05/27/2019
__________________________________________________________________________
Followers of Christ Jesus are given the
tools to win the war against Satan, his principalities and powers and rulers of
darkness now ruling this world we live in. In order to be prepared for battle
we must fully comprehend and embrace the power Christ Jesus gives each of His
followers.
We read in Ephesians 1 about those who follow Jesus are given an
inheritance of power from Jesus because God gave all that power to Jesus when
He was resurrected from the dead.
And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart
[the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light
by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident
expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance
in the saints (God’s people), and [so that you will begin to know] what the
immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His
[active, spiritual] power is in us who believe. These are in accordance with
the working of His mighty strength which He produced in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and
authority and power and dominion [whether angelic or human], and [far above]
every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in
this age and world but also in
the one to come. And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under
Christ’s feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all
things in the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills and completes all things in all
[believers]. Ephesians 1:18-23
Getting people to believe in Christ Jesus
was so important to God that He allowed Jesus to impart the same gifts He possessed
to those who decided to follow Him whole heartedly. Since Jesus has ALL
AUTHORITY over everything including Satan and his demonic forces, it would only
be right that Jesus imparted to His followers the same authority through His
Name.
Heal the sick, raise the dead, and cleanse
the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8
Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of
absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations
[help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I
have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless
of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone
who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things
than these
[in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name [as My representative], this I will do, so that the
Father may be glorified and
celebrated in the Son. If
you ask Me anything in My name [as My representative], I will do it. John 14:12-14
Are you starting to see just how powerful
you have become with your decision to follow Jesus Christ allowing Him to rule
in your life?
It is important to understand that Jesus
Christ would NOT leave His followers defenseless against the great enemy of God
and of mankind. That’s right my friend, no matter how glamorous Hollywood makes
evil look, Satan’s number one goal is to steal your soul and destroy your life John 10:10. In Ephesians 6 we learn about the armor of God that will protect the followers of
Jesus Christ against the attacks of Satan and all his demons.
In
conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered
through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on
the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a
heavily-armed soldier]; so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up
against all the schemes and the
strategies and the deceits of
the devil. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with
physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the
world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
(supernatural) places.
Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to
[successfully] resist and stand
your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the
crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable,
victorious]. So stand firm and
hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having
put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart), 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]. Above all,
lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God. With all prayer and petition
pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every
season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance
and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18
In the previous scripture we learn about
the armor of God and how important it is to always pray to God making our
petitions known while staying on high alert because the enemy is always sending
his demons out to do his bidding. Let us
now take a look at what comprises the armor of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17 lists six pieces of the armor of God:
God has provided these six aspects of the
Christian life, including prayer {verse 18}, in order to give strength and protection to those who are in the
battle, ultimately helping them to triumph in these spiritual battles. Each
piece must be worn and the scriptures tell us how to put them on and how to use
them effectively.
Since we
know it is Satan’s number one priority to destroy God’s creation {John 10:10}; as believer’s and followers of Christ Jesus we must learn to FORGIVE
those who hurt us so we can stand up against Satan’s schemes {2 Corinthians 2:10-11}.
While Paul was in prison he wrote a letter
to the Ephesians warning them of the schemes of God’s number one enemy {Satan}.
He sent the letter to them to teach them how to put the armor of God to full
use against all demonic activity. It is obvious that Paul became acquainted
with the armor worn and carried by the Roman army leading him to follow
Isaiah’s lead {Isaiah 59:17} in comparing a soldier’s armor and the spiritual armor of God.
Because the Spiritual Battles we face are
unseen by the naked eye, God made sure we have defensive weapons so we are able
to stand against all the attacks of Satan and his demons.
Ephesians 6:10 tells us, “…be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered
through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might.”
We see here that God does not want us to be
discouraged by Satan’s devices or by his power and stealth. God is letting us
know we are not in this battle alone. He is telling us we have access to the
GREATEST POWER in the entire universe!!!
Continuing on with verse 11 we read, “Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid
armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand
up against all the schemes and
the strategies and the deceits
of the devil.”
Here we see this is a comprehensive defense
strategy that requires us to pay attention to ALL parts of this armor offered
to us by God. If we will do this, we will be able to withstand the attack’s
from Satan and his demonic forces.
In verse 12 we learn, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with
physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the
world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly
(supernatural) places.}”
Looking deeper into the Scriptures we learn
from Revelation 12:7-9 that this unseen Spiritual Battle
resembles the cosmic battle at the end of the age.
