“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” Ephesians 6:13 NLT
Many believers and unbelievers today do not want to “deal” with a world we cannot see when they assume that world we do see is hard enough to “deal” with. It is not out of place to encourage Christians to first believe in the spiritual realm before subject of the spiritual warfare can be properly understood. Someone once spoke about a two year old child who is fond of closing her eyes and placing a blanket over her head, believing that no one can see her because she cannot see them. Many Christians have the tendency to act like this child. Just because they have not developed the spiritual sensitivity does not mean it does not exist.
What then is Spiritual Warfare? Simply put,It is the unseen and overwhelming battles that rage around and within humans each day. The next thing is to be clear on what the nature of this Spiritual Warfare is. Apostle Paul wrote the people in Ephesus to say “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NLT. Please note that we are not fighting against flesh, people or things we see but against evil rulers and authority of the unseen world and evil spirits in the heavenly places.
To further shed light on the nature of this battle Paul again told the people of Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NIV that “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NIV. This means, the battle is a Spiritual one and should not be tackled with physical strength or human knowledge.
With this simple fact, it is not going to be possible to win a battle of this nature if believers do not put on the appropriate instrument of war – the whole armour of God. The stress on the whole armour is not overblown because as the saying goes that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. ” If one goes to the battle with the enemy and a piece of armour is missing, there is bound to be tragedy. The enemy will definitely strike at the weak point.
The whole armour therefore as outlined in Ephesians 6 contains the following:
- The belt of truth -Truth is important
- The body armour of God’s righteousness. -Not human righteousness.
- Peace that comes from the Good News.
- The shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
- Salvation as the helmet- Salvation is key.
- The sword of the Spirit-the Word of God.
- The place of prayer is equally very important especially Praying in the Spirit. The simple question then is, are you wearing the complete armor? Are you an agent of truth? Do you depend on God’s righteousness since man’s is like a filthy rag? How serious are you about sharing the good news? What is your level of Faith? Is your Salvation guaranteed? How close are you to the Word of God? And finally, Is your prayer life dead or alive?
Beloved, without the whole armour, we will not be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil, but we may become victims at the battle field. God is however willing, able and ready to assist us in any way we are exposed to any form of spiritual attack. Call on Him today. Have a victorious week.