Ephesians 6:10-18

[Heart2Soul]

Ephesians 6 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
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;

I have been sharing with some ladies about a different approach into these verses...
And there are numerous cross references to support this...
Let's begin...

 

[Heart2Soul]

..I have been meditating on the armor of God and it suddenly hit me...
So here is the sequence of how my thoughts went.
1. Daily putting on the Armor of God...which requires salvation (helmet), righteousness in Him (breastplate), Truth (loin cloth...the knowledge and rightfully discerning His Truth), knowing His Word through diligent study (shoes, feet shod with preparation of the Gospel), Discernment (Sword of Truth...rightly dividing any false teaching), Faith (Shield to ward off Satan's attacks).

Now my second thought...
If the battle belongs to the Lord then why are we warring with the enemy.

Then it dawned on me....
I speak of engaging in spiritual warfare all the time but I came to realize the warfare isn't to defeat the enemy and battle his demons (He is already defeated)
0Our warfare is to fight .....now wait for it....the good fight of faith!
Our faith is the only thing God cannot do for us....
He gives each of us a measure of faith but to increase our faith we have to hear the Word...
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God....
So in conclusion I have realized I have been fighting the wrong battle (the battle belongs to the Lord and the enemy is already defeated)...
My armor is to war against the enemy trying to destroy my FAITH!

How many times in my life did I lose faith that He would intervene and I would prevail in my trials and tribulations. Too many...I am ashamed to say.

So I am convinced beyond any doubt that it is our faith that we are protecting against the enemy in our lives....

Guarding our faith is harder than it sounds isn't it?

 

[farouk]

@Heart2Soul A great passage!

There was a book based on Ephesians 6, called 'The Christian in Complete Armour', first written in the 17th century.

It was re-published by Banner of Truth some decades ago.

 

[Truman]

This IS the day that the Lord has made...I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!
Proclamation of the word is a powerful weapon, not dependent on feelings.
If the bodiless people are messing with you, start jabbing them with the word...they'll leave you alone.

 

[Truman]

The enemy wants to defeat our faith, that's for sure!

 

[Heart2Soul]

Now here is another thought to ponder....
Faith and the Word are held in our hands....we don't wear them like the rest of the armor....we USE them.....wow!...now I don't know about you but things are starting to get a whole lot clearer to me...
There are numerous scriptures that references our spiritual garments..
Robe of righteousness
Garland of Praise
Garment of Salvation
Etc...etc
Also our garments are called filthy rags ...just an fyi

 

[Heart2Soul]

@Heart2Soul A great passage!

There was a book based on Ephesians 6, called 'The Christian in Complete Armour', first written in the 17th century.

It was re-published by Banner of Truth some decades ago.

Have you read it?

 

[farouk]

Now here is another thought to ponder....
Faith and the Word are held in our hands....we don't wear them like the rest of the armor....we USE them.....wow!...now I don't know about you but things are starting to get a whole lot clearer to me...
There are numerous scriptures that references our spiritual garments..
Robe of righteousness
Garland of Praise
Garment of Salvation
Etc...etc
Also our garments are called filthy rags ...just an fyi

@Heart2Soul "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61.10)

 

[farouk]

Have you read it?

@Heart2Soul Not cover to cover; but there's maybe a project, eh?

 

[Heart2Soul]

@Heart2Soul "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61.10)

Perfect, that is the scripture I was thinking of.

 

[farouk]

Perfect, that is the scripture I was thinking of.

@Heart2Soul We were thinking of that passage in church the other day. Various of the passages ppl mentioned seemed to fit in with one another.

 

[Truman]

Another passage is 2 Corinthians 6:7:
in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

 

[Heart2Soul]

So moving on...let's talk about Faith...
Why is Faith so extremely necessary and important to God that He even goes so far as to test it?
"A faith that cannot be tested cannot be trusted"...Tiffanie Butts....
"
When faced with a situation that tests your faith in God, how do you respond? Many times, our initial prayer is for God to deliver us from the situation. We may even beg Him for it. But I’ve learned that God doesn’t deliver us from a test because the purpose of the test is actually to deliver us.

It can be difficult to understand why a good and perfect God allows us to go through trying situations. The reason is simple: sanctification. God is transforming us into the image of His son, Jesus Christ. God tests us for our good; to develop our faith. Testing is not something we should despise because it’s a chance to show the genuineness of our faith and glorify our Lord."....Tiffanie Butts....I love her article...think I will just post the link...

 

[Heart2Soul]

Faith Under Fire: Why Our Faith Must Be Tested — Tiffanie Butts

 

[Heart2Soul]

So back to our armor....we can wear ourselves out wrestling with the enemy everyday...sooooo change it up....declare to him your faith is in Him alone and the battle belongs to Him and is already won and you are defeated.
The Truth of God's Word has set me free from the bondage, oppression, and captivity I once was in but Jesus defeated you and rendered you POWERLESS over any believer who trust in Him.

 

[farouk]

Another passage is 2 Corinthians 6:7:
in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

@Truman There's such a lot in 2 Corinthians...

 

[farouk]

Faith Under Fire: Why Our Faith Must Be Tested — Tiffanie Butts

Hi @Heart2Soul I was going to ask about Tiffanie Butts, but I saw this link:

Tiffanie Butts - Faith & Encouragement

 

[Truman]

Proclaiming His word...praising the Lord...every once in a while I get angry.
We fight defeated enemies that just won't admit it.
When we fight, we win every time.
You ever play a video game where the stronger you get, the stronger your enemies get?
Sometimes it seems like this spiritually, except our game has the potential for life-and-death consequences.
It's really exciting, if you stop and think about it!

 

[Ziggy]

1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

Psa 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Psa 5:12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Pro 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

We are clothed in Him. He is our Armour. And we put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is our hope and shield.

Psa 119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Good thread.
Thank You
Hugs

 

[farouk]

1Sa 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

Psa 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Psa 5:12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Pro 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

We are clothed in Him. He is our Armour. And we put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is our hope and shield.

Psa 119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Good thread.
Thank You
Hugs

@Ziggy This is good; and the theme of spiritual armour in Ephesians 6 does indeed tie in with other passages, as you helpfully point out...

Your posts are often so well thought out...