What are We to Do?
Be a Disciple
How to Prepare For and Defend Against the Enemy
Paul tells us in the introduction to the Armor of God that we are fighting against a spiritual enemy. This is one we cannot see, but yet is intelligent and highly organized and intent on your destruction.
“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.” (Eph 6:12)
Here we see Paul describing the rulers of this world as non-physical (not flesh and blood). They are also organized into principalities, powers and rulers, so there is a differentiation within their ranks. We know that Satan is their ultimate ruler.
“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Eph 2:2)
This world walks in darkness. That dark spirit permeates those who do not walk with God. They are the “children of disobedience”.
How do we prepare for and defend against such and enemy? Paul goes on in his letter to the Ephesians to tell us exactly how to do that. This is commonly referred to as putting on the Armor of God. Let’s take a look at this crucial set of verses to learn how to protect ourselves and fight the good fight.
The Armor of God
- The Belt of Truth
- The Breastplate of Righteousness
- The Preparation of the Gospel of Peace
- The Shield of Faith
- The Helmet of Salvation
- The Sword of the Spirit
- Prayer
1. The Belt of Truth
Background on the Roman Soldier’s Belt
The Roman soldier’s belt was a vital piece of equipment. It wasn’t the same kind of belt we wear today. It was 6-8” wide and was what the breastplate attached to. The soldiers wore short skirts, much like the Scotts and a longer outer cloak over it. The belt was used to hold the sword and was also used to “gird” or tuck the outer cloak into when they were ready for battle. This is where the concept of “gird your loins” comes from. It simply meant to tuck the long cloak into the belt so as to free up the legs for easy maneuvering during hand-to-hand combat.
Why is it the Belt of Truth?
It’s important to note the order of the armament mentioned by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. The belt of Truth is first on the list. It was used by the soldiers to tie everything together. This is analogous with how the truth ties everything together spiritually. Truth is the foundation of our world and a precious treasure to be coveted. It is the key to success in life. The pursuit of truth is one of our greatest challenges in any endeavor. We are always wanting to know what the truth is, because that is what reality is based on. You can’t do battle until you have surrounded yourself with the Belt of Truth.
Truth Under Attack
In our world today, truth is constantly under attack. The trend is to consider truth relative. Many believe that truth is what you believe it to be. However, this concept is illogical and simply not reality. It is a desire to avoid the consequences of the actual truth. One way to look at truth is when the word and the deed become one. Another way of putting it is when what is said aligns with reality. Two plus two equal four no matter what you believe. Mathematics is an abstract concept, but one that is accepted as true. No one is going to actually believe it equals 5 to those who believe it does. Gravity is another good example of an “absolute truth”. A marble that weights 3 ounces and a bowling ball that weighs 16 pounds do not have the same affect when they are dropped on your foot, even if you believe they do. Truth about reality is not relative, it is most absolute.
When people claim that truth is relative, they are self-contradicting. To demonstrate this the person that claims it is relative just proved that it is not! How you ask? If you can claim it is only true to yourself, that means each person can make up their own minds as to if it is absolute or relative. If it is relative to each person’s belief, then I can claim it is absolute. Then it is absolute!
All this philosophical debate really doesn’t matter though. Reality does. We live in a world of absolutes. Not only mathematics and gravity, but all of physical nature is built around absolutes. We all are born and will die. That is an absolute no one gets around no matter what they believe or feel. We live in a world of absolute laws, not only of nature, but societal laws as well. If you kill someone out of malice and you’re caught, you will be arrested and put in prison. That is against the law, even if you don’t believe it should be.
The Hindu’s have this line of thinking where they don’t believe in absolute truth. When a Hindu challenged a Christian debater on this topic he walked up to him with a pot of boiling water and held it over his head and asked him if he (the debater) believed it was perfectly okay to pour it on the Hindu and that it would not hurt him, does the Hindu still believe in no absolute truths. The Hindu quietly backed away and walked out of the room.
There is a scientific, natural law called the Law of Non-Contradiction that says two opposites cannot both be true at the same time in the same context. It is logically impossible for two people to hold opposing view and both be right. This is a law that cannot be broken. There is only one truth and that reality.
Jesus is the Truth
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” (Jhn 14:6)
Jesus Christ is the truth behind all reality. He is the creator of the universe and the definer of truth. Colossians 2:3 tells us that Jesus is, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. The more we study His Word and His Way, the more of the truth of reality the Holy Spirit reveals to us. When it comes to learning what is true and what is not, we do so by studying His Word. Not only will we grow in our knowledge of the scripture and learn to discern truth in our everyday lives, we will also be given spiritual awareness of what is true and what is not by the power of the Holy Spirit.