And war broke out in heaven, Michael [the
archangel] and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels
fought, but they were not strong enough and
did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And
the great dragon was thrown down, the age-old serpent who is called the devil
and Satan, he who continually
deceives and seduces the entire
inhabited world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown
down with him. Revelation 12:7-9
Although this is all happening in the
unseen world, it has great influence over the physical world. Satan has
camouflaged himself and his demons so well from the human eye that he has
convinced most of the world he and his demons do not exist. Because of this he
is able to sway society by suggesting wrong thoughts without people even
realizing he is the one behind it.
Continuing on in Ephesians 6 with verse 13 we read, “ Therefore, put on
the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day
[of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand
firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].”
Here we find Paul encouraging believers so
they understand with God’s help, we WILL be able to hold the line, to NOT
retreat, and to NOT give up an inch of God’s territory.
Reading verse 14-18 we learn about the individual elements of the Spiritual Armor God
wants each of us to wear so we are able to fight against the powers of Satan.
Wearing a belt let others know the soldier
was ready for action. The soldier would only loosen his belt when he went off
duty. We should wear the belt of truth knowing that it is the antidote to
Satan’s lies and deception.
Without righteousness, we leave ourselves
open to Satan’s attacks. In order to obtain righteousness one must repent and
be forgiven of sins, then continue to do what is right in the eyes of God. We
learn from Psalm 119:172 that God’s Word is righteousness; therefore in order to be righteous
one must keep God’s laws of love.
We find in Isaiah 59:17 that God Himself puts on righteousness as a breastplate! In verse 2 we learn that wickedness separates us from God. We must repent from
our wickedness in order to keep the breastplate of righteousness on against the
attacks of Satan and his demonic forces.
Shoes might
not be the most exciting piece of armor, but the Zondervan NIV Bible
Commentary highlights
their importance:
“The
military successes both of Alexander the Great and of Julius Caesar were due in
large measure to their armies being well shod and thus able to undertake long
marches at incredible speed over rough terrain.”
The word
“preparation,” denoting readiness, is meant to remind us that we should be
eager to preach the gospel of peace. The men and women of God are commissioned
to announce the good news of God’s Kingdom. Therefore, having our spiritual
shoes on, we will be ready to spread the good news to others.
The sandals of
the Roman soldier were often fitted with nails, or armed with spikes, to make
them hold firm in the ground.
When you carry the shield of faith you are putting
ALL your faith and trust in God’s power which will make it impossible for Satan
and his demonic forces to break through and land a blow. Faith includes
believing God exists and that everything God does is truly for our good. Faith
is our belief that God will always do what He has promised {Romans 4:18-21}.
Faith
protects us in many ways. Think about Daniel in the lions’ den. Faith was like
a force field to protect Daniel from those vicious teeth! And Shadrach, Meshach
and Abed-Nego were protected from the fiery furnace! Faith is powerful and
protects us not only from those physical dangers, but from the spiritual
temptations and dangers.
The shield
of faith is not just for personal protection. The Roman soldiers had a strategy
of joining their shields together. When we join our shields—that is, strengthen
each other with our faith, building up and serving as we are able—we will be
able to take on any challenge.
We learn from 1 Thessalonians 5:8, “But since we [believers]
belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and
love, and as a helmet, the hope and
confident assurance of salvation.” We have a Savior, Jesus Christ who gave
everything of Himself so that we may have life and salvation {John 10:10}.
The sword of the Spirit will help us
conquer all our enemies including our human weakness. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it
operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of
a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature],
exposing and judging the very
thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Remember Jesus Christ used the Word of God
to defeat Satan {Matthew 4:1-10}. Our sword won’t stay sharp on its own.
We must continually sharpen it by regularly studying the Word of God.
Paul ends this section encouraging us to
pray fervently for ALL of God’s people.
With all prayer and petition pray [with
specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the
Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition
[interceding in prayer] for all God’s people. Ephesians 6:18
Jesus Christ told his disciples that they
could not cast out the demon because it takes prayer and fasting {Matthew 17:21}. Satan came against Jesus while He was fasting and praying and Jesus
defeated Him with the Word of God {Matthew 4:1-10}.
As the “Church” we will only move forward
on our knees. Praying lets our Heavenly Father know that we are fully committed
to following Him as obedient and faithful soldiers. Prayer and the Word of God are our most powerful
tools for combating Satan’s weapons.
When we put on the whole armor of God, we
will be prepared for Satan’s attempts to attack us with pride, envy, lust for
forbidden pleasures, itching ears, disappointment, discouragement, doubt and
division or any other tricks he may use against us.
Remember my friends we are at WAR. We must
be alert to Satan’s devices and wear the whole armor of God! God has promised
He will NEVER leave you or forsake you; therefore, we should honor Him in
keeping our character in line with His Word {Deuteronomy
31:6; Hebrews
13:5}.
Forever in Christ Jesus service,
Scriptures
for further study
No comments:
Post a Comment