The Armour of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6:10-20

You're either living for Christ and fighting against sin, or living for sin and fighting against Christ. There is no middle ground. We were made by God for His glory, but were born into sin, seeking my own glory. This is following after sin.

Are we aware of the battle and fighting on the right side?

First we should clarify what the enemy actually is:

It is NOT an enemy nation or another human being. 

It IS rulers of darkness and commanders of evil. 

What is Satan's story? Ezekiel 28:12-17 tells us: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:“‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you... Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

Everything was created by God. Satan and his demons are not equal to God, but very VERY much under Him. Satan is NOT omnipresent (everywhere present), omnipotent (all-powerful), or omniscient (all-knowing).

What is Satan's mission? 2 Corinthians 4:3&4 says: 'If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan has only a persuading slight, not an enforcing might. He may tempt us, but without ourselves, he cannot conquer us. He may entice us, but without ourselves, he can't hurt us. Our hearts carry the greatest stroke in every sin. Satan can never undo a man without himself, but a man may easily undo himself without Satan.   

 - Thomas Brooks 

Read scripture realizing who the hero is. Not the one who wears the armour, but the One who gives it. The One who the armour represents, the One who's strength is given to us. It's Christ.

The pieces of the armour of God are gospel realities that we must trust in and walk in. When we put on the armour, we are putting on Christ.

Belt of Truth: We are LIARS. Lies are the opposite of truth. Jesus was the truth - the Truth came and He went to the cross and died for all the lies we believed. It's His truth that holds us together, changes our hearts by the power of the Spirit, turning us from liars to the people of the truth.
The Belt of Truth is the truth that changes us from people of lies to people of the truth. It implies that we are armed with truthfulness. What holds us together is not my truthfulness, but God's truthfulness.

Breastplate of Righteousness: We are all unrighteous - dead in sin to the core. But Jesus's pure righteousness is credited to those who believe in Him and love His gospel. His whole life was about His righteousness and our unrighteousness. When we are clothed in righteousness, it is not our own, but HIS.

Shoes of the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace: Shoes to grip and stand firm. Is it my strength that makes me stand against Satan? Absolutely not. Christ forever put him in his place at the cross. When I am clothed in Christ, I do defeat Satan, but not by my might. I'm fighting from a victory that Christ already won. Lean on Christ and on His word and He will give stability. We were once following the world in rebellion against God, but the gospel gives us peace - fills us with a love for God and for others, gives us stability as we walk in the world, and it lets us make ground to advance the Kingdom as Christ's ambassador.

> Saved means that God's enemies are unrighteous and God does such a work that He sees us as holy ones.
> Peace is not happy circumstances, peace is a right relationship with God that abides with us wherever we go. Circumstances are fragile.

Shield of Faith: Faith in what Christ has done is a strong defense where previously we had none. Without a shield of faith, it's not that I have no defense against Satan, but it's that I have no defense on God's wrath that is coming on the world. But isn't Christ the shield of faith? Look at how He's shielded us and protected us! When Christ came, He was our shield from a holy God. Now that He has shielded us from God, He shields us from the attacks of Satan. If He shielded us from the anger of God, surely He is more than able to shield us from Satan - which is far less important. He protects us from the devil's flaming arrows that, although can't harm our shield, can do serious damage to everything we know and love. There's no touching our security in Christ or our eternal fate, but the flaming arrows can destroy our lives.

Helmet of Salvation: There is no complete joy like knowing for sure of our salvation. Salvation is ours by faith, and that can be attacked.

Sword of the Spirit: It's what Jesus fought Satan with: the Word of God. This Sword is both offensive and defensive. If you want to be close to the Spirit of God, read the Bible because it was Spirit-written. What is our relationship with God and His Word?

All the pieces of the armour are about God and the gospel. They're not simply meant to protect us against the devil, but to transform us into the image of God.

How do we put on the armour of God? Praying at all times in the Spirit (v.17). The greatest way to stand firm in the gospel and Christ and the armour is continual prayer. 

If we don't make Him our strength, we don't have any. It is the object of our faith that is strong. 

My hold on Him is weak - not to be trusted. But it's His grasp on me that I trust in.

This armour is sufficient to help us stand. Why do we give up? Are we praying to win the fight? You can't fake prayer, in it we are enabled to fight. Not fighting in my own strength, but in HIS.

Challenge: Who would people around us say we are fighting for?

<3 Berea

Disclaimer: I can not take credit for any of the writings or quotes of this post. It was entirely my take on a sermon by my pastor. I'd like to attach an audio of the sermon here and I would greatly encourage you to listen for yourself. Don't take my word for it! If you have any additional thoughts, please leave us a comment. 
This is a subject I was puzzled about for a long while. I wasn't sure how to interpret the passage. I'd started jotting down my own thoughts about it, but when I heard this message it made so much more sense to me. If it's something you've been wondering about, look no farther! I found it incredibly helpful, so please (PLEASE!!!!) listen for yourself. It's an hour well spent.