Put on the Whole Armor of God
Put on the Whole Armor of God!
Discipleship: Kingdom Training in order to advance the gospel in South Florida
We have already explained that as the representatives of the kingdom of God on earth, we are engaged in an all-out war with a highly organized, though crippled, opposing kingdom ruled by Satan, a kingdom of evil spirits whose headquarters are in the heavenly realms.
The battleground upon which this war is being fought is the minds of humanity. Satan has built up strongholds of prejudice and unbelief in the minds of the human race to prevent them from receiving the truth of the gospel. God has given us the task to break down these mental strongholds, thus releasing men and women from Satan’s deception, and them bringing them into submission and obedience to Christ.
Our ability to achieve the tasks God has given to us depends mainly upon two factors:
1. We must fully understand from Scripture that on the cross Jesus totally defeated Satan on our behalf and that it is our responsibility to demonstrate and administer the victory which Jesus has already won.
2. We must make proper use of the necessary spiritual weapons that God has provided for us. These weapons fall into two categories: weapons of defense and weapons of attack.
Open and read Ephesians 6:10-18.
Paul says, “Put on the whole armor”.
Why take up the full armor? Some who call themselves Christians believe that Satan no longer exists, others believe that he cannot exert influence over anyone because he has been defeated. If this was true, there would be no need for armor! The reason we must take up the full armor of God is because there is a need for protection “so that we are able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil”.
We must take up the full armor of God because we are in a “struggle against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies”. We are in a conflict but not against flesh and blood. Paul says elsewhere that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). A disciple who is fully trained in heavenly weaponry (prayer, praise, proclamation of truth, anointing accompanied by signs and wonders, etc,) and who learns to put on the whole armor of God is ready to do spiritual combat and overcome the enemy!
In 6:13 Paul explains further the necessity of putting on the whole armor, “that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm”. This speaks of what every Christian faces when confronting the forces of evil, where the believer’s faith will be challenged, and where there is great opposition and problems released against him/her every day.
Don’t wait for problems to come and then put on your armor. Don’t limit your experience with God to just going to the altar for prayer. That great experience cannot replace the process of discipleship in your life! No soldier would go to the battlefield without receiving all of the basic and specialized training he needs to fight and win! “O God, train my hands for war!
Our responsibility to you as a disciple is to lay out for you the whole armor, to teach you and give you full understanding by the Holy Spirit as to what each article of warfare represents so you can learn to dress yourself for daily battle in the kingdom of God. We are rising up soldiers who will learn how to win every power encounter with the enemy (demonization), win every revelational battle (against cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons or false doctrines of men), and overcome all the schemes and temptations of the devil. We are going on the offensive to advance the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus won the victory at Calvary. It is time to enforce the victory over every area of your life and family. Then begin to affect your neighborhood by opening your home. You have to be covered. You have to close off any point of diabolical entrance. It is time to put on the whole armor of God!