The full armor of God comes from a Greek word that in reality means the “full array of the weapons that belong to God.”
· My experience as a believer concerning the putting on of the armor of God has been one where I have been taught to every day by prayer or “positive confession” put on the armor piece by piece. Though these things are not wrong in themselves, I believe that there is a great deal more to effectively and correctly put on the full armor of God.
· I would like to make a comment concerning “positive confessions.” The scriptural definition of “confession” is the outward testimony or evidence that our mouths give as to the reality of what is happening inwardly with us. Confession is the outward act that our mouths give in agreement to our spiritual state with the Lord.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
· The word of our testimony that causes us to overcome the enemy is more than a simple spouting off of scriptures and prayers at the devil. The devil must see the testimony or evidence of our lives before him. A believer’s life that is pure and free because it has gone through the cross of Christ and has been raised up to manifest His glory, is the word of our testimony or evidence that will overcome the devil because he sees the presence of the Lord in our lives and flees.
· Yes, it is supremely importance to confess who we are in Christ, but it will not be enough to overcome the Evil One if the confession of our position in Christ does not agree with our obstinate disobedience and bondages inwardly in our lives. The devil sees, laughs, and will leave us alone so that we may continue blinded and rebellious. He has no fear of us, he only fears the revealed Lord.
· We can confess scriptures at the enemy until we are blue in the face. However if we have unrepentant sin in our lives, right at that very spot, the enemy will have a claw dug deep into us until the time that we repent or until the time we die in our unrepentance.
· The same thread of thought can be found in the concept of binding and loosing. I am not against verbal binding and loosing. I use it all the time in spiritual warfare and deliverance and see the powerful effect of it. However the completion of binding and loosing has to do with forbidding and permitting. Absolute binding of the enemy can only come through a life that is whole and free in the Lord and permits not part of the enemy’s methods to touch it.
· Please look with me at the one example of true binding as found in John 14:30
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
· As I did this study I was amazed to find that almost every instance in which Paul commands us to take a step of action in putting on the full armor of God, it occurs in the Greek aorist tense.
· By steps of action I am talking about such instances as “ putting on”, “to stand”, “take unto you” and “having done all to stand” to name a few.
· A while back we had studied the Greek aorist tense. This Greek verbal tense is similar to the English past tense, but it is actually stronger. The aorist tense is called the tense of punticular action, which is fancy word for a “punctuation mark.”
· The aorist tense is an event that produces a punctuation mark on history’s time line. It is one such as the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. At one set instance of time in history, the Lord said “ it is finished” bowed down his head, and gave up the Ghost. This event is a punctuation time on the face of history, forever more marked, and recorded.
· Our putting on the full array of the Lord’s weaponry must be done as a once and for all putting on which produces a historical punctuation mark, and then never taking it off again. Sounds confusing? I will explain.
· Let it suffice at this moment to say that if we through our prayers and positive confession are to put on the full array of God’s weaponry daily, then Paul could not have used the aorist tense. He should have said, “Continue to put on daily the full armor of God.”
· Secondly, the weaponry of God put on by daily prayer and positive confession will only be partially effective in a believer’s life that has unrepentant sin and significant bondage. The word of our testimony won’t line up right in the eyes of the devil.
· It is my belief that the absolute and complete putting on of the Lord’s armor can only be progressively accomplished as we attain to the maturity of the stature of Christ by becoming as free and holy as He is and conformed to His image.
· The full armor of God is nothing else then the fullness of the revelation of the Son of God in our lives. This is why Paul tells us in Romans 13:14…
Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
· For us to begin our study on the armor of God we must first look back to Ephesians 3:16 & 17.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
· We have taught before that the glory of the Lord is the invisible God made visible.
· Whenever the Lord is made visible there are riches that belong to the glory or to His visibility.
· It is the riches that make the Lord visible that likewise inwardly strengthen us with the dunamis power of the Lord. This is because the glory of the Lord contains within it the dunamis power of God.
· The dunamis power of God is the vehicle that transports the riches of the glory of God from the spiritual realm, and manifests them out into a lost and dying world through us.
· Verse seventeen tells us that this same dunamis power working in us reveals the Person of Christ within us. In other words, God’s dunamis power manifests the Person of Christ to us through revelation. Dunamis power is God’s great transporter from the spiritual to the physical.
