For these verses I am using the American Standard Version translation.
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts 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 supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saint,”
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts 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 supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saint,”
This is a marvelous passage and there is only one other in the New Testament that addresses our spiritual warfare. In 2Corinthians 10: 3-6 it talks about capturing our thought life which often is in rebellion to God’s Holy standard and “casting down vain imaginations.” Here’s a word picture of ” casting down.” Imagine being in your car with your family and an africanesed bee flies into the car and your whole family is allergic to bees, especially an africanesed bee that can sting repeatly. Your immediate reaction would be to catch it and kill it. No thinking, no pondering as what to do next, just kill it! That is the emphasis of this verse. Our weakness is we ponder temptation, we think about it, we ask is it really wrong? That’s what Adam and Eve did, they pondered and now look where we are.
If it is insecurity we struggle with, we need to go to The Word to strengthen ourselves. Most of the time we don’t we just continue to live with our insecurity and be controlled by it. Like puppets on a stage, our emotional strings are pulled controlling our thoughts and actions. The Bible calls these repeated weaknesses in us strongholds. In 2Cor. 10:3 we read , “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;).” And in 2Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear ( or insecurity) but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” These are great promises but without putting our time in, being in God’s presence allowing Him to transform us by strengthen us via His Word, these are just verses on a page.
A stronghold can simply be because we lack maturity, or it can be a repeated sin that initially we did for pleasure or curiosity, yet in opening that door it became an addiction. Drinking, drugs, sex, pornagraphy, all these have the ability to become strongholds as well as many many other things. Negative thoughts can also be strongholds, tapes that just keep repeating in us, normally since childhood become thought patterns of insecurity that lie deep in our character forming challenging strongholds to overcome. However from, ” I can’t do that, to I can do “all things in Christ Jesus” is completely possible through study, prayer and time. It is a very attainable change. My personnel belief is since insecurity is common to us all, it is the result of the fall. Adam and Eve were in the ideal state of their being, in perfect fellowship with God; they had no worries, God provided for their needs on all levels. Can you imagine the huge void that occurred when God’s Spirit left them? Once sin entered, God could no longer indwell them. It was an awful moment when they realized what a devastating lie they bought into, it changed the whole course of humanity. Keep that in mind when you hear, “oh it’s no big deal, it’s just a little sin,” that’s how it is always played. Therefore we struggle with insecurity, something that the Lord did not intend for us to deal with along with a whole host of other deviate emotions. However no matter the insecurity or the struggle, GOD is the answer and there are verses in the Bible that we can meditate on to strengthen ourselves and by the quickening of the Holy Spirit we can conquer them. We do not need to continue to live being controlled by our strongholds.
In Psalms 119:9-11 we have this great verse that I personally have cherished since my youth,
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse — his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
We must literally reprogram our thinking so we can reprogram our emotional responses. The biggest change starts by changing our view of ourselves. Do we truly believe we are God’s son or daughter by Grace? For if we have truly accepted Christ in our heart, then from that point starts a lifetime process, the process of sanctification. The more I respond to life’s blessings and challenges from my new identity, the more Holy will be my thoughts, decisions and actions. What I have experienced in my life for that to happen is a complete tearing down of all that was Arthur and a new foundation, a sanctified foundation being built by the Master Builder. And there is nothing more fundamental, or ground zero than one’s view of them-self. “On Christ the solid rock I stand everything else is sinking sand,” so go the lyrics of one of our most foundational hymns. On God alone and His promises with His love infused in all of it does the rebuilding process begin, continue and forever be. To say with truth that I am not who I was ( Amen) nor am I who I will become,( another Amen) is a statement from a believer that has made time in their schedule to be with the Lord and has experienced the sanctification that comes through the Holy Spirit in fused Word of God. Exchanging our weaknesses and carnality for His strenght and truth. I am now on my 45th year of being His son by Grace and know that there is no end to this journey. God is so vast and our need so unending that our adventure will go on for Eternity.
Now to our study. It has been said that Paul probably wrote these verses while he was in prison chained between two Roman guards. He had plenty of time to study their armor and in so doing saw parellels to the spiritual armor a Christian must wear to overcome the battles we fight. I have heard many sermons on these passage and there is no one explanation, but there have been many good insights that I took to heart as I was maturing in my walk. It however has been years since I have heard a sermon on these passages and it is definitely overdo. I would like to make some broad applications initially then get into the Greek of the passages. Lord willing by the end of the studies we will be Green Berets for Christ.
Broad picture, we are in a battle and the biggest problem is the enemy lives within. It’s us, our carnal nature that is at war with the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do. And the one we spend the most time with will be the victor. In Galatians 5:16-17 We have a very insightful passage…
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
So taking my above statement. If I only hear the scriptures when I am sitting in church and there is no other time I am in them, yet day in and day out I engage and hear the messages of the world who do you think will have the greater pull, God or the world? An obvious answer no?
Next problem; the lines are not clearly drawn. They are muddied and the enemy does not always appear as the enemy. How did Satan first introduce himself to Adan and Eve… as a snake, subtle, crafty, beguiling. A master of half truths which as you know do not exit, they’re simply lies. For truth to be the truth it cannot be mixed with anything less than truth. It’s like saying God is almost Holy, or a coworker of mine wore a necklace that said 99% percent virgin. God is either Holy or not, one is either a virgin or not, and truth is either truth or not. A lie may have some statements of truth ( misapplied) but it is still a lie. And here’s the problem, can you tell, are you enough in the Word and in prayer that when you hear a lie posing as the truth, alarms go off ?
