An armor is seldom a combative tool, an armor is a protective gear. The enemy didn’t go to sleep following Jesus’s victory on the cross. No, the devil is still the god of this evil age and he is committed to ensuring that not so many people come to know about their freedom, liberation, newness of life through Christ Jesus.
In a sense, Ephesians 6:11 is saying; be totally, completely, fully dressed (and protected) with God’s spiritual covering. The covering of salvation, righteousness, truth, peace, faith and have the fire of the Word in your mouth, without forgetting to pray always in the Spirit (with perseverance and supplication).
Clearly, Paul in verses 3-6, is referring to spiritual forces manifesting in human beings howbeit, in diverse ways. As false arguments, human reasoning, logic, pride, disobedience and godlessness.
Welcome back!
This is the 6th part of this blogpost series.
We have been looking at the composite parts of the Whole Armour of God as seen in Ephesians 6:11, 13-19;
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” NKJV.
In the preceding parts, we have discussed; the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation,gird your waist with the truth and shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Today, we’ll conclude this session of this series {that is ‘His Armour‘} by looking at the remaining 2 components; the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit. In subsequent parts, we’ll look at ‘The Warfare‘ and ‘Our Weapons‘.
What does a Soldier need a shield for?……………
A soldier’s shield protects him by deflecting or intercepting missiles thrown at him. The shield is usually held in the hand or mounted on the wrist or forearm. So most shields are positioned in front of a soldier so as to provide good cover.
The dictionary defines ‘faith‘ as; ‘a complete trust in someone or something‘. The Bible definition of faith as seen in Hebrews 11:1 is however different, it goes beyond trust and confidence and gives tangibility to faith. It tells us faith is a ‘substance‘ and an ‘evidence‘.
The way I understand it, an evidence substantiates a belief or claim. Therefore, the Bible is saying that faith is the physical reality of the Christian belief.
How so?…..
I gave my life to Jesus Christ several years ago, precisely, in 1993, just after graduation from high school. A few weeks ago I remembered some terrible ‘unchristian’ experiences I had in college, the kind of memories that make you sad. Thank God for the Holy Spirit, He fixed me up, and reminded me those experiences weren’t in vain. I am thankful for the strength and loss of innocence they’ve brought.
As I did the throwback on my Christian walk, one thing remained clear to me; it’s been a ‘faith-walk’ through and through. Everything I know about God is by faith. Everything I have accessed in God is by faith. Every miracle I’ve experienced in God has been birthed through faith. I got back up from my fallen state, by faith and I have lived victoriously everyday after, by faith.
That’s what faith is. Faith is the substance of our belief. Faith is living. Faith is Evidence! Faith is Seeing! Faith is Now!
I believe I am born again by confessing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour,….. by faith, and everyday I see a new me manifesting. I believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost,…. by faith, and as I ask the Father to pour His Spirit on me, I open my mouth and find I am actually speaking in other tongues. I believe I have been healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ,….. by faith, and as I maintain my confession and walk by the spirit of God, my healing manifests.
So how do we use faith as a shield?
Probably the best approach to answering this question is for us to remind ourselves; how it all started. How did we become born again and filled with the Holy Ghost? The last time we accessed divine healing for a health condition, how did it happen?
Notice anything peculiar to the kind of faith we’re discussing here? ….
There is always a preexisting undesirable situation or circumstance!
You know, God displayed what I believe is the highest kind of faith in The Beginning {Genesis 1:1-3}.
A previously empty, chaotic, formless and dark earth, received light and became filled with beautiful forms through a magnificent display of faith by God!
God simply spoke what He wanted into existence and changed the status quo for ever!
That’s how simple faith is.
Yes, I hear your question, ‘Grace, do you really mean that?’ Yes.
By simply saying what God says about a situation rather than what we feel about it. By proclaiming and maintain our Godly desires about a situation rather than what we see. By speaking, confessing and maintaining the truth of our belief irrespective of present or prevailing circumstances.
The truth always prevails. Halleluyah!
So it doesn’t really matter what missiles, darts, arrows the enemy throws at us {and they don’t stop coming}. What matters is how we react – accept it or knock it off (or quench it) by faith?
That’s how to use faith as a shield.
When I feel weak, I confess that I am strong. When there is no money in my pocket, I confess that I am rich. When strange symptoms pop up in my body, I confess that I am healed. And I maintain my confession until my faith becomes tangible, a substance and an evidence. A reality!
Praise God.
To help us fully appreciate this component of the Whole Armour of God, first, we must answer the question of; what a sword is to a soldier?
A sword is a bladed weapon intended for slashing or thrusting. A sword is usually, long, straight or slightly curved with sharp edge (s). A good soldier would have swordsmanship- proper use and handling of the sword, and maneuver it so as to slash or thrust as the need arises.