How to Live in Truth
Beyond what has already been discussed, we will have situations pop up all the time where we have to choose between truth and deception. These can be subtle and barely noticeable, but oh so important. There are two types of situations this happens. One is external and one is internal.
For the external situation, we are talking about having to discern what is true and what is not. As previously mentioned, we need to be in the Word regularly to help us learn and spiritually grow so we can be aware of this distinction.
The internal situation is when we have to decide if we are going to tell the full truth, a little whit lie, or an outright deception. You may even feel like it would be to everyone’s benefit to fib. It might be something so many people do, it feels okay. It isn’t. God wants us grounded in the truth and that is the foundation of His righteousness. With God, He says what He means and means what He says. You can take His word for it, because He always does what he says He will do. God want’s that from us as well. He’s not okay with little white lies or innocent deceptions. They reveal a selfishness in our character that He wants cleaned out. That is what the Holy Spirit will help you learn to do over time, if you are trying to walk with God. If you are, you will want to lie less and less and will become more aware of when you are and start to feel guilty about it. You will start to tell the truth, even when it hurts in the short-term. As a result, you will build better, stronger relationships with people as they learn they can trust you.
A person of integrity, with a clear conscience, can face the enemy without fear!
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (Eph 6:14)
Background on the Roman Soldier’s Breastplate
The Roman breastplate was bronze, backed with leather. The breastplate secured the vitals and attached to the belt. The breastplate covered the heart (see Rom 6:13; 14:17; Isa 59:17; Jas 4:7). A blow through this was usually decisive. The breastplate wasn’t a full suit of armor, like a British knight wore. It only covered the front. They had no cover from behind, so the soldiers were trained to never turn their back on the enemy. Doing so could be fatal. We should keep that in mind and always keep Satan and his cohorts in our spiritual view. One of his tricks is to make you think he doesn’t exist so he can attack from behind!
What Makes it the Breastplate of Righteousness?
It was the breastplate that protected your heart and your other vital organs, such as your guts. This is where our righteousness was considered to be held in 1st century Israel. God said He would “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Eze 36:26-27) This is so they could put away their sins and walk in God’s righteousness. Sin comes from the heart; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer 17:9)
How Do We Put On the Breastplate of Righteousness?
The word “having” in this verse indicates that the belt of Truth and the Breastplate of Righteousness are past tense. We already have them. We just have to put them on. How do we already have them? Jesus provides them. In John 14:26, He tells us, “But the Comforter (Helper), which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we learn to walk in His righteousness. It is not our righteousness, but His. We simply learn how to walk in it.
How do we do that? Once again, this is done by reading His Word and prayer. Demonstrate to God your desire to do so and He will demonstrate to you His righteousness through the Holy Spirit. You will start to walk more and more in righteousness. You will learn what God wants of you in day-to-day thoughts and actions. Even though the Word may have been written over 2000 years ago, you will start to see how it applies to everything in your life. God will show you if you show God how much you want to follow Him.
Righteousness is best thought of as your standing before God. We are all sinners and without Christ, are condemned to eternity in Hell without God. It is only through Christ that we have the price of our sins paid for. In order to have that happen, we have to accept that Christ is our Savior and Lord. That opens the door. In fact, He is the “Door” to the Holy Spirit, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (Jhn 10:9) This enables the Holy Spirit to take up shop in us to make us into what He wants us to be. God isn’t going to do it for us, though. He wants us to learn to do it with His help. He gives us a new heart (See Eze 36:26-27 above) by having Jesus enter it! The Father now sees Jesus when He looks at us. We become united with Jesus and it is His righteousness that the Father sees. The Holy Spirit will help us learn how to walk in HIS righteousness, not our own. We don’t have any without Him.
Another way to think of it is as a student in class where the teacher (God) gives hard tests to see how much we know and no one can get all the answers right. The teacher offers extra credit questions to those who want to do the extra work. Those students can get higher scores as a result! This teacher offers more extra credit to anyone who completes the extra credit already given. The more you do, the more you can get. The teacher wants us to want to learn! Do you want to learn? Read God’s Word and study it with passion!
What if You Don’t Feel Righteous?
