The Whole Armor of God: Introduction

The Whole Armor of God

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" - Ephesians 6:10-18

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS

Authorship, Place of Origin and Date

The Apostle Paul was used by the Lord to pen the book of Ephesians while he was imprisoned in Rome between AD 60-62.

Purpose

• The Apostle Paul did not write Ephesians to solve major problems or deal with any emergency in the Church. Instead, he wrote a broadly reflective letter to help Christians remain strong in their faith.

• He had spent almost three years teaching and caring for these brethren, and he wanted to make sure that they continued to follow Jesus.

• Specifically, Paul wanted believers to have a deeper understanding and experience of three realities:

  1. The new life in Christ;

  2. The new community in Christ; 

  3. The new walk to which Christ called His Church.

• Paul focuses on the new life experienced in Jesus Christ.

• The expression “in Christ” and phrases such as “in the Lord” and “in him” are found almost forty times in the book.

• Paul also stresses the new community through words such as “unity,” “one,” and “with/together with” and concepts such as Church, body, temple and bride.

• When we are connected to Christ, we are also connected to a new community.

• This new community is called to a new walk that honors Christ, one characterized by love for God and for people.

BIBLE STUDY SERIES OBJECTIVES

• The objectives of this series is to: 

  1. To expose the devises of the enemy. As Christians, we are a part of a real war – spiritual warfare. We have a real ruthless enemy who    has a specific mission.

  2. Identify the strategies that as Christians, we must employ to guarantee the victory that is available to all of us through Jesus Christ. 

THE BIOGRAPHY OF OUR ENEMY 

• The Bible defines Satan as an angelic being who fell from his position in heaven due to sin and is now completely opposed to God, doing all in his power to thwart God’s purposes.
• Satan was created as a holy angel. Isaiah 14:12-15, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!”

“13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” - Ezekiel 28:12-15.

• Satan became arrogant in his beauty and status and decided he wanted to sit on a throne above that of God.

“13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Isaiah 14:13-14. 

• Satan’s pride led to his fall. Notice the many “I will” statements in Isaiah 14:12-15. Because of his sin, God permanently removed Satan from his exalted position and role.
• Satan became the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2).  “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” – John 12:31.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” – 2 Cor. 4:4.“Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” – Eph. 2:2.

• He is an accuser. 

“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” – Rev. 12:10.

• He is a tempter.

“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” – Mat. 4:3 “For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain” – 1 Thes. 3:5.

• He is a deceiver.

“And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” – Rev. 20:3.

• His very name means “adversary” or “one who opposes.” 
• Another of his titles, the devil, means “slanderer.” 
• Even though he was cast out of heaven, he still seeks to elevate his throne above God. He counterfeits all that God does, hoping to gain the worship of the world and encourage opposition to God’s kingdom. 
• Satan is the ultimate source behind every cult and false religion. 
• Satan will do anything and everything in his power to oppose God and those who follow God. However, Satan’s destiny is sealed—an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

THE ENEMY’S MISSION 

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy …” – St. John 10:10.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” – 1 Peter 5:8.

WHAT TIME IS IT?

In 1 Chronicles 12:32, we read, “of the sons of Issachar who had an understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”The sons of Issachar “had understanding of the time to know what Israel ought to do.” It is essential that in our day we understand the times so that we know what must be done. 

WHAT IS AT STAKE?

• Our Souls
• The Souls of our family
• The souls of our community

“11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” – Rev. 20:11-15

WHERE DO YOU STAND?

In this fight there is no middle- ground. We must be aligned to either the King of kings or to the Prince of this World!  We all are apart of this spiritual military campaign and there is nothing we can do to stop this fight. What we have a say in is whose side we are on.

“25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) 26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. 28 And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.” - EXODUS 32:25-28

WE ARE UNDER ATTACK

1. Internally -  our personal wars etc pride, self-deception, and selfishness. 
2. Internally -  the war within our ranks: false doctrine, all kinds of immoralities, the promotion of secular values.
3. Externally -  diabolic activities that is entrenched in “high places” that among other things are seeking to strip away our identities in Christ. 

