Ephesians 6 Lesson

PUTTING ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians:

• “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:10-11.

It is interesting that Paul used the word “armor” in his letter.  Throughout history, armor has been used to protect soldiers against their enemies.

As Christians, we need to always be mindful that there is a constant battle going on between good and evil.  Satan is a formidable opponent and one that should not be taken lightly. Therefore, we need to take precautions that will protect ourselves against his relentless attacks. 

SATAN IS THE RULER OF THE EARTH

The New Testament mentions four times that Satan is the ruler of the earth! 

1. “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” - 1 John 5:19,
2. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” - 2 Corinthians 4:4,
3. “The ruler of this world will be cast out.” -John 12:31,
4. “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” - John 14:30.

In these four verses, Satan is referred to as:

1. “The evil one,”
2. “The god of this world,”
3. And “The ruler of the world” twice.

Knowing this, we need to pause and consider what the implications are for those of us who are seeking to follow Jesus. 

Understanding that Satan is the ruler of the earth explains a lot of the tragedies and evil that we see on a day-to-day basis. 

When we understand that God is permitting Satan to rule the earth for a period of time, it helps explain why bad things happen to good people. 

The Bible teaches us that Satan is relentless in his attacks against us as he rages war against our very souls!  Consider the following warning written by Peter in his first epistle:

• “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8.

We need to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to protect ourselves against his attacks.  

PROTECTING OURSELVES AGAINST SATAN’S ATTACKS

There are things that we can do to protect ourselves against the relentless attacks of Satan. 

As God’s children, we understand that regardless of how powerful Satan and his evil forces are, they are no match for the power of the almighty God! 

In the following scripture, Jesus tells us that nothing, or nobody, can harm us (spiritually) when we are under His protection. 

Jesus said:

• “And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.” - John 10:28-30.

When life’s storms come, we know that we will be able to weather them because of:

1. God's power,
2. The protection that we receive through Jesus.

This does not mean that life will be easy.  There is nothing in the Bible that says our lives will be easy.

What it does mean is that we will be able to survive Satan’s attacks if we keep the faith and put on the full armor of God! 

During the most difficult times in our lives, we need to stand firm in the faith. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Ephesians:

• “Stand firm therefore having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.   And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – Ephesians 6:14-17.

WHAT IS THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD?

In Ephesians 6:14-17,Paul references six things that make up the full armor of God:

1. Girding our loins with truth,
2. The breastplate of righteousness,
3. The Gospel of Peace,
4. The shield of faith,
5. The helmet of salvation,  
6. The sword of the Spirit, which is  the Word of God .

To protect us spiritually during times of adversity, God gives us:

1. His Word,
2. His Spirit,
3. Our faith.

The devil  would love for us to try to battle him without our armor!   That would make his goal of devouring us so much easier. 

If we are wise, we will take the devil’s attacks seriously, and do everything the Bible says we need to do to protect ourselves.

CONCLUSION

Only when we put on the full armor of God can we protect ourselves  against the attacks of Satan. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul mentions six things that make up the full armor of God:

1. Girding our loins with truth ,
2. The breastplate of righteousness,
3. The Gospel of  Peace ,
4. The shield of  faith ,
5. The helmet of salvation,  
6. The sword of the Spirit, which is  the word of God .

On Earth, there is a constant battle going on between good and evil.

The good news for us is that we are not in this battle alone.  We have God’s Word, His Spirit, and our faith to help us through it!

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture about God’s protection from the Prophet Isaiah:

• "When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  Nor will the flame burn you.” – Isaiah 43:2.