the enemy. As soldiers always do, we should periodically check our gear. The enemy uses underhanded tactics to slip us up and can use our goodness against us. In verse 12: We are not fighting natural physical forces but demonic forces. These who are not "flesh and blood" are demons over whom Satan has control. they are not simple dreams; they are genuine. We face a ground-breaking armed force whose objective is to crush Christ's church. At the point when we trust in Christ and join his congregation, these creatures become our adversaries, and they attempt with everything to dismiss us from Christ and back to sin. Although we are guaranteed of triumph, we should take part in the battle until Christ comes, since Satan is continually engaging against all who are on the Lord's side. The enemy uses evil troops in different areas of our lives (non-believers in government, music, movies, etc. He could be using someone in the congregation right now, (who is this guy, I wish he would hurry up, what's for lunch, wonder what the score is). We need spiritual power to overcome Satan, and God has given that in his Holy Spirit inside us and his armor encompassing us. If we feel debilitate, we are to recall Jesus' words to Peter: “Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). In verse 13: Christians need all the battle rattle gear (whole armor). It is not like choosing what shirt to wear with what pants, should I wear this with that, do I wear a tie, or what shoes go with that outfit. We cannot pick and choose what part of gear we will take for the day. It takes all the gear, all the armor. You will not see a fireman running into a burning building without full protective gear. You will not see a medical team heading into surgery without their PPE (personal protective equipment). All means all. In verse 14: These two verses indicate something we should have already done as a believer (having). In ancient times, the girdle around the loins held the other parts of the uniform in place. If the girdle were lost, the rest of the armor could be lost. If people do not know Jesus, they have already lost everything.
We should cover the heart. The righteousness of Christ protects your spiritual vital organs from Satan's attacks. In verse 15: Shoes are needed for conflict and for traversing treacherous ground. These shoes are designed for warfare. Without a pair of shoes, you can only walk or run so far. Your feet are exposed to the elements. Are our shoes for running or walking? Are the stylish and just look good? Having our feet shod indicates a readiness to advance into the spiritual realm.
A shield is for defense, it is for protection. In some cultures, a shield covered soldiers from head to foot. The shield would be held in front of the soldier to stop or block a frontal attack. The Shield of faith - there are different types of faith - saving faith, gift of faith, fruit of faith.
When our lives turn to despair:
In verse 17: These verses indicate things we are to do in the present (take). The helmet protects our minds, a regenerated mind, a transformed and a renewed mind. An undisciplined mind makes the Christian warrior easy prey to sinful deceptions. Satan will try to make us doubt God's saving work. Salvation represents the past, the present, and the future. We have been saved from guilt and the penalty of past sin. We are being saved from the power of sin in the present. The hope of salvation refers to salvation in the future tense.
We are to be prepared, live with self-control, and set our hope on Christ's return. The sword is the offensive weapon, Word of God.
In verses 11, 13, 14: Notice how these verses all point to standing still. We are not to waiver, we are not run, we are not to hide, and we are to tum our backs. We are to stand facing the enemy. In verse 18: How would anyone be able to pray constantly? One approach to pray continually is to make snappy, brief petitions our constant reaction to each circumstance we meet for the duration of the day. Another path is to put our lives around God's directions and lessons with the goal that our life turns into a supplication, a prayer. We do not need to disengage from others and from day-by-day work to pray continually. We can make prayer our everyday routine and our life a prayer while experiencing in a world that needs God's impact.
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