To learn to walk in righteousness is a lifelong process that is not ever going to be complete in this lifetime. To learn to walk in righteousness is the process of “sanctification”, which seems to go so slowly and take so long. Oh, how we wish we could speed it up! Paul characterized this perfectly when he said, “14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Rom 7:14-17)
It is not uncommon to feel this way. The thing to keep in mind is it isn’t about feelings. What we need to focus on is how thoughts lead to actions. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (Jas 1:22) Regardless of how we feel, if we choose to read God’s Word and choose to follow what it says and what the Holy Spirit guides us to do, then we will learn to walk in His righteousness. Set aside your feelings and do what the Word says. God wants His believers to learn to be obedient and want to walk with Him, regardless of how we might feel while learning! If we go by feelings, we will likely feel selfish and desire for our own personal pleasure, which leads us away from what God wants.
If you don’t know what to do, then make your best guess and act towards it. The Holy Spirit will help guide you as to if it is right or not. If it is not, then adjust and keep trying until you get it right. Always be receptive to the Holy Spirit. Listen inside for guidance. How do you know if it is the Holy Spirit or your own mind, or worse, the devil? If the advice you’re getting move you towards Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit. If it does not, don’t listen to it! “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Mat 12:30)
3. Feet Prepared with the Gospel of Peace
“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (Eph 6:15)
Background on Shoes
Roman soldiers and pretty much everyone else wore sandals that had leather straps that tied on around the ankles to protect their feet when going anywhere. The terrain was fairly rocky and rough, so shoes of this type were essential.
What Shoes Represent in the Bible
The topic of shoes is a very interesting study unto itself. For a quick summary, shoes represent our connection to the earth, or the world. It is where we physically come in contact with the earth. We wear the shoes to protect our feet from the earth., as such, we are not to wear them when entering the presence of God. Moses was told to take off his shoes at the scene of the burning bush, “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” (Exo 3:5) Joshua was told the same thing when approaching the Captain of the Lord’s host, “And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” (Jos 5:15).
Another example of the significance of shoes is in Deuteronomy 29:5, which says, “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.” In this case, God miraculously preserved their connection to the earth for the entire 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert. God was maintaining them while here on earth!
And of course, our verse from Ephesians 6:15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (Eph 6:15)” In this case we are told to put on our shoes with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The word “shod” means to bind on or put on. This is the opposite of what we saw with Moses and Joshua, why the difference? Because we are to take the gospel out into the world!
What Does it Mean “the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace”?
We aren’t just told to put on the gospel of peace, we are told to put on the preparation of the gospel of peace. Mark 16:15 tells us, “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Also, in Matthew 24:14, Jesus tells us, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Paul’s imperative starts with us acting to prepare. How does one prepare the gospel of peace? This doesn’t mean to write it, as it has already been written, but to learn it! We need to put it in our hearts and minds. Matthew 4:4 tells us, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” We need to know the Word of God and live by it. We must read and study it to know it well. When we are out in the world sharing it, we will get questions and objections that we must be ready to speak to. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” We need to be ready to defend the faith and learn to do so with respect and love.
This preparation is for our feet. This means what we are preparing for is to be taken out into the world. That is the gospel of peace. What does that exactly mean?
The Gospel
Paul explain what the “gospel” actually is. He tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, “1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” We can see the three components to the gospel. They are:
- Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
- He was buried,
- And He rose again after three days.
That is the gospel. It isn’t that Jesus was a good teacher, or performed many miracles or walked on water. It is that He died for our sins and paid our penalty for us and lived a sinless life, resulting in His resurrection! That is what give us the ability to be forgiven of our sins. God is perfect and righteous. He requires payment for sins. Otherwise, he couldn’t be perfect. How could a perfect and just God allow sin to go unpunished? It is illogical and not possible with God. God told Adam in Genesis 2:17 the rules for life when He said, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” God made a rule and breaking that rules equates to spiritual death, or separation from God. Sin has to be punished and the gospel of peace tells the world that Jesus paid for our sin debts. He paid the price for our sin so we can be with Him eternally. That is the gospel and why it is considered the “good news”.
Of Peace
This good news brings peace to those who believe it! We now have peace of mind when we accept this truth and accept Jesus as or our lord. We are told to go and share that news with the world. It is an imperative, not a request. That means it is a direction from God, so we need to follow it.
This peace is remarkable, as we are told in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Jesus provides us that peace through what He has done for us and the promise to keep us tightly in His hand. He cannot lose those who have accepted Him, as described in John 6:39, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” No matter what happens in this temporary world, we can have peace knowing we are forever in His care and have eternal life! That is the peace the gospel brings to those who receive it. Remember, it is not our job to get them to commit to Christ. That is the job of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to spread the Word! 2 Timothy 4:2 tells us, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
4. The Shield of Faith
“above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Eph 6:16)
Background on the Roman Soldier’s Shield
The Roman shield was 4 ft. x 2½ ft., overlaid with linen and leather, to absorb fiery arrows. The integrity of the shield was essential. The time to plug any holes was before the battle. Diligence was the key to proper maintenance. The soldiers would gather close together so that their shields formed a solid wall, deflecting all of the arrows shot from a distance. This allowed the soldiers to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, which was their specialty.
What Makes it the Shield of Faith?
First off, notice how Paul tells us to take up the shield of faith, not the shield of belief. We have already reminded ourselves of our belief when we put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes prepared with the gospel of peace. These first three are all about our choice to believe in what Christ is to us.
Faith is more than just believing. It is acting on that belief. We believe Jesus is the truth, the way to eternal life and the way to righteousness. We believe the truth about the gospel. Faith takes all of those beliefs and puts them into action. Faith is when we live and act in alignment with that and take the gospel out to the world and shine God’s light on the world around us in whatever we are doing.
It’s one thing to believe something. It’s a whole other thing to act like you believe it. This is what gets Satan’s attention and causes him to attack you with all his flaming arrows. That is why that faith acts as our shield. When we act, we are having an impact on the world around us and Satan will do what he can to stop you. You will be attacked! It’s our faith that prevents us from getting hurt spiritually.
When the Attacks Come
God never promised that being a believer would make life easy and without trials and tribulation. Jesus tells us this in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” And James 1:2-4 tells us why we have these troubles, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
God allows Satan to attack, for various reason, often beyond our understanding, but the end result is to test our faith and understanding. Attacks will come from any and every angle. It could be work, family, health, injuries, financial or any other way you can think of. Often when the attacks come they will come in clusters and you may experience more than one at a time. What we need to remember is that God has given us the greatest gift of all, our eternal salvation. That cannot be taken away from by anything that happens to us in this life, or even by anything we do ourselves. Once we have Christ in our hearts, we are His forever. John 18:9 tells us, “that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, ‘Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.’”
You may have doubts and may be struggling to follow God’s path. That is all part of the sanctification process that takes a lifetime. We can rest assured that We are in God’s hands and although we may have worldly struggles, we have a place in Heaven with Him. John 14:2-3 tells us, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
We need to realize that the shield of faith is Jesus Himself. He acts as our defense against the schemes and attacks of the devil.
How to Build Faith
Once again, the answer lies in the Word of God. The answer is quite literally, the Word of God. Paul tells us in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So, will just reading the bible give you faith? It depends on what you mean by reading and who is doing the reading. For non-believers who are pressed to read God’s Word or are just a tad curious, they will find it to be “foolishness”. This is proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” This is further expounded on in the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
This last verse gives us a clue as to what it means to read it. The idea is to gain spiritual discernment from the reading of the Word. Let’s look closer at what this means in terms of the scripture itself.
- “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” (2Ti 3:16). Here we are told that the Word is our text book and the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. We are to learn what is right (doctrine), what is not right (reproof), how to get it right (correction) and how to stay right (instruction). The more you study, the more you learn. That is the concept in focus here.
- “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psa 119:11) Here we see that when we hide the Word in our heart, not just our mind, we are able to avoid sinning against God, at least most of the time. The heart is thought of in the scripture differently from the mind. The mind leans knowledge but the heart learn wisdom and that is what God wants from us.
- “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (1Pe 2:2) Here we see a glimpse into the process of sanctification. We grow in our knowledge, understanding and wisdom of the Word as children learn and grow. At first you start out on milk and later learn to eat meat. It is a growth process that takes a lifetime.
- “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Rom 15:4) The entire scripture, not just the New Testament is written for our learning. Read the entire canon of scripture and cross reference it. When you find something you don’t understand or that seem to contradict something else in scripture, don’t chalk it up to interpretation issues or that their actually is a contradiction. Study it id depth and pray about it. You will eventually find your answer and it will be revealing to you.
