The Armor of God!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

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.” – Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

The world is full of suffering and lies. Everyday, we battle in many different kinds of ways. We may even lie to one another because of our greed, selfishness, and for our own good. White lies are increasingly popular these days because they do no harm. We think they are okay because we use them to make others feel better. Nevertheless, the world is considered as a battlefield, especially to those of us who are following Jesus Christ or want to follow Him until the end of the age. However, we must remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, bur against the power of authorities and rulers of the dark forces of the evil one. Otherwise, we would not have been created by God on this earth in the first place. Not only we have been put on the world to worship and glorify God but we also are on this earth to make peace with one another (Colossians 1:16-20), since  we have been created to be the image of God (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15)

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)

Therefore, we must put on the full armor of God emotionally, mentally and spiritually. This is also because each one of us are member of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) and a part of the temple of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Thus, for this reason, we should become the righteousness of God because this is what Jesus Christ was crucified (2 Corinthians 5:21) and resurrected for (1 Peter 2:24-25); to become the righteousness of God (Romans 8:1-17). Since the Spirit of God is also the Spirit of the truth (John 16:7-15), we should not lie to each other as the Lord detests lying lips (Proverbs 12:22), even though it may be a white lie (Ephesians 4:25). Furthermore, we also should live according to the word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:27-29). ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”’ (Romans 1:17) The most importantly, we are called to live our lives by believing in Jesus Christ. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Last of all, we are also called to pray for one another in Jesus Christ according to the Spirit of God (James 5:13-16). However, most of us know that praying in the Spirit requires gift of tongues (Romans 8:26-27). It is good to have a gift of tongues but the prayers are able to be done without it. They only require faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 21:22), and they only work if they are according to the will of God (1 John 5:14-15). Otherwise, they do not work (James 4:3).

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)