God’s Armor
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Yes, we are just ordinary people, but we do not win our fights only by our own strength. We have effective weapons capable of defeating any opponent. … with them we destroy the human fabrication And all that rises in pride against the knowledge of God. them We subdue each thought to obedience to Christ. (SNC, ČEP and B21)
Ephesians 6
with what armament into the fight of faith
We will read about God’s armor in To the letter of Ephesians 6:10-20:
You will only be strong in connection with Christ – Then his great power will be in you as well.
Arm yourself up to the teeth of God’s armament to face the devil’s traps.
After all, our struggle is not directed against the people, but against the forces of the invisible spiritual realm, against the powers of evil and darkness, which control the relations between people and nations. So let nothing of God’s arsenal be missing in your arsenal – that’s the only way to resist the enemy’s attack when it strikes.
Stand then girded on the shoulders by the truth,
Dressed in the armor of justice,
legs shod in preparation for service Gospel of Room;
To take it all gable of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one.
by helmet May you be assured of ultimate victory (Redemption).
And grab sworde the spirit it is God’s word.
Are you wondering how you will get it all? There is only one way: Pray today and every day, the Spirit of God is ready to help you. Pray For Christians all over the world and also for me intercede,
To always receive the true word from God and to be able to proclaim the truth about Christ without fear, …. in order to…he could bravely fulfill your mission. … (SNC and B21)
Note that this is a challenge or command. It is not a possibility in the sense of “you could wear God’s armor” or as a recommendation. Simply –Arm yourself up to the teeth of God’s equipment!
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We recommend learning this by heart:
by helmet I am assured salvation. I’m putting on armor of God’s justice And I take it in my hand gable of faith. I’m basting the belt of truth (Jesus is truth and love) and I hold firmly sword of God’s word. I’m putting on gospel shoes And I am ready – at any time and with anyone – to share God’s love.
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verse-by-verse text analysis
The city of Ephesus was one of the big cities of Greece in Asia Minor (today on the territory of Turkey) and we believe that the armor of the then soldier was chosen as an image because the addressees of the paper at that time knew well what it looked like, how it worked and could So understand the content of the message on a spiritual level.
Verse 10 ‘Finally, my brothers, strengthen yourself in the Lord and in the predominance of his strength.’
Our strength is the connection with Jesus, it is his power that wins. We have this power in him. We are not able to survive on our own. Let’s not forget it!
verse 11 ‘Put all the armament of God so that you can stand against the devil’s traps.’
If we have to put on armor, then that means we didn’t wear it before. We have to strive for complete and flawless armor. All its parts are important, so not one of them should be missing, otherwise we would be weakened. The devil’s seductions will come, no Christian will avoid them. We can resist because we have victory in Jesus.
Verse 12 ‘For our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against governments, against authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly regions.’
We should not be fooled and fight against the wrong enemies. Our opponents are never humans (in the ecumenical translation it is used ‘against human enemies’), but Satan and his servants. They can use unbelieving people (and even Christians!) to harm us, but we need to look at people with the gaze of Jesus and love them as much as he does. Part of the tactic of Satan’s struggle is to distract our attention to the fight against the people, he himself tries to stay hidden. At this time, Satan has a limited, but still some rule over the world. He knows that he is defeated by Jesus, but He behaves like an enemy on the retreat, trying to do as much damage as possible as long as possible.
We are not given a list of specific tactics of Satan, but even his army has its own structure and all his spiritual beings are not equally strong. However, we do not believe that it is important to examine this structure in any particular way, because in Christ we have victory over every dark spiritual being.
verse 13 ‘Therefore, take your whole God’s armor so that you can resist the evil day, do everything and stand still.’
Bad days are coming in the life of each of us. If we don’t fight for a long time, we can lose our vigilance and let ourselves be lulled into peace and comfort. Then such a bad day catches us by surprise. If we have God’s armor on us, we will not fall, but we will remain standing firm. Unshakable – with God’s emotional stability.
verse 14 ‘So stand on your shoulders with the truth, clothed in the armor of justice’
The main tool of Satan’s attack is a lie, it is called ‘The father of lies” byJohn 8:44 Your father is the devil and you are doing what he whispers to you.. When he talks he is lying because it is his nature. is a liar and the father of a lie). Fraud is high on the list of things that God considers abominations. “Liding Language” is one of the things he describes as “absence” byProverbs 6:16-19 These six things are hated by the Lord and the seventh is an abomination for him: haughty eyes, a treacherous tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, hearts making wicked plans, feet quickly rushing for evil, a crooked witness who spreads lies, and he who causes strife among the brothers).
That’s why the first part of the armament is The Belt of Truth. (Jesus-love) On this belt hangs the sword of the spirit, it must be a strong and firm belt. If we believe some lies about ourselves, about people, about the world, about God, Will the sword be poorly available for us in the area and breaks easily. If we ask what the truth is, then we will find the answer in Jesus’ statement written in the Gospel according to John 14:6: ‘I’m the one the way, Truth And life.”
by armor (armor) of justice is our life without conscious sin. Armor protects our most sensitive parts – our heart, to be clean With a clear identity of God’s children. Ours lung, so that we can breathe freely and We were not drawn to any wrong, malice, fear. If there are holes in our armor, Satan’s attacks will be devastating to us.
It is necessary to distinguish the justice of this world (which is judged by human laws) and the justice of God (assessed by God’s demands). Christians are justified through faith in Jesus Christ. (We know the Galatians 2:16 that man cannot be justified by the works of the law, but only by faith in Jesus Christ).
