It is the whole armor of God that must be put on daily so that we are able to stand against the strategies of the Accuser.  Before the armor can be affixed to our spirits (minds, wills, emotions), we must put off the old man concerning the former conversation. (Ep. 4:22)  In other words, we need to change the way we think!

Our former conversation/behavior is corrupt because of sin, deceitful desires and delusions.  Knowing something about the Greek language and verb tenses can help us understand the word “put off” more clearly.  The word for “put off” is in a verb tense that means you must do it daily.  This word is in the Greek, second-person aorist tense.  This means it is not one time lasts forever.  We must do this every day.  No one can do it for us.

After putting off the old man, we are to be renewed in our spirit. (Ep. 4:23)   Only then we can “put on” the new man. (Ep. 4:24)  To “put on” is in the first-person aorist tense.  When the Lord sees that we are going to put off the old man, He will anoint us to don our spiritual new man.  Remember, we have to do this daily, sometimes several times a day in order to pull down the thoughts or reverse the circumstances the enemy throws our way

Tricks of the Enemy

We are in a war, not with flesh and blood, but against the four quadrants of the invisible, evil world.  Daily, it will take our wearing the whole armor of God in order to stand against the methods and trickery of the devil.

The enemy is a traveler and looks for inroads and means to steal, kill and destroy us.  When the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan was there. (Job 1:6)  The Lord asked Satan where he had come from.  He answered by saying he had been going to and fro in the earth, walking up and down in it. (Job 1:7)  We must be sober and vigilant, because our adversary walks about as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (distract, and ultimately kill us). (I Peter 5:8)

The dictionary of Law defines trickery as “the intentional use of deceit, a trick or some dishonest means to deprive another of their money, property or a legal right.” ¹

Trickery is brought against us by the enemy to deceive us, extract from us  righteousness, and deprive us of something we already possess.

The Armor Of God

Without putting on the new man, we cannot wear the whole armor.

There is a great contrast between the armor of God and the strategies of the adversary.

The Bible states that the first piece or armor that the enemy attacks is that which protects our loins. (Ep. 6:14)

We must gird the Belt of Truth around our spiritual loins to protect us against deception and lies and the discouragement they bring.  This is our first line of defense.  We must study the Word of God in its purest form, from beginning to end, or the enemy will eventually be able to trick us.  The enemy is constantly trying to destroy the people of God by making void the Torah/instruction of God. If he can isolate and cut off bits of ancient-path truth (The Word) with his knife, and continue to deceive us with mans’ religious tradition and interpretative error, he can overcome us.

Memorize and use Ep. 6:10-18.  You will be empowered and your life will change.

A Prayer That The Sword Of The Lord Be Released Upon You

Lord, you said that our enemies would fall by the sword before You; that five of us would chase a hundred, and a hundred of us would put ten thousand to flight – Lev. 26:7-8

We now take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and we go forth to establish Your Word on the Earth – Ep. 6:17.

May the high praises of God be in our mouths daily and a two-edged sword of the Spirit (Word) in our hand, to bind demonic kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron – Psalm 149:6-8

Blessings,

Karen J

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1. https://dictionary.law.com