THE ATTACK ON DANIEL AND COMPANY

“2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; 4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. 6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” – Dan. 1:3-8.

Egypt was interested in:

1. The best young men from Judah.
2. Feeding them from the “King’s Table.”
3. Changing their names – attempting to influence them in losing their identities.

The new name that they gave Daniel was Belteshazzar, which means “Prince of Bel.” Bel was the name of the Babylonian god whom Nebuchadnezzar worshipped. To Hananiah they gave the name of Shadrach. This name means, "illumined by the Sungod." Mishael was called Meshach. The letters "El" in his Hebrew name, meant "GOD“. When they changed his name they changed the "El" portion of it to the word "Shach" so, that instead of calling him "Mishael" he was called "Meshach." In all probability this was the name of a goddess like Venus. His Hebrew name means "Who is as GOD," Where the new name they gave to him mean "Who is like Venus." Azariah's name was changed to Abednego, which meant "The servant of Nego," who was another false god. 

SOUTH BAY UPCI VS GOV. NEWSON

Excerpts from Justice Gorsuch Statement:

The State presumes that worship inherently involves a large number of people. Never mind that scores might pack into train stations or wait in long checkout lines in the business the state allows to remain open. Never mind, too, that some worshippers may seek only to pray in solitude, go to confession, or study in small groups. The State tells us that worshippers are sure to seek close physical interactions. Yet, California is not as concerned with the close physical proximity of hairstylists or manicurists to their customers, whom they touch and remain near for extended periods. Nor, again, does California explain why the narrower options it thinks is adequate in many secular settings – such as social distancing requirements, masks, and cleaning. Plexiglass barriers, and the like – cannot suffice here. Especially when those measures are in routine use in religious services across the county today. Excerpts from Justice Gorsuch Statement:“California worries that worship brings people together for too much time. Yet, California does not limit its citizens to running in and out of other establishments; no one is barred from lingering in shopping malls, salons, or bus terminals.” When it comes to each of the first three factors, California singles out religion for worse treatment than many secular activities. At the same time, the State fails to explain why narrower options it finds sufficient in secular contexts do not satisfy its legitimate interests.

SCOTUS VERDICT (February 5th, 2021)

A divided U.S. Supreme Court struck down California’s “Tier 1” total ban on indoor religious services while allowing a 25% capacity limitation. It also allowed California to continue banning singing and chanting during indoor services.

MASTER CAKE SHOP VS COLORADO

SCOTUS VERDICT: Court rules (narrowly) for the baker in the same-sex wedding cake case.

In 2012 Charlie Craig and David Mullins went to Masterpiece Cakeshop, a bakery outside Denver, to order a cake to celebrate their upcoming wedding. But Jack Phillips, the owner of the bakery and a devout Christian, refused the couple’s request because he is not willing to design custom cakes that conflict with his religious beliefs. The customers filed a report with the Colorado civil-rights agency who ruled that Phillips had violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws and told him that, if he wanted to make cakes for opposite-sex weddings, he would have to do the same for same-sex weddings. Mr. Phillips appealed to the Colorado court, but they upheld that ruling.

Mr. Phillips and his lawyers then filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020.

On June 4, 2018 the justices of the Supreme Court voted 7-2 handing Phillips a victory.

Although Phillips prevailed today, the opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy rested largely on the majority’s conclusion that the Colorado administrative agency that ruled against Phillips treated him unfairly by being too hostile to his sincere religious beliefs.

The opinion seemed to leave open the possibility that, in a future case, a service provider’s sincere religious beliefs might have to yield to the state’s interest in protecting the rights of same-sex couples, and the majority did not rule at all on one of the central arguments in the case – whether compelling Phillips to bake a cake for a same-sex couple would violate his right to freedom of speech. In the majority ruling, Kennedy observed, the “neutral and respectful consideration to which Phillips was entitled was compromised” by comments by members of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. At one hearing, Kennedy stressed, commissioners repeatedly “endorsed the view that religious beliefs cannot legitimately be carried into the public sphere or commercial domain...” And at a later meeting, Kennedy pointed out, one commissioner “even went so far as to compare Phillips’ invocation of his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust.”