The Armor of God

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Put on the whole armour 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 armour 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:” Ephesians 6:10-17

Armor has been used for thousands of years to protect warriors and soldiers in battle. Armor is basically any material used to protect and individual or item from injury, harm, or damage, especially to protect from weapons in combat.

From leather, to chain mail, to full suits of knight’s armor, to the bullet proof vests that law enforcement use today, armor is an important piece of equipment that one needs to have to protect themself. 

Pieces of armor may include a helmet, a “cuirass” or breastplate (as well as a backplate), as well as arm and leg armour. Most often, armor is used to cover the most important parts of your body, being your head and heart, but Paul wrote in Ephesians to put on the whole armour of God; protecting the entire body spiritually with spiritual armor.

While we are not in physical combat, as Christians we are in a spiritual battle between good and evil. Since his separation from heaven, the devil has been at war with God, and although he is losing mightily, he will try to do anything that he can to destroy a person’s faith in Christ. The devil is a wiley, crafty enemy, filled with many tricks and deceptions that he will try to slide under a person’s spiritual armor to get them to lose faith.

This is exactly why we need to put on the whole armor of God. We need to have our “loins girt about with truth.” 

Around the time of Christ, people wore large, loose fitting tunics and robes which reached close to the ground, and were somewhat difficult to move around in quickly. To move more quickly, a person would need to “gird up their loins” by lifting the cloth of their robes above their knees, and wrap it around their waist and tie it, thus creating free movement of the legs.

Just like a robe would be wrapped around the waist, we need to be surrounded with the truth of the gospel of Jesus and His teachings, and ready. In 1 Peter 1:13, Peter wrote, “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  Peter wanted the church to be ready and waiting, with their minds focused on the teachings of Christ.

A breastplate is a piece of armor that covers your chest, and most importantly, your heart. 

Righteousness is the quality of being virtuous, or doing what is right, and it is something that Christian needs to be filled with.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Matthew 5:6

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not…” 1 Corinthians 15:34

“But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.” 1 Timothy 6:11

“Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.” Psalm 106:3

The righteousness spoken of here is not of ourselves; this righteousness comes from God, and following His will. And if we are filled with the righteousness that comes from God, it will cause us to be loving. It will cause us to be forgiving. We will be merciful, and kind, honest, and sincere. 

What is the function of your feet? They help you to stand, and they carry the rest of your body where it needs to go. A rather small part of your body, but your feet are very important just the same, and they need to be protected. Shoeware of different types have different benefits or strengths. If you live where there is snow thick, warm snow boots is a must-have item if you want to keep your feet from freezing as you travel along outside. If you live in a rocky area, hiking boots that protect your feet from cuts and scrapes is what you will want to have. Whatever the situation, your feet need to be protected.

Paul wanted our feet to be “shod with the preparation of peace.” If something is prepared, it is ready. 

When we have peace, we can be confident when go into the battlefield which is the world, unafraid and unashamed to tell others about the love of Christ, and His desire to save them. We don’t need to be afraid of what others in the world think of us in our daily walk as Christians, because we are filled with the peace that comes from Jesus.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” Isaiah 52:7

In medievial warfare, a shield was probably the most important piece of defense that a solider could have. Able to deflect arrows from afar, or a sword blow up close, a shield was vital to survival in battle. Take a shield away, and you have taken away the first line of defense, and exposed the rest of the body to a variety of dangers.

You will notice that the other pieces of armor are things that you can wear on your body, but a shield is something that you need to hold up in order for it to be effective. You need to hold onto it. We need to hold up our shield of faith firmly, never letting it down for even a moment. Never letting any unbelief or doubt enter our minds when it comes to the truth of the Word of God.

I love using this example, but in the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abenego, they were in a spiritual battle in the book of Daniel. Because of their refusal to bow before the idol the king had created and ordered all to worship, they were sentenced to death in a fiery furnace. But even when faced with this threat, these men of God remained firm, holding up their shield of faith. They believed that if it was the will of God, that He could deliver them from the fire. As these three men were thrown into the furnace, those who threw them in died because of the great heat, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not harmed in the slightest. Why? Because they had faith.

Next, the helmet of salvation. A helmet is a piece of armor that protects your head. Your head really is the most important part of your body (along with your heart of course), because with it you see, you hear, you smell, you talk, you breath, and you eat. Your head contains your brain, which contains your knowledge and memory, and also controls your actions. This vital part of your body needs to be protected well.

A strong, well placed blow to the head will incapacitate the entire body. The devil knows this as well, which is why it is so important that we take care to put on the helmet of salvation. These blows may come in the form of temptations, or seeds of doubt or unbelief. Anything that he can do to attack this important part of our body the devil will do.

The armor of God is only worn by the true believers in Jesus, and not by those of the world. The people of the world do not follow Christ or His teachings, which is why we are taught to not be conformed to the world.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2

With the helmet of salvation, we can know and have the assurance of salvation. This is a promise from Jesus Himself.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24

If we keep God’s word, we can know that we have eternal life. 

The last thing on our list that Paul mentions to take up is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. 

Have you ever heard the saying “the pen is mightier than the sword”? The meaning of this phrase is that words expressed in writing are far more productive or effective than violence with physical war. 

How many wars have ended by a few strokes of a pen? How many disagreements have ended by the opposing parties signing a truce? Instead of a constant war of killing everyone until one side is completely destroyed, this can all be avoided by using a writing untensil.

Of all of the other pieces of armor that we talked about which defend, a sword is an offensive weapon used to parry and attack. The word of God is not a physical sword, but rather a spiritual one that every Christian needs to carry with them to help us defeat the devil.

Jesus displayed this perfectly in Matthew 4. Undergoing His temptaions in the wilderness, the devil tried to use scripture to try to bend Christ to his will. If thou be the Son of God, the devil said, “cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Jesus with His wisdom replied, “It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

The devil clearly knew the scripture, but just as a sword is only effective if you use it properly, he failed in his attempt. This is a mistake that many people who claim Christianity make today. They read the scriptures, but they do not understand the true meaning of them, or try to twist and contort it to fit their personal views, so when they try to use scripture (the sword of the spirit) they instead only do harm to themselves and to other’s faith.

Used properly, as Christ has shown, the word of God is indeed a powerful weapon. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

The world is not going to get better, as some would like to believe, but it is steadily growing worse. It is a losing battle for the devil, and his time is quickly drawing to an end. He knows that he cannot win and this is why he is afraid. Like a trapped animal, he will become frantic, and will try to do anything that he can to take anyone else that he can down along with him.

One piece of armor is not enough. Put on the whole armor of God!

In Christ,

Andrew