· The fullness of the revelation of Christ in our lives is “the Christ that dwells in our hearts.” There is a difference between living in a house and dwelling in a home. The person that dwells within a home has taken residence and settled down in that home. She or he feel welcomed in their home, they have absolute control over the home, and do as they please within it. Conversely speaking, as we allow the Lord Jesus to dwell and have full sway in out hearts, He will reveal Himself fully.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Ephesians chapter six and ten commands us to continuously receive this dunamis power of the Lord so that He can be progressively revealed in our lives as the Christ that dwells in our hearts. This is the fullness of revelation.
· The dunamis power of the Lord in verse 10 is defined as the display of the Lord’s outward dominion brought about by His inward strength. This is what it means by “ the power of his might.” This is sort of what happens to Pop Eye when he eats the can of spinach. The tremendous inward strength that is multiplied within him at the eating of the can of spinach is translated into a manifestation of outward strength which caused him to dominate and conquer all, even Bluto the bad man who ran after beautiful Olive Oil.
· This domination of external circumstances is called “dominion” and is in indeed the same as Lord’s dominion over all His creation.
· The Lord’s dominion or manifested expression of the strength that resides within Him is found in His dunamis power. The extent of the Lord’s dominion that is transported by his dunamis power is His ability to subdue all things unto Himself.
Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
· The amount of God’s dunamis power working in us is measured as to how much are we allowing the Lord to subdue or bring the dominion of all things unto Himself. The fullness of revelation of the Son is the fullness of the Lord’s power. The fullness of revelation is the Christ dwelling, and not struggling, or competing with something else in our hearts.
· The more that we live out of the dunamis power of the Lord because we have yielded our life in all meekness to the Lord the more that we shall see the Lord subdue all things underneath our feet. This is the reality of our taking up the full armor of God.
1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
· The apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians one and twenty-four that Christ is the dunamis power of God. Christ does not give us the power of God. THE LORD IS THE POWER OF GOD! Therefore the more that Christ is revealed within us the more that the dominion of God to subdue all things under our feet becomes an automatic and effortless reality that is assimilated into our being.
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
· We seen therefore that this is the key to our putting on the full armor of God
· The full armor of God is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ brought to us by his dunamis power as an expression of the outward dominion of His inner strength.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
· “That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” is defined in verse eleven as having enough of God’s dunamis power manifested inwardly so as to allow us to hold our ground against the “methods” of the enemy and to never to lose it again.
· My friends, we can never accomplish this by putting on a daily armor through prayer and positive confession. This is the result of the revelation of the Lord that subdues every part of our lives into submission to His will.
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 theevil day, and having done all, to stand.
· We can translate verse thirteen like this. Take (aorist tense) therefore the fullness of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ into your lives so that you will have the dunamis power to stand face to face against (the whole of the demonic hierarchy) in the evil day…
· “And having done all, to stand.” Do you remember the cartoons of the Coyote and the Road Runner? These guys would get into a tizzy of a fight and kick up a ball of dust so big that they would be lost within it. When the dust finally cleared up the coyote was on the ground and the roadrunner was always left standing.
· This is exactly what it means to “and having done all, to stand”. Simply speaking in every spiritual dust ball that is kicked up in our lives, as we struggle against sin, Satan, and the world, we must remain standing at the end of every contest, and our spiritual foes must be found powerless at our feet. We can only attain this through the revelation of the Son of God.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
· In verse fourteen, the apostle Paul begins his step-by-step explanation on putting on the armor of God.
· “Having your loins girt about with truth”. A belt is used to keep our clothing intact. When we put our shirt our blouse inside our pants or skirt, and place some type of belt around our waist, the belt itself keeps these articles of clothing in place.
· Truth is what is genuine, accurate, and in accordance to fact. It is not what we believe from error or in misunderstanding of the word of God that will set us free, but what be believe about the Word which is its essence, reality, and accuracy.
· Understanding and living out the word of God in truth will keep the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ intact in our lives. There are no shortcuts to knowing the Word of God in truth. It takes time in the research and study of the Word, and an intimate walk with the Lord that will bring forth revelation knowledge of His Word.
· The breastplate of righteousness is a breastplate made purely out of righteousness. Now, I know, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, but this alone is not sufficient for us to come face to face against the devil and leave him limp on the ground before our feet. Our hearts must be purified to become as righteous as the Lord Himself. The pure in heart will have the Lord Jesus revealed in their lives. Revelation takes purity, and purity is the result of a very intimate walk with the Lord. Intimacy allows us to dwell frequently in the presence of the Lord. It is His presence that sets us free.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
· Greek; He shall render the Wicked one useless and non-operational with the manifestation of His presence.
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
· Greek: Having your feet undergirded (aorist tense) so as to walk with the readiness of the good news that brings peace.
