Equipped to Stand: Put on the Whole Armor of God (Part 1)

Tony Schachle

Battle Ready • Sermon • Submitted a month ago • Presented a month ago

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The only way that you and I will be victorious in spiritual warfare is to stand. We must stand against the wiles, the schemes, and the tricks of the devil. We must understand that we are living in an evil day. We are living in a day when everything is backwards. The world is upside down. We are living in a time when evil is considered good and good is considered evil. We are living in a time that is being ruled by the prince of the power of the air. And the only way that we are going to be able to withstand the evil in our world, that is getting worse by the day, is by the strength, power, and grace of God! The purpose of this message is to encourage you to get Equipped to Stand: Put on the Whole Armor of God.

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Transcript

SCRIPTURE

Ephesians 6:13–17 KJV 1900

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. 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. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

INTRODUCTION

We’ve been talking about being Battle Ready. Over the last couple weeks hopefully I’ve given you some helpful information on discerning the type of battle that you are fighting. Is it the flesh or the devil? If it is the flesh, crucify it. If it is the devil, cast it out. Is it just a direct attack of the enemy to try to demonize you or is it a thorn in the flesh that God has allowed to perform some greater purpose in your life like God did in the life of Paul? If it is a direct attack of the enemy, stand and fight. If it is a thorn in the flesh sent by the divine will of God, surrender to His will and let the grace of God rest upon you as you demonstrate the strength of Christ through your weakness.

MESSAGE

Stand

This week I want to talk specifically about those direct attacks of the enemy. Paul refers to them as the “wiles of the devil.” When we are facing a direct attack from the enemy and we are fighting spiritual warfare there is one thing that we cannot do. We cannot retreat. We cannot wave the white flag of surrender to the enemy. We only surrender to the will of God. There should be no back up, no quit, no give up in the life of a child of God.

We should not give any place to the devil. There is no scenario in the life of a believer when it is OK to give place to the devil. As soon as you give place to the devil, you’ve given him spiritual authority to occupy your territory. Surrender is not an option. And failure to act is also not an option.

There is also no neutral territory in spiritual warfare. There is no Switzerland in spiritual warfare. We are either on the Lord’s side or we are fighting for the enemy. We are either on the battlefield for the Lord or we are on the sidelines with the devil.

Moses had been on Mt. Sinai. The people gotten restless so they convinced Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship. When Moses came down off the mountain and saw the idolatry that was taking place in the camp he asked, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” The Israelites had given place to the devil and the devil was beginning to invade and occupy. If ignored and allowed to continue, it would have allowed the enemy to destroy the people of God through idolatry and sin. Moses knew he needed to call on the people to make a decision. Were they on the Lord’s side or not? Would they fight for the Lord and against the enemy or would they run from the battle and allow the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy?

Retreat is not an option. Failure to act is not an option. There is only one option for a child of God when it comes to spiritual warfare against the enemy of our souls. Our only option is to stand!

Ephesians 6:13 KJV 1900

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.

The only way that you and I will survive and be victorious in spiritual warfare is to stand. To stand against the wiles, the schemes, and the tricks of the devil. We must understand that we are living in an evil day. We are living in a day when everything is backwards. The world is upside down. We are living in a time when evil is considered good and good is considered evil. We are living in a time that is being ruled by the prince of the power of the air. And the only way that we are going to be able to withstand the evil in our world, that is getting worse by the day, is by the strength, power, and grace of God!

The Whole Armor of God

When our military sends a soldier into battle, they give them certain gear. They give them a helmet. They give them a bullet-proof vest. They give them footwear. They give them a uniform. They give them a weapon. They give them all the equipment that they need to be successful in battle.

Just like our military provides our soldiers with all the physical equipment they need to face the enemy, God provides us with all the spiritual equipment we need to be successful against our enemy: the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual wickedness in high places.

And Paul outlines that equipment in Ephesians 6 in terms of the battle equipment of his day. So it is armor and helmets and shields and so on. But each one of the items of armor that Paul talks about has a spiritual significance. What Paul presents here in these verses is the key to spiritual victory against the wiles of the devil. So what is the armor of God? Let’s take a look.

Belt of Truth

Ephesians 6:14 (KJV)

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth...

The belt was extremely important to a Roman solider in Paul’s day. Their garments were loose fitting. This would slow them down in battle and gave the enemy something to grab onto in close combat. They would “gird up their loins” by gathering up the loose areas of their garments and tightening them around their waste with a belt. It wasn’t just used to tighten their garments, but it was also used to support the armor and to hold the weapon (sword). In a sense, the belt was the foundation of the soldier’s equipment.