The goal is to stay standing – not to be brought to your knees. And if it knocks us down, stand up quickly again. We shouldn’t even run (because the armor only protects us from the front), We are to oppose.
verse 15 ‘Foods shod in preparation for the service of the gospel of peace;’
Boots symbolize our readiness Moving in Satan’s territory and thwarting his deeds, taking away the people he captured, salute them. say openly the gospel to everyone to whom the Holy Spirit will lead us. Readiness to spread the gospel is part of armor – we cannot pretend that the struggle for the unsaved does not concern us. It will weaken ourselves too.
In the 4th chapter of the paper, we read that some were called up as evangelists, but that means that this is the primary service of some of us. Spreading the gospel differently is the task of every Christian.
verse 16 ‘For all this, take the Shield of the Faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one.’
gable of faith – What is it made up of, what strengthens it? Faith grows from hearing – from God’s speech to us, from God’s living word to our specific situation. It also grows from the experience we already have from the fight. From knowing what God is like and that he is truly a winner.
The shield is supposed to be wet (the soldiers soaked the shields before the fight, by the way) to put out the fire missiles. We need streams of living water of the Holy Spirit so that our faith does not dry up.
Shots are mainly lies, deceptive thoughts, which cause uncertainty, fear, anger, pride, etc.. The devil also gives us ideas that distract us from important things (God’s will). He doesn’t want us to be good soldiers, so It upsets our discipline, training in combat, armor care, time with other fighters…
verse 17 ‘And take the salvation helmet and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’
helmet of salvation It protects our minds with the certainty of salvation and forgiveness of sins. Satan tries to attack us with lies about our guilt and condemnation. In Christ’s sacrifice we are forgiven and our guilt no longer reminds us of. – Romans 8:1 Now then there is none conviction (struggling over what we did wrong) For those who are in Christ Jesus And it does not follow the body, but according to the spirit.
sword = God’s word. It is necessary to feed on God’s word, so that it is not only our food, but also the sword of the Spirit. As it is written that ‘He also made us fit to be servants of the new covenant, not of letters, but of spirit; For the letter kills, but the spirit revives.” (2 Corinthians 3:6), so it is important that the word in us is animated by the Holy Spirit.
Let’s study God’s word, Let’s learn key verses for us by heart, let’s meditate on the word And let’s learn to use it. It is too late to start ‘creating a sword’ only when the battle is raging. The correct sword is double-edged and sharp. we must have him Ready to fight.
When Jesus was tempted in the desert, each time he repulsed Satan with the word of God. What a blessing that the same word is available to us! We sometimes use the sword on ourselves too— we break ungodly bonds with it with other people, customs, we break the curse (including family) etc.
Hebrews 4:12 God’s word is alive, assertive and sharp as a sharpened double-edged sword. It penetrates our personality and spirit, our motivations and the circumstances in which we live, it analyzes our feelings and thinking.
verse 18 ‘With every prayer and request, pray at all times with the Spirit and watch it with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (believers).’
Our only chance for a good fight is Life of Prayer, closeness to God and guidance and subjection to the Holy Spirit, That our life will become one great prayer. This is the way we draw spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without relying on God, our efforts in spiritual wars are empty and futile. Full armor of God – truth, justice, gospel, faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer – are the tools that God gave us, through which we can be spiritual victors, overcome by Satan’s attacks and temptations.
We are to pray with the Spirit, which includes prayer in languages.
Our life includes vigilance and perseverance – it is the life of a warrior, a soldier for Christ.
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the life of a (God’s) soldier
Let’s imagine that we are really at war and that we are facing battles with a seasoned and dangerous opponent. What does the life of such a soldier look like?
- He maintains order and condition in his life so as not to be lazy (times of prayer, praise, time with other believers, Bible studies, evangelization, service). We recommend the Christian decathlon :).
- When he has already accepted something into his life, learned something, strengthened himself in something, he sticks to it and develops it further. ‘Research everything, stick to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
- He practices with weapons that he keeps in order.
- He is full of good food and takes care of his health and fitness. He is not fed up with what harms him, what makes him fat and what makes him sick.
- He is careful about what he says and what he does.
- He does not let the poison of this world into his mind – he chooses movies, books, music, conversations with people.
- He is devoted to the commander and obeys his orders. He identifies with the commander’s goal, for him he is willing to fight, possibly even injured, or even lose his life. He only goes where the commander sends him. He himself does not initiate the fights he would like to fight. Recognizes lower officers (pastors, etc.).
- He works in a team because he knows that solo lunges in enemy territory are risky and he needs others to cover his back. He respects the strengths and gifts of others, learns to cooperate and use his strengths to the fullest.
- He knows the enemy and studies his tactics, does not underestimate him and is alert.
- He keeps patrols. He knows that an attack can come at an unexpected time and treacherously.
- He does not settle on the path of combat. He knows he’s on a war campaign, so he doesn’t build up unnecessary things in his tent that would reduce his ability to act and his willingness to move.
- He knows that he moves in enemy territory, but his home is in the heavens.
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Prayer
Dear Jesus, I know I can’t do it without you! I’m begging you, connect me with you – I immediately become strong and invincible!
I am now arming myself to the teeth with all of God’s armament so that I can face the devil’s attacks. Whether it’s a fight in my mind or in my relationships with others, I don’t want to fight against myself or with people, I know that my struggle is with the invisible forces of the spiritual realm. Therefore, in order to win over them, I must put on the armor of God. unabled
Thank you that I already have the salvation helmet permanently on, I am sure of the final victory – that I will live in heaven forever.
I gird myself with the truth (by you – love) and put on the armor of your righteousness. I dip the shield of faith in the Holy Spirit and repulse all the burning devil’s bullets.
I put on my shoes good news Gospel, I’m ready to share God’s love.
With your sword of God’s word, I attack, read it, learn it by heart, and regularly quote it to the enemy.
I also pray for other Christians, especially those close to me and for those who guide me spiritually. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
