Ephesians 6:11a,13-17 (NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
In Ephesians 6 the Apostle Paul describes the spiritual armor. There are three offensive weapons, three defensive weapons, and one neutral weapon. The breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation are defensive weapons. These weapons protect us and give us confidence and assurance to move forward in our spiritual growth.
The three offensive weapons are the readiness, the sword of the Spirit, and prayer in the Spirit. These are weapons that enable us to demonstrate Satan’s defeat.
The neutral weapon is the loin belt, which is representative of the Word of God. It is the central piece of weapon that holds all of these other pieces together. Without it, all the weapons will not be able to function properly.
The spiritual weapons given by God are not for showcase and never meant for a war, only when we are being attacked or disturbed by the enemies. The Apostle Paul clearly asked us to proactively put it on and it is a clear command to do so with urgency! It will be silly and presumptuous to think that we will not be a casualty of the devil’s scheme by not having the armor in place. There is a huge difference between being unarmed and armed. If Paul commands to put on the armor with urgency, then it is wise to do it now!
Even some of those who are armed have fallen, were injured, discouraged, disillusioned and dismayed because they were not able to withstand the evil one. How much worse when one is unarmed in the midst of a war? It is a challenge to stand firm in the midst of war, especially when we think that it is the work of God and forget that it is the work of the devil. We have a real adversary who prowls around looking for someone whom he can devour. The devil can be so evil that he would make use of your love for God to make you think that suffering will glorify God.
The Apostle Paul went on by telling us that we can stand firm without wavering or faltering when we gird our loin with the truth and have the breastplate of righteousness in place. The loin is referring to our lower back and this belt is supposed to hold up our back. It is interesting that the Apostle Paul started with the belt or the loins of truth because it is referring to the written Word of God. He is talking about truth and all of its essence—who God is, what God has done, what God has said. It is all wrapped up in that.
It should begin there because that is where the truth is established for the rest of the weapons. Without a clear understanding of the Word, it is very difficult for us to make use of the spiritual weapons given to us especially when it comes to the shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. The Word of God causes us to be stable, firmly grounded and rooted in our faith! The belt holds everything in place.
The belt of truth helps us to be grounded in the Word regarding who God is, what He has done through Christ’s redemptive work, what God has said in His Word, thereby girding our loin with His truth and thus enabling us to stand.
The Word is able to differentiate between the work of the devil and God. It will help us to identify the work of the devil and have the ability to resist him or refuse to accept those things that he throws at us to torment us or cause us to think that it is the hand of God instead.
The breast plate of righteousness helps us know the free gift of our right standing with God obtained by the abundance of God’s grace through Jesus becoming sin for us. Jesus dealt with the sin problem that separated us from God. We are justified because of the blood of Christ! The sandals of readiness of the gospel of peace help us to understand that we have peace with God. We can now experience God’s peace in the midst of the battle. We need to lift up the shield of faith after having soaked in the Word of God so that we will be able to quench the fiery darts of the enemy.
Let’s put on the armor of God to guard our mind and heart against the attacks of the evil one.
Sermon series: Inner man
我们属灵的武器
以弗所书 6:11a,13-17 要穿戴神所赐的全副军装。所以，要拿起神所赐的全副军装，好在磨难的日子抵挡仇敌，并且成就了一切，还能站立得住。所以要站稳了，用真理当作带子束腰，用公义当作护心镜遮胸，又用平安的福音当作预备走路的鞋穿在脚上。此外又拿着信德当作藤牌，可以灭尽那恶者一切的火箭。并戴上救恩的头盔，拿着圣灵的宝剑，就是神的道。
在以弗所书6章中，使徒保罗描述了属灵的军装。有三种攻击性武器，三种防御性武器和一种中性武器。公义的护心镜，信德的藤牌和救恩的头盔是防御性的武器。这些武器保护我们，并给予我们信心和确据，让我们得以在灵里不断成长。
三种攻击性武器是平安福音的预备，圣灵的宝剑和在灵里的祷告。这些是使我们能够证明撒旦失败的武器。
中性的武器是腰带，腰带代表神的话语。它是能把所有其它部分串联起来的核心武器。没有腰带，所有武器都无法正常使用。
神恩赐的属灵武器不是为了炫耀，也不是为了战争，只有当我们受到敌人的攻击或骚扰时方可使用。使徒保罗明确要求我们积极地把穿戴上军装，这是个有迫切性的明确指令！如果认为即使不穿戴军装，也不会成为魔鬼计划的牺牲品，那是何等愚昧和妄自尊大。是否穿戴盔甲结果迥异。如果保罗要求紧急穿戴盔甲，那么现在就去做，这才是明智的！
有些人即使已经穿戴了军装，也会因为无法抵挡邪恶而堕落、受伤、气馁、幻灭和沮丧。那么在战争中，如果没有装备，那会有多糟？在战争中，保持立场坚定会是一个挑战，特别是当我们以为这是神在动工，而没有意识到其实是魔鬼的动工时。我们有一个真正的仇敌，牠四处寻找可以吞吃的人。魔鬼可能非常邪恶，以至于牠会利用你对神的爱，让你以为痛苦使你荣耀神。
使徒保罗继续告诉我们，当我们用真理束腰，并且拥有公义的护心镜时，我们可以立场坚定，毫不动摇。腰指的是我们的腰部，这条腰带应该撑起我们的背部。有趣的是，使徒保罗以腰带或真理的腰带开始教导，因为腰带指的是所写下来的神的话语。保罗说的是真理及真理的本质-神是谁，神做了什么，说了什么。这一切都包含在里面。
真理的腰带帮助我们扎根在神的话语中，明白神是谁，祂如何借着基督救赎了人类，并理解神的话语的含义，用真理束腰，让我们能够站立地稳。
确实，教导应该从此开始，因真理乃是其它武器的立足之本。如果没有对神的话语的清楚理解，我们就很难利用神所赐给我们的属灵武器，特别是信德的藤牌，公义的护心镜和救恩的头盔。神的话语使我们稳定，牢牢扎根于我们的信仰！腰带会使所有东西各就各位。
道能够区分魔鬼和神的工作。道会帮助我们辨别魔鬼的工作，并有能力抵制或抵御魔鬼对我们的折磨，并我们不致误以为痛苦是神的工作。
公义的护心镜能够帮助我们了解，我们能与神一同站立这样的白白得来的权力，乃是因着耶稣基督担当了我们的罪而得着的丰盛恩典。耶稣基督解决了让我们与神分离的罪的问题。我们称义乃是因着耶稣基督的宝血！平安的福音的鞋有助于理解我们与神的和平。以至于我们现在可以在战斗中经历神的和平。浸透神的话语后，我们需要举起信德的藤牌，灭尽那仇敌一切的火箭。
让我们穿上神的军装，保护我们的心思意念，免受恶者的攻击吧。
讲章系列：内在灵人
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