Fighting Temptation by Putting on the Armor of God is More than Quoting the Verses in Ephesians 6:11-17

Throughout my Christian life, I was told to fight temptation by putting on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17). I listened to people say that the first thing they did in the morning was stand in front of a mirror and imagine themselves putting on the armor, quoting the verses from Ephesians. It never worked for me when I was tempted. In this episode, I take you on a journey through the first two chapters of Ephesians, where Paul explains the armor. In John 17:17, Jesus prayed to the Father to sanctify His disciples in truth, saying, "Your word is truth." Where do we learn God's truth? It's in His written word, Scripture. And what does the written word speak to in our humanity? Our intellect and mind. And that aligns with the exhortation Paul presents in Romans 12:2 to renew the mind, so we can discern God's perfect will. I thought it meant discerning what job He wants for me, whom I should marry; in other words, my temporal life on earth.  That is true. But it means more, much more. And we find it in the first two chapters of Ephesians - God's perfect will in choosing His children, Christians, before the foundation of the world. Sanctifying that truth in our minds, and internally, by the Holy Spirit, establishes the armor of God inside of us - our will, emotions, and affections. Putting on the armor of God is putting on who we are in Christ. We start with our minds, and the Holy Spirit cements it within us. Also read, Proverbs, 2: 1-5, eight verb clauses that come with a promise (vv. 6-7). They align with this episode. Email: [email protected]