· Paul tells us here that the conducting of our lives in this world among believers and non-believers must be accomplished by our being ready or prepared to offer the good news that brings peace to them.
· Peace is the same word as “shalom” in the Hebrew, and talks about the wholeness and freedom of the Lord worked into our lives through His revelation that finally brings us into a state of tranquility and peace. This peace is the result of the Lord having subdued all things, which are not of Him underneath our feet and settings us free.
· We can only preach the gospel prepared in such a way that it will bring others into this same state of “shalom” only when we first experience it. We can only give to others what we have inside of us.
· Secondly, Paul’s definition of the gospel that brings peace teaches us that the gospel that bring cannot be mere words, but it must include our discipling and mentoring people and setting them free so that they may do the work of the ministry.
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
· Literally it is a shield that is made up purely of faith.
· As we have discussed before, the standard of God’s faith for us is found in His rhema word, or the voice of His Spirit.
· We must not walk in accordance with our own flimsy faith but with the Lord’s faith.
· Therefore taking the shield, which is made up of God’s faith, is a command for us to walk by the voice of the Holy Spirit from moment to moment. The rhema word of God not only has resident within it God’s measure of faith and power to make it come to pass, but God’s rhema word also reveals the Person Lord Jesus Christ into every situation in which it is spoken.
John 17:8 For I have given unto them the rhema words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
· Diversities of operations as found in 1 Corinthians 12:6 tells us that the Lord will manifest Himself through the rhema word in accordance with how the circumstances warrant it and in accordance to the personality and the giftings of the human vessel that He manifests Himself through. Every rhema word will manifest the Lord through the diversities of operations.
1 Cor 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
· When we walk taking the shield of God’s faith, we operate by His rhema word, and the faith, power, and the revelation of the Son of God will subdue all the “methods” of the enemy against us, thus quenching all of his fiery darts.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
· The sword of the Spirit is defined in the Greek as the “rhema word” of God and not the logos word. I believe that this is self-explanatory to all of us.
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Greek: Using all general prayers and specific petitions at all times in the Spirit to accomplish the state of being awake and attentively guarding all saints. This guarding in the Spirit for all saints is executed through the means of a constant steadfast devotion and individual petitions for them.
My friends, I will be the first one to confess right here that I am not too close to fulfilling the requirements of verse eighteen.
Selfishness is nothing else than our attentive indulgence upon ourselves because we are still bound up with hurts, fears and sin. Selfishness is introspective self-absorption because we are hurting, and still need to become free, and we focus upon ourselves so as to make ourselves free. As we become free in the Lord our attention starts to become diverted to others needs rather than ours, and we become “selfless” instead of selfish.
The result of having put on the full armor of God, which is the full revelation of Christ, is that our prayers are now so “others centered” that through our constant devotion to individual petitions for many Christian brethren, we keep them spiritually guarded. It takes a person that is really, really, free in the Lord by His revelation to do something like this!
19 ¶ And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Greek: ( paraphrase)And for me that words may be given so that when I open my mouth to proclaim the mystery of the gospel I will do it without fear, embarrassment, intimidation, or hindrances. In other words I will tell is as it is.
There are two points of importance in this scripture. First, the result of conducting our lives in the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is that His revelation subdues and conforms us to the image of His liberty and wholeness. His Person has no fear, or embarrassment, or hindrance associated with it. This is the definition of scriptural “boldness” and only a believer that is approaching wholeness in the Lord can preach the word of God with “boldness.”
Secondly, we cannot, and must never preach the gospel, with the dry and crusty words of religion, but in the power of the rhema word of God.
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the rhema word of his dunamis power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
The mystery of the gospel is the Christ that is hidden within each of us. As we obey the Lord without compromise, and walk by His Spirit, The Lord is revealed within us. It is the revealed Christ within us that we must preach without. THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF MINISTRY, MY FRIENDS!
· The Christ that we reveal to the world through our preaching must be done in relationship to the spiritual gifts, ministries and callings that the Lord has given to us.
Paul here defines for us in one verse the true minister of the Lord. “In all liberty, freedom, fearlessness, and absence of bondages, manifest to a lost and dying world the Christ within you through your spiritual gifts and ministries.”
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Finally, I would like to in this last scripture divert your attention to the words “as I ought to”. In the Greek these are translated as “is necessary for me, or is the necessity in every case”. Paul leaves us in his great discourse of the full armor of God with the following injunction. “It is the necessity in every case that I reveal the Christ within me in the liberty and freedom that has come to me because I have been conformed to the image of Christ.”
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