This continues a two part series on the Armor of God. The armor is allegorical; the pieces of the armor are statements of our spiritual position and legal rights as a Christian. As we put these principles into action, they give us defensive and offensive weapons with which to battle our spiritual enemy.
Ephesians 6:10-18 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints…
The Belt of Truth
Ephesians 6:14 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth….
The belt was more utilitarian than for protection, although in some designs the “skirt” had overlapping pieces of metal attached. A dagger sheath was attached to it.
Our belt of truth is the Word of God.
John 17:17 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
Our position in Christ, our armor, our ability, is all based on fact, as found in the Word. But if these facts remain in an old dusty Bible on the shelf, or are only trotted out once a week to go to church, it is not going to be very effective. It is only the truth you know that will make you strong.
John 8:31-32 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Knowing the truth will make you free, but how will you know the truth? By abiding in His word. Abide means to remain, to dwell, to make your home in. It will take an investment of time. And spending that time in the Word is how you put on the belt of truth.
We read in vs. 10 how the armor of God would enable us to stand against the wiles – the tricks, stratagems, and deceits – of the devil. The way you combat deceit is to know what the truth is.
The truth is, Satan is a defeated foe.
Colossians 2:15 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Mark 16:17 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
Romans 8:37-39 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Luke 10:19 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Satan knows that we have authority over him, so he resorts to deceit – he tries to keep us in the dark about our authority.
He gets Christians to believe that the supernatural has passed away.
He gets us to blame God for the things he is doing, that God is putting us though a trial to teach us, so we should just accept it. We don’t know who our enemy is. Like the bullfighter tricks the bull into chasing after the red cape. If that bull ever figured out the matador was his enemy, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Another way Satan distracts us from who the real enemy is, is by getting us to go after people rather than the spiritual forces that motivate them. People may do you wrong and hurt you – even those you thought were supposed to be your friends. And certainly those who aren’t your friends. There are many people in this world that believe that religion of any kind is a source of evil. When you identify yourself as a Christian, they will say ugly things about you. They will try to silence your voice. Then it’s time to rejoice!
John 10:10 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
I heard someone put it this way: “God is good. The devil is bad. If you keep those two things straight, it will clear up a lot of your theology.”
He gets us to believe that it is not always God’s will for you to be healed, or to prosper and have your needs met, or to be delivered.
Psalms 34:19 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
2 Corinthians 2:14 14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
Satan uses these lies to get Christians not to put up a fight, not to resist him. Because if we do resist him, he will have to go.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The breastplate is an important part of the Roman armor because it protects the vital organs. When attacking, the chest was one of the main targets an enemy would aim for because a hit there could kill.
The very essence of Christianity is that the sin problem has been dealt with and that we have been put into a right relationship with God. This is righteousness – right standing with God. Righteousness is a description of relationship rather than behavior.
The Christian becomes righteous when he is born again. It is a free gift.
Romans 5:17 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
2 Corinthians 5:21 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 10:9-10 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
The sin question has been dealt with. We do have right standing with God. The problem is, many Christians don’t really believe it. They’ll quote the scriptures about righteousness, but deep inside they don’t feel that God really accepts them because they don’t accept themselves – it’s tied in with a poor self image.
As well as being righteous, which comes with being born again, we must be conscious of our righteousness. One of the main tactics Satan uses against Christians is guilt and condemnation. We can only be strong in the Lord. If we feel He is displeased with us, we have cut ourselves off from that strength, and we are vulnerable.
Romans 8:1 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Even when we blow it and sin, the Lord has provision to restore our righteousness.
1 John 1:8-9 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What does righteousness do for us?
Proverbs 28:1 1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.
Do you want to have an impact on this world and do exploits for God? It requires boldness. And boldness requires righteousness. Righteousness gives us boldness and confidence.
Daniel 11:32 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.
Praying with Righteousness
Hebrews 4:16 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
James 5:16 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
When do you need mercy? When you’ve done wrong or fallen short. We can come boldly to throne of grace because we know we have a place there, we belong there. And James 5:16 talks about when we trespass.
The times when we have fallen short, missed the mark, and downright sinned are the times when we need to rely on the gift of righteousness the most. And praise God our righteousness depends not on what we have done, but on what Jesus has done!
Being righteous makes you qualified and eligible for all the promises of God.
2 Corinthians 1:20 AMP 20 For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes [answer] in Him [Christ]. For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him [in His Person and by His agency] to the glory of God.
Righteousness allows us to say “I am what the Bible says I am. I have what the Bible says I have. I can do what the Bible says I can do.”
