Armor of God

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

This passage tells us very clearly on the importance of the Word of God and what we deal with. First off we are told to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. The Lord is our God and our God is the Word.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Christ is called the Word, the revealer of God. One of the main ways God has revealed Himself to us in the Bible or the Word. I am not saying that a bound book of paper is God, but what is written in there is God revealed to us. Having said that lets continue on. The next part of this verse tells us what we are dealing with in this battle. It is not just people, it is the "wiles of the devil." It continues on to clarify it more; "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." What strength do we have against this? What are we suppose to use against this?

The armor of God. It tells us what we are up against then it says 'wherefore' or 'so do this.' It says 'take up the whole armor of God,' so that we can stand in this battle. Not just parts of it, but the whole thing. We can not just walk around the battle field with the Helmet of Salvation expecting to be fine. How would you fight without your weapon?  We can not just walk around the battle field with the Sword of the Spirit and expect to be fine either. How would you defend yourself from the fiery arrows?  We need all of it on. Each part serves a purpose and they work together. So what are the parts?

The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. Shoes being ready with the gospel of peace. Then the shield of faith. The helmet of salvation. Finally the sword of the Spirit, being the Word of God.

Lets look at the parts for a minute. First take notice that there is no protection on our backs, we are to stand firm. If you read many of the battles in the OT where armies fled, they were destroyed while fleeing. Where as heavily armed soldiers who stood firm were able to withstand great adversity.

The first piece of the armor that is mentioned is the belt or the girdle of truth or in other words, sincerity. We must be sincere about what we believe or the rest won't matter that much. Many Christians forget to put this on, and they talk the talk but don't walk the walk. They are not sincere in their walk with God.

The breastplate of righteousness is to protect us from Divine wrath (God’s judgment) as righteousness is imputed on us by God by accepting Him and His Son's gift of righteousness, love and forgiveness. This also protects us from the Devils arrows and his control.

Our feet to be ready with the gospel of peace. We must have a clear knowledge of the gospel in order to be ready. This takes carefully studying of the Word of God. We must be diligent to have a thourough knowledge of the gospel.  Especially in a day and age where the gospel is reduced to what is the minimum that is required to be saved.  How awful a thought!  The gospel is a wonderful thing and needs to be known as much as possible, not just enough to scrape by.  The crucial things are: God’s holiness, our sin (nature, law, all have, nothing we can do, etc), what Christ has done, Gods demands of sinners, counting the cost, then urging them to trust Christ.

Next part is our shield, the shield of faith. It says 'above all' take up the shield of faith. Faith is one of the most important parts. The shields were not bucklers but large tower shields. Behind one of these a person could stand with certainty that no arrows would hit them. Our faith is the same way. 'Faith applying the word of God and the grace of Christ, quenches the darts of temptation.  In old times, a few soldiers who used their shields properly could defend themselves from almost any barrage of arrows.  Faith is key!  Think about it, if you don’t have faith, what do you have?  You will become uncertain of your salvation, you will become uncertain of your righteousness, you will become uncertain of the gospel.  Basically by not having faith you fade the rest of your armor away.  Above all, take up the shield of faith.

The helmet of salvation is given to us by our Commander and it protects our head from the schemes of the devil.
Romans 8:38-39  “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Are you persuaded?  Are you convinced?  Are you certain of your salvation?  The helmet of salvation it to protect us from all those lies that try to say otherwise.

Now that is the armor. We are given only one weapon, we are given only one method for gaining ground and fighting the lies and the schemes of the Devil. What is that? The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. It is used for many many things. It is used to silence blasphemous thoughts and words, it is used to assault disbelief and error that attacks us and other Christians. We not only use our weapon to protect and fight for us but for all Christians and even to fight for those who are not yet saved.

The last part of this passage of scripture talks about prayer. Prayer helps hold everything together. It is not just prayer but true devotion and bowing of ourselves before God in prayer with Him. Not just little short prayers shot up but serious time on our knees before God. How does one expect to built a relationship with God with just a couple minutes a day in prayer? We all start there but we must continue to grow and to do so requires more time spent with God in prayer. As you grow and learn more about prayer, you will find that your prayer times get longer and longer.  Prayer is essential for a healthy Christian life and a healthy relationship with God.  It takes time, and it takes effort, and it takes dedication and devotion.  But that is what has been commanded of us by God.  His Word tells us that we should pray continually (Col. 1:9; 1 Th 5:17).  Pray about all things (Jas 5:13).  Take time to not only talk to God but listen (Ps 46:10).  Although we many not hear God speak to as Moses did, it is still a two way conversation.  Take time to be still and let God speak to your heart.

Sorry about leaving out a few piece of the armor Blessed-one. I got writting about the Ephesians passage and didn't have room left in the post for the other passages like 2 Cor. 6:7, Romans 13:12, 1 Sam 17:45, Isa 59:17, 1 Th 5:8 and so many more. One could write a book on this topic as there is so much in Gods Word about what he has given.

This is one of my favorite passages that excellently shows the armor and the weapon of God.

1 Samuel 17:45 "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."