Posted on 08-Nov-2014
Feature by Corporal Brendan Eu Che-Jie of 12th Kuala Lumpur Company
October 23rd, 2014
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Ephesians 6 : 10 – 18
One fine day, as I sat back relaxing reading, I came across this scripture – The Armour of God. This is indeed a great reminder for us as Christians especially. Now if we were to leave home every morning dressed with full armour, we would feel pretty silly. Fortunately that's not necessary. The Full Armour of God may be invisible, but it's just as real, and when used properly and worn daily, it provides solid protection against the Enemy's onslaught.
Every day we would be tossed with temptations and challenges that will send our whole life spinning. But little did we know by faith we could ever overcome all these complications; the more we overcome, the stronger we are. The thing is God never turns his back on us, and that He showed His love by sending His only son to die on the cross for our sins.
By strengthening the armour of God with powerful enhancements, the most effective way is by prayer. Prayer is something that all of us overlooked all these while. Recently I had taken part in the Prayer Rally organised by the school's Christian Fellowship, and from that event the speaker had spoken about the power of prayers. He even made a metaphor relating the power of prayer to an atomic bomb. Imagine how powerful is that!
The first element of our armour is truth (verse 14). Satan is said to be the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and deception is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness.
Also in verse 14, we are told to put on our breastplate of righteousness; shielding our vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. This righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men. Rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, which is received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks.
Verse 15 speaks of the preparation of the feet for spiritual conflict. In warfare, sometimes an enemy places dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory, aware that there will be traps, with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the propagation of the gospel.
The shield of faith spoken of in verse 16 makes Satan's sowing of doubt about the faithfulness of God and His Word ineffective. Our faith—of which Christ is “the author and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial.
The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception.
Verse 17 interprets itself as to the meaning of the sword of the Spirit—it is the Word of God. While all the other pieces of spiritual armour are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armour of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!
In verse 18, we are told to pray in the Spirit (that is, with the mind of Christ, with His heart and His priorities) in addition to wearing the full armour of God. We cannot neglect prayer, as it is the means by which we draw spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without reliance upon God, our efforts at spiritual warfare are empty and futile. The full armour of God—truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer—are the tools God has given us, through which we can be spiritually victorious, overcoming Satan’s attacks and temptations.
Definitely, the Christians of the company will need to come together as a body and just to pray for each other or even, in our case, as Brigadiers and the Company, we should have faith that God listens to our prayers. Back in my Company, we made it a point to always come together to pray as a NCO Council before the Members fall in for every Parade. Although there are hiccups and challenges placed upon us, but eventually with the guidance from God we will achieved our common purpose. For God always promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. Test will be place upon us that we are to overcome with. But how are we to do so?
Yes, with the armour of God. It shields us from any harm and danger. By committing to God in a word of prayer, it strengthens our faith and instantly a coat of protection will be laid upon us. God will never allow the dark forces to even lay a single finger on us. This is how powerful the armour of God is.
God had given it all, offering His best to us. Even if He wasn't here to be with us, he is still with us spiritually. If we choose to believe Him, it won't be guaranteed that everything will be as calm as the sea along the way, but we will safely reach our destination through the voyage. The question is, do you want this gracious gift - The Armour of God?
