The Whole Armour of God Eph 6:10-18 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
I don’t want to go further in our study of the devil’s work in temptation without dealing with the subject of the whole armor of God. Too much attention to the devil all at one time is not a good thing. We need to know how to defend ourselves, because with all that is going on, we are very vulnerable to attack. Notice that the devil is mentioned three times in the passage – v.11 – the wiles of the devil – v.12 – rulers of the darkness of this world … spiritual wickedness in high places – v.16 – all the fiery darts of the wicked. So, this armor is definitely designed to deal with all areas of his attacks.
Loins girt about with the truth – v.14 – to gird up one’s loins means to get ready to do something difficult or strenuous – a weight lifter girds himself with a belt around his loins [the region between the ribs and the hips] – we gird ourselves with the truth [KJV] – we have to stand against the wiles of the devil [v.11] – a wile is a trick – magicians use sleight of hand to trick you – I couldn’t figure out a magic trick I saw in Russia, but, no matter, I knew that it was not true – I knew that it was a wile [a trick] and that’s all I needed to know to keep from falling for it – so you have to know the truth so that when you see the lie, you will recognize it as a lie – you know the devil is a liar Jn 8:44 – so the devil’s trick has been to remove the truth – modern Bibles are filled with the devil’s lies, strategically placed and cleverly packaged so that you can’t recognize them unless you have the truth
Breastplate of righteousness – v.14 – righteousness is given to us by Jesus Christ – it covers our hearts – the seat of our affection is a major area of attack – in Matt 16:16-17, Peter got the identity of Jesus right because it was revealed to him by the Father, but he got the ministry of Jesus wrong because he savored “the things … that be of men” – we need righteousness in Christ and so the devil does everything he can to get us to substitute our righteousness for the righteousness of Christ – when you stand in his righteousness, nothing can take you down – when you stand in your own, you will get shot down every time
Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace – v.15 – Rom 10:13-15 – when you are prepared to preach the gospel of peace, the Lord will guide you to the places and people where Jesus can be preached – it is hard to end up in the wrong place when your primary concern throughout the day is where to go tell someone about Jesus – further, if you are concerned about being a living example of Christ’s saving grace, it is imperative that you maintain a blameless testimony – that will keep you out of places you don’t belong
Shield of faith – v.16 – Rom 10:17 – this is not just carrying the Bible but living by it – living by faith – trusting Jesus every moment and not doubting his words – doubting God’s words is what initially got Eve in trouble, Gen 3:1 – the fiery darts of the wicked are stopped by the shield of faith – when you live by every word, those darts cannot penetrate your shield
Helmet of salvation – v.17 – this helmet protects head and keeps your mind – truly, as a result of salvation, we have the mind of Christ, 1 Cor 2:16 – today you can see to what degree the devil has been attacking the minds of people – in Mk 5, the man in the tombs who was demon possessed was out of his mind – after Jesus cast out the devil, the man was in his right mind – according to Rom 1:20-28, many folks in our country do not want to retain God in their knowledge and so God has turned them over to a reprobate mind – in 2 Tim 1:7, you can see that God has given us a sound mind
Sword of the Spirit – v.17 – you have to know God’s words and you have to know how to use them correctly – in Heb 4:12, you see that the Bible is sharper than a two-edged sword – this book cuts both ways – and truly there are more people doing harm for the cause of Christ by handling the word of God deceitfully than ever before – you have to become adept at wielding the sword – Jesus defeated the devil when he was tempted in the wilderness because he quoted the exact scriptures that turned away his temptations – the sword exposes the darkness of v.12
Praying always – Jesus told his disciple in Matt 26:41 to “watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” – staying in prayer continuously with the Lord keeps your mind from being idle [the devil’s workshop] and strengthens you “in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”