spiritual warfare

The Spiritual War

In Ephesians 6:13-16 we have a list of the whole armor of God. Paul describes our weapons as compared to a soldier's armor and weapons. This isn't intended to give us a list of physical implements of war, rather as a guide to help us know how we are able to stand against the wiles or schemes of the devil, trickery of men, and cunning craftiness of deceitful people.

Our first defense is truth. There are false allegations floating around about God's activity in the universe. There are lies about how He wants His children to live. There are untrue teachings about how He wants us to worship. For these reasons (and more) we need to be bound up in His truth, not just knowing it but living it. His word is truth. Therefore we need to live by every word, response, or answer that comes from the mouth of God.

Righteousness is the next defense that will protect our hearts. You may have, from time to time, thought that you weren't "good enough" for God. That indeed may be true, but the righteousness we have is not our own. It's righteousness which we have through faith in Christ. That in Christ we are right before God. Christ has made us right, not anything we have done. That's what we put our trust in.

Peace is also a defense for God's people. There are countless ways for people to be divided, turn against each other, and separate themselves. However there is one good reason not to allow ourselves to fall into this human response to people who drive us nuts. We have the good news of peace. God's children are peace makers! God has granted us the divine response that overcomes all the forces, lies, and reasons that divide people. The Apostle Paul put it like this, "The God of peace will bruise Satan's head under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20). We are equipped to stand against the forces of disunity.

The fourth defense mentioned is faith. This is the quality that gives confidence to all the others. Whatever the fiery darts may be, faith is what quenches or douses them. Faith removes whatever power they may appear to have. We can either trust in God or His enemies. We can either be receptive to God's will, or our own.

The knowledge of salvation is mentioned next. Knowing that God's kingdom is coming, and our citizenship is there, will help us stand against all the trouble we see (and experience) around us. God's ultimate triumph then, and Christ's victory now will keep that living hope alive. We won't be ashamed!

The final piece of defense is the sword of the spirit or the word of God. Let me state the obvious: all the other defenses we have are contained in the word. The revelation of all of these comes from what God has determined to tell us. Read it, take it in, meditate on it, and believe it.

We have been equipped with the spiritual armor necessary to both stand and overcome. Let's not disappoint the One who has armed us so completely.

Pastor Chuck