Paul describes the belt as truth. The first thing that we have to be prepared to stand against are the lies of the enemy. The Bible describes Satan as the father of lies. Satan and demons are liars. They spread their lies primarily by distorting the truth.

The Truth of God’s Word

The Attitude of Truth

If you don’t begin with the truth, you’ll never defeat the enemy.

Breastplate of Righteousness

Ephesians 6:14 (KJV)

14 ...and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

The breastplate for the Roman solider was either a piece of leather or a piece of metal that was shaped to fit around the chest and abdomen. It was used to protect the vital organs: the heart, the lungs, etc.

Paul describes the breastplate as righteousness. Righteousness can be thought of in two ways:

Imputed Righteousness

Practical Righteousness

Both of these are needed in the life of a believer in order to stand. First, we must depend on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us through faith.

Philippians 3:8–9 NKJV

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

But there is also a need for personal, practical righteousness. In other words, how we live matters. We can’t just claim to have on the righteousness of Christ and live like the devil. Once you put on the righteousness of Christ, sanctification takes over. And sanctification leads to personal holiness. And personal holiness means we learn and live by the commandments of God that are written in His Word.

Without imputed and practical righteousness, we are open prey for the enemy.

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

Ephesians 6:15 (KJV)

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The footwear for a solider was very important. One of the things the Romans developed was a type of shoe that had nails or pieces of metal on the bottom to give them traction. It is similar to cleats that athletes use today to get better traction. This gave the Roman soldiers a huge advantage over their enemies.

Paul described the footwear as the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Peace in Greek means oneness of wholeness. The Gospel is the good news that faith in Jesus Christ makes us at peace with God. Before we were saved, we were the enemies of God and the wrath of God was abiding on us. But after God saved us, we became the friends of God and the wrath of God was lifted off of us.

Our standing with God gives us the firm footing, the peace, to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Because of this, we should always be eager to share the good news of the Gospel with others.

Shield of Faith

Ephesians 6:16 (KJV)

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

The shield was used by the Roman solider to protect against sword attacks at close range and from incoming arrows from long range. Their shields were often covered in thick leather. Before a battle, they would dip their shields in water so that it would extinguish the fiery arrows of the enemy.

Paul described the shield as faith. And we know that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Therefore, we need for our faith to be regularly dipped in the water of God’s Word in order for it to be refreshed and fully functional.

If your faith is weak, ask God to strengthen it.

But in battle, the soldiers did not just protect themselves individually. They could come close together and put their shields side by side in order to help protect each other and advance even when under attack by the enemy.

That’s why church is so important.

Helmet of Salvation

Ephesians 6:17 (KJV)

17 And take the helmet of salvation...

The helmet for a Roman solider protected the head.

Paul described the helmet in spiritual warfare as our salvation. We are saved as soon as we put our faith in Jesus. However, our salvation is also worked out through the rest of our life through the process of sanctification.

The most dangerous spiritual battlefield is the battlefield of the mind. Salvation and sanctification work to free us from impure and unhealthy thoughts. However, our enemy is constantly sending counter attacks to try to get our minds and our thoughts off of God and on everything else.

Don’t conform. Be transformed.

Sword of the Spirit

Ephesians 6:17 (KJV)

17 ...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

For a Roman solider, the sword was the main offensive weapon. But a sword was also used as a defensive weapon to deflect the attacks of the enemy.

Paul describes the sword in spiritual warfare as the Word of God. The Word of God can be both an offensive and a defensive weapon.

Jesus used the word of God as a defensive weapon while he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. But the Word of God is not just a defensive weapon, but it can be an offensive weapon that we can use to destroy the enemy’s strongholds.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 NKJV

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Hide the Word of God in your heart.

Spirit-Empowered Prayer

Ephesians 6:18 (KJV)

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

I’m not sure if Roman soldiers prayed before they entered into battle. But if they did, they prayed to false gods.

We often end our discussion of the whole armor of God with verse 13, but Paul continues his description of how to be equipped for spiritual warfare by describing prayer. Prayer is another vital component to our spiritual armor. Just like the sword of the Spirit, prayer can be both a defensive and an offensive weapon.

In the Bible we are encouraged to pray:

Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17);

The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5);

Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything (Philippians 4:6-7);

If any two of you should agree, it shall be done (Matthew 18:19-20);

We should always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1);

If you believe, you will receive, what you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22);

CLOSING

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