The Armor of God: Growing in Spiritual Warfare

10 min read

Introduction

Joly and Joël, a couple who have been members of CVV Paris church for about ten years, come to share on the weapons of spiritual warfare. Their teaching draws on Ephesians 6 and on what they themselves have gone through. The title is direct: growing in spiritual warfare. As soon as you become a Christian, you move from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, and you enter, whether you like it or not, into a war. The good news: your enemy is already defeated, and Christ delegates his authority to you.

Message Outline

1. Becoming a Christian Means Entering a War

  • Joly and Joël first set the framework: God's word is not reserved for an elite. What God did for them, he can do for you. The more time passes, the more they realize they haven't understood anything, and this brings them back, every time, into humility and God's presence.
  • Becoming a Christian means instantly switching from one kingdom to another. There is a permanent confrontation between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. Don't be naive: the Gospel is not a "cuddly" world.
  • But we don't start the Christian life with combat. Just as we gradually prepare a child to face the wickedness of the world, God first forms us before sending us to the front line. No fear, no paranoia: simply clear-sightedness.
  • Three stages to go through: recognizing that we are at war, knowing our enemy (his goals and strategies), and knowing our authority and our mandate.

2. Know Your Enemy: A Defeated Foe Whose Only Weapon Is Fear

  • Joël reads Ezekiel 28:11-19, the lament over the king of Tyre. This is not about a human king, no man lived in Eden, was an "anointed cherub who covers," or walked "in the midst of the stones of fire." This is Lucifer before his fall, when he coordinated praise in heaven.
  • "I cast you as profane out of the mountain of God... You have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever." This is who the devil is to God: nothingness. He is no longer a subject for God.
  • If God cast the devil down to the earth, how is it that the world is in such a state? Because the devil has no authority except what we give him. His only weapon is to impress us and make us afraid. Joël breaks, in the name of Jesus, every spirit of fear that could prevent the understanding of these truths.
  • Our lives, our families, our heritages may have given the enemy access (words spoken, occult practices, generational curses). The curse repeats itself down to the fourth generation, but God's blessing runs to the thousandth, as good as forever. We must close the doors and reclaim the ground in the name of Jesus.

3. Your Authority and Mandate in Christ

  • Jesus said: "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). "All" means all, nothing escapes his authority. Colossians 2:15 adds that he disarmed the rulers and authorities, putting them to open shame through the cross.
  • You have no authority of your own. But in Christ, you receive delegated authority. Luke 10:19: "I have given you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy."
  • Authority and mandate are not the same thing. As in an army or a company, you have a delegation of power with limits. Casting out demons that trouble you is the calling of every believer, no need to check your mandate. But confronting certain higher powers (freemasonry, spiritual territories) requires clear revelation.
  • Become aware of the areas where you have given up ground. Reclaim them in the name of Jesus. The enemy has no right to hold onto them at all: close the access points, clean up your life, and he will have no power over you.

4. We Do Not Wrestle Against Flesh and Blood

  • Joly picks up the thread and reads Ephesians 6:12: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
  • Your adversary is not your spouse, your mother-in-law, your colleague, your brother or sister in church. "Christians are the only army where we fight each other," Joly sighs. No, we fight against what is acting behind people.
  • The rulers are territorial powers. The powers are deeply entrenched systems (like freemasonry) that pass through generations and look for someone to embody them. The authorities are delegated powers. The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places act in the spiritual dimension parallel to ours.
  • Good news: "We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 2:6). This position of superiority is not something you took yourself, it is Christ who placed you there. That is where you fight from.

