From the moment you are born again in Christ and transferred from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of God, you are no longer a son (both male and female) of the devil, but you have become a son (both male and female) of God. The enmity between you and God has been taken away, through your identification with Christ and regeneration in Him. But because you are reconciled with God, you have become an enemy of the devil and those, who belong to him. You have become a target and prey for them and they shall do everything they can to tempt and mislead you and get you back into their kingdom. Therefore, from the moment you are born again and have become a son of God, you have entered the spiritual warfare and you have to fight the fight of faith during your life on earth. No one, who is born again in Jesus Christ is exempted from spiritual warfare. Therefore it’s important that you are clothed with the right armor. Because without the right armor, you shall not be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. Without the right armor, you will not be able to withstand in the evil day and to stand and shall not emerge victoriously but shall be defeated. What about you? Do you walk in the right armor?
The battle between Israel and the Philistines
The necessity of a right armor in warfare is shown in the life of David, who belonged to the generation of the old creation and lived in the Old Covenant.
When the people of Israel battled against the Philistines, a champion out of the camp of Philistines, Goliath, went out and cried unto the armies of Israel for 40 days and challenged the people of Israel to come and fight with him. But no one from the people of Israel, not even Saul, accepted his invitation.
Their fear for Goliath was greater than their faith in God. Therefore, no one was brave enough to confront Goliath and fight with him.
There was only one, who feared God and believed in His greatness and was brave enough to fight against this uncircumcised Philistine Goliath and that was David.
David, the shepherd
David feared God and was trained in the field to rely on God and His power. David was familiar with God’s greatness and knew that God was with him and would save him from every situation. However, David had to go out by himself and fight his enemy.
David kept his father’s sheep and protected his sheep against their enemies.
When a lion or a bear took a lamb out of the flock, David didn’t run away with the other sheep and allow him to take and kill the lamb.
But David went after him and smote (struck) him and took the lamb out of his mouth and when he arose against David, he smote and slew him.
David had proved by his actions, which came forth from his faith in God, that he could take care of his father’s sheep and protect them. And so, David was trained by God in the field with the sheep of his father, before he was appointed as king to take care and protect the sheep of Israel.
David wore a wrong armor
When Saul heard that David was willing to fight with Goliath, he brought David unto himself. But when Saul saw David he confronted him with his inexperience. Saul didn’t believe that the young David was able to beat the experienced man of war Goliath.
But David didn’t give up and told Saul about his experience with the sheep of his father in the field and how he had defeated and killed the lion and the bear.
David prophesied to Saul that the uncircumcised Philistine Goliath would be as one of them, because Goliath had defied the armies of the living God.
David trusted God and relied on Him and just as God had delivered David from the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he knew that God would also deliver David out of the hand of this Philistine.
When Saul heard the words of David, Saul gave David permission to go.
Saul took off his armor and armed David with his armor and put on his helmet of brass upon David’s head.
Saul also armed David with a coat of mail. David girded his sword upon his armor and as David tried to walk, because he had not tested it, David said to Saul, that he could not go in Saul’s armor, because David had not proved them.
Therefore David took off the armor of Saul and took on his own armor, which he proved.
The battle between David and Goliath
David took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherd’s bag. David took the sling in his hand and drew near to the Philistines in the Name of the Lord of hosts and prophesied over the situation.
And what David prophesied to Goliath in the presence of the people of Israel and the Philistines became reality. Because when David ran towards him, he took a stone and slang it and smote the Philistine in his forehead with such a power, that Goliath fell upon his face on the earth.
David took Goliath’s sword and killed Goliath, so that he would no longer be a threat for the people of Israel, just like the lion and the bear he killed were no longer a threat to the sheep of his father. Goliath was defeated and Israel had won the battle (1 Sam 17 (Read also: ‘How to overcome your Goliath‘).
Spiritual warfare with the wrong armor
There are many believers, who are not clothed with the right armor in spiritual warfare. This can be due to multiple causes. They can be ignorant and therefore they keep walking in the armor of darkness, but they can also walk in someone else’s armor and try to fight and stand with someone else’s armor in spiritual warfare.
They admire and look up to the other person and aspire his/her position and faith and want to be and become as the other.
They want the same position and the same faith and they want to experience the same (supernatural) experiences, miracles and signs and therefore they study the life of the person and follow him/her. This happens especially with famous preachers.
Instead of spending time with God in prayer and study the Word, they watch, listen en feed themselves with the words, methods, and technics of others and take adopt their words, methods, technics and rituals and apply them into their lives.
They say and do what they hear them say and watch them do. They speak and pray their words and act according to their methods and technics.
And so they walk in life and battle in someone else’s armor, but they don’t know exactly what they are doing, how they should move and how to use the weapons (Read also: ‘Fighting against an invisible enemy‘).
Soon they are attacked from all sides and they can hardly stand. They try hard and speak all the words they have heard and apply every method and technic which they have been taught, however to no avail.
They don’t see the same result as the other person and therefore they become discouraged and doubt themselves and God and become spiritually lukewarm.
Some give up and look elsewhere for doctrines to achieve their goal, some leave the faith due to their disappointment and some keep searching and wondering what they have done wrong. Because why did it happen to the other person but not to them? The answer is very simple. You are not ‘the other person’!