The Shoes of the Gospel
Ephesians 6:15 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Why would shoes be considered part of armor? The thick soled sandals the Romans wore were very important. They provided a sure footing and stability. In hand to hand combat, if you got knocked over, you were as good as dead. Plus, an army often had to march many miles to get to a battle.
Eph 6:15 AMP And having your feet shod in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm footed stability, the promptness and readiness produced by the good news] of the gospel of peace.
The shoes are our message – the gospel, the good news.
Knowing we have a good and just cause will allow us to stand and fight harder and with more determination. Look at the difference between peoples’ attitudes about WWII and Vietnam.
Remember we are like the occupation force – bringing the news that the people are free from the tyrannical government that oppressed them.
Isaiah 52:7 7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
The word gospel means good news. If you are preaching judgment and damnation and hellfire, that is not good news.
“But it’s the truth – people who don’t know Jesus are going to hell!” Yes, it is the truth. But it is our goal to attract people, not to turn them off. It’s all in what you emphasize, how you present the truth. You can emphasize God’s wrath and judgment against sin, or His love in sending His Son to pay the penalty. What kind of picture are you painting of God? The harsh judge, or the loving Father?
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
We have been given the ministry of reconciliation – to tell the world that God is not mad at them, that He is not holding their sins against them – all they have to do is accept what God has already provided through Christ.
Romans 2:4 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Many Christians believe “the gospel” only refers to salvation and the forgiveness of sins. It is that and much more. It includes not just the promise of a heavenly home, but also all of the provision and promises for here on earth – healing, fellowship and guidance, provision and prosperity, joy and purpose. These are all just byproducts of the real treasure that Christianity offers – a day to day relationship with the Living God.
That is our message! Those are our shoes!
Stability
If we get off the good news, we can get off balance. There are Christians who think their purpose in life is to be against something or someone. They spend all their time criticizing preachers they don’t agree with, pointing out their “error”, or exposing sin in the world.
Now we are all supposed to judge teachings by the Word of God, and there may be situations where we need to take a stand against sin in the world. But I don’t believe that should be our major focus. There are too many things we should be preaching for that we don’t have to spend all our time preaching against.
The Shield of Faith
Ephesians 6:16 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
“Above all”, can imply “most importantly”. Why above all? Because it is by faith that we “put on” all the other armor.
Some translations say “over all”, take the shield of faith. The other pieces of armor are in fixed positions, to protect certain sections. The shield was movable. It requires faith to ward off Satan’s attacks in every area.
1 Peter 1:4-5 AMP 4 [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay [imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.
1 John 5:4-5 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Fiery darts. Not like the kind you throw at a dartboard, with a match stuck in the end. We’re talking about firebombs. Flaming missiles. Spiritual ICBM’s.
Thoughts
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
We are beings of two worlds – the natural/physical, and the spiritual. And we are at war. Our enemy is not a natural one, but a spiritual one. This is what Ephesians 6:12 told us, that our real enemy is not human beings, although they may be attacking us, but the spiritual forces that are motivating them.
So if our enemy is a spiritual enemy, we need spiritual weapons to combat him. The armor of God is a spiritual weapon. So is the name of Jesus.
Verses 4 and 5 give us insight as to where the main battle takes place – in the mind. Temptation always starts with a thought, or with a circumstance with an accompanying thought.
As we mentioned before, since Jesus defeated Satan, his main tactic against us is deceit. That purpose of deceit is to get us to believe a lie. But it is not always something blatant, like a temptation to sin, but can also be more subtle – like settling for less than what the Bible promises.
Ideally as Christians we should be going around doing the works of Jesus, who was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8). But we can get so bogged down in our own problems that we do little to set other people free.
Faith will quench – put out – any attack the enemy can throw at us.
1 Peter 1:5 NASB 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:5 NIV 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
John 16:33 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.”
1 John 5:4 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.
How important is faith?
- Without it, we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6)
- The just – those who are declared righteous and are in right-standing with God – shall live by faith. It is to be our lifestyle (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38)
- We are to walk – to order our behavior and be motivated by – our faith, and not by what we perceive with the physical senses (2 Corinthians 5:7)
- If it does not proceed from faith, it is sin [i.e., missing the mark] (Romans 14:23)
The Helmet of Salvation
The head is one of the most vulnerable parts of the body. Our salvation is essential to having victory over Satan. Without it, we are still legally under his dominion.
Ephesians 2:1-3 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
Colossians 1:13-14 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Hope of salvation
1 Thessalonians 5:8 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
The breastplate covers the heart. Faith and love both come from the heart. The helmet protects the head; here it says the helmet is the hope of salvation. Faith comes from your heart, but the main operation of hope is in your soul.
