What to Wear When

Ephesians 6:10-12, 14-17

We should always find our strength in the Lord for the battle is not ours but his in 2 Chronicles 20:15. Exodus 15:3 says that the Lord is a mighty man of war. He fights on our behalf; even now, he makes intercession for us at the Father's right hand as in Romans 8:34. Long ago, the three Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace where they were joined by the fourth according to Daniel 3:24. This occurrence left the earthly king scratching his head wondering where the fourth man came from. Such a situation should tell us that supernatural strength and power is ours in Christ. Why is such warfare necessary?

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Verse twelve says the struggle "is not against flesh and blood." Some days I would like it to be when my six year old acts up testing my patience. Peter also rose up in the Garden of Gethsemane at John 18:10 and cut off the high priest servant's ear. Flesh and blood pit what you can see against the spiritual forces of the unseen. A picture of this is found with Elisha's servant camped in a city surrounded by the enemy; he found once his eyes were opened that the hosts of Heaven camped around them too in 2 Kings 6:17. There is also an order in the kingdom of Satan: the rulers, the authorities, the powers of the dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in Heavenly realms. Your enemy may not be a person. The person you face may not be human but may be a ruler, an authority, or a power of the dark world. If the angels walk among us and we may entertain some unawares as in Hebrews 13:2, what makes you think you are absent from the angels of the devil?

If the devil as in Job 1:6 still presents himself before the Lord to complain, what makes you think he still does not walk up and down seeking whom he may devour. The Lord in Revelation 2:1 walks among those seven churches of his. He may walk through the earth now looking for those who hearts are perfect towards him as in 2 Chronicles 16:9. What makes you think the devil and his servants do not make their rounds too? If the battle were against flesh and blood, the Lord would have wiped the earth out as in the time of Noah and started over. He did not because of his mercy. There are spiritual forces of evil in Heavenly places. We see in Revelation 12:12, the devil is thrown out of Heaven at the end. One-third of the angels fell with him according to Revelation 12:9. Even the devil may appear to be an angel of light according to 2 Corinthians 11:14. For everything in Heaven and of God's kingdom there is its' opposite in Satan's kingdom below. We recite the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:10: "thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." As it is in Heaven, so it is on earth. Satan has his own party under the earth. There is a defense suggested here. Put on Christ as in Romans 13:14. Put on his person, his power, and his purpose.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

The text says to "be strong in the Lord." He called you to stand in his purpose for which you were chosen and in the power of his might. For you cannot in your own power fight a spiritual battle. How can you fight against what you cannot see and something you do not understand. If you do, some would label you a lunatic. "The full armor of God" is mentioned next. We put on his person so when they look at you they see Christ; your life so transformed into his that the devil's schemes have no effect according to Romans 12:2. The whole human story from the beginning of creation to the end of Revelation has been about a plot. This plot began by someone who said he could be God yet claimed to love and serve him in Isaiah 14:13. The devil has so many schemes that Christ said he came that you "might have life" and "have it more abundantly;" we certainly have that as in John 10:10. We can say this with confidence because he makes "all things work together for good" to those who are called to serve God in Romans 8:28. Let us discuss the calling. There are vessels of wrath fitted for destruction and there are vessels created for salvation according to Romans 9:22. God is not unjust if he chooses to save some and uses others even if they will not be saved themselves. Also, God is not unjust if he chooses to destroy some situations and make you more than an overcomer in others.

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Finally, let us discuss the armor of God. The belt of truth around the waist fits the sword which is the Word of God. Make sure what you say, where you walk, and and what you believe fits the Word of God. The breastplate of righteousness covers our chest. We are clothed in the righteousness Christ gave us when we believe on him as in Revelation 3:5; when the Father looks at us he sees Christ's righteousness. It covers our mess. It covers our vital organs. It covers our sins and our nakedness from the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:21. Christ, the Lamb of God slain for our sin, clothes us. This breastplate is impenetrable. Whenever the devil says look at that, the Father says this is my child as in Job 1:8. Your feet are fitted with the readiness from the gospel of peace. Blessed are they who bear good tidings who preach that our God reigns according to Isaiah 52:7.

Wherever you walk, they should be able to see that Christ has been there and feel the footsteps of his presence. These are not the footsteps of doom, harbingers of chaos, or the wallowing in your own will but rather the footsteps of Christ. The purpose of Christ is that by all means he might save some as in 1 Corinthians 9:22. The shield of faith allows the unseen to be seen. What God has promised in Heavenly places, we see worked out on earth. The shield of faith also allows the fiery darts of the evil one against this will of God to be quenched. The helmet of salvation guards the mind. Know whose you are and in whom you stand so that when they come looking for you they cannot find you; instead, they will find God's child and along with you Christ. For as 1 John 4:4 states, "greater is he that is in you than he that is in the" whole world.