Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:10-18

13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God 

Shalom!

May God bless the work of your hands this week!

Last week, we learned that the promises of God are fulfilled at his appointed time. But now the question is what do we do, while we are waiting. What do we do, when Satan rises to fight us, to tempt us, to test our faith. We are God’s children and this world is controlled by the evil one, day to day, we fight with evil spirits, powers of this dark world. By the time we still have these physical bodies, we will keep fighting against our sinful flesh, the devil and principalities of this world. So Yes we are in a fight till we attain our prize. Jesus himself said: “Pray so you don’t fall into temptations”. Although we are in a world ruled by Satan, God has given us his armor to wear so we can stand against the schemes of the devil and stand undefeated. 

The first element of the armor of God is the Truth as the belt. The bible says: “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. The devil is the father of all lies. Jesus came on earth, he died on the cross, just so you could be forgiven all your sins and have an eternal life, and be an heir to the kingdom of God.  A kingdom of no sorrows, no pain, no tears, no oppression. Yet the devil will say: You have committed so many sins to be forgiven, you can’t belong to Christ, you have already been condemned and other many lies that are not aligned to the word of God. Truth will set you free! Now, why Truth as the belt? The belt holds the whole armor of a soldier. Jesus is the truth, the way and life; Knowing truth holds everything in its place. 

The second element you should have to fight with in your daily battles with the enemy is Righteousness as the breastplate. We are not made righteous before God by our own works, but only by the blood of Jesus. Satan accuses you for your sins day and night, but God justifies us through the blood of Jesus and calls us holy. Nevertheless, we have to live a holy and blameless life. Living an unholy life gives ground to the devil in our lives. 

The third is the Gospel of peace, The gospel of peace is the good news of Jesus Christ. None other than, Christ has died and shed his blood for sin. The bible says in Ephesians 2 : “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.For he is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility . . .  ” In Romans 16; Paul said: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. ” Yes, it is under the feet of those who carry the true good news of peace that God will crush Satan under. 

The fourth is Faith, with faith you can extinguish all the arrows of the evil one. It is by faith we are called children of God, it is by faith we are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ, it is by faith we have an assurance of what we hope for and a conviction of what is unseen. Remember, without faith we cannot please the Lord. 

The helmet of Salvation, this is God’s free gift of rescue from sin and a restored relationship with him through faith in Jesus Christ. Through this, you have access to all the benefits of being a child of God. You have the right, power and authority as a child of God. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; this is not for anyone it is for those who understand who they are in the kingdom of God. 

And lastly, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The enemy we fight with, was once in heaven and a great angel. Satan knows the Word, sadly more than some Christians. Jesus stood undefeated in the wilderness when he was tried by Satan because he knew the Word, He was the Word.The word of God has all the truth, it guides, it teaches, it rebukes, corrects, comforts and assures in times of need. The Word of God is so powerful that it is slammed in the faces of demons and they fall and run away. The Word of God is a wall of protection, Life, consuming fire,holds all the secrets and revelations from the Lord Almighty.

May the Lord help you to stand on your ground and undefeated by the schemes of the devil. He is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. 

God bless you!