The Armor of God - By Doug Batchelor01

7/28/2019 The Armor of God - By Doug Batchelor01

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Copyright 2002 byDoug Batchelor

All rights reserved.Printed in the USA.

Published by

Amazing Facts, Inc.P. O. Box 1058Roseville, CA 95678-8058

Edited by Anthony LesterCover Photo by Don Satterlee

Cover Design by Haley TrimmerLayout Design by Greg Solie


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Finally, my brethren, be strong in

the Lord and in the power of Hismight. Put on the whole armor of God,that you may be able to stand against thewiles of the devil. For we do not wrestleagainst flesh and blood, but against

principalities, against powers, against therulers of the darkness of this age, againstspiritual hosts of wickedness in theheavenly places. Therefore take up thewhole armor of God, that you may beable to withstand in the evil day, andhaving done all, to stand. Stand therefore,having girded your waist with truth,having put on the breastplate ofrighteousness, and having shod your feetwith the preparation of the gospel of

peace; above all, taking the shield of faithwith which you will be able to quench allthe fiery darts of the wicked one. And takethe helmet of salvation, and the sword ofthe Spirit, which is the word of God;

praying always with all prayer and

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down to the present day. This should not

surprise us, for Jesus predicted, And yeshall hear of wars and rumours of wars. ...For nation shall rise against nation, andkingdom against kingdom (Matthew24:6, 7).

However, the primary focus ofScripture is the ongoing conflict betweenChrist and Satan. Revelation speaks thatwhat began as a cosmic war in heavenwill soon end in Armageddon. In thisshowdown between the forces of goodand the powers of evil, truth and light areunder constant attack from deceptionand darkness.

And like it or not, every single one ofus is involved. The battleground for thisintense spiritual struggle is not somepiece of earthly real estate; it is thehuman heart. Both Jesus and the devil

are supremely interested in winning

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Although our armor and weapons

are spiritual, this does not mean they areunreal or ineffective. For though wewalk in the flesh, we do not war after the

flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare arenot carnal, but mighty through God to

the pulling down of strong holds) (2Corinthians 10:3, 4).

Paul also makes it clear that theChristians commitment to his cause andCommander should be as real andcomplete as for any earthly soldier. Youtherefore must endure hardship as a goodsoldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged inwarfare entangles himself with the affairsof this life, that he may please him whoenlisted him as a soldier (2 Timothy2:3, 4, NKJV).

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could see firsthand how frail the defenses

of man were against the prince ofdarkness. This is why he twiceemphasized the armor of God.It is alsoclear that Paul was expanding on thewords of the Old Testament prophet

Isaiah, who had made a similar spiritualassociation for two of the articles ofarmor. For he put on righteousness as abreastplate, and an helmet of salvationupon his head (Isaiah 59:17).

Now that we have established that weare to wear the armor of God and not ofman, we must be careful not to miss theadmonition to wear all of the articlesGod provides. Ephesians 6:11 cautions,

Put on the whole armour of God,andEphesians 6:13 declares, Wherefore takeunto you the whole armour of God. Thisis where many Christians fail. They takesome of the armor, but forget one or two

parts of the suitand pay an eternalprice for their neglect.

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sword of Gods Word, but without the

belt of truth they come to recklessconclusions.

Several years ago, I served as a camppastor by a lake where we were teaching a

group of boys to water ski barefoot. Inorder to ski barefoot, it is necessary to gomuch faster than when wearing regularskis to stay on top of the water. When askier falls at these high speeds, it is notuncommon for him to aggressively rolland bounce across the surface of thewater before sinking.

One evening, we were making a finalattempt to teach a determined 11-year-old camper to ski barefoot. As the boatroared along at about 40 mph, for afleeting moment he was skiingbutthen in a flash, he tumbled and began tobounce and roll across the surface of the

lake like a skipping stone. When we

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truth. Never forget that wearing the belt

of truth also means wearing Christ, forHe is the way, the truth, and the life(John 14:6). This is why Paul said: For asmany of you as have been baptized intoChrist have put on Christ. (Galatians

3:27, emphasis added).

Breastplate of Righteousness

T he breastplate was an importantarticle of defense that protected thefront torso and all of the vital organsfrom a mortal wound. It was oftencomposed of a solid piece of metal, but itcould also contain numerous smallpieces that were sewn to cloth or leatherthat overlapped much like the scales of a

fish. These scales could number as many

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righteousness of Jesus covers our hearts

and that we are forgiven.

Another interesting aspect of thebreastplate was that it offered noprotection to the persons back. It was

assumed that soldiers would not turntheir backs toward the enemy to retreat.Likewise, Christian soldiers should standfirm and never surrender any ground tothe devil. Instead, let the devil flee from

your steadfast loyalty. Submit yourselvestherefore to God. Resist the devil, andhewill flee from you(James 4:7, emphasisadded). This was the strategy employedby Jesus to emerge victorious after beingtempted by the devil in the wilderness.Then Jesus said to him, Away with you,Satan! For it is written, You shallworship the Lord your God, and Him only

you shall serve. Then the devil left Him(Matthew 4:10, 11, NKJV).

