As Christians we have been called of God to enjoy the divine and spiritual blessings that He has given to us in Christ, to walk worthy of the calling wherewith He has called us, and, as Paul exhorted Timothy, to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3). Conflict cannot be avoided if we are faithful to God, but He has provided the armour needed for this spiritual warfare. He has given to us "the armour of light" to protect us from "the works of darkness" (Rom. 13:12) as we pass through a world of darkness, and "the armour of righteousness" to protect us from the unrighteousness that abounds on every side (2 Cor. 6:7).
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, where the Christian is viewed as "blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ", the conflict is shown as not with flesh and blood, but "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 1:3; Eph. 6:12). It may seem strange that a naturally brave man like Simon Peter should desert His Master in the hour of His need, and that all the other disciples should forsake Jesus and flee when He was apprehended by the band from the chief priests. It must be evident that they realised that their foes were not simply of flesh and blood, but that they were confronted by the powers of darkness for whom they were no match. Apparently it was a servant maid that brought about the downfall of Simon Peter, but behind the actions of the maid was the power of Satan.
In our own strength we are, like Peter, unable to stand against the powers of darkness, but God has provided for us the armour that will enable us to stand for Him in the evil day. We must learn to be strong, not in ourselves, but in the Lord and in the power of His might. The Lord met and vanquished the enemy in all his power, and if we are strong in Him, as realising that He has triumphed and that the might of His strength is available for us, we shall not fear a foe that He has defeated.
Jericho was probably the most strongly fortified of all the cities of Canaan, yet it fell before Israel or ever they had struck a blow. Joshua had met the Angel of the Lord with a drawn sword in His hand, and so long as Israel were strong in Him, and in the power of His might, they were victorious. Ai was not to be compared with Jericho for strength, and Israel, without consulting Jehovah, thought it could be easily taken. They soon found that their own strength was insufficient for overcoming even such a small city. We have to learn, like them, that "without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5) and, with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
We are to put on the whole armour of God, not to resist the power of Satan, for his power was broken by Jesus at the cross, but "to stand against the wiles of the devil". Our foe is subtle, and has had long experience. He brought about the fall of man by seducing Eve with his wiles. Israel through unwatchfulness, and because they did not consult Jehovah, were seduced into making a league with the Gibeonites.
Our watchful adversary is ever endeavouring to hinder our entering into the practical enjoyment of the inheritance that God has given to us in Christ and seeks to distress us with his wiles and fiery darts. So long as we are in this world we shall need the whole armour of God, for the evil day will last until the Lord comes to put away all evil. We cannot withstand the attacks of the enemy with any other armour than that which God provides, and to attempt to do so is to invite failure. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, remarked "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds" (2 Cor. 10:3-4).
First of all, we are to stand in the panoply of God, with-standing the assault of the enemy. Then, having done all, having taken a step forward to possess what God has given to us, we are to stand firmly in possession, for, if we are not watchful, the moment of triumph can be the moment of defeat.
There are seven parts of "the whole armour of God" and we cannot do without any one part. If we endeavour to stand with any part missing, the watchful foe will speedily find it out, take advantage of our weakness and readily defeat us.
When David was convicted of his sin, he spoke to God saying, "Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts" (Psalm 51:6). His loins had not been girt with truth, and the enemy of God and His people took advantage of David's weakness to dishonour the holy Name of Jehovah. It is only as God's Word has its rightful place in our souls, only as Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, that we shall have the loins girt about with truth. A true heart thinks only of how the life affects the honour of the Lord's Name. If we have any other motive than Christ for any word or action, the loins are not girt about with truth. Paul had to withstand Peter to the face because he was influenced by those who came from James, rather than by the truth of God. Many things can come in to displace truth from the inward parts. The love of this present world displaced truth in the heart of Demas, resulting in his forsaking one who was standing for the truth. Praying to the Father for His disciples, the Lord said, "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). With the Father's word in us, Christ will be the motive of the life, and truth will fill the inward parts, the springs that give character to every inward thought and movement and every out-ward activity.
This breastplate ensures that the heart will not have an accusing conscience. If we do anything that is not right before God, we get a bad conscience, of which the enemy is not slow to take advantage. Hymenaeus and Alexander put away a good con-science, making shipwreck of the faith. These are examples of men who, as it were, threw away the breastplate of righteousness. We can acquire a bad conscience in very small matters which, if not speedily judged and confessed to God, will hinder us greatly in the conflict to which God has called us.
It is a blessed privilege to carry with us wherever we go the wonderful message of the Gospel of peace. This is a privilege which God has given to all His saints; it is not the prerogative of the preacher, although he has his special privilege in relation to God's testimony. This preparation is not only for our speaking the word of the Gospel of peace, but that our every step should be marked by the peace that is consistent with the Gospel. The Gospel not only brings to us peace with God, but a life that is honouring to God and in which are all the beautiful features exhibited in Christ in Manhood here.
One of the requirements of a bishop, given in 1 Tim. 3:3, is "not a brawler". Brawling is utterly inconsistent with Christianity, as is every other trait that would dishonour the Name of the Lord before the world or bring disquietude among the saints of God. Our God is a God of peace, and one of the seven things that He hates is "he that sows discord among brethren" (Prov. 6:19).
Before the Gospel reached us, as sinners of the Gentiles, we were without God, and "the way of peace" we did not know. But now the Gospel has provided shoes for our feet, not only shoes of privilege for the house of God, like those given to the returned Prodigal, but shoes of peace for the conflict. Of old it was written concerning wisdom, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace" (Prov. 3:17). This is the path we are called to tread, and one that is so contrary to that of the natural man.
