Putting on the Full Armor of God - Defense (1)

The following verses are in a book written by a spiritual leader named Paul. He has started a church in a city called Ephesus. He left to start some other churches and wrote back to the Ephesian church. He gets spiritual warfare. We’re not reading the advice of some boot-camp private.

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 firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
16 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.
Ephesians 6:13-17 (ESV)

These are metaphors for the spiritual resources that we have in Christ.

God has all power and can do anything He desires. He can command Satan not to even touch you. God can remove the devil any time He wants.

And that’s what some of us want. We just don’t want anything bad to happen to us. Some of us blame a lost filling or a broken water heater or a flat tire on spiritual warfare. So, we want to get tools to keep the bad stuff from happening.

But it seems that God is not really interested in limiting Satan’s access to your life. Limiting the devil is not what He wants to be the basis of our victory. Instead, God wants us to draw strength from Him in this fight.

It connects us with Him. It shows off His love. And when we win in His strength, He gets greater glory. One of the things he gives us in our battle is battle-gear. The Lord has not left us defenseless.