The Right Equipment for the Job

Part 2 of Battling the Darkness: Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

No matter how strong we think we are, on our own, the Devil is stronger. If we try to confront him on our own, he will destroy us. As Christians, though, we never need to fight spiritual battles alone. If we are serving Christ, we will be involved in battles with the Enemy. If we never battle him, it's because we're not doing anything for the Lord.

Though attacks may come against us directly, through our emotions and thoughts, they often come through other people. Whatever form they take, though, the moving force is always the same. Satan is not omnipresent, but he commands an army of demons, organized into a hierarchy. Some believe that Paul's terms here refer to the levels of the Devil's organization, with principalities being the local organizations, powers the next level up, then the world rulers, followed by Satan himself and his inner council. However that may be, the Devil is the main enemy, and in addressing him, we are addressing all of those malignant spirits who serve him.

Ancient warriors had to contend with a variety of dangers in battle.  They faced volleys of arrows, which they caught with their shields; spear and sword thrusts, which they deflected either with their shields or breastplate; or rocks or other missiles aimed at their head, which they protected with a helmet.  Before the battle began, they thrust their bottom garments, similar to skirts, up under their belts.  This, and securely fastening on their shoes, helped them to maneuver more easily in battle.

We should never retreat before Satan; the Bible says if we resist him, he will flee from us (James 4:7), and this is what Paul is discussing: how to resist the Devil. Retreat should never be a part of our vocabulary when it comes to spiritual warfare; even the use of the term for a time away from the world is not really consistent with any concept in scripture. When Satan comes against us, we are to stand fast, confident in God's power.

Each piece of armor is suited for a particular kind of spiritual attack. Our loins, physically, are our most vulnerable and sensitive organs, and a favorite target of an enemy is hand-to-hand combat. Spiritually, this represents the truth of the Gospel, the fact that Jesus Christ is who he says he is, and that he accomplished for each of us what he claimed to do. Our loins also represent our emotions in ancient terminology (as in the term "bowels of mercies"). If the Devil can cause us sufficient emotional turmoil, so that our reason is clouded, we may begin to doubt the truth of what we first believed. Reacting with depression or anger or despair to spiritual attacks weakens our ability to resist what the Devil throws against us, and can cause to doubt the truth of the Word. Satan may also attack us through lust, especially sexual lust, and no other emotional response more explicitly refers to the loins. Scripture says that lust wars against our very soul (1 Peter 2:11), and to combat it we must understand both its source, and its effects. Truth is revealed in God's Word, which is both a defensive and offensive weapon.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)  The truth is what God's Word proclaims.  The truth is that Jesus was God come in the flesh, wholly man and wholly God.  The truth is that Jesus died for the sins of us all, and that in him we have eternal life.  If we, as believers, stand on that truth, everything else will fall into place.  If we aren't "girt up" with the truth, we are less able to "maneuver" to avoid Satan's attacks.

The breastplate protects the heart, the core of who we are, and the lungs, the breath of life. An attack on the heart, especially, can result in immediate death. Righteousness refers to our witness, our behavior toward others, our standing as God's children. Sinful behavior, especially if it is persistent, can destroy our witness in the world. The righteousness we have, like truth, isn't part of our natural equipment; it comes from Christ. That's why we have to continually "put it on"; we can only lay claim to righteousness to the extent that the Holy Spirit controls our behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. Satan's attacks attempt to reach us in our most vulnerable areas, particularly a besetting sin. This may be temptation to indulge in the same kind of sexual lust referred to above; the same sin may affect us in several different ways. We will not resort to fornication or theft or murder if we hold to the standards of righteousness that God gives us.  Righteousness is what we present to the world, if we are Christ's.  Without it, our humanity is exposed, which will never bear the test of righteousness.  We become the targets of gossip, and are charged with hypocrisy, or pretending to be something we are not.  Righteousness refers to our testimony, with which we defeat Satan (Revelation 12:11).

Our feet enable us to stand fast, and to maneuver in battle. Our shoes protect our feet from stones and other obstacles on the ground around us. The image here involves the command to go and share the Gospel with all nations, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15). To the extent we do that, and people receive Christ, Satan has fewer human instruments at his disposal. We can't do that on our own; the power to spread the Gospel comes from Christ as well. If all we ever do is rest in our own salvation, and never share the good news with others, we strengthen the Devil's ability to attack us.  Why does sharing the Gospel require preparation?  Because we can't share something we don't have.  In order to witness to others of our faith, we must first understand what our faith is.  Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!  In the sense of sharing the Good News with others, we are all commanded to be preachers.  When we're armed with the Gospel, Satan cannot easily attack our witness.

