What is the purpose of the armor of God according to the Bible? The purpose of the armor of God is to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, withstand in the evil day, and having achieved all things, to stand. Because we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Kwabase-Efesu 6:11-13). But what does this mean?
Living in the evil day
When we look around us, we see that we live in the evil day. The loyalty to God and the love for God decreases and the ungodliness (ububi) increases. But this already happened in the days of the apostles. In those days the devil also went about stealing, seeking whom he could tempt with his lies and doctrines, renouncing God, and destroying (UJohane 10:10, 1 UPetru 5:8). Because that was the devil’s purpose and that is still the devil’s purpose since his nature and his will have not changed.
Although the message in many churches may have been changed by people, the truth of God and His Word will never change.
As the day ofuJesu’ return is approaching, the devil becomes grimmer, because he knows that his end is near. The devil knows what his final destination and the final destinations of all the adversaries of God will be. That’s why he tries to victimize as many people as possible and take them with him into the eternal lake of fire.
How does he victimize the people? By tempting them in the flesh and letting the flesh reign as king in their lives. Because as long as the flesh reigns as king in the lives of people, the people shall obey and serve the devil (funda futhi: ‘Amandla kasathane asetshenziswa yisono')
The Word teaches us how we can stand against the wiles of the devil and stand in the evil day, and that’s by putting on the armor of God.
How do you put on the armor of God?
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (KwabaseGalathiya 3:26-27)
When you are baptized and azalwe kabusha kuKristu, you have put on Christ and are clothed with the spiritual armor of God, which is also your priestly garment. This change, that has taken place in the spiritual realm shall become visible in the natural realm. Uzokwenza alikhumule ikhehla, who has the nature of the devil, futhi gqoka umuntu omusha, owadalwa ngomfanekiso kaNkulunkulu.
Ngakho-ke makungabusi isono emzimbeni wenu ofayo, ukuze lilalele izinkanuko zalo. futhi ninganikeli izitho zenu esonweni, zibe yizikhali zokungalungi: kodwa zinikeleni nina kuNkulunkulu, njengalabo abaphilayo kwabafileyo, nezitho zenu kuNkulunkulu zibe yizikhali zokulunga (KJV Romans 6:12-13).
Stop therefore allowing the sinful nature to reign as king in your mortal body with a view to obeying it [the body] in its passionate cravings. Moreover, stop putting your members at the disposal of the sinful nature as weapons of unrighteousness, but by a once-for-all act and at once, put yourselves at the disposal of God as those who are actively alive out from among the dead, and put your members as weapons of righteousness at the disposal of God (KW Rom 6:12-13).
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof (KJV Romans 13:12-14).
The night has long been on its way, and the day has arrived. Ngakho-ke, let us at once and once for all put off the works of the darkness, and let us at once and once for all clothe ourselves with the weapons of the light. In the same manner as in the day let us order our behavior in a seemly fashion, not in carousals and drunkenness, not in sexual intercourse and a dissolute abandon, not in strife and jealousy. But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and stop making provision for the sinful nature with a view to a passionate craving (KW Romans 13:12-14).
Lapho usuzalwa ngokusha, you are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. You are no longer a servant of the kingdom of darkness and don’t serve the devil anymore. Therefore you shall no longer put your members as weapons of unrighteousness or weapons of darkness unto sin.
Kunalokho, you have become a servant of the Kingdom of God and you shall serve God. Therefore you shall put your members as weapons of righteousness or weapons of the light unto God (Funda futhi: ‘The armor of light’ futhi ‘The armor of darkness‘)
Iyini inhloso yezikhali zikaNkulunkulu?
As long as you stay in Jesus Christ; iZwi, you are clothed with the spiritual armor of God. You are saved in Him by His blood (helmet of salvation), you have been made righteous in Him and therefore you shall do works of righteousness (breastplate of righteousness), you shall walk in the truth of the Word and speak the truth (loins girt with the truth), you shall walk by faith in the Word, eniyakuba namandla ngayo ukucima yonke imicibisholo evuthayo yomubi (shield of faith).
With and through the Word of God, which is your spiritual Sword, you shall divide asunder your soul and spirit and tear down every stronghold of the devil in your mind and around you (Sword of the Spirit).
