THE ARMOUR OF GOD – PART 2
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: Die wapenrusting van God – Deel 2
Translator: Lynda Botha
My first letter to you regarding the "armour of God" began as follows:
Someone wrote to me the following:
"I am struggling for years to understand the aspect of the full armour of God and how to put it into practice.
Can you please explain each armour part and how to put it into practice when you have time? I am not sure I understand what it all entails."
Briefly this is how I see this matter and endeavour to live this out in my own life.
Just read the following from the Word of God regarding the matter I want to share with you:
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.”
11 “Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”
12 “For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
13 “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”
14 “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness.”
15 “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”
16 “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”
17 “Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
I would like to share with you now in this letter about the remaining components of the "armour of God"
The previous component in part one that I shared with you was:
EPH 6:15 “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”
Now as we read further, the Word of God says that we should use our faith like a shield to block all fiery arrows that are fired at us.
EPH 6:1: “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”
The fiery arrows referred to here are in my opinion things like wrong thoughts, wrong feelings/emotions, wrong desires and wrong doings.
These are things which I can only deter if I really have faith in our Lord. If I do not really believe in our Lord, I will not be able to deter these kinds of things, simply because it would not be a problem for me with my current views.
Therefore, the Word of God says:
HEB 11:6 “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
The Word of God also mentions a few examples in Hebrews 11 of what our faith should be like in our lives and I will quote only the first example:
HEB 11:7 “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.”
How does Jesus’ followers understand, experience and live out our faith?
HEB 11:1 “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for’ it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”
So child of God –
EPH 6:16 “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”
Furthermore our Lord inspires us in His Word:
EPH 6:17 “Put on salvation as your helmet,..”
In my head, so to speak, my whole humanity is settled. My spirit and my soul.
You can take out my kidneys and put me on a machine and I will still live as Sakkie the person who I am. You can do this also with my heart, lungs, legs etc.
But take my head away or destroy what’s inside my head and I, Sakkie, the man, is gone.
When you adopted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, His act of salvation at Golgotha embraced your whole being like a helmet.
GAL 3:26 “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
GAL 3:27 “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.”
Now from time to time in this life you might still feel, so to speak, the sword of the enemy's blows against your head – because we are after all at war with evil and evil will not let you forget this for a moment but how wonderful –
You are protected forever.
JHN 10:27 “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.”
JHN 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me,”
At least through all of this we have a sword ourselves, incidentally it also constitutes as the only weapon which forms part of our armour.
EPH 6:17 “ … and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
Now there are some people who weaken the strength and sharpness of their swords, namely the Word of God that are being weakened and dulled by proclaiming that times have changed and that there were things that applied to the first Christians but no longer apply to us.
But we, who use our sword, the Word of God, as we received it from our Lord, have confidence in our weapon, because we know:
2 TIM 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”
2 TIM 3:17 “God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”
Therefore, I draw and use my sword as my Commander ordered me to do as per His writing to me:
2 TIM 4:2 “Preach the Word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”
This I do because I know the quality of my sword and therefore completely believe and also proclaim so accordingly.
HEB 4:12 “For the Word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
In conclusion:
A soldier gets his energy to fight from their food provisions, but my provision is prayer. And because I pray for my fellow soldiers, I share my provisions, so to speak, with them during their battles.
EPH 6:18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
So, my friends –
EPH 6:11 “Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”
Geetings,
Sakkie