Fish are caught because the bait hides the hook, they are deceived. And lures are imitations of the real thing, be it a minnow, or fly etc. Imitations are dangerous. It has cost many a fish its life and same with us, imitations are dangerous. I once counseled a man who had left his wife for another woman thinking that life with her would be so much more exciting, from sex to life. It was a year or two later when I was talking to him and things were falling apart, sex, what sex, and life, it was definitely not what he imagined it would be. I simply said to him you built your relationship on sin and lust, abandoning your wife and children, breaking your vows to God and you expected happiness? You were played, becoming a fool you allowed yourself to be lured into this relationship. Leave her, repent, get right with God and pray that your wife takes you back. Fortunately they had no children. Several years later, at a different church, he encountered me and asked me if I remembered him. He reminded me of what I told him and of course I remembered him. He introduced me to his wife, they were going to marriage counseling and their relationship was being restored. He thanked me, both him and his wife. Later that day I cried feeling so thankful that God used me to share truth with my lost brother. There are many Pinocchio’s in and out of the church and you never know when God sits one in front of us. Will we be ready, are we usable, or are we too lost with our own drama?
Using the fishing analogy let’s ask the question, why do fish bite? Answer, normally because they are hungry. That’s why the most productive fishing is either early morning or at dusk, mid day is not good. Even if your using the same bait you caught them with in the morning, they seldom bite midday, they have eaten. Why do we bite, or how are we deceived into thinking that this action, or this thing, or that person could ever replace a relationship with the Lord? When you really consider it, it’s crazy. However we do it because we are hungry. Being needy is a hunger, so is insecurity or low self esteem, all these emotions and more seek to be satisfied. And when a lure comes by us that “appears” to satisfy these needs, we bite. It’s almost instinctive. And the reason for why we bite, it is because we are not in a life exchanging relationship with the Lord. In time spent with Him He infuses me with His life exchanging my emptiness for His love. If we are maintaining our time with Him and we still struggle ( like we do) then the struggle is to refine us, buffer us, mature us and make us dig deeper. There are times in establishing plants that I purposefully hold back the water. I want them to search for water, rooting down deeper, making them stronger plants more ready for the heat of summer. Stress, fear, temptation and difficulty makes us turn to the Word and read it in a way that we would not otherwise equalling a stronger faith. If we don’t respond in that matter then we only hurt ourselves. We continue in the tradition of the Jews, wandering around the same mountain for 40 yrs., why not grow our faith instead?
Until we respond in faith at the onset of difficulty our “armor” will do us no good; it requires faith to put the armor on and it requires faith to use it. Furthermore sick soldiers can’t fight and if they do, they won’t win. In Revelations 3 it talks about a condition called lukewarm. It’s actually worse than being cold( against God). At least cold you know your state, lukewarm you think all is well when in reality you are very sick.
Revelations 3:15-17
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth ( as in spitting something out that tastes horrible).
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” The Lord said this verse to me one time….and it was the last time.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth ( as in spitting something out that tastes horrible).
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” The Lord said this verse to me one time….and it was the last time.
Pride blinds us from seeing and acknowledging our true state. Just because we have our material wants met we say we have no need, …. However it’s like telling someone who is almost blind that they can see, or someone with stage four cancel that their well. Just because from my perspective I believe I’m good doesn’t necessarily make it true. Proverbs 15:5
A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. We can listen to God and be greatly benefitted, or put our own desires first and play the fool. The choice is ours.
Now let’s go to our study verse, “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.” Finally can be rendered as ” Hence forth, almost as in saying my final words. Whether Paul knew this was going to be his final letter to the Ephesians I don’t know, but making sure that all he did say could be successfully carried out he finishes his letter with instructions on our spiritual warfare. I would liken this passage to boot camp. To teach young recruits the theory, dangers and cautions of war in the classroom but never have them shoot a rifle or experience hand to hand combat prior to putting them in the field would be wrong. I believe He inspired by the Holy Spirit gave a lot of important instructions in the prior chapters and to carry them out would be very counter cultural. The believers needed to be equipped to deal with the blow back. Be strong, endunamoo, to be strengthened, to be made vigorous, or in the vernacular “kick butt,” defeating lies, temptations, fear and insecurities. Behind every person that challenges us is a deceiving spirit that has captured them. To defeat that spirit is to redeem another soul for Christ. We are not fighting the person, they are just vehicles that the enemy uses to transport and propagate his lies. It’s in the Lord and in His might and according to His will and purposes, not ours that we fight. Samson had supernatural strenght but he used it for his self centered ways. God forbid that any gift or talent we have received from Him is used to exalt ourselves and not the Lord. King David took advantage of his position as king when he had sex with Bathsheba and as Christians we to can easily defamed and bring shame to the name of the Lord, God forbid!!!. We do not need to add to the count of the fallen, God forbid.
In ending, we have yet much to discuss but this is a good start.
Father God,
Thank you for Your wisdom in opening the scriptures to us as well as our soul. Over and over again the same truth is repeated, we were made by You for You, anything less is not only to miss the mark but it is to rob ourselves from all the fullness of life that You have for us. Help us to be wise Lord.
Amen and Amen
Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur
Arthur Navarrette