The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6.10-24 (ESV)
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
 
Spiritual warfare.
There, do I have your attention?  The discussion about spiritual warfare brings up a whole host of thoughts and images for us as soon as we mention the subject.  Some of our thoughts and images are correct, but often, the presuppositions that we bring to the table are incomplete and theologically suspect (for example, the idea that Satan himself is attacking you personally erroneously gives the devil omnipresence and omniscience—as if he is equal to God).  As my friend and pastor Henry Greene would say, “I understand the sentiment, but that’s terrible theology.”
I think that N.T. Wright said it best when raising the subject of spiritual warfare, “The topic of spiritual warfare is itself the subject of spiritual warfare.”[1]
Regarding spiritual warfare, C.S. Lewis, in the preference of his book Screwtape Letters, said that we tend to either disbelieve or ignore the forces of evil or we tend to have an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.[2]
 
However, spiritual warfare is a reality and something that we must not ignore.  As Christians, we are on the front lines in the fight.  We don’t know everything that is happening, but we do know that there is a battle and we’re part of it, which is why Paul wants us to be able to stand and why he gives us this list of armor and a weapon in the fight.
For defense, we have several items to keep us safe:
The truth.  The Gospel message is true, and if it’s not, then you are wasting your time and life.
Righteousness.  Because we have entrusted our lives to Christ, we are already declared to be “in the right” before the Lord: we are justified.
The Gospel of Peace.  Again, those who have entrusted their lives to Jesus have peace with the Lord and peace with each other (hitting on Paul’s theme of unity between believers).  We must recognize there is nothing more that the enemy would love to do than to disrupt our peace.
The shield of faith.  This is protection from the flaming darts such as doubt and despair, difficult circumstances, temptations, personal loss, or even the temptation to take pride in our own strengths and accomplishments rather than humbly serving and giving glory to the Lord.
The helmet of salvation. You know that you belong to the family of the Lord.  You are His son, His daughter, and nothing will separate you from the Love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38).
 
The only offensive weapon at this point (prayer is up next starting in verse 18) is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  This is the Gospel message itself which has the power to transform a person’s life as they entrust their life to Christ alone.
 
As Christians, we need to realize that we’re in this fight and that we have armor and weapons.  We must be careful not to over-spiritualize the fight we’re in but to recognize the reality of it all and equip ourselves to stand and be at peace, knowing that we are equipped for battle.  The war has already been won.  All that we need to do is stand.
 
God bless you, and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott