Put on the Whole Armor of God

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  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.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  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, being watchful to the end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” –Ephesians 6:10-18 (NKJV).

Paul admonishes believers in this passage to dress properly for battle.  Imagine a soldier going into battle and wearing a coat of mail to protect himself.  Paul reminds us that we are to recognize swe can be strong in the Lord and in the power He imparts.  But each person must make a conscious effort to “put on the whole armor of God.”  We have a formidable enemy, ever present, ever trying to overcome the Christian.  The enemy is subtle and cunning, is not a ‘flesh and blood” enemy but the god of this age, the ulterior spiritual powers that seek to tempt and waylay the Christian from the truths and purposes of God.  We call him Satan, the devil; he also has many helpers who masquerade as angels of light and seek to divert the Christian from the truths of God and His Word.  Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe says of this enemy:  “Satan wants to use our external enemy, the world, and our internal enemy, the flesh, to defeat us.  His weapons and battle plans are formidable” (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, New Testament, Colorado Springs: Cook, 2007, p. 623).

We are to consciously put on the whole armor of God.  With it, we can stand against the battles we face daily in the Christian life.  The first piece of the armor is the ‘girdle of truth.’ The actual girdle in the coat of arms was the first piece the soldier donned, and it held the other armor together.  As we think of girdling ourselves with truth, it is to have a firm grip of the truth of God in a clear conscience.  The next piece is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate in armor protected the soldier’s heart and covered his body, front and back, from the waist to the neck.  Many an arrow could be deflected when hitting the metal breastplate.  Likewise, the breastplate of the Christian is a life lived righteously in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  On the feet of the soldier of Christ are the “shoes of the  gospel of peace.”  Having put on shoes, the special sandals that would give him grip and stability as he walked, the soldier was ready to advance into battle.  This bespeaks the Christian’s responsibility to witness to others, to take the gospel of peace to those in the world in need of hearing about the salvation Christ offers.  Next, the soldier takes up his shield.  In wartime of old when the well-armed soldier faced battled, they could hold up shields side-by-side and make a virtual wall as they faced the enemy.  The shield of the Christian soldier is his faith, the growing, developing faith that “in Christ I can do all things, I can be an overcomer, I can meet the enemy.”  The shield can also quench fiery darts.  Likewise, when our shield of faith is in position, we can overcome temptation and be ready always to meet the demands of spiritual battle because of our shield of faith.  Finally, the well-dressed Christian soldier dons the helmet of salvation and takes up his sword, which is the Word of God.  The mind is covered with the assurance of salvation.  The mind that dwells on God and His truths cannot be easily led astray.  Then the other major defensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, is necessary We learn how effective this weapon is from Hebrews 4:12:  “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The short sword of the Roman soldier was carried in his belt and was used for close-up battles.  Likewise, we are to use the word of God in personal encounters with others as we witness to them about the saving grace of the Lord.  Being girded for battle, the good soldier of Jesus Christ then had one more thing to do:  “praying always, with all prayer and supplication.”  Even with the armor of a Christian, we cannot depend fully on our own dress, our own power.  We pray.  We keep in touch with the source of Help and Strength…”with all prayer and supplication”—adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.  Thus protected with the full armor of the Christian, and strengthened with prayer, we are ready for battle.

Dr. T. W. Hunt suggests in his wonderful teaching on prayer that the Christian consciously put on the armor of God daily as a readiness and preparation for the daily battles of life.  How do we stand as we arm ourselves for Christian warfare?