The Armor of the Lord

 

By Rev. Cathian C. M. 

I enjoy stories of bravery, especially stories of old where knights fight evil dragons and kings lead their gallant soldiers into battle. I know I am not the only person to feel this way about epic tales of heroic deeds against impossible odds. But a story is only a story, and as inspiring as it can be, it still is not reality. It only temporarily fulfills some need I have to hear that Good wins out against Evil, and that I have a part in it, and not just as an observer.

 

Recently I was reading just such a book, when I paused to reflect. Why is it so important to us to lose ourselves in tales of derring-do? Is there some essential component to our makeup that compels us to join a battle of good versus evil? Is the need for a hero built into us? Is the desire for meaningful conflict part of our makeup?

 

As I pondered these things, the words of Paul came to my mind. Paul said many things about order and right relationships among Christians, and he made it very clear that we are constantly in a battle for our souls. He wrote beautifully about the Armor of God that is provided to each Christian for our preservation in faith and unity. Upon re-reading these words, I began to understand that the battle in which we followers of Christ are locked is far greater than any battle waged by men against men, or kingdom against kingdom. There is no power on earth that can make us stand, so God has given us of HIS resources so that we will not fall.

 

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  (11) Put on the whole armor 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 armor 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;  Eph 6:10-18 

 

Paul says we are to be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. How do we do that? By putting on the whole armor of God so that we can stand against the wiles of the devil.

 

Why do we put on the armor of God? We aren’t wrestling with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. To put it plainly, our fight is not against other humans, but against the wicked spirit that drives them to fight against lovers of God.

 

Why do we put on the armor of God? Because we need to be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to withstand, we must be ready to stand. In other words, we do all that Paul has listed, and when we have done it, we stand on God’s Word, on His integrity, on His nature and character, and on His promises.

 

How do we put on the armor of God? And what does it mean?

To put on the armor of God, we must:

 

…Gird our loins with truth. The truth of the gospel gives us the strength to stand up against the lies of those who hate God. It helps us to point out the way of salvation to others, while safeguarding ourselves along the way.

 

…Put on the breastplate of righteousness. It is not our own righteousness that shields our hearts, but it is the righteousness of Him with whom we must identify: Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

…Our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. As Isaiah said:

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that brings good tidings, that publishes peace; that brings good tidings of good news, that publishes salvation; that says unto Zion, Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 

 

…We take up the shield of faith above all so that we may extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked.  The fiery darts of the enemy lose their sting when we have the vision that is born of faith.

 

…We put on the helmet of salvation to protect our minds. Satan and his minions attack us on the level of our minds, in the area our thoughts.  When the enemy of our souls comes with doubt, we can proclaim the salvation of the Lord and cause him to flee.

 

…We take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Just as Jesus spoke the words of the Almighty God against the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, we carry the word of God within our hearts so that we can resist temptation and not sin against God.

 

…We pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, with all perseverance and supplication for all saints/fellow believers. We believe that the prayers of a righteous man avails much, and so we bring our prayers for all who love Christ and suffer for His sake, knowing that we can be one in His spirit.

 

Here is the catch. Until we have repented, we cannot lay claim to the armor of the Lord. In fact, until we have repented, we cannot be sure of His blessing or direction. It is because He loves us that God will not allow us to remain unchanged. It is because He plans for us to succeed as His children that He has provided His armor to us.

 

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis had this to say about Jesus’ substitutionary death:

 

“[i]Now what was the sort of ‘hole’ man had got himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of our ‘hole’. This process of surrender – this movement full speed astern – is what Christians call repentance.”

 

All the best desires and inclinations we have cannot match the purpose that God has for us when we accept His terms for us. He is Lord, and “[ii]we are His people, just the sheep of His pasture”. He knows how we are made because He made us. He knows what hurts us, what heals us, what can destroy us, and what can save us. For this reason He sent His only Begotten Son, Jesus, to live as a man, to die as a man, and to rise from the dead – all in our stead.

 

C.S. Lewis said of the death of Jesus in our stead:

 

“[iii]I have heard some people complain that if Jesus was God as well as man, then his sufferings and death lose all value in their eyes, ‘because it must have been so easy for Him’. Others may (very rightly) rebuke the ingratitude and ungraciousness of this objection; what staggers me is the misunderstanding it betrays. In one sense, of course, those who make it are right. They have even understated their own case. The perfect submission, the perfect suffering, the perfect death were not only easier to Jesus because He was God, but were possible only because He was God. But surely that is a very odd reason for not accepting them? The teacher is able to form the letters for the child because the teacher is grown-up and knows how to write. That, of course, makes it easier for the teacher, and only because it is easier for him can he help the child. If it rejected him because ‘it’s easy for grown-ups’ and waited to learn writing from another child who could not write itself (and so had no ‘unfair’ advantage), it would not get on very quickly. If I am drowning in a rapid river, a man who still has one foot on the bank may give me a hand which saves my life. Ought I to shout back (between my gasps) ‘No, it’s not fair! You have an advantage! You’re keeping one foot on the bank’? That advantage – call it ‘unfair’ if you like – is the only reason why he can be of any use to me. To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?”

