Get Dressed for the Battle

Scripture:  Eph.6:10-18
Supporting Scripture:  Psa.18:32-39; 2 Cor.10:3-6

 

Hello “Fan” – tastic Passengers,
 
Every born-again believer is engaged in a very intense spiritual conflict with Satan and a host of evil spirits.  This spiritual conflict is described as a warfare of faith, which will continue until we enter the life to come (Eph.6:12; 2 Cor.10:4; Gal.5:17; 1 Tim.1:18-19; 2 Tim.4:7-8).  Subsequently, the warfare that born-again believers must fight is spiritual, personal, and intense.  Therefore, it calls for courage, determination and prayer.  Furthermore, as Christian soldiers, we must wage war against all evil forces of darkness; yet not in our own power; but with the spiritual weapons, that is, the whole armour of God, which He has given us (2 Cor.10:3-5; Eph.6:10-18). 
  
Description of the spiritual conflict 

The conflict in which we are engaged is not fought in the natural but in the spiritual (Eph.6:12; Zech. 4:6; 2Cor.10:3-4; Gal.5:17; 1 Pet.2:11) 
It is personal (Luke 22:31-32; Rom.7:23; 2 Tim.3:12; 4:18) 
It is strenuous  (Heb.12:4; John 16:33; Phil.1:27-30; 1 Pe4:12-13) 
It is continual Eph.6:13 ; 2 Tim.2:3; Heb.3:13; Rev.12:10) 
  
How believers should fight in the battle 

With courage (1 Cor.16:13;  Josh.1:9; 10:25; 2 Chron.32:6-8) 
With determination  (1 Tim.6:12;  2 Thess.1:4; Heb.10:23; 1 Pet.5:9-10) 
With watchfulness (1 Pet.5:8; 1 Cor.16:13; Gal.6:1; Eph.6:18) 
With prayer (Eph.6:18; Exod.17:11; Matt.6:13) 
Standing in God’s strength (Eph.6:10;,1 Sam.7:45; 2 Sam.22:40; Psa.18:32-36; 118:8; Eph. 3:16; Phil. 4:13; 2 Tim.2:1) 
Using the whole armour of God (Eph.6:11; Rom.13:12-14; 2 Cor.10:4; Eph.6:13-17) 
  
Forces of evil 

These forces of darkness are the spiritual forces of evil who (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor.4:4; 1 John 5:19): 
Constitute a great multitude that are organized into an empire of evil with rank and order (Eph.2:2; John 14:30; Rev.12:4, 7) 
Energize the ungodly (Eph.2:2) 
Oppose God’s will (Gen.3:1-7; Deut.10:12-13; Matt.13:39-30) 
Frequently attack the born-again believers of this age (1 Pet.5:8) 
  
Human limitation 
  
In the battles of life, God desires that the born-again believer, in all humility, realize that they are no match for the enemy; and must, therefore, rely on His divine power to help them.  Subsequently, we see that, even though Jehoshaphat had a great army on foot, that were well disciplined; yet we hear him saying, “…we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee” (2 Chron.20:12).  In this, Jehoshaphat confessed his human impotence, humility and reliance on divine power to help him in the battle. 

In demonstrating his dependency on God to help him in his battle, Scripture says of Asa, “And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee” (2 Chron.14:11).  The point is, for God, that which is humanly impossible is as nothing (Gen.18:14).  Asa had the faith to commit himself to the Lord and to expect the impossible (Mark 9:23) 

The encouragement to us that is demonstrated by the examples of Jehoshaphat and Asa, is that, with all humility we must acknowledge that we are no match for the enemy.  Nevertheless, our God will help us and fight for us, in the battles of life if we trust in Him to perform the miraculous on our behalf (Prov.3:5-6 
  
Strength for the battle 
  
Where does the born-again believer obtain the strength to fight against the powers of darkness in the battle?  Psalms 18:32 tells us that David, in his conflict with the powers of darkness, recognized that, “It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect” (Psa.18:32). 

What does it mean to “gird?” – According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, to gird means, “to bind or encircle with a flexible band such as a belt, in order to prepare for conflict or for some difficult task.” Therefore, we understand that, as David prepared himself for the difficult task of confronting his enemies, in the battles of his life, God Himself supernaturally girded him with strength.  We must note that, however, that God’s girding of David with His strength was flexible and did not restrict him from any type of mobilization to smite his enemies because the Word says God, “maketh my way perfect” (Psa.18:32).  As born-again believers, our natural courage is as perfect fearfulness, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of God (2 Cor.3:5-6).  Therefore, in His strength we must go forth and go on. Faith in God and His grace assisting us, will send us help from heaven to enable us to do that which of ourselves we cannot do, in our Christian work and warfare. We should stir up ourselves to resist temptations in a reliance upon God’s all-sufficiency and the omnipotence of His might (Eph.6:10). 
  
