Gtcotr/ss010922
There are some victories which cannot be won by employing the reason and logic of man … some battles clearly belong to the Lord and can be won only by the power of His might.
Ephesians 6 NKJV
10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be
strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
·
Stand
= Continue safe, sound, and unharmed; Remain in your place.
·
Wiles
= Methods, which are: Deceit, trickery, cunning arts, flattery
o As seen in the
Pharisees attempting to trick and trap Jesus into incriminating Himself in John
8 for example.
o One of the favorite
methods of the devil is to straight out lie.
o The devil is a liar
and the father of lies.
o All liars shall have their place in the lake of fire.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
·
The
rulers of the darkness of this age - Darkness – Skotos = ignorance concerning
divine things and human duties fueled by ungodly and immoral desires and
designs.
o The rulers of
ignorance concerning divine things
o The rulers of ungodly
and immoral designs and desires
o The rulers who
discount human duties towards God
·
Spiritual
Wickedness = Demonically inspired depravity, iniquity, malice, with an evil
purpose and desire.
o Their goals are to
crush all resistance to the darkness and fully extinguish the light.
o Their motives are pure evil, and they feel no remorse.
13 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.
·
Therefore
= the conclusion … what can we do in this war as soldiers of the cross …
·
There
are 7 pieces of the armor God has given us for this war …
· Armor is designed to protect the one who wears it so they can stay in the fight and not be wounded and leave the battle.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
1.
Truth – accept nothing less.
a. Truth will be the
first thing attacked, overwhelmed, hidden, maligned, canceled, removed, de-platformed,
and re-written with a false narrative based on fake news by the forces of
darkness to confuse the spiritually weak and apathetic.
b. The devil’s method,
(the wiles of the devil, verse 11), is to bury the truth and bury those who
tell it.
c. From scandal and ruin
to bribery and promotion, the devil will stop at nothing to control the
narrative and confuse the truth.
d. We must secure truth
around us so it cannot be ripped away.
2.
Righteousness
a. There is no substitute
for being right with God.
b. Holding the truth in righteousness makes us able to stand.
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
3. Peace
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
4. Faith
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
5.
Salvation = (Greek – Soterion)
a. A continuing hope for
the future
b. This hope is a helmet
to guard against becoming weary or depressed and wanting to quit.
6.
The Word of God
a. The Sword of the Spirit
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints —
7.
Prayer
a. Armed with all prayer
Prayer is where we release the power of God and move mountains.
Our wrestle is not against flesh and blood but against the spirits of darkness who are operating through people in this world.
We must put on the whole armor of God:
·
Truth
·
Righteousness
·
Peace
·
Faith
·
Hope
·
The Word of God
· Prayer
Choose one to work on each day this week. Put
it on and you’ll look like God to your enemies.
