Therefore put on the full armor of God,
Summary: Why would Paul want us to wear armor if we are not in a war? But we are! The problem is that the war, like our spirit, is invisible.
In the days of the Old Testament, there were two kinds of prophets. The prophets like Jeremiah spoke the truth. They told the people what God instructed them to say. The rest made up stories that sounded good. They told the people what their “itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3) wanted to hear (Jeremiah 29:8).
Because of this, God speaks a lament through Jeremiah when he says, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14)
It is the same today. People cry for “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. And how can there be? We are in the middle of a war.
“War,” you ask, “where?” That is a fair question. The answer is that it is an invisible war.
This war is difficult to explain in the space of a few words.
Evil is a real thing. It is not just an abstract concept. Since the very beginning of time, the devil has masqueraded as fiction. People read the Genesis account (Genesis 2-3) and say, “That’s a cute story.” But it is more than that. It is real. It is a real story about real people and a real serpent. If we don’t believe that, then we are blind to the reality of Satan.
Satan is not allowed to grab you or me by the collar and drag us off to hell. He has to trick us into going there voluntarily. The tools of his trade are lies and innuendo. He invades our thoughts and subtly or not-so-subtly toys with our thinking.
The armor Paul wants us to don is not for our physical body. The armor is for our spiritual selves, our inner beings, the invisible you. The armor itself is invisible to the eyes of flesh, but to the spirit, it is very real.
Before we can put on this “armor of God,” we need to understand that we are a spiritual being first, and a physical being second. It is our spiritual self that Paul is writing to. It is the “invisible me” that wears the armor of God.
Application: Look at yourself in the mirror of God’s Word.
Food for Thought: How much of you is physical, and how much of you is spiritual?
I see the words “how much” and my mind wants to quantify (ha). Like I could give a percentage. I think we have spent so much of our waking lives driving around in this vehicle, that we forget it is about the driver, and not the car. The question makes me stop and think about who I am, and what God intended for me when He created me. That in the space of eternity, this life is a vapor. My spirit lives for eternity. I can remember deadlines I had 20 years ago that seemed so very important at the time, but had no lasting effect on my life, and certainly not now. I think our physical embodiment is a bit like that.
2 Samuel 14:14 ESV We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God will not take away life, and he devises means so that the banished one will not remain an outcast.
Chris,
I like the analogy of a car and its driver. The car can be totaled and the driver walks away from the wreck intact. I think that might be a good metaphor for death.
I think for me I’m half and half. Because my other half works in the church and she is a little bit more spiritual and I’m a little more physical so we balance it out. But we are both strong spiritually and we make a great team that’s still learning how to help sanctify eachother.
TLN –
Great answer! 🙂
I love the “team” approach. That is such a blessing when our marriage is in the Lord!
Thanks for the great devotion and I love the comments.
I might see this from a slightly different perspective. We were created to be in a physical body. There is nothing bad with what God created. It was all “good.” So with that, I think I am designed as a whole to be both physical and spiritual at the same time. I am not sure we can compartmentalize the two as easily as we might try. But I certainly understand why we would try and your question brings up interesting food for thought for sure.
A very good question.
Peace to you all
Brother Rich,
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this! I hope that you will share more in time and help me understand your perspective better.
Blessings!
How much of you is physical, and how much of you is spiritual?
Give you a day off and you just go Crazy Jeff!
Our spiritual growth in Christ is a lifelong process and the Holy Spirit, reveals, convicts all of sin, righteousness and Judgement to come. John 16:8, and we daily choose how we respond.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:19-23
LOL!
Thanks Ron!
Yes, still Crazy after all these years! 🙂
I appreciate the Galatians passage. It provides a powerful contrast between God’s Spirit and our flesh.