The whole armour of God 

Scripture tells us that, “ And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt.11:12).  The apostle Paul,  viewed the born-again believer's life as a kind of warfare, which involves a total dependency upon God; and he wanted them to prepared for combat with a dangerous opponent. In addition, there is no doubt that while he was confined in the Roman jail, he was inspired by a glimpse of a Roman soldier, outfitted in armour, patrolling the grounds of the prison. Bible scholars often note two details about the whole armour of God.  First, only the “sword of the Spirit” is an offensive weapon; while all the rest were used for defense (Eph.6:17).  Secondly, no armour protects the back and rear of the Christian soldier. The apostle Paul made no provision for the soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ to run away from a spiritual battle of any kind. 
  

Girdle of Truth 

The Roman soldier’s leather belt supported and protected his lower abdomen, gathered his tunic together, and held his sword. Paul seems to have in mind the confidence that comes from certainty about the truthfulness of God’s Word, with which every soldier in the army of the Lord should gird their mind 

Breastplate of Righteousness 

Born-again believers are protected by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them (Rom. 4:6–11; Phil.3:9).  As a result, they can stand up to the accusations of the devil (Rom.8:31–34). Simultaneously, Paul sees believers taking on the righteous character of Christ (Eph.4:25; 5:9), while their growing conformity to His image gives them confidence in resisting temptation. 

Preparation of the Gospel of Peace 

The image here is of the Roman soldier’s sturdy sandals, which gave him stability and protection in battle. Ironically, the peace that comes from the gospel readies one for war against evil (Eph.2:14-15, 17).  For the servant of the Lord who is on the battlefield, Scripture tells us how the Lord transforms his feet, into that of the hind (deer) in order to give him victory over his enemies, as it says, “He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places” (Psa.18:32).  The hind is a female deer whose primary home is the mountains.  It is the rear feet of this deer which steps exactly in the same spot where the front feet have just been, that makes her so special and sure footed. Every motion of this deer is followed through with a single focused consistency, which makes it the most unique and sure-footed of all mountain animals. What are high places?  In Scripture, high places, in some instances, speak of  places of worship on elevated pieces of ground, dedicated to idol worship, especially among the Moabites; and which was in rivalry with the worship of God  (Num.33;52; Lev.26:30; Isa.16:12).  This type of idol worship, however, seek to prevent the carrying out of the will and purposes of God, among His servants on earth.  Notwithstanding, by putting on the gospel preparation of the gospel of peace (shoes for spiritual battle) the servant of the Lord will experience victory over the enemy.  God enables His servants to experience victory upon their high places, without falling into the traps of the enemy, by strategically positioning them there with sure-footed feet  for battle (Psa.18:39b; Luke 10:19). 

Shield of Faith 

How do born-again believers today experience God’s help in battle?The Roman shield was large enough to cover the whole body; it was made of wood, covered with hide, and bound with iron at the top and bottom. When dipped in water before a battle, it could extinguish fire arrows that had been dipped in pitch and set ablaze 

Helmet of Salvation 

For Paul, salvation is a present experience, as well as a future hope (Eph.2:8; 1 Thess. 5:8). The believer’s final ground of confidence is the faithfulness of God to complete the salvation He has begun (Phil.1:6) 

Sword of the Spirit 

The one offensive weapon in the believer’s arsenal is compared to the Roman sword, short and designed for hand-to-hand combat. See Jesus’ use of Scripture in(Matt.4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13) 
  
Finally, every born-again believer, whether they are aware or not, is engaged in a very forceful spiritual conflict with Satan and a host of evil spirits.  This spiritual conflict is described as a warfare of faith, which will continue until we enter the life to come (Eph.6:12; 2 Cor.10:4; Gal.5:17; 1 Tim.1:18-19; 2 Tim.4:7-8). As Christian soldiers, we must realize our human weakness, when compared to the enemy of our souls.  Consequently, our total dependency must be upon the God with whom we are in a covenant relationship.  We must also, see the transformation in us, as we depend upon God to fight for us in the battle; and as God gird us with strength for the battle and lead us as victors in the right direction of victory.  The Christian soldier must continue to wage war against all evil forces of darkness; yet not in our own power but with the spiritual weapons that God has given us (2 Cor.10:3-5; Eph.6:10-18). 

Your Conductor, 
Joy 
Web site:        www.joycreed.com 
Email:             jcreed7755@gmail.com 
Facebook:       www.facebook.com/joycreed 

  
 

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