Learning Practical Spiritual Warfare
2008 Edition
Part Two - Taking the Whole
Armor of God
Page 5
6. THE whole ARMOR OF GOD
Ephesians 6:14 (KJV) Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness;
[1] The girdle or belt of truth.
Romans 13:12-14 (KJV)
“ 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on
the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the
day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh,
to fulfil the lusts thereof. “
Jesus
Christ is literally the “armour of light” that we are
commanded to put on. If we do not put on Jesus, then
our flesh is given into and it causes us problems. Covering
the weaknesses of our flesh with Jesus Christ is armoring us
and protecting us from both sin and from falling victims to
the attacks of the enemy.
We are to clothe ourselves in Jesus to protect ourselves.
Each part of this holy armor is traced back to Him. The
answer really is to get more of Jesus in your life applying
Him to all of you.
The problem with the attacks of the enemy is that our flesh
is usually a willing partner in helping him destroy us.
That is why we must cast off the works of darkness and not
make provision for the flesh. We must not let our flesh
take us toward evil, for that always leads to death and
destruction.
We must walk in the Spirit to not fulfill the lusts of the
flesh, and we must put on the whole armor of God to protect
us from the wiles of the Devil from interacting and
capturing our very flesh, and through our flesh, our souls.
Notice that we start with
truth. We must be truthful and be based solidly upon
the truth of God or we cannot stand.
The true worshipers of God must
worship the Father in Spirit and in TRUTH! The Word
of God is the truth of God that He has given to us. The
Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth that will lead us
into all truth.
Guile
or deception is of the spirit of the Devil.
Truth is of the Holy Spirit and the
purest nature of God and His holiness.
The girdle was a belt that the sword hung from and the shin
guards and shoes along with the breastplate of
righteousness. It held the whole
armor together. Unless you are walking in truth, you
will never have the pieces of the whole armor of God working
together.
John
14:6 “ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. “
Luke 12:35 “ Let your loins be girded about, and [your]
lights burning; “
Jesus Christ’s very nature is that He is the truth, and when
we clothe ourselves with Jesus, we then clothe ourselves in
His truth.
God will not stand behind a
tradition that He has not given. Man's opinions;
philosophies; and earthly, religious (not spiritual)
traditions will not hold spiritual water.
It will not give people life, and it surely won't make the
devil scared. If you stand and say as the seven sons of
Sceva, in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches, then the
demon will probably let you know real fast that “yes”, he
definitely knows Jesus, and he knows Paul, but who are
you? You must have the
truth of God as your centerpiece before God will stand with
you.
Truth is the center of who we are. We are not to be
corrupted by any kind of lie. Integrity with God is very
important. The bible tells
us that the devil is the father of all liars.
His number one weapon is lies.
Deceitfulness is born of Satan. He will try to lead us into
deception. He will use our weakness against us to deceive
us as he did the woman in the garden of Eden.
QUESTION: How do you combat the lies of the wicked one?
How do you fight a lie that assails your mind?
ANSWER: With the truth of God. The truth of God destroys
the lies of the devil!
Matthew 24:35 “ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my
words shall not pass away. “
John 6:63 “ It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they]
are spirit, and [they] are life. “
The Word of God is a Living Word.
The spiritual living word will give you the truth that is
alive. The truth
will be there when all else fails. Your government might
fail. Your best friend might fail. Your family might
fail. Your opinions or traditions might fail, but the word
of God will come alive to the situation and will never, ever
fail.
JOHN 1:17 "FOR THE LAW WAS GIVEN BY MOSES, BUT GRACE AND
TRUTH CAME BY JESUS CHRIST."
Understand that the truth of God
come from Jesus Christ. Every word that proceeds
from God is true. and more than just bringing it, he is the
living truth (word) of God
John 1:1 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. “
John 1:14 “ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father,) full of grace and truth. “
God is the God of truth.
What is truth? It is the nature and word of God. God must
be truth because of his very nature.
GOD'S
TRUTH IS AN ANCHOR, A ROCK, AND A FIRM FOUNDATION WIN NO
FLAWS. Is your walk with God flawed?
When
our walk is based within the truth, then we will be anchored
in a foundation that has no flaws.
GET INTO THE TRUTH OF GOD, YOU CAN LIVE IN THE TRUTH WHERE
THE LIES OF THE ENEMY CAN'T PENETRATE
[2] Breastplate of Righteousness.
Although the shield and shoes protected only from the front
so we should never retreat, the breastplate was a little
different. It was a two sectioned piece that fit over the
front and the back and fastened on the sides and at the
belt. It protects the heart.
Breastplate = Greek
thorax = 2 part
breastplate that covers the whole breast or thorax area. It
covers and protects the lungs and the
HEART...the heart is protected!!!
It was the part that protects your vital organs, especially
your heart. And
the spiritual breastplate protects
your spiritual heart.
The desires and intents and
emotions are guarded by the breastplate of
righteousness. We are kept from sin when we clothe
ourselves in Christ’s righteousness.
Philippians 3:9 “ And be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith: “
We are not righteous ourselves, but He is our
righteousness. And we can protect ourselves from falling
into sin by clothing ourselves in Jesus’ righteousness.
ISAIAH 64:6 "BUT WE ARE ALL AS AN UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; AND WE ALL DO FADE AS A
LEAF; AND OUR INIQUITIES, LIKE THE WIND, HAVE TAKEN US
AWAY."
Our righteousness is not good enough to protect our hearts.
Your righteousness is filthy in the sight of God. In our
flesh we all are all unrighteous and worthy of judgment.
Romans 3:23 “ For all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God; “
This connects into another spiritual warfare promise in
God’s Word about being in
God’s righteousness and its connection to God’s power
to protect us.
Isaiah 54:17 (KJV) No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee
in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the
servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me,
saith the LORD.
You cannot be righteous of your own
power. That is why they needed a better covenant
that the Mosaic covenant. Man just cannot keep the entire
law. And if you are guilty over one part of the law, then
you are guilty of it all. That is why legalism is just as
bad as liberalism. Legalism tries to be righteous in your
own power following a set of man-made rules to try to be
right with God. When we have God's righteousness, Jesus is
righteous through us. We
must do it in his power before we can be truly righteous.
JESUS IS LITERALLY OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS... HE GIVES US HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS:
1 Corinthians 1:30 “ But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who
of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption: “
Jesus is made our wisdom,
RIGHTEOUSNESS,
sanctification, and redemption. Jesus is our all in all.
Remember that Jesus is our living armor. He is our
righteousness that protects us from evil.
THE BREASTPLATE PROTECTS OUR HEARTS, OUR EMOTIONS, THE
HIDDEN SELF, THE REAL US!
Ephesians 6:15 “ And
your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
“