 

I believe that pride often keeps us from doing things in the way God has prescribed them. We want to say we did it on our own, and we pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We don’t want anyone to accuse us of needing the “crutch of religion”, and so we may even claim the name of Christ, but we stop short of obedience.

 

Recently my family and I went on an outing to the Pack River in Idaho. We had set up a day camp and were getting everyone settled. I noticed that my youngest granddaughter was getting too close to the water, so I called to her to come to me. She was in a mood to ignore me, and though I called her four times, she purposely continued walking toward the rushing river. I called to her mother, and her mother called her back and explained that she had to listen whenever Nana called her. It worried me that my little granddaughter could ignore my urgent calls, because instant response and obedience to my call could save her from injury or death, and she simply would not listen.

 

God is a loving Father. He has provided to us all that we need in order to have life and live as godly people. But we are so often stubborn and disobedient that we will not listen to Him. That is why we so often have calamity and find ourselves crying out to God to rescue us.

 

There is a huge difference between receiving consequences for our sin and suffering for the sake of righteousness. I truly think that if we put on the armor of God, as Paul instructed us to, we will have less occasion or temptation to sin, and even if we suffer for Christ’s sake, we will have the joy of knowing that we share in the fellowship of His suffering as opposed to suffering for our own stupidity or foolishness.

 

For those of us who love epic battles, it seems abundantly clear from reading the words of Paul that we could not choose a more relevant, dire or important battle to join! Being soldier servants of the Most High God means that we fight on a spiritual level, with the armor that God has given us to use. We are fighting for the souls of men, and our objective is to bring them the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us choose this day to put on the whole armor of the Lord.

 

            In 2005, Laurie and I lived for a year in Israel.  Because of a threat to us, and subsequently our landlord and his family, we had to leave the Arab village where we had taken up residence.  At that point, our supervisor on the ground thought it would be wise to send us to Netanya, where a woman in our organization was working on a Bible translation project.  Because of the nature of her work, she had contacts with Russian Jewish converts.  Our supervisor wanted to start a church among these followers of Jesus.

 

            This woman would have no part of it and was recalcitrant.  In fact, she told us that if we started a church where English was translated into Russian, anywhere in the city, she wouldn’t even attend it.  Keep in mind that she was a member of our organization.

 

            These two events were major setbacks for our ministry there and, after a lot of prayer, thought and discussion, Laurie and I made the decision to return to the States. 

 

            While we were in Israel, we established what is called an amutah, which allowed us to have the legal status of an organization in Israel.  A few days ago, the man who was our supervisor in Israel sent us an email asking us to formally resign, so they could add new members and make decisions that required a quorum.  We’d forgotten all about this, and, of course, willingly obliged.  In my letter to this man, I expressed my thoughts that our time in Israel had been pretty much a bust.  What follows is his reply.

 

 

“Dear Jim

Thanks for your e-mail and the letters. 

I don't consider your time here a bust at all.  From our perspective....the helping with the (woman’s name) issue was huge.   Obviously, in our own foresight none of us would have said come to Israel from that one reason.  However, for (my wife) and I we can not tell you how much it meant to confirm that it was not just a personality conflict so we could move forward more intentionally to bring closure to the situation. 

We will be ever thankful for all the struggles you through from being run out of Abu Gosh to the situation with (woman’s name).

Perhaps God has a different measuring stick than we do to what constitutes success.  I believe it is very possible that God sent you to Israel for that one task, which you accomplished.  If you read the story of Jesus crossing the lake to heal the demonic, it appears that crossed the lake, healed one man, turned around and did no other ministry at that time.  Later that same area became a center of Christianity, perhaps through the testimony of the one demoniac.  Our sincere prayer is that through all of this that growth and health would be the result in (woman’s name)'s life.  You were certainly a help to us.  So if you crossed, not a lake, but an ocean, just to accomplish that single task, don't devalue that task.”

 

            Amazing, isn’t it, what God may ask us to do?

Now, I've never had groupies, nor have I ever been one, but I can imagine how it would feel to be a groupie. To be in the acknowledged entourage of a really famous person. A rock star, maybe. Or a famous author (does Stephen King have groupies?) or even, gasp, a politician.  For those who were traveling about with Jesus, it might have been a little like that. 

Oh, look, I know him. He's with the rabbi, Jesus! Yes, him! We can ask him where Jesus is, sure, come on!

And then, Peter or John or James or Andrew would be approached by some wide-eyed supplicant, someone who recognized them, someone who would ask them to please ask Jesus to come out and help/speak/heal/show his face.

