The Most Important Part…

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  Ephesians 6:10-11

Well, we are at the end of our study of the Armor of God and I have saved perhaps the best for last.  Maybe the most important thing we need to remember about the armor of God is that to completely protect oneself from the enemy, you must put on the full armor of God.  You see, if you don’t, Satan will find that one weak link; that one unprotected area, and he will attack.  He knows where our weaknesses are and he knows how to get to us so we must cover ourselves, every inch, with God’s perfect protection.  

In one sense, the full armor of God is a picture of Jesus Christ.  Christ is the Truth (John 14:6); He is our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21) and our peace (Eph. 2:14).  His faithfulness makes possible our faith (Gal. 2:20); He is our salvation (Luke 2:30) and He is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). This means that when we trusted Christ, we received the armor. Paul told the Romans what to do with the armor.  Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Romans 13:11-14  

We are to:

• Wake up (Rom. 13:11),
• Cast off sin, and “put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12).
• We do this by putting “on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14).
• By faith, put on the armor and trust God for the victory.

Once and for all, we have put on the armor at the moment of salvation. But it still has to be “put on” each and every day.  The one day you don’t or are lacking in any one area, you can bet the enemy is watching and waiting to take you down.   When King David put off his armor and returned to his palace, he was in greater danger than when he was on the battlefield (2 Sam. 11). We are never out of reach of Satan’s devices, so we must never be without the whole armor of God.

 Scripture to Claim:

He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. Isaiah 59:17

What is the Word of God?

…and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:17

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.   Psalm 119:105

 God's Word—the Holy Bible—illuminates. It reveals to us the good and the bad, the wise and the unwise. It is the ultimate tool in learning how to live the best possible life, free from the restraints of stumbling in darkness.

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.   John 17:17

God's Word is truth, plain and simple.  We can have perfect confidence in the fact that His words are accurate, true and unerring.  When followed, they guide us without fail in the paths that we need to walk.  Hosea 4:6 tells us that we can be destroyed by lack of the knowledge of God, but Luke 11:28 affirms that we will be blessed if we hear and keep the Word of God.  Such knowledge is not just for us. We are to be ready to answer others who ask us (1 Peter 3:15).

The Soldier’s Sword

This sword is the offensive weapon God provides us.  The Roman soldier wore on his girdle a short sword which was used for close-in fighting. Hebrews 4:12 compares the Word of God to a sword, because it is sharp and is able to pierce the inner man just as a material sword pierces the body. You and I were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37; 5:33) when the Word convicted us of our sins.  Peter tried to use a physical sword to defend Jesus in the Garden (Luke 22:47–51); but he learned at Pentecost that the “sword of the Spirit” does a much better job.  Moses also tried to conquer with a physical sword (Ex. 2:11–15), only to discover that God’s Word alone was more than enough to defeat Egypt.

A material sword pierces the body, but the Word of God pierces the heart.  The more you use a physical sword, the duller it becomes; but using God’s Word only makes it sharper in our lives.  A physical sword requires the hand of a soldier, but the sword of the Spirit has its own power, for it is “living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12).  The Spirit wrote the Word, and the Spirit wields the Word as we take it by faith and use it.  A physical sword wounds to hurt and kill, while the sword of the Spirit wounds to heal and give life. When we use the sword against Satan, we are out to deal him a blow that will cripple him and keep him from hindering God’s work.

The Lord’s Sword

When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Christ used the sword of the Spirit and defeated the enemy.  Three times Jesus said, “It is written” (Luke 4:1–13).  Note that Satan can also quote the Word: “For it is written” (Luke 4:10), but he does not quote it completely.  Satan tries to use the Word of God to confuse us, so it is important that we know every word that God has given us. You have heard it said, “You can prove anything by the Bible.”  True — if you take verses out of context, leave out words, and apply verses to Christians today that do not really apply.  The better you know the Word of God, the easier it will be for you to detect Satan’s lies and reject his offers.

When we memorize God’s word, we always have it with us.  Inside the Bible we can find all the information we will ever need for life.  When we get caught in enemy fire or we find ourselves in a dangerous attack from the enemy, we can lift ourselves up and get our thinking on track.  Satan will try to catch us off guard and throw us off.  When we know what we know, we can stand firm and fend off his attacks. 

Scripture to Claim:

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12