Hebrews 11:1 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hope is like the blueprint, the inner image of something. It starts out in your head. Hope deals with things in the future, which therefore are not tangible. Faith gives substance, or tangibleness, to it. The blueprint of a house has no substance, you can’t live in it. You have to add the materials and labor to build it. But, the blueprint is essential. You could build a shed in your back yard without ever writing anything on paper, but you still have an image on the inside of what you are trying to build. Faith has nothing to do without hope.
Hebrews 6:17-19 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil…
Hope can act as an anchor for our soul – it can give stability to our emotions.
When we see the word “saved”, we usually think of going to heaven instead of hell. But salvation has a much broader meaning in the Bible. The Greek word for saved is sozo, which literally means to make whole, heal, deliver or protect.
The main application of the hope of salvation is our assurance that we have a heavenly home. But it is also that inner feeling and knowing that somehow God is going to take care of you in whatever circumstance you find yourself in.
The Sword of the Spirit
Ephesians 6:17 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
We have already seen that the Belt of Truth involves the word of God. Actually, all of the pieces of armor are built upon the word of God:
- Belt of Truth – Thy Word is Truth (John 17:17)
- Gospel of Peace: where do you find the good news, the message that we preach?
- Shield of Faith: Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17)
- Helmet of Salvation: How can they believe without a preacher? (Romans 10:13-14)
The difference with the sword of the Spirit as the Word of God, is that this is using it as a weapon of offense rather than defense. It fact, it is the only weapon of offense listed in the armor.
“But what about faith?” Faith will protect you from whatever the devil throws at you. However, you are not a threat to him and he can sit behind a tree and shoot fiery darts at you all day. If you want to chase him off and make him stop, you’re going to have to go after him personally.
We can use the Word of God as a weapon of offense, just like Jesus did in Matt 4 when He was being tempted by the devil. He quoted scripture: “It is written!”
There are two different Greek words translated “word” in English:
Logos – the written Word. Your Bible.
Rhema – the spoken Word.
You don’t hit the devil on the head with your Bible. You stick him with your sword by quoting specific scriptures in faith that apply to whatever you’re dealing with him over. You have to believe what you’re saying. If you’re just quoting by rote but don’t really believe it, he can tell the difference and he won’t go away. But you speak the Word in faith, it will hurt him. It will run him off.
You don’t have to scream and holler at the devil. Some people try to make it up in volume when they are lacking in faith.
Sharper than any two-edged sword
Hebrews 4:12 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Various types of swords:
Rhomphaia – a two handed sword the barbarians used. Large, very heavy, wide, and long. You swung it with both hands. It was so heavy, if you weren’t strong enough, it could knock you off balance. Think Conan the Barbarian.
Zephos – only had a sharp point, so it was only good for stabbing. A fencing type of sword (rapier).
Akinacase – like the cutlass used by pirates. It had only one sharp edge, and a sharp point. It cut only in one direction, used for hacking. Ornamental and ceremonial swords were most often of this type. The scimitar, a curved sword used by the Islamic warriors and by Indians (far east, not native American) was of this type.
Machaira – the Roman sword. Short, about 18” to 20” long. The point was sharp, and both sides of the blade. It was light and highly maneuverable. It could cut in every direction. The barbarians would laugh at the Romans coming at them with their short little swords. But as they swung that big sword around and missed, the Roman soldier could jump in and get them with that short sword, and have time to whirl around and get someone else, too.
The word of God is sharper than the machaira. I am always reminded of the light sabers in Star Wars. A laser is the “sharpest” thing known to man, and God is light.
The Word will not leave you off balance.
It is not something that has only one good point.
It is not ornamental – i.e., just beautiful literature.
It is a balanced, precision instrument designed to destroy the devil no matter which way he jumps into your life.
How to Wield the Sword
We’ve seen how Satan comes in with thoughts that contain lies that try to put you into bondage, or to try to steal the rights and privileges that are yours as a Christian away from you. The way to combat lies is with the Truth.
To do that, you’re going to need to know the Truth – you’re going to need to know what the Bible says about your situation. That’s actually putting the Belt of Truth. The difference between the Belt of Truth and the Sword of the Spirit, is now you go after the devil with those scriptures. You quote them, like Jesus said “Ít is written” when He was being tempted by the devil.
The Armor is for Prayer
A lot of people stop reading about the armor at verse 17, but that’s not even the end of the sentence. Put on all the whole armor…
Ephesians 6:18-20 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–
19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
The armor is for prayer. This is another way we can go on the offense against the devil.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit”. Some translations say “praying with all manner of prayer” or “all kinds of prayer”. There are different kinds of prayer, with different rules governing them. You can pray for something for yourself. You can pray for someone else. You can ask for wisdom and guidance. You can just praise and worship the Lord in prayer. You can commit and dedicate yourself to do His will. You can pray by yourself or pray in agreement with someone else. Many types of prayer.
