ICS Daily Devotions
Our Spiritual Weapons
Ephesians 6:11a,13-17 PUT ON the WHOLE armor of God, 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.14 STAND therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of 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.17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
In Ephesians 6 the Apostle Paul describes the spiritual armor. There are three offensive weapons, three defensive weapons, and one neutral weapon. The breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation are defensive weapons. These weapons protect us and give us confidence and assurance to move forward in our spiritual growth.
The three offensive weapons are the readiness, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer in the Spirit. These are weapons that enable us to demonstrate Satan’s defeat.
The neutral weapon is the loin belt, which is representative of the Word of God. It is the central piece of weapon that holds all of these other pieces together. Without it, all the weapons will not be able to function properly.
The spiritual weapons given by God are not for showcase and never meant for a war, only when we are being attacked or disturbed by the enemies. The Apostle Paul clearly asked us to proactively put it on and it is a clear command to do so with urgency! It will be silly and presumptuous to think that we will not be a casualty of the devil’s scheme by not having the armor in place. There is a huge difference between being unarmed and armed. If Paul commands to put on the armor with urgency, then it is wise to do it now!
Even some of those who are armed have fallen, were injured, discouraged, disillusioned and dismayed because they were not able to withstand the evil one. How much worse when one is unarmed in the midst of a war? It is a challenge to stand firm in the midst of war, especially when we think that it is the work of God and forget that it is the work of the devil. We have a real adversary who prowls around looking for someone whom he can devour. The devil can be so evil that he would make use of your love for God to make you think that suffering will glorify God.
The Apostle Paul went on by telling us that we can stand firm without wavering or faltering when we gird our loin with the truth and have the breastplate of righteousness in place. The loin is referring to our lower back and this belt is supposed to hold up our back. It is interesting that the Apostle Paul started with the belt or the loins of truth because it is referring to the written Word of God. He is talking about truth and all of its essence—who God is, what God has done, what God has said. It is all wrapped up in that.
It should begin there because that is where the truth is established for the rest of the weapons. Without a clear understanding of the Word, it is very difficult for us to make use of the spiritual weapons given to us especially when it comes to the shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. The Word of God causes us to be stable, firmly grounded and rooted in our faith! The belt holds everything in place.
The belt of truth helps us to be grounded in the Word regarding who God is, what He has done through Christ’s redemptive work, what God has said in His Word, thereby girding our loin with His truth and thus enabling us to stand.
The Word is able to differentiate between the work of the devil and God. It will help us to identify the work of the devil and have the ability to resist him or refuse to accept those things that he throws at us to torment us or cause us to think that it is the hand of God instead.
The breast plate of righteousness helps us know the free gift of our right standing with God obtained by the abundance of God’s grace through Jesus becoming sin for us. Jesus dealt with the sin problem that separated us from God. We are justified because of the blood of Christ! The sandals of readiness of the gospel of peace help us to understand that we have peace with God. We can now experience God’s peace in the midst of the battle. We need to lift up the shield of faith after having soaked in the Word of God so that we will be able to quench the fiery darts of the enemy.
Let’s put on the armor of God to guard our mind and heart against the attacks of the evil one.
Sermon series: Inner Man