5. The Armor of God: To Be Put On, Not Asked For

  • Joly recounts a conference given by the former head of RAID (the unit that intervened on November 13, 2015). Their Ramses II shield weighs 40 kg. Their metal helmet protects against all handguns. Since the Bataclan, they face an enemy who comes to die in battle. Our spiritual battle takes place against an enemy just as determined.
  • Ephesians 6 does not say "pray to receive the armor," but "put on." The armor is already available in Christ. We take it up. Each piece is a character trait of God to put on.
  • The helmet of salvation. It means clothing yourself with Jesus, our savior. It protects our thoughts, because every battle is first won in the mind. Continually renew your thoughts (Romans 12:2). Refuse lies like "in my family, it's always been this way", the Lord blesses to the thousandth generation.
  • The shield of faith. Three forms of faith to grasp: the gift of faith (among the gifts of power in 1 Corinthians 12), which declares "no, that will not happen" in the face of a situation that seems hopeless, Joly testifies of a prayer for Joël, struck with lower back pain before a concert, who was set free. The faith of God (Mark 11:22 according to other versions: "have the faith of God"), a divine seed within us that moves mountains like a mustard seed (Matthew 17:20). And bold faith, the "foolishness" that is irrational to the world, that of Joshua and Caleb facing the sons of Anak (Numbers 13-14), who say "let us go up and take possession, for God has given it to us," while ten others see only the obstacle.
  • The sword of the Spirit, the word of God. It is one of God's most powerful weapons. "He sent his word and healed them" (Psalm 107:20). It brings forth deer, makes the desert bloom again, creates paths where there were none. The world of darkness has well understood the power of the word (curses, witchcraft). We, we bless. Joly testifies of a lemon tree brought back to life by a simple word of love, and of an HR director who threatened to make her leave the company, it was he who left after she declared: "You have no authority over my life."
  • The belt of truth. It supports the upper and lower body. It is Jesus who is the way, the truth, the life. It is also the Spirit of truth who reveals hidden intentions to us. Ask the Lord to open your eyes, even if what he shows you may seem frightening, he equips the one he calls.
  • Shoes fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. For the race God gives you. "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you" (Joshua 1:3). Don't go to work just to do your job, bless your company, call God's reign down at the coffee machine, take possession of the building, the neighborhood, the city where God has placed you.
  • The breastplate of righteousness. Christ is our righteousness. He justified us at the cross. The enemy accuses, but Romans 8:33-34 answers: "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies."

Key Takeaways

  • The devil is a defeated foe. He is nothing to God anymore. His only strategy against you is fear.
  • Your adversary is never your brother, your sister, your spouse, or your colleague. It is what acts behind them.
  • Spiritual warfare begins by reclaiming possession of your own life: your thoughts, your open doors, your family heritage.
  • The armor is not to be asked for in prayer. It is already available in Christ, you take it up, you put it on.
  • Your first sphere of authority is your life, your family, your home, your workplace, your neighborhood, your city. God did not place you there in vain.

Personal Application

  1. What area of your life have you, without realizing it, left to the enemy? What door can you close this week in the name of Jesus?
  2. What battle are you fighting against a person instead of discerning what is acting behind them? How would you redirect this fight?
  3. Facing what "impossible" situation do you need to ask the Lord for the gift of faith, the one that declares "no, that will not happen"?
  4. What word of God can you declare today over yourself, your family, your workplace? What "dry lemon tree" is waiting to be called back to life?
  5. Where has God placed you (building, neighborhood, company), and how will you, this week, take possession of that territory through blessing and prayer?

Bible References

Further reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Isn't spiritual warfare mainly about casting out demons?

No, say Joly and Joël. Spiritual warfare is first about reclaiming possession of your own life. The first ground you recover is your thoughts, your open doors, your authority delegated by Christ. Casting out demons in our lives is part of every believer's calling, but going to confront higher powers (like freemasonry) requires a clear mandate from the Lord. This is not an area to improvise in.

How do you actually put on the armor of God?

Ephesians 6 says "put on." The armor is already available in Christ; we don't have to pray for it to be given to us. We take it up by taking hold of God himself: the helmet of salvation (Jesus our savior, who protects our thoughts), the shield of faith (the gift of faith, the faith of God, bold faith), the sword of the Spirit (the word declared), the belt of truth, the shoes of the readiness of the gospel, the breastplate of Christ's righteousness.

How do I know if I have the mandate for a spiritual battle?

You must distinguish between authority and mandate. As in an army, every soldier has delegated authority, but each has a specific mandate. Casting out demons that trouble your life doesn't require checking your mandate, it's every believer's calling. However, confronting powerful systems (freemasonry, territorial structures) requires clear revelation from God. Otherwise you may end up waging a battle that isn't yours to fight.

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