"Dressed for Battle"

Text: Ephesians 6:11
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil.

      The Apostle Paul was spending his last days in a Roman prison when he
wrote his Prison Epistle to the church at Ephesus. He knew that the church
was
coming under a lot of persecution being in the midst of a heathen city that
worshipped a Roman goddess named Diana. She was the power presiding over
conception
and birth which was the same goddess adored in Palestine called Ashtoreth.
Her worship had strong influence over the citizens of Ephesus and Paul
wanted
the saints of the church there to be able to stand up against and to resist
the temptations of that religion.

      A large part of the Roman army was stationed there in Ephesus. The
Roman army was the most powerful army known on the face of the earth a that
time.
The men in the Roman army were strong, well trained and well equipped for
battle. Paul while being in prison there saw each day as the prepared
themselves
to go into battle. Paul especially noticed the armament they put on and the
weapons that they used for battle. He saw them as they put on their special
pieces of equipment and the saints of Ephesus came to mind and he desired
that they would prepare themselves spiritually in a similar manner.

      He penned in his letter to them, brothers be strong in the Lord and in
the power of his might. And as he thought on those Roman soldiers as they
dressed
themselves, because they were the might of Rome. The Lord gave him these
words to the church at Ephesus, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may
be
able to stand against the wiles of the devil". The church is at war my
friend, it is in a battle for its life against the wiles of the devil. Paul
wanted
the church to know that they weren't fighting against flesh and blood, they
were fighting against an invisible enemy that worked through the flesh. Our
enemies are all of the spiritual powers of Satan and his evil hosts that
reside at every human level or position in the world.

      The Roman soldier puts on his girdle first because all of his
equipment is attached to it. So Paul says to church, to girt your self, wrap
yourself
about with the girdle of the truth of God because everything hangs on the
truth. The truth of God protects you from the enemy in the front and from
the
enemy in the back.

     Then the Roman solider put on his breastplate; this piece of equipment
was made of pliable strips of metal that protected him from under the
armpits
down to his waist. A plate covered the front and a plated covered his back
for protection against the spears and arrows of his enemy. So Paul tells the
saint to put on the breastplate of righteous which is the purity and
holiness of the saint which the devil can't penetration to sway our heart
from the
Lord.

      Roman soldiers walked almost every place that they went and a soldier
must take care of his feet, if his feet are bruised, he can't walk nor fight
which makes him useless as a solider. Therefore, Paul said to the saint,
shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The feet of the
saint
must carry the gospel of Christ to all of the world, Jesus said, go into all
of the world and preach the gospel. Carry the preparation, the medicine of
the gospel to the lost. Then the Roman soldier took his shield which he used
to protect himself from arrows shot and from stones thrown at him, so Paul
says to us, take the shield of faith to ward off all of the fiery darts of
the wicked one. Your faith is mobile like the shield and it cam be move in
all
directions to ward off doubt and unbelief.

      Then the Roman solider puts on his helmet which protects his head
while in battle, Paul tells us to put on the helmet of salvation. When a man
knows
that he is saved nothing can pierce his mind to bring doubt to him of his
position in the Lord. Finally Paul tells the church to take the sword of the
Spirit as the Roman soldier took his and attacked his enemy. The sword of
the Spirit is our offensive weapon with which we can attack the devil. We
can
swing that that two edged sword to the left and to the right because it will
cut both ways. And the Spirit of god will move on our behalf to destroy the
works of the devil. My brother forget not to "put on the whole armour of
God."


To get out of a hard situation,
try a soft answer.
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turneth away wrath:
but grievous words stir up anger.
YBIC, Thomas And YSIC, Linda.
twilliamson2@...
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