Eph 6: 10-18 Armor of the Lord revisited

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Paul is writing to a church (group of believers) standing in the middle of a pagan culture.  They are under attack.

He starts out writing the first three chapters explaining all the blessings and benefits they have in Christ.

He then outlines all the things that are meant to happen when the things in the first three chapters are realized and utilized.

for example:
chapters 1-3:

“you have been given an engine, a transmission, tires, steering wheel, and a gas pedal. (it has all been put in place into a car on your behalf).”  

chapters 4-6:

“Here’s what you do with it”

1. get into the car
2. start the engine
3. transmission in drive
4. depress the gas pedal
5. steer as you go somewhere

He ends chapter 6 (thereabouts) with a description of the armor of the Lord as a metaphor for the christians status in the war in which he/she finds themself

and what to do with what they have been given. (truth, righteousness, peace with God (and the message about it), faith, salvation, rhema, prayer)

Note that in verses
11. stand against

12. against is used 5 times
13. stand twice more
14. stand firm

stand firm, stand against = do not be moved

(emotionally, intellectually, our beliefs, our convictions)

how ?

stand against what, who ?

Go into fruit vs root issue

(We focus on the wrong one)

Check Eph 3:10

Eph. 3:10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.

God waits for us to demonstrate our authority over the demon (and satan) before He backs/enforces it

One of my favorite books to read is “The Hobbit”

(no matter how many times I read it:

1. I don’t get bored
2. no matter how many times the author tries to make me think this is the end of the line for Bilbo Baggins, I know that he makes it out alive in the end.
3. the dangers in the story don’t affect me in the way that the “danger creator” meant them to do.

my knowledge of how the story ends changes how I am affected by obstacles and dangers in the story line and how my mind responds to these things.
they are changed from real dangers to basically “thrills” in the story line.

We know how the earth story ends and our part in it.
This should change how we respond to the thrills in the story line.

Let’s look at how Paul categories these pieces of armor.

(and lets flip them over and turn them around in light of knowing the end of the story from the beginning)

Paul states what we are fighting against, then connects it with a therefore to the armor.
(meaning spiritual fights require spiritual tools, not earthly, or human tools)

and notice that it’s called the full armor, or whole armor = complete (nothing else needed)

full   πανοπλία, panoplia, n.  [4246 + 3960]. full armor, worn by a heavily armed soldier

Three of them are considered so basic, he has them in the stand firm then category.  (these are the “always on” parts) “having put on” past tense = put it on, leave it on

belt of truth

• • what is truth ? 
  • not just facts because facts don’t always reveal the root cause
  • truth is God’s perspective of anything
  • what is truth of a trial ?
  • “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free” John 8:32
  • Eve was tempted by Satan using facts avoiding truth (he omits YHWH when he says God leaving out the Lords relational authority)

breastplate of righteousness

• • what is righteousness ?
  • who’s righteousness ?
  • how does it protect us in a trial ?

shoes of the gospel of peace

• • why are shoes important ?
  • we have peace with God and walk without slipping because of that peace
  • we walk in the gospel (for the gospel, with the gospel)
  • the gospel IS our motivation and our means
  • how do these shoes work in a trial ?
    • having peace with God ?
    • having the message of peace ?

then there are three that need to be taken up on an “as needed basis”
(meaning they are not always in hand.

shield of faith 

• • not always held in front
    • can be on our back, 
    • maybe even put down if not needed.
  • quench fiery darts of enemy
    • still feel them hit
    • stops the fear
    • how does our faith work in a trial ?

helmet of salvation

• • very hot, restricts vision
  • protects head in severe attack
  • how does salvation work in a trial ?

sword of the Spirit (only offensive item)

μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα θεοῦ

machaira ton pneuma ho Westin  rhema Theu

• • RHEMA of God (not “graphe” or “logos”)
  • this is the declared spoken word (such as Jesus replying to attacks from satan in wilderness)
  • graphe = written word
  • logos = logic, understanding (“what does it mean?”)
  • rhema = declared word, spoken, (using it)
  • how does the declared word help in a trial ?

Notitia 

• data to process
• facts, figures, historical information
• here is where the graphe fits in

Assensus

• (intellectual ascent)
• acceptance of data as true
• here is where the logos fits in

Fiducia – saving faith (only from Spirit)

• life change evidence
• James (faith is justified by works)
• here is where the rhema fits in

i.e. Matt. 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘^aMAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

written = graphe

word = rhema

Jesus defended Himself, fortified Himself with the rhema

(quoting the graphe, which clearly indicates He possessed the logos)

He declared the Word, quoting the written word, indicating He understood the word)

The Holy Spirit needs to be at work for this transfer 1,2,3 to take place

and to wrap it all up

pray at all times without ceasing

• • every where, every when
  • connecting with what is supposed to be happening
  • praying in His name (means praying according to His will)
  • bound on earth as it is bound in heaven ? Matt 16: 17-18  the things you have authority to permit or deny are the same as what your Father has declared in heaven (does one come before the other)
  • how does praying help in a trial ?

we stand against attacks from spiritual forces by remembering:

truth

righteousness

peace with God (and the message about it)

faith

salvation

rhema

prayer