ARE YOU DRESSED FOR THE BATTLE?
Most of us as Christians, do not realize that we are engaged in a spiritual warfare with the forces of darkness. We are engaged in a spiritual battle with satan and his fallen demonic hosts.
Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 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. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In verse 10 we are commanded to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. We do not enter onto the battlefield in our own strength, because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood. The battle is not with human beings, it's who that is working through them, and according to the word of God, it is the prince of the power of the air, another term that is used to describe satan. Ephesians 2 verses 1 – 2. And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that people are not responsible in anyway for their actions. This is not an excuse for the devil made me do it but if as Christians we are going to be fully prepared for this spiritual battle, we have to understand who the real enemy is. When someone attacks your faith in Christ, who do you think is influencing their thought processes. 1 Corinthians 2 v 14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Until the natural man, puts his faith in Christ as his Savior, he does not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, so we should not be surprised when they act contrary to the things of God. When they say, the Bible is not the word of God, they are just doing what the natural man does, operating without the Spirit of God inside of him. Therefore, if he doesn't have the Spirit of God within him, who do you think is influencing his mind? We are engaged in a spiritual warfare with a formidable foe and his fallen demonic hosts who are determined to destroy our Christian testimony, and we have to be dressed and ready for battle.
In Ephesians chapter 6 vs 14 – 17, we are given our six pieces of spiritual armor, which covers us from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet. Sad to say, many Christians would be hard pressed to even name one piece of their six spiritual armour, let alone all of them. Please don't misunderstand what I am saying here. This is not an indictment against Christians, because at some point in time, everyone of us have been struck down by the enemy, in some area of our lives. However, it's one thing to get struck down, it's a whole different thing to step onto the battlefield without wearing your armor and even worst than this, is not knowing your spiritual armor. How are you going to contend for the faith if you are not dressed for the battle.
Yet this is the very position, that many Christians find themselves in, and end up becoming spiritual casualties. This is why I find it very troubling when I hear Christians say they don't want doctrine, because it is too confusing. How are you going to fight the good fight of faith, without knowing the word of God? The first piece of our spiritual armor is truth, and not just any truth, but the truth of God's word. We should have a rounded knowledge of the whole counsel of God, rightly divided. We are commanded to gird our waist with truth, gird has the idea of strengthening ourselves with the truth of God's word, in preparation for a spiritual battle. That is why it is so crucial to study the Bible, as I said before, how are you going fight a spiritual battle without knowing what your spiritual armor is? We are commanded to put on our spiritual armor, God has already provided the spiritual armor and we have the human responsibility to put it on by faith.