Eph. 6:11 ... "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."
In His great prophetic discourse in Matthew 24, Jesus said that "you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars ... for nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (vs. 6-7). The foremost of these wars is that between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. It began before the world was created and shall not end until the climactic battle described in Rev. 20:7-10, when Satan and his allies will be "thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone" to be "tormented day and night forever and ever." Before that grand conclusion the war goes on relentlessly, and no one is able to stand clear of its movements. Jesus declared in Mat. 6:24 that "no one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." Everyone is either in the army of the Lord fighting Satan, or in the army of Satan fighting God. In our current philosophy we rebel against such either/or propositions; but whether it suits our mentality or not, such is reality.
Everyone wants to be on the side that will win, and the Bible makes it emphatically and distinctly clear that God shall stand Victor in heaven when Satan lies supine in utter defeat in the torment of hell. And those who follow him will lie writhing in perpetual agony there about him. To avert this mistake we must take the advice of the inspired apostle in the lead text above. God conscripts no one into His army, but He joyfully accepts every volunteer to be mustered in. To be inducted one must put his faith in Christ, repent of his sins, confess his allegiance to Christ, and accept baptism for the remission of sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then God issues to each Christian soldier the armor that will enable him to "stand firm against the schemes of the devil." Satan is a highly skilled fighter, having practiced and perfected his art over the past several millennia. The word translated "schemes" indicates this, for it was a military term that meant "strategies." Nevertheless, with all his expertise and cunning, the devil cannot overcome the soldier of Christ who always wears every piece of this wonderful armor.
It consists of five defensive implements and one that is offensive. The first is the truth which is revealed in the gospel of Christ. It is the wide, thick belt (girdle) that protected the abdomen of a Roman foot soldier. The second is righteousness, or living by the standard of God's word and its modeled application in the life of Jesus. It compares to the metal breastplate that guarded the heart and lungs of an infantryman. The third is the preparation of the gospel of peace. The Christian soldier must always be "ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (I Pet. 3:15). The answer comes, of course, from the Holy Scriptures which the Christian has stored in his memory. With such answers Jesus decisively repelled the attack of Satan in Mat. 4:1-11. Such preparation answers to the footgear worn by a Roman soldier. Fourth is faith, the shield of a Christian which enables him to "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The fifth implement of the Christian armor is salvation, which serves to secure him as surely as the steel helmet which could withstand the direct blow of a battle ax. Finally, the one offensive weapon given to a Christian is the word of God, a spiritual sword. With it he can go on the attack against evil and come out victor. By becoming a Christian soldier, wearing all of this armor and using it throughout life as intended, the disciple will indeed be able to "stand firm" and share forever in the victory celebration in heaven in the presence of his Commander-in-Chief, (cf. Rev. 7:9-17).