The seven sons of Skevas
In the faith, there are no methods and technics to get things done and it doesn’t revolve around levels and steps you have to take, but it’s all about your position in Jesus Christ and your relationship with Him and faith in Him (Read also: ‘A technical faith‘)
You can’t build your faith upon someone else’s faith and rely on it. You can’t live in someone else’s armor and stand in the spiritual war.
Look at the seven sons of Scevas, a Jewish chief of the priest. They were itinerant Jews, exorcists. When they entered a house, they used the Name of Jesus from their own position as sons of the chief of the priest and said: “We adjure (solemnity command) you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
The sons of Scevas had heard of Jesus through Paul’s sermons. Apparently they saw the effect of the Name of Jesus in Paul’s life and thought, “what he can do, we can do also.’ and so they used the Name of Jesus as some kind of spell; a magic formula.
“Jesus, I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
But when they spoke to the evil spirits and tried to take authority over them by giving them a command, the evil spirit answered them and said, “Jesus, I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
The evil spirit didn’t know these seven sons of Scevas. Although they were the sons of the chief of priests and were appointed as exorcists, they had no spiritual authority. They played with the heavenly principalities, and therefore they walked on thin ice.
Because of the fact that they had no spiritual authority, the person, in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them and overcame them and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded (Acts 19:13-16).
They were not by faith born again in Jesus Christ and didn’t walk in His Name (His authority) and the power of the Holy Spirit. But they were the old creation, who heard about the Name of Jesus and used the Name of Jesus, but battled from their own natural position in their own power against this evil spirit. But this was doomed to fail, since they were not clothed with the right armor.
Due to the fact that they didn’t walk in the right armor, they were not resistant against this evil spirit and couldn’t take dominion over this evil spirit.
The old man is not able to stand and battle from his position
If you are not born again and don’t walk and fight and speak against the powers, principalities, and dominions from the power of darkness from your position in Christ in the right armor, but walk and fight from your position as the old man and/or walk and fight in someone else’s armor, then you are an easy target and prey for the enemy and they shall spiritually devour you, just like the seven sons of Scevas.
Should you, therefore, be afraid to fight in spiritual warfare? No, but you have to be born again and know who you are in Christ. You have to know what authority and what power you have received in Him and you must fight from His position in His power and not from your own position and in your power. But above all, you should know who God is.
Because if you know, who God is and fear Him and get to know Him through His Word, you know that He is the Creator of the heaven and the earth and all there is within, including the devil, demons, and spiritual principalities and powers of the kingdom of darkness.
Jesus Christ is above every power, principality, and dominion of the kingdom of darkness. When you become born again and become a new creation, you belong to His Body; His Church and you are seated in Him and every spiritual principality and power of the kingdom of darkness is under your feet.
The spiritual armor is your life in Christ
Therefore it is important, that as soon as you become a new creation, you renew your mind with the Word of God. So that you will get to know God and His will through His Word and find out, who you have become in Jesus Christ and what you have been given in Him.
You are supposed to put off the old man and to put on the new man. When you put on the new man, you put on Christ, and you are clothed with the right spiritual armor.
‘Putting on’ is an action, which you have to do through the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
You don’t pray for the spiritual armor, nor can you receive the spiritual armor through the laying on of hands of others, because you put on the spiritual armor through your words, works, and walk in life.
The spiritual armor does not consist of spiritual pieces of clothing and accessories, which you put on every morning and put off every evening, but it’s your life; your speech and walk in Christ.
You can’t rely on other people’s words and opinions and walk in other people’s faith. You are supposed to walk in the faith and get to know God by yourself, through His Word, so that you can trust God, Jesus: the Word and the Holy Spirit and live after His will.
“Nothing shall by any means hurt you”
Behold, I give unto you power (authority, dominion) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Lu 10:19)
As long as you stay and walk in Him, which means that you walk in the whole armor of God, the enemy can’t touch you. Because in Jesus Christ you have all power; all authority in heaven and on earth and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Everything you do, you don’t do from your carnal mind by relying on- and using carnal wisdom and knowledge and use words and natural technics and methods, which you have learned from others, but everything you do, you do from your position in Jesus Christ and your relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, you shall make time for prayer and to read and study the Word and the Holy Spirit shall teach and guide you. So that you find out your position in Christ; who you are in Him and what inheritance you have received in Him and walk in it.
When you renew your mind with the words of God, you shall get to know the will of your Father, so that the will of the devil and his lies, that reigned in your carnal mind, will be brought down and replaced by the will of God and His truth. You shall have the mind of Christ and do the will of the Father and live as son of God on earth (Read also: ‘The strongholds in the mind of people’).
The spiritual warfare with the right armor
You shall walk in the light and when the devil tries to tempt and mislead you through his lies and his works, you shall discern his lies and works and you shall be able to withstand his temptations.
He may fire all kinds of fiery darts, but they can’t touch you, because you walk by faith after the Spirit in the truth of God’s Word and not after the flesh, by what you hear and see and according to the lies of man, who belong to the world.
You shall walk holy and righteous and be a witness of Jesus Christ and represent and bring His Kingdom on earth.
You shall no longer walk in someone else’s armor, and constantly stumble and fall into temptations and live a defeated life, but you shall walk in your own armor, which suits you perfectly and in which you can perfectly move.
From your position in Christ and your personal relationship with God and through faith in Jesus Christ and in His Name (authority) and the power of the Holy Spirit, who abides in you, you shall move in the spiritual war.
And because you have put on the right armor you shall be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and withstand in the evil day and are able to stand and fulfill your task as son of God on earth
‘Be the salt of the earth’