An Integrated Story
The entire Bible is an integrated story of 66 books, written by over 40 men over a period of about 2000 years. That integrated story is all about Jesus Christ. The more you read and study the Word, the more obvious this will become to you. If you look, you will find Jesus on every page! Doing so will build your faith by seeing that the Word of God comes from outside our time dimension and is inspired to be perfectly integrated, despite the circumstances under which it was written. The Word of God is the greatest book every written because it was inspired by God Himself!
5. The Helmet of Salvation
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: “ (Eph 6:17)
Background on the Roman Soldier’s Helmet
The roman soldier’s helmet had a very distinctive shape that almost everyone is familiar with. The helmet was obviously designed to protect the head. It had flaps that came down over the ears and cheeks to protect them as well.
What Makes it the Hemet of Salvation?
The figure of a helmet immediately suggests to us that this is something designed to protect the mind, the intelligence, the ability to think and reason. We have seen that the breastplate protects our heart (emotions). The helmet protects our mind by giving us the peace that comes from being saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. What Christ did on the cross for us was done on our behalf to pay for our sins, once and for all. Jesus paid our sin debts and we are forgiven forever. Salvation is assured to us because of His actions, not our own. If it was based on our own actions, then we would not have a helmet of salvation that Paul tells us to take.
Justification
Salvation can be thought of in terms of three tenses, past, present and future. Justification is what Jesus did for us in the past, some 2000 years ago. It is done and nothing can undo it. If we accept Him as our Savior, we are justified. Romans 5:1 tells us, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” If you look closely at the Greek tenses of the verbs used in the verse, we can start to understand the answer to the question, “When you are saved, are you always saved?” The Greek tense of “being justified” is a “aorist”, which means it is done or completed. It is a one-time act to be justified by faith. Then if you look at the next verb, it is “have peace”. The Greek tense of this is present perfect tense, which means it is continuing and ongoing. Faith provides our “justification” once and for all.
That is great, but “salvation” is a bit more complicated than that. The term “salvation” has three tenses, past, present and future. To be more accurate, “salvation” means:
- Justification – Past
- Sanctification – Present
- Glorification – Future
Paul explains in Romans chapters 4 and 5 that we are justified by faith. That is one and done. To drive this home, we can look at Jesus’s explanation that He lost none of those whom He had been given. This is shown in John 6:39-40, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” The term “seeth” in the original Greek means to discern or to mentally consider. The tense of both “seeth” and “believeth” are both the aorist past tense in the Greek, meaning they are a one-time event in the past. Once a person believes in Jesus, we will never be “lost” from the sense of being justified. We will be in Heaven with Jesus. That is because justification is not something we do; it is what Jesus does on our behalf. Our works do not get us saved and they cannot cause us to lose our justification. That does not give us the liberty to do as we wish and sin all we want because Jesus will forgive us.
Sanctification
That moves us into the second phase of salvation, which is “sanctification”, which is the present tense, ongoing process of spiritual maturation. Romans 5:1 tells us we are justified or separated from the penalty of sin as a result of what Jesus did once and for all for us. Romans 5:2 (KJV) goes on to shed more light on the subject of salvation in saying, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We now have access by this faith into the grace of God! Praise God for that! That means that God gives us grace when we choose to believe in Him. Notice it says, “wherein we stand”. This tells us it is a present and continuing thing. It is not one and done, but ongoing. We now have standing before God and “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rejoicing is also a continuing, ongoing things, as is hope of a future state in which we will know the glory of God. Hold that thought, as the “glory” is covered later in this lesson.
Spiritual Maturity
Romans 5:3-5 (KJV) explain the following, “3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” What we find in these three verses is the process of spiritual maturity that follows justification.
Once a person believes the good news, the gospel, we are given the Holy Spirit who indwells in our hearts. We will then face various “tribulations”. This does not mean everyone will go through the “great tribulation” of the end times. “Tribulations” simply means difficult times, or times of challenges. These teach us patience, which in turn give us the experience we need to know we can tolerate and even glorify God through such challenges. That experience gives us hope. Hope is the pinnacle of spiritual maturity in this earthly form.
Until we go through the tribulation, we often do not have the patience we need to deal with struggles and challenges. It is only once we are tested and forced to deal that we realize we can. Many people often pray for patience. They should be careful what they ask for, because God will give you patience by making you deal with tribulations!
These steps cause a believer to grow in faith. The more tribulation we have been through, the more patience and confidence we have that God will be there to get us through tough times. The key thing to remember in this process is the Holy Spirit is the one acting through us to walk us through this process and is causing the growth in us. To God be the glory! It is not of our own doing. This is the process of “sanctification”, in which we grow into mature believers.
