Put On the Full Armour of God 15th January, 2017

Purpose of The Full Armour of God? “to take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” “ to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Read verse 11. Meaning of wiles: A trick meant to entice, fool or trap. A trick intended to deceive or ensnare. Do you think that the devil’s tricks are easily noticeable or recognisable? No they are not.

The devil is often describe as the master of deception and lies The devil is often describe as the master of deception and lies. His sole purpose is to discredit our faith and our God. He wants our lives not to bring honour and glory to God and His Son Jesus. The purpose of the armour is to help us not fall prey to the tricks of the devil. Remember the scripture which says that the devils comes to steal, kill and destroy. The armour of God provides protection against the attack of the devil/enemy – his schemes, plans, tricks.

It is War! You Are In A battle! There is a real spiritual war taking place. Therefor you need your armour to protect you from becoming a casualty, that is, one who is injured or killed. Know your real enemies and who you are fighting against: Not human beings; Principalities Powers: Rulers of the darkness of this world; Spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places.

We Don’t Fight Against Human Beings We don’t wrestle against ‘flesh and blood;’ or human beings. Oftentimes there is a spirit that cause the person to behave badly; Examples of spirits are jealousy, hatred, gossip, confusion, murder, stealing, lying, accident, gambling, adultery, fornication, drunkenness, lust, disobedience, laziness, and so on. We need to focus more on the spirit that do harmful things than being bitter with the person who is a mere instrument or vessel that is being used to carry out the schemes or acts or works of the devil. That is not an easy thing to do: to discern the spirit behind the act and not to get upset or bitter or angry with the person.

Principalities Principality: A state rule by a prince, usually a smaller state within a larger state such as an empire. Applying this meaning to the scripture, it tells that there may be one or more principalities within the spiritual realm. Examples of principalities, may be, murder, accidents, homosexuality and lesbianism, pornography, gambling, alcoholism, witchcraft and so on. One of more of these strongholds may be specific to a particular region within a country or nation.

Meaning of ‘Powers’ Powers: the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others.’ Applying this to the spiritual context, there are many forces that seem to influence the actions of others. Certain types of forces include peer pressure (friends), emotions, drugs, music, fashion, philosophy, doctrines, laws and so on. We need to wrestle in prayer against these things before they wreak havoc through the behaviour of others.

Rulers of the darkness of this world There is an unseen spiritual realm with rulers which govern over the evil that is visible in the natural: For example, murder, wars, human trafficking, acts of terrorism, genocide, prostitution, massacres, witchcraft and so on have its rulers that seek to bring suffering, destruction and death to the human race. Just open your newspapers or surf the internet and you can get a glimpse of the darkness of this world.

Spiritual Wickedness In High Places Wickedness exists and there is a spiritual origin or source or dimension ( a next world) to it. It originates from the unseen realm in the heavens. This too is an area to which we should direct our prayers when we ask God to assist in dismantling these spiritual and wicked forces.

Thank You Thank You for taking the time to read Pt. 1 of this lesson. Feel free to send your comments to maths123tt@gmail.com , and to share this presentation with your friends. Be blessed.