THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD, PART 2

"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Eph 6:11)

PROTECTION IS REQUISITE. For the believer, protection is not optional! Those who do not avail themselves of Divinely provided armor, will not be able to "stand against the wiles of the devil." To put it another way, they will be not able to avoid being deceived.

SHIELD OF FAITH. Faith is the conviction and persuasion of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus – the Gospel. As that persuasion is held before the fiery darts, or infectious thoughts, hurled at us by the devil, they at once lose their attractiveness and power. Faith is here viewed as the conviction of our reconciliation to God. It is more than Eve possessed when she confronted the subtle serpent. It is the "I KNOW" factor of our walk with God. Those who have faith are not confused about who God, is or what he is doing in Christ Jesus. Their faith sees through delusion, thereby robbing it of its power.

HELMET OF SALVATION. Knowing you are saved is imperative. Actually, every person who is born again begins with this knowledge. Although they do not know the extent of this salvation, they do know their sins are forgiven, and they have access to God. Unless that awareness grows, however, Satan will soon break through the mind with his delusions, luring the individual into a manner of thinking and living that actually alienates from God. In First Thessalonians, the Spirit refers to this helmet as "the hope of salvation" (5:8). That is the awareness and persuasion of who we are and where we are going. The goal is not only seen by faith, but the heart is persuaded of our proper place in that goal. This knowledge arms the soul against the "wiles of the devil."

SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. This "sword," we are told, is the Word of God (Eph 6:17). It is the only offensive weapon that we have– but it is highly effective. Delusion cannot be neutralized or diffused by philosophy or mere human reasoning. The sting of temptation cannot be extracted by scholarship, human discipline, or logical arguments. The ONLY sword we have is the Word of God. That is what Jesus used when tempted of the devil, and it effectively repulsed the old serpent. A working knowledge of the Word of God is imperative to overcoming the devil. By "working knowledge," I mean the ability to use the Word of God effectively. For some believers, the Word of God in their hand is like the sword of Goliath in a baby's hand – they simply are not able to use it. But that situation must change. The child of God must grow up, becoming able to bring the Scriptures to bear upon Satan's delusion. If they are to overcome his delusions, this must be done.

PRAYING ALWAYS. Prayer is not only a privilege, it is a necessity. We are not speaking of one kind of prayer, but "ALL prayer." Supplications, praise, thanksgiving, intercession, pouring out our hearts, making our requests known, etc. – they are all part of our Divinely provided protection. "Always" does not mean every single minute, but under all circumstances. That is, no part of life is viewed as separate from God or unrelated to our life in Him. Notice that prayer is to extend beyond ourselves, so that we pray for "all saints." To put it another way, the believer can never step out of the role of a child of God, approaching life as though he was on his own. This prayerful posture makes Satan's wiles more apparent.– Given O. Blakely