CHAPTER 7: THE ARMOR OF GOD
The believer must continually be arrayed with spiritual armor. Ephesians 6:10,11 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
The Christian who puts on this armor and engages in spiritual warfare is marked. By spiritual warfare I simply mean doing the works of Jesus and taking our authority over the devil as we go about our daily lives. I am not talking about purposely trying to go head-to-head with satan in some kind of prayer combat. The devil will do everything in his power to keep you from coming into this knowledge of authority over him. He'll fight you more over this than any other subject. Then, after you have come to the knowledge of this authority, he'll oppose you and try to steal it from you. There will be tests, and sometimes people fail those tests. The devil wants you to throw up your hands and say the authority of the believer won't work for you.
A man once came to me in a meeting where I was preaching on this and said the authority of the believer wouldn't work for him. I told him if it doesn't work, God is a liar. (This man was, in essence, calling God a liar.)
I'd rather die than say God's Word doesn't work. If it doesn't work, it's because I don't work it. We may fail, but God's Word doesn't fail. I believe His Word is true.
The enemy will resist your interference in his sphere, because he's exercising authority over the powers of the air, and he wants to continue to do so. When you interfere with satan's kingdom by exercising your spiritual authority, he will attack you in an attempt to get you to back down from using that authority.
If you successfully resist satan's attacks in one area, he will come against you in another area. You may as well get ready for these attacks, because they're coming. In other words, your privileged spiritual position makes you an enemy to the devil.
You see, the devil realizes he cannot hold in bondage a believer who knows his authority in Christ Jesus. Such a believer is aware that he is seated with Christ in heavenly places and that the devil is a defeated foe under his feet (Eph. 1:15-2:6).
Furthermore, this believer is convinced that no work of the enemy can prevail against him in carrying out the will of God on the earth.
HOW TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED
If believers take advantage of the spiritual armor provided for them, the enemy cannot defeat them. I don't believe that anything that's of the enemy should be able to defeat those of us who are members of the Body of Christ. The believer must continually be arrayed with this armor.
The Holy Spirit prayed through Paul that the eyes of the people would be opened to know this full provision that has been made for their safety. Spiritual armor is outlined in Ephesians 6:
"10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might [not your might]. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness [or wicked spirits] in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. [If you put on the whole armor of God, you'll stand.] 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 ABOVE ALL, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. [Not one fiery dart should get through to your body, soul, or mind, because you've got the shield of faith.] 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
The different parts of this armor symbolize spiritual truths which belong to the believer. Wearing this armor, the believer is protected and unhampered in his ministry of authority. All he needs to be concerned about is keeping his armor bright and well secured about him. Now let's take a closer look at this armor:
First, as John A. MacMillan taught, there's the girdle of truth, which represents a clear understanding of God's Word.
Like a soldier's belt, it holds the rest of the armor in place.
Second is the breastplate of righteousness. This has a twofold application: Jesus is our Righteousness, and we put Him on first. It also shows our obedience to the Word of God.
Third, our feet are shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. This is a faithful ministry proclaiming the Word of God.
Fourth is the shield of faith. A shield is a covering for the entire body. This represents our complete safety under the blood of Christ, where no power of the enemy can penetrate.
Fifth is the helmet of salvation, referred to in First Thessalonians 5:8 as the hope of salvation. The hope of salvation is the only helmet able to protect the head in these days of turning from the truth.
Sixth is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
This shows that the Word of God is to be used offensively. The other parts of the armor are mainly defensive, but the sword— the Word of God—is an active weapon. Dressed in the armor of God, you are prepared to withstand every attack of the enemy.