You shall preach and bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people (feed shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace).
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, that utterance may be given to them, so that they will make known the mystery of the gospel and speak boldly as they ought to speak. That’s the purpose of the armor of God (Kwabase-Efesu 6:10-20).
You don’t put on and put off the spiritual armor of God, but you are continuously clothed with the spiritual armor of God. Leastwise, as long as you stay in Christ and walk after the Spirit. Because when you leave Him and trust and rely upon your flesh, it won’t be long before the devil shall tempt you with his lies.
Without the spiritual armor of God, you are not able to stand against the wiles of the devil and you shall not be able to stand in the evil day. Why do you have to withstand the temptations of the devil and be able to stand in the evil day? So that you will stay obedient to God and His Word and don’t become disobedient to God and His Word and sin.
The devil will try everything he can to keep you away from the Word, to steal the Word from your heart, and to make you enter sideways, which will lead you to destruction. He shall do everything he can to keep you in his power so that you stay disobedient to God and His Word.
The devil can tempt you to sin, but can’t make you sin
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 AbaseKorinte 5:20-21)
Ngeshwa, not many Christians study the Word for themselves. Ngakho-ke, they don’t know the true meaning of the cross, who they are kuKristu, and what authority they have received as the new creation in Him. They stay ignorant and through the lies of the devil, they stay in the bondage of sin and death. They don’t know how to be redeemed from sin. They stay the old man and live as slaves of the devil, sometimes even until the day that they die.
Kodwa iqiniso liwukuthi, that you have been given in Jesus Christ all authority in heaven and on earth, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth and withstand the wiles of the devil.
The power of Jesus Christ is greater than the power of the devil.
The devil can tempt you to sin, but the devil can’t force you to sin.
Jesus was the Firstborn of the new creation, and loved God so much and knew His Father so well, that when the devil tried to tempt Jesus with promises from God’s Word, He didn’t give in to his temptations (Funda futhi: ‘I will give you the riches of the earth').
Jesus was tempted by the devil all the time. Therefore Jesus is able to enter experientially into a fellow feeling with our infirmities because He was tempted and tested in all points just as we are, yet without sin (amaHebheru 4:15-16)
You are the one, who decides to follow the example of Adam (ikhehla) or to follow the example of Jesus (the new man). You decide whose words you believe and who you will serve: uJesu, who reigns in the spirit or the devil, who reigns in the flesh. There is only one, who can reign in your life and you decide, who it’s gonna be (Funda futhi: ‘Uyisigqila sikabani?')
The old man blames it on the devil
The old man never wants to take responsibility for their actions, mistakes, or failures, but always blames others Many people blame the devil for their sins, but that’s not right. Because it’s not a secret, that we have an adversary; usathane, but a fact, because the Word has revealed it. That the devil tries to tempt people should not be a surprise either, because the Word has also made that known to us.
The Word has kept nothing hidden but has revealed everything. But because many don’t know the Word and therefore stay ignorant, the devil and his army can continue their destructive works in the lives of people without any interference
He works in the flesh and the Word says, among others that the temptations come forth through the desires of the flesh (UJames 1:13-15).
Ngakho-ke, as long as the flesh still reigns as king in the lives of people and the people stay carnal and walk after the flesh, the temptations shall always be present.
As long as people listen to their lusts and obey their lusts, they shall keep walking in sin.
Is the devil responsible for that? Cha, since after the coming of Jesus Christ and after His death nokuvuka, people have a choice, and have received authority and power to lay down the old
man (the flesh) and put on the new man (umoya) and walk as sons of God after the Spirit.
Therefore the people decide, through their will, to obey the devil and give in to the temptations, which will bring forth sin and eventually death or to not obey the devil.
The people can blame the devil, or even blame God, but the truth is that no one is responsible than the people themselves.
That’s why, it’s important to phenduka and become born again, so that your spirit will be raised from the dead and you become a indalo entsha. As soon as you become a new creation it’s time to vuselela ingqondo yakho ngeZwi likaNkulunkulu, so that you will get to know the Word and the Truth and shall obey the Word. You shall become a doer of the Word and walk in faith after the Spirit in the will of God and are clothed with the spiritual armor of God and be untouchable.
‘Yibani usawoti womhlaba’
