Focal Passage: Ephesians 6:10-18
Temptation is real. So real that we must be on constant guard against falling into temptation.
But how does one guard against temptation? What tools or resources has God given us to ward off the temptation to sin? The good news is that God has given us every resource we need. We call these resources the armor of God.
The armor of God is of little usefulness unless we fully suit up and deploy the arsenal of weapons God has given us that enable us to overcome our own flesh, the enticements of the world, and the snares of Satan. How do the pieces of the armor of God function? Three aspects of the armor are essential: standing, equipping, and believing.
Standing (Ephesians 6:10-13). The purpose of the armor of God is to enable us to stand in the spiritual battles we face.
Shrum
The text is clear: (1) we are to be strong in the Lord, (2) we are to put on the full armor of God, (3) we are to stand against the schemes of the devil, (4) we are to understand the spiritual nature of the battle, (5) we are to equip ourselves to resist Satan and (6) we are to take our stand against sin.
In other words, to overcome temptation, we must equip ourselves and go to war. Our war is not against sinners, but against sin. There are no passivists when it comes to spiritual warfare. If we are passive when it comes to the struggle against sin then we will lose those battles.
Equipped Part No. 1 (Ephesians 6:14-16). And how does God equip us for spiritual warfare? By giving to us a complete and total set of armor. We are given: (1) truth, (2), righteousness, (3) the gospel that provides peace and (4) an unquenchable faith in God. These four pieces of armor provide protection for the core of our life (truth), the chest area (righteousness), our feet (the gospel), and a protective shield (faith).
Equipped, Part No. 2, (Ephesians 6:17-18). These four pieces of armor are accompanied three more pieces of spiritual armor: (5) salvation, (6) the Word of God and (7) prayer. These three pieces of armor cover the head or the mind (salvation), provide an offensive weapon (the Word of God), and a form of communication with the Captain of our Salvation (Hebrews 2:10) (prayer).
Put together, these seven pieces of armor provide an almost invincible arsenal of weapons that we can use to fend off temptation. However, unless we deploy these weapons we cannot and will not win the battle with temptation.
The Battle in real time (II Corinthians 10:3-6). In real time, according to II Corinthians 10:3-6, our battle with temptation is: (1) is spiritual and not material (of the flesh), (2) we are to destroy spiritual strongholds, (3) we take on false arguments against God, (4) we are to take on and take down every truth that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and (5) we are to take every thought and idea captive that comes our way, making it bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
This means that we can win the battle with temptation when we (1) take our stand, (2) fully equipped with the armor of God and (3) ready to take on the lies and arguments that would entice us to submit to temptation rather than the Lordship of Jesus Christ. B&R
