The Armor of God
27/05/2017
Spiritual weapons.
Ephesians 6:10: "For the rest, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and by his mighty might, be clothed with all the weapons of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. We must not fight against flesh and blood, but against the dominations, against the authorities, against the princes of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits in heavenly places .... "
The Lord equips us with spiritual weapons, the different parts of this armor are complementary and inseparable. The purpose of God's armor is to make us able to stand firm against the enemy. Each of us must begin by firmly believing that the Lord has already fought for us. The complete armor of God is Jesus Christ Himself. Only a renewed mentality in the Word of God and an intimate communion with the Lord, we will experience the process of a transformed life. A soldier must be obedient and dedicated to God to be effective for the Kingdom. In Christ, we are in an intimate relationship with God, without him we can do nothing. Every good soldier filled with the Holy Spirit wants to please his Master, he works with honor to impact the world. His mission: to release Love and spread His Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 10.3: "If indeed we live in human reality, we do not fight in a purely human way, because the weapons with which we fight are not human, but they are powerful, thank God, for overthrowing Fortresses We overthrow reasonings and all obstacles that rise with pride against the knowledge of God, and we make every thought prisoner to obey Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience as soon as your obedience is complete. If someone is convinced of belonging to Christ, he says to himself that just as he is of Christ, so are we, and even though I am a little too proud of the authority which the Lord has given us, for your edification and not for your ruin, I shall not be ashamed of it. "
The helmet of salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5.8: "Let's have the helmet of the hope of salvation."
The hope of salvation encourages us not to let ourselves go, but to work on our salvation with fear and trembling. The helmet protects the head, seat thoughts that are decision-makers of our actions, it is a vital protection. The enemy particularly targets our thoughts to subtly affect it, therefore our consciousness requires protection. Only the experience of Christians who accept the Lord Jesus in their lives has obtained forgiveness, they are freed from all guilt because the Lord Jesus took upon himself the punishment they deserved. The hope of salvation is based on our faith and perseverance.
1 Peter 1.3: "Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, in accordance with his great goodness, he has made us born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ for a living hope, for an inheritance that can not neither to destroy, nor to defile, nor to lose its brightness. "
In order not to yield to the wiles of the Devil, it is in the vigilance and the spiritual intelligence that we bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. We overthrow the reasoning of the flesh and every height that rises against the knowledge of God. There is nothing stronger than being children of God, this relationship is indestructible. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, salvation is always so certain. To be saved is to go from darkness to light and to be forgiven of all sins. To take up one's cross is a constancy, it is intimately linked to fidelity. The hope of salvation is the means that God gives us to preserve.
Ephesians 6:17: "Welcome the helmet of salvation as well."
The cuirass of justice.
Ephesians 6.14: "Put on the breastplate of righteousness."
Because God is righteous and He is the defender of the victims of injustice, He asks the disciples to practice justice."
In wartime, the soldier wears a uniform to be recognizable. To put in Greek in the meaning of "to envelop" or to make "one with". A soldier covered with a cuirass also protects his heart, because if it is touched, the fight is over. By faith, we are wrapped up to witness and be in fellowship with Jesus Christ. Justice is not what we determine to be right. The righteousness of God is the cause of our salvation.
Galatians 3.26: "All of you are sons of God by faith in Jesus Christ, for all of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ."
The Lord Jesus reveals to us a God of grace who is good and full of compassion. The armor of justice testifies to our belonging, the children of God, are more than conquerors in Christ. Let us remember with humility that through the blood of the Lamb the just will live by faith. The chest is clothed with the breastplate of righteousness as a direct revelation of the redemption of Christ. Having clothed it before the face of God, we appear not as a sinner, but as just. Our heart belongs to him.
Isaiah 59.17: "He puts righteousness on a breastplate."
The belt of truth.
Ephesians 6.14: "Have your loins girt with truth."
The truth is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and God raised Him from the dead. We obtain the truth for girdle through knowledge and understanding in the message of the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. The belt helps us to support the rest of our equipment, it is made to balance us. The opponent of the truth is the lie, he is called Satan the "father of lies". If you have the truth for a belt, when the enemy comes by seduction, he will not be able to trap you. You can stand firm in grace and truth.
John 1.17: "Grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ."
Jesus is the truth because He is the only one who reveals to us who God is. Christ is the image of God, he can neither lie nor contradict himself, his Word is the truth. Jesus says, "When the defender has come, the Spirit of truth, he will lead you into all the truth." To know "the truth", we must have time with God to receive it. If we let His Word penetrate our mind deeply, we can confess the truth: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!" (Ephesians 1.3).
John 14.6: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father except through me."
The shield of faith.
Ephesians 6.16: "Take above all that the shield of faith, with which you may extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one ."
Faith is God's plan prepared and announced centuries before the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. Christ is the one who gives birth to faith and makes it perfect. The shield of faith is the main defense weapon, its first functions are to counter attacks and extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy. Our shield stops the destructive intentions of the enemy; it represents an extremely important piece of armor. Faith plays a vital role in spiritual warfare. It is in Jesus and through Jesus that God saves us.
Ephesians 3.14: "Wherefore I bend my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, and I pray that he will give you according to the riches of his glory, to be powerfully strengthened by His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ dwells in your heart by faith."
Christianity is God taking the first step towards us. Our responsibility: to believe. Faith is not a human invention, it is an intimate relationship with our Creator. Without the shield of faith, it is impossible to please God. Faith comes from what we hear and hear from the Word of God, hold the shield firmly in the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ is sufficient, let us remain faithful, faith will grow through trials. Faith, grace, compassion and peace are given from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord!
1 John 5.4: "The triumph of victory over the world is our faith."
The Sword of the Spirit.
Ephesians 5.17: "Take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God."
In the beginning, the LORD created all things by the Word, the Scriptures are the Words of God. Jesus taught that the scriptures could not be destroyed. The sword of the Spirit is therefore an offensive weapon of phenomenal power. When you pray, you have an advocate with the Father, it is the Word of God who is Spirit and life: the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit then makes grace "productive", transforms us. It is through the Spirit that all that was previously impossible will become possible, we will be able to change lives and live a restored relationship: an alliance. To put one's faith in Jesus is to see the sword of the Spirit transformed the hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
Hebrews 4.12: "For the word of God is living and efficacious, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to separate soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the feelings and thoughts of the heart."
The scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit and are always fulfilled. They testify of Christ. In this time of grace, the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin through the Word, which is the sword of the Spirit. As ambassadors of Jesus, we must proclaim the preaching of the cross, we have the great responsibility of preaching the gospel to all creation so that the Holy Spirit can turn people away from their sins and lead them to Jesus who is able to to save.
1 John 5.12: "He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