It must have been gratifying, in these early days, for the friends of Jesus to be so approached. So naturally, they went to Jesus and said, "Hey, everyone's looking for you!"

Jesus, though, had a job to do and it wasn't to be the Celebrity du Jour.

"Let's go into the neighboring villages so that I can preach there. It's why I've come," Jesus told his friends. 

But that's not what I wanted to write about, here. It's merely a note on human nature compared to a nature wholly given over to God's purpose.  It's not about ogling, it's about obedience.

I prayed about what to share from the next segment in Scripture, Mark 1:29-45.   What happens in this section is that Jesus goes and heals and goes and speaks and goes and drives out demons.  He heals Peter's mother-in-law (which was probably helpful for Peter's domestic harmony!) He was crowded by others who pressed against him, trying to get closer and closer so that HE would see THEM.

People just wanted Jesus to do things for them.  People are often still the same way, really. They seek Jesus when they want something.

That's not a bad thing, but it's not the only reason one should seek him.

But that's not what struck me this morning, either, as I prayed about what to point out from this passage. I felt this inner voice that chided me with a smile, saying, "Sandi, you don't shut up and listen too often, do you?"

Chagrined, I shook my head.  "No, I don't guess I do. I need to work on that.  Help?"

And then, I saw something in this passage that struck me:  Jesus told the demons to be quiet, because they knew him. He forbade them to speak of him. Period.  And they did not. They were silent. And though people brought demon-possessed people to see Christ, and though he did indeed command the demons to leave and they left, they were obedient to him and were silent. 

When he healed a man of a dreadful skin condition, the man was willing to acknowledge that Jesus could do this. He was. But when Jesus said, "Don't tell anyone, but go make your offerings as directed by Moses so that you can be readmitted into fellowship and worship with the people again" the man did not keep his mouth shut.  Instead, he went and told everyone what had happened.

Now.  I am sure that the man was not being deliberately rebellious as much as he was praising God for the miracle wrought in his personal life and body.  And because this was likely his heart's condition, he was not reprimanded.  However, there were consequences.

For Jesus.

Because of this man's praise and his general reputation, Jesus was unable to enter  the cities and towns openly any more. He had to come in by stealth.  Or, stay in the deserted areas.  And still, people came to him from everywhere.

So, Jesus didn't get to sleep under a roof as often, any more.  He didn't get to go to market and find what he wished to eat; he had to have it brought to him.  A certain amount of his personal freedom was taken from him due to his fame.

He got more groupies.

I'm not famous. Never will be famous.  But I can imagine (because I've got this vivid imagination) what it felt like for Jesus.  He knew it would happen at some point, but I wonder if he ever wished, just for a moment...

That human beings were as obedient to his directions for silence as demons.

Humans have free will. We are greatly beloved of God. Still, though, because we imperfectly understand the nature of Christ, we are not as perfectly obedient to Jesus' direct will in our life as demons and unclean spirits.  THEY know who he is, Scripture says. And the demons tremble.  Humans  are having an intense spiritual moment if they get goosebumps. Maybe.

Which is what truly struck me this morning. I am so unaware, so very often, of the Lord's true nature in my life.  I need to work on that, too.

            One of young leaders of the group that we’re getting together with told me about a tragic incident that had happened in his ministry in the last year.  He had prayed for a young man, and he had been overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit and collapsed.  It wasn’t long, however, before this same young man had murdered his father.  He then told me about another young man whose life had gone south not long after he’d prayed for him and the Holy Spirit had ministered powerfully.

 

            What was wrong, he wondered.

 

            So this is what I told this sincere, young man.  What happened in the lives of these two young people was just simply an awful tragedy.  The only relationship between his prayers and the falling away of these two guys was that our adversary came along and took advantage of their weaknesses. 

 

            I remember in my early days that when the pastor would give an invitation for folks to come forward to be ministered to, many of the same people came forward, week after week.  It wasn’t long before I realized that, too many times, we—I should say, we Pentecostals and Charismatics—expect God to “fix” us rather than seeing the need to work through our issues with the help of the Holy Spirit and the godly counsel and prayers of folks in our local assembly.  To sum up, the conclusion I came to was this: the touch/gifting/ministry of the Holy Spirit is no substitute for experience and—to put it bluntly—the dying to ourselves we must do as we follow Jesus.  I have seen far too many Pentecostals/Charismatics who are gifted and have had remarkable encounters with God but are disobedient and immature.

 

            May the Lord cause us to love Him more than we love ourselves, so we may walk in the obedience He requires.

 

           

- If you love me, you will obey what I command. John 14:15
   - Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. John 14:21   
   - If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23
   - If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. John 15:10
    - You are my friends if you do what I command. John 15:14
    - If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. John 13:17.

 

 

Obedience to Gods Word is the key to hearing Gods voice.

What does obedience mean to you ... ... ... ... ...