In these verses it mentions praying and making supplication – a supplication is making a request, asking for something. It also uses the phrase, in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit is a phrase also used in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, where it is talking about praying in other tongues:
1 Corinthians 14:14-15 14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
There in Eph 6:18 it talks about making prayer and supplication for the saints – that’s other Christians.
Intercession
Praying for someone else while they are not praying with you – that’s intercession. For example, praying for the lost. Intercession is a major application of using the armor of God in prayer.
Isaiah 59:16-17 16 He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
Ezekiel 22:29-31 29 The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.
30 So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
31 Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.
God is looking for those who will intercede for the wicked. Their sin means that judgment is due them, but God gets no pleasure in handing out judgment. He would rather be merciful, but He needs a reason to. One of His children interceding for the wicked is one of those reasons.
When interceding for the lost, we see two areas where prayer and intercession is involved. First, the god of this world, the devil, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so they can’t see the light of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4). One thing we can do in spiritual warfare as an intercessor is bind the devil (Matt 18:18) and command him to remove those blinders.
That will free the unsaved one up so they can hear unhindered. But then they need to hear the gospel. Jesus told us that the fields were white for harvest, and to pray that laborers be sent into the harvest (Luke 10:2). We can pray that the Lord send someone across their path that can share the gospel with them, that they will listen to.
Praying for ministers
Paul also asked the Ephesians to pray for him, that utterance and boldness be given to him. Utterance is having the right words to say. Boldness is needed to have the guts to say them!
We should be praying for those that are ministers of the gospel, that their ministries would be effective, and that they would have wisdom what to speak and what to do. We should pray for our pastors, for teachers, evangelists, missionaries – anybody that is involved with spreading the Word. We can pray for the effectiveness of their ministries, that they would have the resources needed to fulfill those ministries, and that they would be protected against any plots of the enemy that would try to hinder them. We can pray for ministers personally, that they would have wisdom, that their personal lives would be protected, that they would have their needs met and fulfillment in whatever they do.
Conclusion
I’ve heard people suggest that every day you should go through a ritual of “putting on” the armor of God. That can be effective, if you do it right. Just saying, “I’m putting on the armor of God” and imagining yourself putting on a Roman helmet, breastplate, sandals, belt, and picking up a sword and shield, by itself has very little value. You have to do it with understanding of what those pieces of armor represent.
Have you ever seen how an athlete prepares him or herself mentally? Especially fighters, like a boxer. They talk to themselves. They tell themselves what they are, what they are going to do. “I am a force of nature. I am unstoppable. I am irresistible. I am the lightning. I am the tornado.”
I’m not sure about the ladies, but this is how men prepare themselves for battle. We can do the same with the armor of God.
“I am strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. I have the wisdom of God and am aware of all the tricks and schemes the enemy would try to deceive me with.
“I am the saved – I know my God is with me and on my side. I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He will keep and protect that which I’ve committed to Him until the day I see Him face to face.
“I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I am in right-standing with God, there is nothing blocking the relationship between us. The breastplate protects me from all guilt and condemnation.
“I put on the belt of truth. Your Word is truth. I know the truth, and the truth sets me free.
“My message is the good news. My cause is just and right. I am a minister of reconciliation to tell the world that God is not mad at them, that Jesus died for their sins to open the way to the Father. I am bold as a lion to tell people the good news. Satan, I bind you and command you to remove the blinders from their eyes so that they are free to hear the gospel unhindered.
“I take up the shield of faith. No weapon formed against me will prosper. I repel any and all attacks against me or my family.
“The thief may come, but this day he will not steal, kill, or destroy me. Jesus has also come, to give me life and life more abundantly.
“I take up the sword of the Spirit. It is written: ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’. You may come as a roaring lion, but Jesus has pulled all your teeth out, and you will not devour me!
“This day, I am the victor not the victim. I stand against you, devil. I am the mountain. I shall not be moved. But I don’t just stand here, devil, I’m coming after you. Through the God Whose I am and Whom I serve, through the name of Jesus, this day I will undo your works.
“Devil, get your hands off my body! Take your hands off my finances and my stuff! Turn loose of my loved ones, and GIT!”
Sometimes, when the pressure comes on, you have to let the devil know who’s boss. But we don’t need to spend all our time binding devils. Jesus didn’t, and the apostles didn’t. They dealt with devils when they encountered them, but they didn’t go chasing them. When they did deal with them, they told them to do two things: shut up, and leave. No weapon formed against me will prosper.