The fiery darts of Satan are the circumstances he manipulates to attack us, through our families, our finances, or our health, among many other ways. That's how he attacked Job, by destroying all he held dear, and how he still launches attacks against God's people. Faith says "No matter what happens, I still trust that God is in control." Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15a). Even if God sees fit for Satan's agents to take our very lives, our physical lives, from us, he is still in control. Jesus said we should not fear those who can only kill the body, but can't touch our soul (Matthew 10:28). Fear is the enemy of faith, and its opposite. Faith sees past the darkness, through the storm, and looks to God's care even when overwhelming force comes against us (Psalms 91).

When it comes to talking about what faith is, there are several distinct, but related, answers. It's similar to the definition of "love", for which we have one word in English, but for which the Greeks had at least three, perhaps four. The first "type" of faith, if we can call it a type, is saving faith. When we agree to, and accept, the idea that we are dead in sin, and that only Christ can give us life and freedom, faith goes on to the next step of asking forgiveness, and accepting the gift of eternal life. Faith always involves trust, and action based on that trust. That's why it just isn't belief; as James said, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Real faith is always alive. What about proof? The proof of saving faith is the witness of others who believe, the witness of the Word of God, and, especially, the witness of the Spirit that salvation is real, and Jesus is the only way to attain to it. It's like when we fly in a plane, as a passenger; we have absolutely nothing to do with why planes work, or with getting them where they're supposed to go. We accept the fact (for the most part) that when we climb into a jet, we will come out again at our destination. Unlike planes, though, there is absolutely no chance that we will "crash" on our way to eternity..

The next type of "faith" is the ongoing relationship with God that gets us through the course of each day, faith which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God; just as we can't be saved by doing good works, neither can be hope to gain God's favor as believers because of what we can "do". We can't be righteous on our own, but, like Abraham, our faith is accounted to us for righteousness (Romans 4:22). Rather than being a point of discouragement, this should be a cause of rejoicing. We don't always have to worry about whether or not a vengeful God will whack us over the head when we step out of line. We don't have to do great things to earn his love; his love is based on our relationship, not with what we do. Nonetheless, faith means we trust God to the extent of being obedient, then relying on his power and strength to accomplish what we could never do on our own. If the Lord calls us, for example, to teach Sunday School, and we've never taught before, and have no training in that direction, faith says that we will succeed as a teacher because God will give us the knowledge and abilities we need. As the old saying goes, God doesn't want our ability, but our availability.

Finally, for purposes of this discussion, faith includes the willingness to accept, or believe, what our senses cannot confirm, because God says it is so. The proof exists in our own minds and hearts, in the internal consistency of God's Word, and indirectly in the pattern and design of the world around us. Further, faith is real because the results of what we see, and do, are always consistent with what faith says they will be. God created the universe because it functions according to his plan and design; so-called science constantly has to revise its "laws" and theories because new information constantly shows they are flawed. They are "ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). Both saving faith and the faith of a daily walk are based ultimately in our belief that God is who he says is true, and that he "is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him". Our very faith, the fact that we have it, Hebrews says, is itself evidence that what we believe is true. Although believing in Christ as Savior involves our choice, the very faith to believe, and act, is itself is a gift of God. Not only can we not have righteousness without faith, we can't faith the God who gives it.  The darts that Satan throws at us are circumstances that cause us to doubt that what we believe is really true. No matter how bad things become, with our families, our jobs, our finances, our health, or any other area of our lives, faith proclaims that God is still in control.

Our mind makes decisions and choices, and is the seat of the will. Salvation is a choice, and once we make that choice, we are protected from changing our minds, and deciding we aren't saved after all. Satan loves to make Christians doubt they are really saved, especially by pointing out how badly they've behaved lately. If he can get us to believe that our continued salvation is tied to our behavior, not to our standing as children of God, he can plant doubts in our mind. The helmet of salvation is assurance, the confident knowledge that we are Christ's no matter what, and that Christ paid for our sins, whether committed before or after we were saved. To the extent that we believe and understand that, and submit our choices and will to God's control, we have the mind of Christ, which is proof against any of Satan's attacks.

In the next section, we will look at our offensive weapons against Satan: the Sword of the Spirit, and prayer (which is actually both an offensive weapon).

Coming next: The Sword Is Mightier than the Pens