In addition to the development of patience, experience and hope, sanctification also includes the maturation of our knowledge and wisdom of God the Holy Spirit develops in us through the reading of God’s Word and prayer. “Knowledge” is in biblical terms is understanding God’s will and “wisdom” is applying that knowledge to act out God’s will in our lives. The Holy Spirit develops both of these in our lives through the process of “sanctification”. This coupled with the process of spiritual maturity leads us away from sin as we learn to act out God’s will instead of our own. That is the purpose of sanctification, to separate us from the power of sin. Before we accept Christ into our hearts, we are under the power of sin, a slave to it. Once we accept Jesus, we are no longer a slave to sin but have the power through the Holy Spirit to say no and to turn away from our old selves and our sinful nature. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to do this. We have to learn, with the Holy Spirit’s help to do that on a moment by moment, decision by decision basis. This is a lifelong process of growth and maturity. As long as we are alive in this body, we are facing the choices of turning away from sin and toward God or not. Choosing God in every moment and decision is the process of “sanctification”.
Glorification
The last part of Romans 5:2 (KJV) says, “…rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” This introduces us to the third part of “salvation”, which is “glorification”. This is the future tense of salvation. This is the “hope” we hold in all things, knowing that we will in the future, be glorified as Christ is. In fact, in Philippians 3:21 (KJV) we are told, “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.” We will have a body like Jesus’. In 1 John 3:1-2 (KJV) tells us, “1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” At this point in time, we have not yet received the glorified body, hence “it doth not yet appear what we shall be”. Yet in the future at His return, “when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
What does it mean to “see Him as He is.” We know from 1 Corinthians 15:44, “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” When Jesus was raised from the dead, He had a spiritual body that could do things we cannot, like traverse through solid walls, as described in John 20:19 (NLT), which says, “That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! ‘Peace be with you,’ he said.” He appeared to His disciples even though the doors were shut and locked! What 1 John 3:1-2 is telling us is that we will have a similar body as to Jesus and we will be able to be like Him. We will also have a glorified spiritual body that will not decay or know death. This is our “hope” that we will be like Him and with Him.
1 Corinthians 15:45-50 gives us a deep insight into this glorified body, by saying, “45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [Jesus] was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” This explains that humanity starts in a natural, earthly, sinful state and finishes in a spiritual, heavenly, incorruptible. We will be like Jesus and we will be with Jesus!
How Do You Get Salvation?
All it takes is accepting as true that Jesus Christ died for your sins, rose from the dead and is now your Savior. Jesus did all the work to pay for your sins. All you have to do is accept that and it is done! That is what “Justification” is all about. That will kickstart the process of “Sanctification”, in which you will repent, or turn away from your sins and the Holy Spirit will help you learn how to do that over time, but nothing will take away your salvation (justification). “Glorification” isn’t something we deal with in this lifetime, but we will have eternity to enjoy it after!
6. The Sword of the Spirit
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:17)
Background on the Roman Sword
The common Roman sword was called the “gladius”. It was often used in hand-to-hand combat and was about 24” long. It was made of iron and double edged so that it could penetrate easier and slice from any direction. It was the primary weapon used to kill or maim a threat, but it was also used for defense in a sword battle.
The Romans perfected this weapon for close hand-to-hand combat. By getting in close, the shorter sword was able to penetrate and conquer their foes easier than with the traditional, longer swords used by their enemies.
The Romans had a very specific and strict training program they used to train their soldiers for this type of combat. The soldiers had to learn not only how to wield the sword, but how to get in close enough for it to be an advantage. The same applies to how we wield the Sword of the Spirit and get in close enough to be effective.
The Spiritual Analogy
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) (2Co 10:3-4)
Here we are told our weapons are spiritual in nature, not physical. This is because our enemy is not physical in nature, but spiritual, as explained in Ephesians 6:12, “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.”
On Offense
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Heb 4:12)
In this verse, we see how the Word of God acts on us spiritually, physically and mentally. Note that it is the Word of God that divides and discerns. It is nothing of our own doing. It convicts the sinner of their sins. It exposes the truth within each individual that they were hiding from or ignoring. There is no aspect of our existence that it does not effect. This is the only part of the armor that is used for offense, because it is all that is needed. We are not told we need to convince others of the truth. God’s Word does that on its own. We just need to proclaim the truth. God will do the rest.
In Acts 2:37 we are told that those that hear the truth of the gospel are “cut to the heart” when convicted of their sins.
