Topic: Armour of the Mighty Warrior. Category: Power> Truth>
Bible Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-13, Ephesians 1:19-23, Ephesians 6:14-17.
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In this world of inequality and injustice, chaos and confusion, thoughts and fears, isolation and loneliness, there is an underlying battle. The battle that has already been won. A victory that is to be possessed, lived in and appropriated. That is to stand in the confidence and hope in the One who has overcome it all.
Ephesians 6:10-13 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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.
resurrection power
The good news is we do not empower ourselves. We are made strong by the One who has overcome it all. This extraordinary power of His might is not the power of His miracles, as awesome as they are. This power toward us is even greater and way beyond that. It is His dominion. That is His exceeding great power and ultimate authority to rule and reign over all things. The eternal power of the Lord God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth and all things good. The power of the Great I Am who spoke light into the darkness and created something out of nothing.
The exceeding greatness of His power and authority is toward us. That is us who have received Jesus as saviour and Lord.
Ephesians 1:19-23 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
This amazing power and dominion of God is working on behalf of all who have received and believed in Him. It is incomparable to any other power, thing or circumstance. The ultimate demonstration of God’s power and dominion over all things was in the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ.
absolute power and authority
God the Father gave Jesus absolute power and authority, complete dominion over all the powers, over every created thing and every circumstance, for us.
The gift of Jesus to us and His dominion over all things is life-giving and life-changing.
Praise God for exercising His mighty power in raising Christ from the dead and exalting Him to be head over all things for us. Jesus is exalted as head over the church, that is His body. We are His body and the powers of evil and our flesh are under our feet.
Let’s think about this for a minute. Jesus comes from the heart of the Father. He lived, died and rose from the dead. God the Father exalted Jesus to be head over all things as a gift to us. He did all this so that we may live in the fullness of His victory. As the church or body of Jesus, we too are raised up and seated with Jesus. Spiritually we are with Him in the heavenly realms. That is above all principalities and powers.
clothed in His armour
We become one with God, immersed in Him and His armour.
He supplies all we need to stand in His victory. We are clothed in God’s armour. The armour that He wore when He came in human form as the messiah, the Christ.
The Armour is God Himself. We are clothed in Him and His armour.
Hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth as a man, the prophet Isaiah described Him. He said He is the Lord of Hosts, a mighty warrior clothed in truth, righteousness or rightness, equality and justice. He brings salvation, freedom and peace. Therefore each piece of armour is part of who He is and the gift of Himself. What an incredible gift!
the armour of the mighty warrior
In the context of Ephesians the purpose of being clothed in God’s armour is so that every disciple might be able to stand in the confidence and hope of His victory.
Stand in this context is in direct relationship with God’s exceeding great power and armour. It is, to cause or make to stand, to make firm, fix, establish, to set in balance and be safe.
It is God who gives us Himself and empowers us to stand.
To put on the whole armour means to literally sink into, in other words be immersed in God Himself, having been identified with Him.
Let us look at the armour of the mighty warrior in detail. They are truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God.
Ephesians 6:14-17 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
truth
First piece of the armour of the mighty warrior is truth. Only God, the creator of heaven and earth and all things good can determine what is truth. Truth is not some relative thing that we can decide to be true. Truth is defined by God. Jesus said, know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
The truth of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is not only the truth of who God is and what He has done and will do, but the truth of who we are in Him. Jesus is the truth and the very essence of who He is, becomes who we are.
Truth in Jesus envelopes us and supports everything we do. With the truth of God revealed in Jesus fastened around our waist, we stand against the destructive lies and deceptions of evil and self. Every piece of armour is being clothed in the very essence of God and His own armour. His truth, the truth, the absolute truth defined by the One who is faithful and true.
righteousness
Second is righteousness. Righteousness is equality, justice, rightness, correctness and in the context of identity innocent, equal, morally upright character.