The steps of the blessed Lord Jesus were ever marked by peace, even when meeting Satan, whether in the wilderness or at the cross, and even when meeting those whom Satan used, whether religious or political leaders, in seeking to hinder His work for His God and Father.
The exhortation to "follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" was written to those who had received the Gospel of peace. While contending for the faith, whether for its foundations or its superstructure, we are not to be marked by a contentious spirit, which belongs to the flesh, but by the Spirit of Him Who said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you". To the man of the world and the uninstructed Christian it will be an enigma that only those whose feet are shod with peace can hope to stand for God in the spiritual conflict of Christianity. Paul, before the leaders of Israel, before Felix, Festus and King Agrippa, exhibited the same peaceful traits as did His Lord and Master before the chief priests, Herod and Pilate. With the Lord all was perfection; He never uttered a threat or spoke an angry word in the presence of all His false accusers, even though a word from His mouth could have swept all into perdition.
In his first epistle to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes, "The end of what is enjoined is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith" (1 Tim. 1:5). Do we not find three parts of the panoply of God in this passage? Is not the loins girt with truth "a pure heart", the breastplate of righteousness "a good conscience", and the shield of faith "faith unfeigned"?
This divine shield is to protect us against the inflamed darts of the wicked one, which are aimed to distress the Christian and to destroy his enjoyment of the blessings of God. If we are not enjoying God's blessings, there will be little testimony in our lives for Christ, and Satan will have succeeded in his attack. Inflamed darts are sent to wound and burn into the soul of the believer; they can be darts of doubt and unbelief, or of teachings that are erroneous and dishonouring to Christ.
All that is required of us when the enemy is throwing his fiery darts is to bring God in between the enemy and ourselves, for the enemy is no match for God. Faith, in all simplicity, says, "If God be for us, who can be against us?". When David was confronted with the challenge of Goliath, his faith recognised that the giant in challenging Israel was defying the living God, and it was this that enabled David to overcome him. We see the shield of faith used by King Asa, when Zerah the Ethiopian with his hordes came against him (2 Chr. 14:11). This matchless shield was also brought into use by King Hezekiah when confronted with the fiery words of the King of Assyria (2 Chr. 32:8).
When Paul wrote to Timothy of "unfeigned faith", he spoke from long experience as "a good soldier of Jesus Christ". To the Galatians he had written, "I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me". This is one of the secrets of the successful warfare of the apostle, who, at the end of his long service for His Master, could say, "I have kept the faith". The shield of faith had protected him in many conflicts, and he used it unto the end.
When our thoughts are engaged with God's salvation, the heart and mind are guarded against every thought that would disturb and produce feelings of uncertainty. In chapter 2 of Ephesians we are taught, "Ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is God's gift: not on the principle of works, that no one might boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). There are many Christians who live constantly with doubts and fears concerning their salvation, never having properly learned that "God has saved us", and that our salvation depends entirely on the work of Christ and on the sovereign grace of God. Such never enter into the present possession of what God has given to us in Christ; their lives are lived in miserable uncertainty through not resting in simplicity on the value of the precious blood of Christ and on the truth of God's holy word. The helmet of salvation brings a state of restfulness, for the soul rests on what Christ is and has done, not on its own futile endeavours.
The Thessalonian saints had not been instructed in the truth of the Lord's coming, and this lack had been used by the enemy to distress them. Paul sent them "for an helmet, the hope of salvation", the full salvation that was to be obtained at the coming of our Lord Jesus: "For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him" (1 Thess. 5:8-10).
The sword is not only a defensive weapon; it can be used to put the enemy to flight. Such is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God". Do we not have the supreme example of the wielding of this divine sword when the blessed Lord met the assaults of Satan with the words, "It is written"? It is not enough to quote Scripture when facing the foe; we must meet him with the Scripture chosen by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us. For this we must be both instructed in the Scriptures and under the control of the Holy Spirit. Satan quoted Scripture when assailing the Lord, but the Lord met him with another Scripture, which was the sword of the Spirit, and Satan had no answer to this.
In his many conflicts Paul often used the sword of the Spirit, but even in such a remarkable servant there was not the perfection seen in his Master. When the high priest commanded them that stood by to smite Paul, he replied in righteous anger, "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall". This was not using the sword of the Spirit, although it was meeting wrongful action with righteous indignation. The wronged apostle was not then in the spirit of His Master Who, in similar circumstances, showed not the slightest anger. Indeed, Paul has to turn the sword of the Spirit against his own hasty words, saying, "It is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people".
The seventh, and final, part of the armour is prayer: "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints". If our use of God's word is to be under the control of God's spirit, our prayers are also to be "in the Spirit". Prayer is the expression of our dependence on and confidence in God, and this attitude is to mark us at all seasons. All prayer, prayer of every kind, will embrace the whole field of God's interests in this world, even although we know little of what is actually taking place among the many thousands of God's people.
In times of special trial there will be special requests, both for the saints and for the servants of the Lord, although we should ever keep in mind that all the saints are dear to the heart of Christ, and that we are bound up with all in the unity of the body of Christ. Here the apostle desires the prayers of the saints in relation to the special ministry confided to him by the Lord Jesus. Our blessed Lord has not only shown us how to wield the sword of the Spirit in conflict, but has given us the perfect example of dependence on God, for, we read of Him in the Garden of Gethsemene, "And being in conflict He prayed more intently" (Luke 22:44).
The evil day will soon be over, for the Lord is coming to take us to be for ever with Himself. Then there will be no more need to engage in conflict with the spiritual forces that seek to hinder our entering into the spiritual blessings that God has given to us in Christ in the heavenly places, and that endeavour to rob us of the privilege of being loyal to Christ during the time of His absence from this world. But we cannot stand for Christ unless we take every part of the divine armour, realising that all the strength for this conflict is only in the Lord Jesus Christ.