Reasons For God's Armour

Every word spoken by Paul, every warning, every encouragement and every explanation is beneficial and absolutely vital for us today, as servant-disciples of Jesus. Paul encourages the Ephesian congregation, as he also encourages us, to put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6: 11.

Please be fully cognizant of the fact that it is absolutely imperative that the full or entire armour of God must be worn.  It is a total and complete waste to wear some and not others. It is completely futile to even dress yourself in all but one even. Put on the whole armour.

What are the reasons given by Paul, as quoted earlier? For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6: 12.

I bring them to you as they have been brought to me. These non-flesh and blood enemies come in:

Principalities, Powers, Pharisaism and Perversion.   

Let’s examine these four named evils, explaining and identifying examples as found in Scripture.

Principalities - We wrestle against principalities.

The word principalities conveys a number of meanings and experiences, but for our purposes, we shall be very simple in our receiving and understanding.

The word prince features here. The principality is the prince, the ruler after his father, who is just as wicked as or even more treacherous than the father. Matthew, Mark and Luke, in their Gospels, relate an incident when Jesus casts out a demon, and scribes, teachers and other Jews, point fingers at Jesus saying that He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the prince of demons He casts out demons. All they are saying is that the principality for Jesus, is the devil. The point being made is that principalities are the evil forces with which one identifies and which one worships. Of course those religious people were all living in ignorance about Jesus and about themselves. Self-righteousness and all that feeds the lusts of pride, self-image, self-piety and religious haughtiness, are all principalities, evil, demonic powers.  

Here is another example, different in setting, but still akin to what we are discussing. Paul has arrived in Athens, not part of his planned missionary journey, but part of the Holy Spirit’s. The principal spirit he meets is one of idolatry. From the time he entered, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. Acts 17: 16b. If a people are not worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth – as Jesus is Spirit and Truth, then such a people are idol worshippers.  Idolatry and adultery against God go hand in hand. Beware! If people are worshipping idols, such worship is of the evil one and therefore such are the principalities we have to guard and fight against.

Please don’t take this lightly, for regardless of who you are, without God’s full armour, you are and will continue to be a faithful servant of the evil one.

Powers - We wrestle against powers.

Powers refer to evil spirits which have the power to do supernatural works and deceive many an unclad believer. Many persons, a vast number of whom are believers, claim that there are no such powers as demonic powers. How wrong they are. Look at Saul, God’s chosen and anointed king to lead God’s people. At one time, the principal power in Saul’s life was God’s Spirit. Alas! God took His Spirit from disobedient King Saul and Saul, living unprotected by God’s full armour, has now reverted to the powers of the demonic world. When, in desperate trouble, King Saul prays to God, and God does not answer him, he seeks a witch, a familiar spirit, a medium. When a witch from Endor is brought to him, this is his request. Please conduct a séance for me, and bring me the one I shall name to you. 1 Samuel 28: 8b

Please don’t take this lightly in the least for one who was once led by the Holy Spirit, a called and anointed servant of God, without God’s complete armour, facing a mighty, threatening enemy, is seeking assistance from demonic powers. Beware! Be warned! Ensure that you are wearing God’s complete armour.

Tomorrow we look at the other forces we must wrestle with.