According to herbalist,
“Fresh flowers has its
fleeting beauty that people
be fond of it but when it
withers they have lost their
interest. However, when
flowers dried, it’s the time
we can see its real and
greater value.”
Life is like a rose, despite of
its beauty, it has its thorns.
This represents the duality
of the good and bad that you
encounter in life. As
beautiful as they are every
rose is accompanied by
damaging and unwelcome
thorns.
No rose without a thorn.
- French Proverb
THE WHOLE
ARMOR OF GOD
EPHESIANS 6:11
Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:14-17 lists six pieces of the armor of God:
Belt of truth.
Breastplate of righteousness.
Shoes of the gospel of peace.
Shield of faith.
Helmet of salvation.
Sword of the Spirit.
1.
V.14 Stand therefore, having girded
your waist with truth.
A belt was the first piece of equipment put on, and it
secures all the other pieces of our armor.
Wearing the belt showed that the soldier was ready for
action, since he would only loosen his belt when he
went off duty.
Truth should surround us like a belt. Knowing
God’s truth is the sure fire antidote to Satan’s lies
and deception. And to be truly ready for the
battle, we must be completely truthful ourselves
in our inner being, like our Creator.
2. V. 14 “Having
put on the
breastplate
righteousness”
Without righteousness, we leave ourselves open to Satan’s
attacks. To be righteous is first of all to repent and be forgiven
of our sins, and then to do what is right in God’s eyes. Psalm
119:172 tells us that God’s commandments are righteousness.
So to be righteous is to obey God’s laws of love.
Isaiah 59:17 says that God Himself puts on
righteousness as a breastplate! This may be part of
what inspired Paul to use this analogy. Isaiah 59
starts by explaining that “your iniquities have
separated you from your God” (verse 2). Iniquity is
the opposite of righteousness, so when we give in
to sin without repenting, we are removing our
breastplate and leaving ourselves open to more of
Satan’s attacks.
3. v.15 “And
having shod your
feet with the
preparation of the
Gospel of Peace”
Shoes might not be the most exciting piece of armor, but
the Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary highlights their importance:
“The military successes both of Alexander the Great and of Julius
Caesar were due in large measure to their armies being well shod
and thus able to undertake long marches at incredible speed over
rough terrain.”
The word “preparation,” denoting readiness,
reminds us that we are to be eager to preach
the gospel of peace. The Church of God is
sent to announce the good news of God’s
Kingdom, which will spread His way of
peace around the whole world. Having our
spiritual shoes on, we will be ready to spread
the news to others.
4. V.16 “Above all,
taking the Shield of
Faith which you will be
able to quench all the
fiery dust of the wicked
one”
When our faith in God’s power and love is strong, it is impossible for Satan
to break through our shield and land a blow. Faith means more than just
believing that God exists, of course. It includes a firm belief that everything
God does is truly for our good. Also, faith is the absolute conviction that
God will always do what He has promised (Romans 4:18-21).
Faith protects us in many ways. Think about
Daniel in the lions’ den. Faith was like a force
field to protect Daniel from those vicious
teeth! And Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-
Nego were protected from the fiery furnace!
Faith is powerful and protects us not only
from those physical dangers, but from the
spiritual temptations and dangers.
5. v.17 “And take
the Helmet of
Salvation”
We can receive tremendous hope and comfort by focusing
on the incredible sacrifice Jesus Christ gave to save us and
the wonderful Kingdom that is the goal of our salvation.
This hope protects our minds from the discouragement and
despair in this world.
6. V.17 “The
Sword of the
Spirit, the
Word of
God”
Hebrews 4:12 explains: “For the word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart.”
Remember how Jesus used the Word of God to
defeat Satan (Matthew 4:1-10)? Christ used
scripture quotes three times. He brought to mind the
scriptures that dealt with the situation, that showed
what He should do and that strengthened His
resolve. And so should we.
Oursword won’t stay sharp on its own. We must
continually sharpen it with regular and focused
Bible study.
THANK YOU
AND
GOD BLESS US!
