Prepared for (Spiritual) Battle

Probably one of the more familiar writings of Paul is his discussion of putting on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17). This passage takes some thought to read and apply it to our daily lives. Not many of us wear a helmet on a daily basis. We don’t wear breastplates, a literal belt of truth, carry a sword (just try taking one on an airplane!), or carry a shield. We do wear shoes. I have recently discovered an insightful writer whose books and website have a wealth of practical information. I would highly recommend Tim Challies for some good thoughts and commentary on your Christian walk. He recently posted an article “Go Ahead, Bring a Knife to a Gunfight,” in which he discusses how we can prepare to join the battle for right and against wrong. God calls all of us into this battle. But we need the right kind of preparation. I know that me carrying a sword would most likely result in disaster or worse. Paul reminds us that our battle is not “against flesh and blood, we are wrestling with spiritual hosts of wickedness.”

Committed to Truth. The first article Paul lists is the belt of truth. Truth as opposed to the lies of Satan, the father of lies. John 8:32 tells us that “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The Truth (Jesus) is the ultimate freedom. But the second aspect to the belt as truth is the emphasis on our personal commitment to truth and Truth. As Christians, this is vital.

Protection. The breastplate of righteousness is what we receive when Jesus becomes our Savior. This piece of equipment guards our heart and protects us against the lies of Satan. It is fashionable in today’s society to tell someone to “follow your heart.” This is bad advice, as Jeremiah 17:9 tells us “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick.” We can’t trust our heart, as it is often controlled by emotions. Think about a law enforcement officer. He or she will frequently wear bullet proof vests for protection while on the job. Most of us will never need one of these, but the breastplate of righteousness is important to help keep us righteous (and alive).

Shoes. Whenever we go somewhere, we usually wear a pair of shoes. No woman would be caught dead with only one pair of shoes, and I confess I’m not much better. We need shoes suited to the task before us. You wouldn’t wear a pair of high heels to run a marathon. You wouldn’t wear sandals on a mountain climb. We should wear our “gospel shoes” to follow Jesus. To advance the gospel we must be able to move forward, following God wherever He leads. An old gospel hymn expresses this well when it says “Where He leads me I will follow, I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way” It goes on to say I’ll go with Him through the waters, the garden, to Calvary, to the judgement. We need to be ready to follow whereever He leads. Proper preparation allows us to follow, whatever our means of communication and travel. When we follow Him, we can bypass the obstacles placed in our path.

Helmet of Salvation. The helmet protects the head. In today’s world helmets are worn by law enforcement officers, athletes, construction worker, bikers. They are common, with a singular purpose – to protect the head. As the head is the seat of our mind and thoughts, it is the most vital part of our body. Although there may be other factors involved, our decision to follow Christ is a decision formed in our brain. It is through our head that we can be certain of our salvation. This knowledge will help keep us from Satan’s deceptions. Finally, we have the peace of Christ. In John 14:27 He assured us “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives. ” Larry Burkett once said to me that the one thing Satan cannot counterfeit is God’s peace.

Shield of Faith. Paul lists this as “above all.” It is through our faith that we are enabled to turn aside the attacks and temptations coming from Satan. In order to properly use our shield of faith we must know our faith. It’s as if I buy a fire extinguisher to help me put out fires in my home. Before I needto use it it, I need to learn to use it. Imagine a fire and you have to stop and learn how to operate that extinguisher. Our preparation comes through reading, studying, and meditating God’s Word.

Sword of the Spirit. The tools we have listed so far have one thing in common. They are defensive, designed to help us overcome attacks from our enemy. They are preparatory, we do them to enable us to proceed toward the victory. The sword of the spirit is very important, as it is designed to advance the Kingdom. The other elements of our armor prepare us. Now we are ready to do battle. Two scriptures tell us the power of the sword. Hebrews 4:12 minces no words about the power of God’s Sword “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” In His high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

There are many ways to use our “sword.” Some are very good writers, others are very persuasive speakers. Like Shamgar in the Old Testament, some may bring an ox-goad to the fight. We all have our given weapon in this spiritual battle. We should use the weapon God has given us. He will bless our efforts. Do not wish or seek to use a weapon you aren’t prepared to use.

A Final Assurance. Then Paul adds a vital instruction. He states “With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints, You never graduate from “God School.” We are to:

1. 1. Pray in the Spirit at all times.
Be alert.
Persevere.
Care for all saints.

As I was writing this, the event in the Phillies- Marlins baseball game came to mind where a woman was quite abusive and made a scene that the home run ball was hers, even after Drew Feltwell retrieved the ball and gave it to his ten-year old son for his birthday. Although he had every right to the ball, he took it from his son and gave it to the woman. He explained his actions by being more focused on just trying to set an example of how to de-escalate a situation in front of his son. In addition he asked people to leave her alone, as she has already suffered for what she did.

I could find no evidence that Drew Feltwell is a Christian. He appears to be a private person. But, Christian or not, he acted like we should. I saw Christ in his actions. I hope that all Christians would react in such a calm manner when attacked. I am not sure I could do what he did.

Let’s all work on developing our own modern spiritual armor.

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All scripture unless otherwise indicated is from the New American Standard Bible.

Photo credit to Kar3nt on Pixabay and Christian Photoshops.