The breastplate of righteousness. Once again none of these things can be determined or manufactured by ourselves. Only God is just, fair, right, correct and true, delivering true justice of equality. He is the only one who is innocent, totally pure and has a prefect character of integrity.
In the context of putting on the armour that God Himself wore as the messiah, His breastplate of righteousness protects the heart. That is the place where motives are formed and dwell. God does everything out of pure love and His selfless character. His motive is always right and true.
With His righteousness covering or guarding our heart, our emotions, our motives are protected from the power and control of evil and the selfishness of our flesh nature. This righteousness of God that guards our heart becomes our identity in Him. We wear and live in His righteousness and are identified with Him.
peace
The third item of the armour of the mighty warrior is peace. This word that has been translated as peace, is a quietness and rest regardless of circumstances. This peace is also prosperity in possessing every spiritual blessing and living in dominion over evil and selfishness or the flesh.
As we are one in Christ, He is our peace in us. With the armour being the very essence of God and bringing peace being especially significant in His act of salvation through the messiah, being shod with the gospel of peace means we carry His truth of the good news of Jesus into every situation.
Shod is to bind on, to stay firmly under the feet in order to stand on and in, the gospel or good news of peace. In Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we have peace for today, having been reconciled to God, living in His kingdom of equality and respect, peace and harmony, in this troubled world damaged by evil.
We also live in a future hope when all things will be reconciled and renewed, where there is no evil and peace rules and reigns over and in a new heaven and a new earth.
faith
Fourth piece of the armour of the mighty warrior is faith. Faith in this context can mean the faith of Jesus the Messiah. He completely and totally trusted in the Father and was surrendered to His will. His faithfulness was in and to the Father.
As we are one in Him, His faithfulness becomes the shield against the fiery darts of the evil one and the outworking of the fruit He produces in us. So in His faithfulness we are faithful. His shield covers our entire body. Taking the shield of faith is to receive, raise up to action. To receive His gift of Himself and raise up to action His faithfulness, is to be protected from the clutches of the evil one.
The fiery darts are every kind of attack from the evil one, whose sole motive is to steal, rob, kill and destroy. Fuelled by hate for God and all things good, the evil one uses lies and deception about God and self.
Praise God in Jesus’ faithfulness we can be protected from the destructive forces of evil.
salvation
Fifth is Salvation. God’s free gift of Himself provides our salvation. We cannot earn our salvation and we certainly don’t deserve it. Yet He provided the way and paid the cost for every offence done and thought against God and each other. In Christ Jesus we are passed from judgement and assured of our salvation.
His helmet of salvation protects our mind from being trapped in strongholds of lies, uncertainty, fear and doubt.
word
The sixth item of God’s armour is His word. That is the spoken or proclaimed word of God. We tear down the lies of satan by proclaiming the truth of His word. This is an audible proclamation of God’s word, speaking light into the darkness.
It is not simply quoting scripture. It is an appointed, anointed word of the truth of who God is, what He has done and how we can receive and live in the victory of Him.
We are appointed and anointed tear down all thoughts and arguments that come against the truth. With His spoken truth we set the captives free and herald in His Kingdom.
to sum up
In Christ Jesus His armour, character and inheritance becomes ours to live in and appropriate. The result is we are strong in His dominion, power and authority. Actively living in His right to rule and reign in this life over evil and self or the flesh.
We stand against the wiles of the evil one that is out worked in the principalities, powers and spiritual hosts of darkness.
Bound by the truth of who God is and who we are in Him.
Being immersed in His faithfulness we become faithful.
We receive an assurance of salvation that protects our thoughts from fear and condemnation.
By His Spirit we hear His spoken word and speak it forth into the spiritual and physical realms, setting the captives free.
Therefore we stand in the armour of the Mighty Warrior, the Great I Am!
Sermon categories: son of man> love of God> hope and healing> know God> truth> power> end times> experience God> life> success in life> kingdom>
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