“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11
Dear Ones:
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he writes on the subject of “our warfare.” He speaks of the spiritual conflict we are engaged in, specifically that which is not to be engaged in, using “weapons” of the flesh, or that which has its origin in man. When he later writes to the Ephesian believers, basically on the same subject, he calls these weapons, or armament, “armour of God,” even the “whole armour of God.” (6:11,13) Why does he specifically address the issues of the nature of this conflict, the primary location of this fight, and the specific items that make up the armor that He has provided in Christ for every believer? It is because He has His victory in mind. God does not give us His weapons, and armor, that it should be ineffective. God wills that the same victory and triumph that Christ knew, when He overcame all the power of the enemy, be the experience of the Christian. The disciple is not called to defeat, but to victory, to the overcoming of his adversaries. What then is the nature, objective, provision, and promise, associated with this conflict?
It is first and foremost a spiritual conflict. The apostle is very specific in his addressing the adversaries in this conflict: “…We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12) In revealing the nature of the enemy, and in essence the “players” identified in this warfare, he speaks to the Corinthians where this conflict takes place…in the mind. He writes to them, “for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high and lofty thought that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:4,5) Why is the mind the primary spiritual battle ground? it is because of truth, the truth of God, concerning God, and the declared truth BY GOD. Jesus once said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” It is by the truth that the power of salvation comes, and is realized in the life. As we first discover in the Garden of Eden, the rejection of God’s truth, plummeted Adam and Eve into a chasm of darkness and unbelief. Jesus Christ IS the truth, henceforth, it is only normal to grasp that God always works according to His truth, and the testimony of Christ. That which we choose to believe will determine in great part, the measure of the victory that we experience.
With regard to the provision of God in the conflict, He has provided His soldiers with the best and most effective equipment. There is none better, for the origin of this equipment is Christ Himself. These “weapons,” coupled with the complete armor provided by God, gives to the disciple the means to use the truth to overcome by faith the onslaught of the enemy, when he will oppose or seek to turn aside the believer from doing the will of God, the truth. In the book of Isaiah, he writes: “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn” (Is. 54:17) It is wonderful to know that the weaponry that Christ has provided is superior in every way to that of the enemy. Isaiah adds, “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.”
The promise of God is one of victory. To Joshua He declared: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, have I given unto you.” (1:3) He goes on to promise to Joshua: “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life.” (1:5) Here is victory, over all the power of the enemy. All becomes possible abiding in the victorious life of Christ.
Dear Father, Enable us to overcome and triumph by the Spirit every day. In Jesus’ name.
Love, Dad