It is probably one of the most familiar passages in the Bible, at least to most Christians. It is Ephesians chapter 6, verses 13 through 20. It is a part of the apostle Paul’s Roman Prison Epistles, which was a group of letters he wrote and sent to all of the churches he helped establish in Asia Minor.

But note again that it is a part of the Prison Epistles. Yes, even while Paul was incarcerated, he was still busy doing battle with the forces of wickedness of the then-known world. He even mentions them in Ephesians 6:12 when he writes, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

So although Paul was under arrest, he realized that he was under arrest because he was under spiritual attack. He was aware, and wanted to make the rest of the saints aware of the never-ending war of which we are all a part, and how to properly and successfully fight it. And that is where the whole armor of God comes in.

The word “whole” is significant because it reminds us that there is a complete set of armor that we need in order to wage the most successful warfare possible against the three great enemies of humanity known as the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Paul, in Ephesians chapter two for example, talks about these enemies and how Christ has delivered us from their ultimate power. The end-goal of these enemies is to keep people in sin and separated from God.

However, where it concerns the true born-again believer in Christ, it is not possible to ever be separated from God again. Yet it is very possible to feel like it in this life. Sin takes the believer out of commission in many ways, because it brings God’s chastening hand upon us for correction, and it also allows the lies of the Devil to begin to negatively affect our perception of God and His love for us. If Satan can convince us that we are not pleasing to the One who enlisted us, then he knows that we cannot be good soldiers of the Cross. We will feel defeated, and we will act accordingly.

But there’s another way that we find ourselves in defeat as Believers in God that is so critical to know that I cannot even begin to get into the individual elements of the whole armor of God without first addressing it. You see, the Bible tells us that in Christ we are more than conquerors. And I’ll briefly explain what a “more than conqueror” is in a moment. But here’s something you might want to jot down, because you really need to get this. It will be the over-arching focus of the entire series of podcasts. You ready? Here goes…

You simply cannot “more than conquer” while trying to wear yours and God’s armor!

Let me say it again… You simply cannot “more than conquer” while trying to wear yours and God’s armor together. It is absolutely God’s whole armor and none of yours, or even the smallest piece...