The following is adapted from a teachings series on “Spiritual Warfare” by Pastor John Duncan:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:13 NKJV

Did you know that armor is an offensive weapon? That in the time that Paul said “put on the whole armor of God”, they had a breastplate. Everything they had was in front of them: they had no defense from behind. When the Romans put on their shoes, they had these shoes that were spiked so that as they were moving forward. They couldn’t be pushed back. The spikes were at such an angle that they could slide their feet forward, and when they would dig in it would hold them from backing up. Everything about armor is not to protect you so that you can go home and watch television. It’s to protect you because you are going in harm’s way.

The definition of offense is: “an aggressive advance on the enemy to take from him the objective.” To be on the offense is to be the attacker, not the defender. The aggressor in war has the advantage over the defender. When a army or a country is on defense, they have to constantly try to figure out when and where they are going to be attacked. They cannot concentrate their forces in any one place because if they do, the aggressor will come in a different place.

…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 NKJV

Jesus said, “The gates of hell shall not prevail.” Gates are a defensive mechanism. You don’t attack anybody with gates. What does that mean? What was Jesus saying? When Christians know what they’re about, Satan closes the gates and tries to hide. But he can’t hold us out. They cannot stop us. We infiltrate; we can walk right past the gates of hell. That is a promise from our Savior.

Jesus did not say, “Go home and relax and I’ll protect you.” Jesus did say, “Go ye into all the world” (Matthew 28:19). Take the gospel to every creature and I am with you always. To Joshua, God said, “I’m with you, I will not forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). But God said that to Joshua as when he was telling him to attack.

When God promises to be with you, it’s because he’s sending you on a mission.

The promise that Christians love to hold on to is, “I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” The command that comes with that promise is something people like to ignore. The command is, “go ye”. The promise is, “I’ll be with you.” When God promises to be with you, it’s because he’s sending you on a mission. He’s giving us the assurance that when we step out, he’s with us.