On Defense
The Sword of the Spirit also serves another important purpose, which is to make us strong and able to withstand the evil attacks of Satan.
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (Psa 119:11)
33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. 35 Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. 36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. 37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way. 38 Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear. 39 Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgments are good. 40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness. (Psa 119:33-40)
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. 101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. 102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psa 119:99-105)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Pro 3:5-6).
The idea here is that God wants us in His Word and learning to apply it to our every thought and action. God wants us to learn His righteous ways and love doing so! He wants us to learn to avoid temptation, and that only comes by reading His Word and devouring it. In Ezekiel 3:1-3 God had him eat the scroll. Jeremiah ate the word and did rejoice (Jer 15:16). John is directed in Revelation 5:1-9 to eat the little book. Why does He want us to “eat His Word”? To eat the word is to make it part of us, so that we do more than read it. We even do more than understand it. By “eating it”, we then spiritually grow from It and by It, learn to act according to It.
In 2 Timothy 3:16, it tells us, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. The Word of God is designed to teach us four main things, 1) doctrine – what is right, 2) reproof – what is not right, 3) correction – how to get it right, and 4) instruction – how to stay right. When we learn to do this by reading the Word daily and studying it with purpose and intent, we build our ability to discern right from wrong and avoid the deceiving schemes of the devil and his cohorts.
The Sword of the Spirit Hangs on the Belt of Truth
The Belt of Truth is essential to be in place in order for the Sword of the spirit to even present in the time of battle. Jesus is both the Word and the Truth. In John 14:6, it says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus is both the Word and the Truth. The Word is God’s truth. We must be able to know what is true according to God and discern what is actually true in the world, based on the Word. To do this, we must know the Word of God.
When You are Struggling
What do you do when you are feeling deflated, life’s got you down you have problems with family, work, your health or anything else that has you feeling sad, angry, or worse, tempted to do something sinful to alleviate the negative feeling? Doing so might even sound rational or even logical. Maybe your friends are urging you to relax and take a break and have a little fun to lift your spirits.
The answer is to pray about it and turn to the Word. What would God have you do? Ask yourself what would Jesus do or tell me to do if I was asking Him directly? The answer is in the Word of God. That’s the Sword of the Spirit that will help you avoid temptation and learn to stop wanting those selfish, sinful things in the first place. When you’re first starting out you will probably wonder what to read. Don’t worry too much about the details, just open your bible and start reading. It isn’t even what you read, it is that you are doing so that will show God your desire to be in His Word. The more you do so, the more you will start to get insights into how to avoid sin and learn what scriptures will help you when you need it. It may take some time to start to see the positive results, but it will come if you persist. God wants to see that you seriously want to learn His ways.
Three Levels of Learning the Word
God’s Sword is supernatural. It is not only a book with His guidance, it is a doorway to a close relationship with Him that shows Him your love and desire to learn His ways. The more you read it, the more you’ll get out of it. The Holy Spirit will reveal more and more insights and depth of understanding the more you read.
There are three levels of learning that apply to anything, but we will focus on the learning of the Word for now. The first level of learning in the gaining of “knowledge”. This is learning something. For example, you can learn there is a speed limit of 55 MPH on the freeway near your home. You’ve seen the signs and know that is the posted speed limit.
The next level of learning is “understanding”. This is when we comprehend how what we have learned (knowledge) applies to our lives. For example, knowing the speed limit is 55 MPH is fine, but if you don’t follow that speed limit and get pulled over, the police officer isn’t going to care that you knew what the speed limit was. He or she is only going to care that you were exceeding it. Now you have understanding of what it means and how it affects your life. You got a pricey ticket!
The last level of learning is what we are after, and that is “wisdom”. Wisdom is when we apply what we have learned by knowledge and understanding to out everyday actions. It is knowledge in action. For example, when we alter our driving speed to be equal to or less than the speed limit, we can peacefully wave to the police officer as you drive by, confident in knowing you will not get a ticket. That is knowledge in action, which only comes by understanding the implications.
We want to get to a level of wisdom with the Word. We want to apply it to our every thought and action in our lives. Then, we will be walking in God’s righteousness. That does not mean we will be perfect, but we will know when we make mistakes and know that we need to repent and turn away from them. That is a lifelong process that is only finished when we die.
7. Prayer
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Eph 6:18)
The Heavy Artillery
The last piece of the Armor of God is the weapon with the greatest power, prayer. It is not something we wear, because it is not for our protection. It is what we use to benefit others, strengthen ourselves and attack our enemy. It is the heavy artillery used from a distance.
