“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)

It started in the beginning, when the tempter would apply his schemes against Adam and Eve. He would use deception and misdirection as he tempted them to disobey God, which would bring death to mankind. Throughout history he would continue his deceit, which would keep mankind turning from God. He would even attempt this description with Jesus. Jesus knew his schemes and overcame him with God’s Word.

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan!’ For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Matthew 4:1-11)

Jesus lived His life in perfect obedience to God the Father. He would become the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This is because we all have succumbed to the devil’s deceptions and have sinned, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Jesus has paid our dept for sin and now we are to learn ways to overcome the descriptions of the tempter. Paul would give us directions on how to stand against the devil’s schemes.

 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:13-18)

The armor consists of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. All of these are provided by the One who did not succumb to the tempter’s ways of deception, Jesus Christ. We put the armor into action through a life saturated by prayer. Our prayer is to be offered with the use of our minds. We must think about both the situations of life and the power of God. We are to be alert because the tempter is not just devious, but he is also crafty and surprising with his temptations. And we are to be in constant contact with our Lord. We are to be in prayer not only for ourselves, but also for all of God’s own people, those who know Jesus by faith.

As you and I walk through each day with the Living Word of God, Jesus, we must be faithful as we put on the armor and stay in communication with our Lord.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block