Do yourself a favor and read again what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus.  Read what he said about the armor of God.  I know, you’ve read it countless times, and you probably simply skimmed over it just now.  Regardless, let’s stop and review some of the highlights of the bodily protection Paul says is required-

• You need to put on the full armor, not just part.
• Gird your loins with truth.
• Put on the breastplate of righteousness.
• Shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace
• Take up the shield of faith
• Put on the helmet of salvation
• Take the sword of the spirit which is the word of God

A couple of basic notes I like on the list of armor.  Truth protects your loins, I am reminded of our sexual purity here.  Righteousness protects our hearts, we are to be holy, as He is holy.  The shield of faith is critical, as Satan is shooting fiery arrows at us that only faith can protect us from.  Our head is the most vital body part, and our salvation protects us there.  The only offensive weapon we have is the word of God that cuts sharper than any sword.  There’s much to be said for the old time scripture memory as I think about how effectively can I use my sword.  And of course, I love the fact that there’s no armor for our backs, we are expected to face our foe, not be turned around to run.

Having gone through all of that, my real point here is that I have spent so much time focused on the list above, and all the little cool things about the armor, that I missed what I now consider to be the most important issue here.  War.  We are at war.  Paul is telling us that we have a battle to fight, a war to win, and we need to gear up.  Honestly, most of us in the church are simply unaware there’s a battle raging, and instead of being on the front lines, we’re wondering around like all the other civilians in the back, blissfully oblivious to the battle that rages, except for the occasional reminder that we tried to avoid and couldn’t.   The stakes of this war are quite simply life and death.  Heaven or hell.  Seems a bit dramatic to say that, but only because we have so watered down our faith that the stark truth seems to intimidate us.

The old classic hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” was one of my favorites growing up.  It made feel like I has something to do that really mattered.  As I think about it now, I can’t remember the last time I heard it.   When’s the last time you heard someone preach on spiritual warfare?  When’s the last time you considered prayer as part of a war you’re in?  When’s the last time you thought that the only thing separating a person from hell was the Word of God, and you might be the last person in a position to tell them?  Once again, sounds so dramatic, so old school.  And yet, somehow it rings true.  To be candid, it’s been a while since I thought about it as well.

Let’s go back to Eph 6.  Paul says the devil has schemes.  Do you understand what he’s saying?  The devil has plans.  He has thought out how he is going to attack you, and he has an agenda to destroy you.  Life doesn’t’ just happen to us.  We are in a war, and if we don’t chose a side and engage, then a side is chosen for us.  No decision is a decision.   Paul goes on to say that our struggle is not with man, but against rulers, powers, forces of darkness, and forces of spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.   Think about that.  Satan is at war with you, and he has rulers and powers and forces that are part of his plan to destroy you.  Take a look at Daniel 10.  An angel was sent to Daniel, but then the angel says that the “Prince of the kingdom of Persia” blocked my way for 21 days.  It was not until the archangel Michael showed up, and went to battle with this evil Prince, that the angel was able to get past the Prince (in answer to prayers I might add).  Remember, there is no middle ground as a Christ follower.  In Revelation, it reminds us that if you are lukewarm, you will be spit out.  It is better to be hot or cold, not in the middle.  On top of all that, Satan himself is firing flaming arrows at us.  Arrows.  Plural.  Firing.  Continually.  Satan wants us to doubt that God is in control.  Satan wants us to focus on the things we can see, he wants us to dwell on sickness, poverty, wealth, power, relationships, anything he can in order to keep us from the real battle.

There’s so much more here for us to think about that I’ll continue in a second post.  In the mean time, fight the good fight.  I hope that phrase has a little more meaning now.

Grace and peace