What is the Sword of the Spirit?
Well, Ephesians 6:17-18 tells us to use the Sword of the Spirit, tells us what the Sword of the Spirit is, and how to use it.
“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…” (NKJV).
And according to Hebrews 4:12, the Word of God is sharper than any known sword….
“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.” NKJV
As we see, the Word of God is both a part of the Whole Armour of God (as the Sword of the Spirit) as well as a Weapon of Warfare {we’ll be discussing this further}. The word can slash, thrust and reach deeper than any known sword.
But of what use is the Word of God if we don’t use it? And how do we use the Sword of the Spirit?……….
By basing our Prayer and Supplication on the Word. By praying always in the Spirit, in patience and perseverance.
Friends and brethren, as we conclude our study on the Whole Armour of God, it is very obvious that the purpose for the Whole Armour of God is to make us prepared, immovable and victorious in the day of trouble. Therefore to successfully resist and stand our ground in time of danger, we must proactively and consciously be kitted in this armour always.
Let us always remember that our citizenship is of Heaven, we are born of God, we have His genes and our experiences should reflect same as we live in the awareness of our rights and privileges. We are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, sin has no power over us and where there is no sin, there is no charge or penalty. Let us stay reminded that God’s word is the truth over our affairs. And so let us always proclaim this truth, testify of this truth so as to gain victory at all times.
Thank you so much for staying with me to the end of this session of the series. I appreciate all your feedback and thank God for the opportunity to share His word. It’s been quite refreshing and a tremendous blessing doing this study 🙂
Shalom and my love always.
Welcome back, again 🙂
This is the 4th part of this blog-post series. We have been having so much fun discovering (and for some people), reminding ourselves of the Armour of God. Personally, I am already excited thinking about the Weapons of our warfare. But that will come up in a few more parts to come (of this series).
If you are just joining us, you don’t really have to miss anything if you can spare about 30 minutes and be up to speed with us. Simply search for the previous parts (1-3) on this site.
In the last 2 parts, we’ve looked at 2 components of the Armour of God -the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. The next component on our list, from our reference scripture (Ephesians 6:11, 13-19) is –shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” NKJV.
Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
People give different interpretations for this component of the armour and that is understandable especially if it’s read from the NKJV or KJV.
While some are of the opinion that this verse of scripture refers to preparing and preaching the good news of the kingdom, others believe it means Soldiers of Christ should study the word, so as to be battle-ready at all times.
To help bring more illumination to this verse of scripture, let’s consider it from a few other translations;
“and as your shoes, the readiness to announce the Good News of peace” Good News Translation.
“on your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong” ERV.
” and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation {to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news}. AMP.
Question: Why does a soldier wear shoes at war?
Now, this is my understanding of what Paul meant;
Isaiah 52:7 helps explain this part for me;
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ” Your God reigns!” NKJV.
A picture that quickly comes to mind here is that of a woman who is waiting anxiously for her husband to return from war. She seats day after day at her doorsteps, looking out, waiting expectantly for some news to soothe her anxiety and bring some relief/peace. A one-line note from her husband that reads; ‘honey, it’s been tough here, but am fine’ is the good news she’s been waiting for to keep at bay all her worries and fears.
But you see, you can’t give good news in trying and challenging times to others, except you already know it for yourself! …..hence the need to be PREPARED.
3. Have a peaceful disposition (even in battle). And this is not to say, don’t confront circumstances especially those that contradict your faith or belief, but be ‘peaceably- and Godly-stubborn’
Many years ago, when my fiance (now husband) came to meet my dad (to declare his intentions to marry me), my father tried to prepare him ahead by informing him that I am a very stubborn girl (yup, he did!) 🙂 So months later, during our premarital counselling, when asked by my Pastor what my weaknesses were, my fiance volunteered this information of ‘Grace is stubborn’. Oh Lord! But good thing was, The Lord and my Pastor were on my side 🙂 because Pastor quickly told my guy that ‘stubbornness is not always a weakness’.
I love the kind of stubbornness that refuses to live a ‘ce sera sera’ life; whatever will be be will be. Naaa. I’d rather be peaceably immovable, unshaken but fully persuaded that ‘the blessings of Abraham‘ are all mine (there’s nothing ‘ce sera sera’ about that) 🙂
Having a peaceful disposition in battle, can only happen when you know, from studying and soaking up God’s word, that you can have a different (positive) experience.
Oh! Oh!! Oh!!! I love the whole armour of God.
Oh! that we may wear it, always. That we may be fully prepared, ready, stable, unshaken, immovable, peaceably stubborn and persuaded in the battles of our lives. Knowing that it doesn’t matter which way the torrents come, victory is assured because Christ already conquered all.
Thank You Faithful Father. I LOVE YOU.