What is Prayer?
The simple answer it “talking to God”. The reality is that in order to be effective, we need to do a little more digging to make sure we understand what we are doing. Prayer can be out loud or silent, private or public, formal or informal, standing, knelling, in a prone position, sitting or walking. It really doesn’t matter how you do it from a physical perspective. What matters is How you do it from a spiritual perspective. Prayer is really how we have a personal relationship with our Creator and Savior. It may seem like one-way communication, but God responds in many ways, other than an audible voice, such as through His Word, dreams, things that seem to come together perfectly in answer to your prayers. There are many ways God responds, so be open to listening and looking for those ways.
How to Pray
All prayer must be offered in faith. According to James 1:6, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” Prayers also need to be offered in the name of the Lord Jesus. This is emphasized in John 16:23, which tells us, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” Finally, prayer needs to be given in the power of the Holy Spirit , as described in Romans 8:26, which says, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
Jesus gave us the template for our prayers when He told His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:5-15, which is referred to as the Lord’s Prayer. We will focus on a few of those verses here. Jesus starts by telling us not to pray for the wrong reasons. Don’t do it to look good to others. He also said not to repeat yourself over and over, as this is simply in vain. God already knows what you need better than you do. Yet, God wants to hear from you, so do pray.
Here is the Lord’s Prayer, which is really the template for how we are to pray. Matthew 6:9-13 tells us, “9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Here is a breakdown of the prayer template.
- It starts with honoring God for who He is and acknowledging spiritual nature (v9).
- This is followed by our acknowledgment of His plan and power and that we wish to serve His will, not our own (v10).
- Next, we ask for what we need in this world (v11).
- We then ask for forgiveness of our ongoing sins (v12a),
- And we also ask that God forgive others who have sinned against us (v12b). This means we need to forgive them too (see v14-15)!
- Then we ask for protection from Satan and the temptation of sin (v13a).
- It ends with praise and worship (v13b).
The Catholics have made this a regular prayer that people repeat all the time without thinking. That is not the intent and what Jesus warns us against. It is to be a template. Your prayers should start with honoring God and respecting His position. This means giving reverence to Him, as He deserves. We should be thankful for all we have. Paul tells us the be thankful in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Then we can ask for what we need. However, be careful not to pray for worldly things we want, if they do not serve God’s will. That is not the purpose for prayer. This is where we get to what the scripture calls “supplication” and “intercession”. These terms mean prayer for our needs (supplication) and prayers for the needs of others (intercession).
We need to be continually asking for God’s forgiveness for our ongoing mistakes and His help to overcome them. God wants to see in us a desire to walk in His ways and not our own. He wants us to make our ways, His ways. Psalm 86:11 tells us this; “Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.”
We need to take the time to forgive others for what they have done to us. Verses 14 and 15 focus on how God won’t forgive us of ours, if we won’t forgive them of theirs. This doesn’t mean you can lose your salvation. It means we have to learn to forgive others. What God isn’t going to do for us if we don’t has to do with sanctification and that results in heavenly rewards or loss thereof at the Bema Seat of Christ (see 2Co 5:10).
Why Does God Not Answer Some Prayers?
As mentioned earlier, You need to ask in faith and in the name of the Lord. In Matthew 21:21, Jesus tells us, “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.” As you can see here, answering prayer is conditional based on your faith. How do you know if you have faith or need more of it? See the session on the Shield of Faith.
Another reason for not having your prayers answered is they are aimed in the wrong direction. James 4:3 tells us, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” If you are praying to have your team kick a last second field goal to win the big game, this isn’t going to be something God is going to listen or respond to. Your prayers need to be aligned with Hs will. That means they need to be righteous and not selfish. If you are asking for more money so you can have more stuff, don’t expect God to respond favorably.
As for those who are not believers, then you are not following His will. He will not answer your prayers! Psalm 66:18 tells us, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” This applies to all non-believers.
When you pray, if you are not asking the Holy Spirit to intercede for us in the name of Jesus, and do so in faith, then we will not be heard, even as believers. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit and with the Authority of Jesus Christ that the Father will respond. Do you see the Trinity involved here? All three components of God are at work in effective prayer. Believe in Jesus and pray this way and you will see results. Keep in mind your prayers need to be for His will, not yours. Sorry, praying to win the lottery most likely will not be answered!