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up that shield of faith and do everything

in your power to keep as much distanceas possible between you and thetemptation. If we yield without a fight,we are in reality inviting temptation.

The shield was not held loosely in thesoldiers hand, but was firmly strapped tohis forearm so he could resist the mightyblows of an enemys sword without fearof dropping it. Likewise, Christianscannot afford to have a flimsy faith whilein the heat of spiritual battle.

The shields of old were also often of adistinctive nature, sometimes markedwith the insignia or name of the king to

help soldiers avoid fighting their owncomrades in the confusion of battle. Inthe same way, when the devil sends hisflaming arrows of temptation, we are tohold up the shield bearing the name of

our King of kings, Jesus. Through faith in

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In another instance, simply wearing a

helmet improperly proved to be a fatalmistake. The giant Goliath becameoutraged that young David would darecome against him with nothing morethan a shepherds staff and sling in his

hand. Goliaths haughtiness apparentlyprompted him to carelessly push back hishelmet, because minutes later a smoothstone from Davids sling had sunk deepinto the giants forehead (1 Samuel17:40-49).

Some professed Christians haverocks in the head from neglecting towear their helmets. But the purpose forthis helmet of salvation is not only to

keep out the rocks, but also to keep in thebrains! Your mind should not be open toanything and everything. As we studyand come to understand Gods Word,there should be a settling into the truth

that we should no longer be children,

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God will resole them every time we

return to the cross. If we are faithful, Hewill say to us as He did to the children ofIsrael: Your sandals have not worn outon your feet (Deuteronomy 29:5,NKJV).

Sword of Gods Word

The sword was the most commonweapon in battle. Indeed, the word

sword appears 449 times in Scripture.The other armaments in Gods arsenalare defensive in nature, but the sword isprimarily an offensive weapon. In fact,

the sword of Gods Word is what Jesusused against the devil and it also gave thebeast of Revelation 13 a deadly wound(Revelation 13:3, 14). When Jesus said, Idid not come to bring peace but a sword,

He was not saying that He, the Prince of

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personal use. Like the Philippian jailer,

we must be ready to apply the sword ofGods Word to ourselves (Acts 16:27).

Ancient soldiers also used theirswords for cooking, splitting kindling,

and for cutting the ropes that boundtheir captives to set them free. Likewise,the Word of God is a practical tool forevery area of life, as well as in fighting thedevil. In Bible times, there was nostainless steel. A sword unused becamerusty, dull, and pitted. Swords were keptclean by frequent use or by honing themagainst a stone (the Rock of Ages) oranother soldiers sword. Ironsharpeneth iron (Proverbs 27:17).

Likewise, when we study the Bible withothers, our skill in the Word issharpened. A soldier traveling in enemyterritory never left his sword out ofreach. In the same way, a Christian

should be ready always to give an

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Watch and pray, that ye enter notinto temptation(Matthew 26:41).

Take ye heed, watch and pray: forye know not when the time is(Mark 13:33).

Therefore let us not sleep, as doothers; but let us watch and besober(1 Thessalonians 5:6).

Be sober, be vigilant; because youradversary the devil, as a roaringlion, walketh about, seeking whomhe may devour(1 Peter 5:8).

All prayer is essentially the samething as praying without ceasing (1Thessalonians 5:17). This does not meanwe go about on our knees all day; rather,we must be constantly aware of Gods

presence and that there is an enemy

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Gods soldiers, stop simply discussing

His commands and begin obeying them.Fight the good fight of faith(1 Timothy6:12). If we dont stand for something,we will fall for anything.

During a fierce Civil War battle, oneUnion company was fighting under ahail of bullets to take a strategic hill fromthe Confederacy. After making progresshalfway up the hill, the weary soldiersbecame discouraged by the constantbarrage and began to retreat back downthe hill. Then they noticed that theirstandard bearer, who carried thecompany flag, refused to fall back. Astandard bearers job was to hold the flag

over the territory occupied by his army.Bring the standard down to us, shoutedthe young mans cohorts. But despite thefact that cannons were exploding allaround him, this courageous soldier was

unwilling to yield an inch. He called

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made a promise to God, and the force of

that commitment has not diminished atall over time. When you enlisted in Godsarmy, you promised to work in andattend the church, return your tithe,dress modestly, eat and drink to the gloryof God, and care for your body temple.God calls you to be extraordinary anddifferentto stand firm in a world ofgutless wonders. If youve been temptedto retreat, turn around and come back upto His standard.

Final Victory

I n closing, I want to assure you thatalthough we are in a war, we need notfear. Gods Word tells us how the battlewill end and who will be the final victor.The One who forged our armor

guarantees its effectiveness and promises

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18:3, 4), so Jesus gives us all we need to be

assured of total and final victory.

Till then, well fight for the day whenThey shall beat their swords into

plowshares, and their spears intopruninghooks: nation shall not lift upsword against nation, neither shall theylearn war any more.(Isaiah 2:4).

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The Armor of God - By Doug Batchelor01

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