We know very well that in this life we have an enemy, and a dire enemy at that. One who should not be taken lightly or made light of. Of course for my fellow Christians and I, I speak of the devil, the first Rebel, the one who introduced sin into the human mind. So that the human heart would from there choose to follow its own way, allowing Satan a foothold not only in our world, but in our hearts.
He is a master deceiver, he knows every one of our weaknesses. He has lived alongside us as the present ruler of this world for centuries and knows how to make us trip and fall.
He is a wily fox, a tricky serpent, a roaring lion, and a wrathful dragon.
But for all his power... He was defeated.
Jesus Christ on the cross smashed the head of the Old Serpent, and crushed Death once and for all, freeing us from the devil's influence.
We are no longer bound to do as he pleases, but now when once we were enemies of God, we are now faithful sons and daughters. But the devil isn't done trying. From this day until the Return of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the devil will try in any way to make us stumble, fall, turn away, or rebel in our sin.
So now we are on God's side, but He has not left us to fight this dire Enemy alone, O Christian! Know the power of your Lord and the grace He gives you to fight an enemy who has more power than you can know! We cannot take the devil lightly, but neither should we fear him, for his skull is crushed, the killing blow has been stuck, the nails in Jesus' hands and feet and the wound in his side has freed us forever, and forever defeated the power of the devil.
So what then, are we given to fight the Foe of our souls since the beginning?
Ephesians 6:10-20 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."
There you have it! God has given us a rock hard defense to use when Satan attacks us to make us wander away from God, and if you know anything about armaments, (which I do) then you should see how gloriously well God has provided for our protection. And, if you know little, then fear not! I shall explain in due course.
First we must look at the waist, the crux of the body's movement in battle, and what holds together the upper half, and the lower half of both the body, and the armor. We have been given a Belt of Truth, which I take to mean the Truth of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, for if the very crux of our faith is the cross upon which Jesus died, (see what I did there?) then it is essential for the holding together of our protection from the"cosmic powers over this present darkness" to believe in our very souls that that cross is the most important, crucial moment in history, and we must daily put our faith in the death Jesus died to make us alive together with Him.
Second, we see the Breastplate of Righteousness. This piece is crucial to protect the vital organs from deadly blows, for even a small wound to one of them can be a mortal wound. So then, are we protected by our righteousness? No indeed Christian! And may the thought not enter your minds, for that is already an attack by the devil. No, that righteousness that is Christ's perfect righteousness imparted to us when He took upon Himself the judgement for our sins, giving us the perfection with which He lived before the Father while He was on earth, that in God's eyes we might be made clean, righteous before the Most Holy One.
Third, the shoes, for while the feet may not seem to be vital points to protect in a battle, they are crucial. For if your foot is wounded, you cannot maneuver as you must to avoid the attacks of your Enemy. So then, we have the Shoes of the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace, that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us. So with the Gospel kept near, we are given swiftness, able to dodge and counterstep any of the angry blows of our Enemies.
Fourthly we have the Shield of Faith, faith in God, faith in Christ, faith that He will fulfill in us His plan for our redemption and sanctification. And this shield must be indeed strong, for it can "extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" a shield was commonly used to protect a warrior against long range attacks from bows, or crossbows, and to ward off blows from an attacking enemy. So this Shield we have we must "in all circumstances" use to defend our souls against the darts of the devil that would pierce deep and spread the poison of lies through our veins.
Fifth, we have the Helmet of Salvation. The helmet is the most essential part of armor one can have, for a blow to the head, however light, can do serious damage. So we have this Helmet of Salvation to protect us from killing blows aimed at our heads by the crafty Enemy, who will exploit any weakness, or attack any weak-point. Our faith in our salvation in Jesus Christ is essential to defend against the lies of this present age, lies that the devil himself has perpetuated (being the father of lies). This piece of holy armor we must have at all times.
Before I speak of the last piece, I wish to say something important...
Armor does not protect you from all injury... It is only meant to keep you from receiving a mortal blow. Do not take our struggles with the present powers of darkness lightly, for you will fall, not to death ultimately if you are in Christ, but you will fall to the schemes of your enemy if you take this war of souls lightly.
Now then! let us rejoice! For we are not merely given armor to take the beatings of the devil and not given grace to fight back, for here we are given the Sword of the Spirit, the very power of the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures to fight back. Jesus Himself used this mighty blade in Matthew 4:4-11 to combat the lies of the Enemy, and won triumphantly. And we see further in Hebrews 4:12 that "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
We have so great a weapon given to us, that if we will study how to use it as we are commanded, then the Spirit Himself will guide our attacks against our Enemy, and through Christ we will be made victorious!
So what do we take away from all of this? I submit to you, three things.
One: We have a strong Enemy, who we cannot take lightly as we struggle with him for our souls.
Two: Jesus Christ has already won the war, we must now merely fight in the daily battles, and we have been provided for and are protected through every one by our Faithful Savior and our Loving Father.
Three: Our struggles will not last much longer, for we have before us the weight of an eternity of peace in the presence of God and in the arms of our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.
As the hymn writer once said: "And the great Church victorious will be the Church at rest."
Victory has been won, fight hard until the Day,
--The Scribe
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