Warrior of The Word - Ephesians 6:16

 

Ephesians 6:16

Above all, taking the shield of faith,

wherewith you shall be able to quench

 all the fiery darts of the wicked.

    Above all, meaning remember this first and foremost, prioritize your armor with this piece of equipment. Never leave the armory without it. 

    Faith in God is priority number one. And since we have faith in God, since we trust in Him for everything, we can also believe (have faith) in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross for our sins, saving us from the punishments of death, hell, the grave and eternal damnation in the lake of fire. We who have believed on The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation have a better reward waiting for us in heaven. 

    This Faith is paramount to our success in the spiritual realm of warfare. It is believing that God not only hears our prayers, but is right here beside us. As He tells us in His Word, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." 

~Moses speaking to the Israelites: Deuteronomy 31:6

~The Lord speaking to Joshua: Joshua 1:5

~God's promise of deliverance and salvation spoken through Isaiah to the Israelites: Isaiah 41:10

~Paul writing to the Hebrews, the Jewish nation who were exiled to Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (cf. 2 Peter 3:15 and 1 Peter 1:1-2) 

    Because The Word of God is Alive, Living, we know that It is also thriving and spreading throughout the world even now, accomplishing It's goal of being brought to every nation, culture, and, specifically language: 'Til The Whole World Hears. 

    We take up our shield of faith with our hands in prayer and feet on the ground, and we spread the gospel message in every land. First within our own homes, then our neighborhoods, then our communities, then our towns, our cities, our counties, our states, our countries, our nations. 

    We take our shield of faith into our churches, our schools, our governments, our workplaces. Onward with the goal of upward, we mobilize our forces with the confidence that the perfect will of God will be accomplished by God through us. 

    We do not take up weapons of warfare in the physical sense, which would maim and kill the body, condemning the lost souls to hell. For we are learning to use our spiritual weapons, weapons not made by hands, but by The Word of God. Weapons that overcome the enemies of the souls we are praying for.  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31. That's faith. 

    Our shield of faith is The Lord Jesus Christ ~ Psalm 28:7 "The LORD is My Strength and My Shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song." Proverbs 30:5 "Every Word of God is flawless; He is a Shield to those who take refuge in Him." Psalm 18:2 "The LORD is My Rock, My Fortress, and My Deliverer. My God is My Rock, in Whom I take refuge, My Shield, and The Horn of My Salvation, My Stronghold." 

    How can we fail when we take The Lord Jesus Christ with us into every spiritual battle?! We can't. We can't fail. When He is with us, we know that we have already defeated the enemy in battle, and we rejoice in the victory that is ours. 

    Come, join me in taking up our shields of faith. Let us enter the fields of spiritual warfare in which our God has placed us, that we may reap a harvest of souls for His glory, His honor, His praise!

Weaponized

 

2 Corinthians 10:4

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Jeremiah 23:29

"Is not MY WORD like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that smashes a rock?"

Ephesians 6:10-18

In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. 

Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.

Therefore, put on the complete armor of God, so that you will be able to [successfully] resist and stand your ground in the evil day [of danger], and having done everything [that the crisis demands], to stand firm [in your place, fully prepared, immovable, victorious].

So stand firm and hold your ground, HAVING TIGHTENED THE WIDE BAND OF TRUTH (personal integrity, moral courage) AROUND YOUR WAIST and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (an upright heart),

and having strapped on YOUR FEET THE GOSPEL OF PEACE IN PREPARATION [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].

Above all, lift up the [protective] shield of faith with which you can 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.

With all PRAYER AND PETITION PRAY [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] IN THE SPIRIT, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all God’s people.

Our weapon is the WORD OF GOD, not our opinion. We think THE WORD when we contemplate It, when we study It, when we meditate on It. We breathe THE WORD when we speak it aloud, not just in our hearing, but in the presence of others. 

We live THE WORD when we believe THE WORD. Our actions and our speech define who we are and where we stand. 

THE WORD OF GOD is JESUS CHRIST. John 1:1-4. 14 He is not only our Savior, Friend and Teacher, He is our Example. He is the FirstFruits: 1 Corinthians 15:20-23.

 THE WORD OF GOD is powerful: Hebrews 4:12 'For THE WORD OF GOD is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'

Only with THE WORD OF GOD thriving within us will be able to be the people of God we are called to be: Christians, Christ-followers, Word-speakers, Spirit-filled servants of the Most High God. Without Christ we are nothing. But with Christ we are everything because He is our Everything.