Accepted: Who We Really Are and What He Has Given UsSample

Day 13: Ephesians 6:10-17

How do we complete our call? God has given us His armor to protect us and to advance His purposes.

We won’t understand much about our life circumstances if we don’t seriously recognize that our adversary, the devil, rules the earth until Jesus returns (John 12:31. Eph. 2:1-3). Yet, for this purpose, the Son of God came, that He might destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8). Now filled with the Holy Spirit of the living God, we have been given His armor and authority to take back ground from the enemy.

God’s armor provides for us a:

• Belt of Truth: Jesus alone is the Truth, and we secure the core of our being with His Word, Who He is, what He has said about us, and what He has given us (John 14:26).
• Breastplate of Righteousness: God’s imputed righteousness that covers us is more potent than all the sin and stuff we may still be working through. This piece of armor is essential as the enemy attempts to accuse us of our sin and keep a lid on our authority over him (Rom. 4:11, Col. 1:30).
• Shoes of Peace: Enable us to stand on the unshakeable platform of the all-encompassing gospel of the Lord Jesus. We extend peace where we go, and we don’t make decisions without God’s peace reassuring us (Rom. 5:1).
• Shield of Faith: We arm ourselves preemptively and daily with faith. How is faith built? Two ways. One, by opening God’s Word to see all that is available to us in any situation (Rom. 10:17). And two, by making the minute-by-minute choice to believe His Word above any other voice, report, or feeling. (Prov. 3:5)
• Helmet of Salvation: Our thought-life truly is our main battleground, and we must guard it with utmost care, learning to bring every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5, 1 Pet. 1:13).
• Sword of the Spirit: Our only offensive weapon is the power of God’s Word itself. Just as our Lord Jesus demonstrated during His encounter with the devil in the wilderness, God’s Word stands as the final authority over darkness. (Mt. 4:1-4)

Routing the enemy is ongoing work as we draw closer in intimacy with Jesus and are healed from the inside out. Drawing closer to the Lord doesn’t make us the devil’s target. Instead, the enemy learns he has less and less to hang onto in our lives as we surrender daily to the Lord, resist our adversary, and he flees! (James 4:7-8)