Ephesians 6:10-18
The Armor of God
June 10, 2012
What do all of these items have in common —
Homeowners Insurance Life Insurance Auto Insurance New wipers
Winterizing your car Wills Oil Changes car seats
Coats in winter seat belts Mouth pieces Safety gloves
Cribs Training wheels bicycle helmets annual physicals
Volleyball - Knee pads Goggles at work
They are all ways in which we protect ourselves. When you think about it, it’s amazing to think of all the ways we protect ourselves — physically, emotionally and financially. We make sure that as best as we can, nothing will harm us or our family. Yet, how many of us are actively protecting ourselves spiritually?
Most of the time, we don’t think we need spiritual protection, because we have God on our side; and if God is for us, then who can be against us? Paul asked that question in Romans 8:31, because he was certain that nothing could ever separate us from God’s live in Christ. And Paul was and is 100% correct. But we need to utilize God’s power and strength, and if we don’t, then we’re on our own and we’re in trouble.
We’ve been taking a look at Spiritual Warfare, our battle against satan. As we battle satan, we need to be equipped for the war which faces us. Just like that long list of different ways to protect ourselves, we need spiritual protection. And that protection comes from God. What can we use to defend ourselves and even to take the offensive with satan? In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul commands what we’re supposed to do in order to combat satan.
Let’s look at what Paul tells us ~
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
11 Put on the FULL armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the FULL armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Great words of wisdom from Paul; and this week and next week, we’re going to unpack what Paul was getting at in this command to us. We must put on the whole armor of God. Not just a few pieces that feel more comfortable than others.
Remember in Greek mythology, the Greek god Achilles. Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. And he died because of a small wound on his heel, the only unprotected part of his body. We can’t do the same, and leave ourselves unprotected, so we must remember to put on the FULL armor of God.
If you don’t put on one piece of armor it can be a disaster. You cannot pick and choose, because missing one piece will leave a weak spot in your defense. And satan will pick on that and attack you.
This is not a typical battle, it’s a spiritual battle and we must use spiritual weapons which God has placed at our disposal. It is not a battle of our strength, otherwise we would all be in the gym, but our strength comes from God, as He sends His Holy Spirit to empower us. Verse 10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and in His MIGHTY POWER. Again, it’s not our power, it’s God’s!
Our battles will come from places we least expected. That’s satan at work. Remember, Christ-followers can be his tools to destroy other Christians and churches. That’s what satan lives for. That’s why it’s vital to put on the whole armor of God . . . everyday.
Putting on the whole armor of God must be a natural act. As we get dressed everyday, not only should we follow Colossians 3:12-15 and put on love, but we should also put on our spiritual armor so we can withstand his attacks. Isn’t it better to be prepared than to realize after the fact that you’ve been attacked and now you run for cover and before you know it, you’ve bought into satan’s lies and you lay there wounded.
So, let’s look at our protection —
We are to gird our waists by putting on the BELT of TRUTH. Why was a belt so important? It served 2 purposes, the belt held the soldier’s robe together. They didn’t wear pants, real men wore dresses, and these dresses or tunics, needed to be tied in the front with a belt.
The belt also ensured that as you ran into battle, you didn’t trip or fall. The sheath which held the sword was also attached to the belt. The belt also held the breastplate in place. The belt was a simple but essential part of the armor. Without the belt, the tunic would get in the way, the breastplate wouldn’t stay where it needed to be and the sword wouldn’t be very easy to handle. Also notice that there are strands running down from the belt. These were for extra protection and to make sounds as the soldiers ran into battle, which hopefully caused their opponents to become more fearful.
What does the belt of truth mean? There are a couple of meanings. The first and what must always be the starting point is that the truth we believe in is God’s truth. It’s believing without a doubt Jesus is Lord and Savior. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It’s believing in the truth of who Jesus said He is; that God has the power to save you eternally. It is believing Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” In other words, God is never changing. He is always the same.
The 2nd point behind the belt of truth is that we must live truthful lives. The belt kept the person covered and dignified. In the same way, lies will expose you and strip away your dignity, and there is no dignity in sin. The belt of truth means we live honestly, with integrity and without hypocrisy. When we walk in integrity, we are utilizing the belt of truth. When we quit playing games, and walk consistently, whether people see us or not, then we are using the belt of truth.
Satan will use every possible lie to try to defeat us. Peter tells us satan is the father of lies. He’s out to do everything to defeat you. All around us we see people twisting the truth to their advantage. Dishonesty is prevalent in our society, we make truth be what we want it to be, so when we take off that belt of truth, the other armor won’t stay in place and we become vulnerable to attack and defeat. We must always have the belt of truth on!
Next comes the Breastplate of Righteousness
For the Roman soldier, the breastplate covered their front and back. It protected the vital organs ~ the heart, lungs, kidneys, and stomach. The breastplate was normally made of strong leather covered with metal. No arrow or dart could pierce a breastplate that was worn properly.
The breastplate of righteousness is essential for the Christian to avoid a mortal wound.
What is righteousness? Righteousness is being moral and just, being pure in heart. Our righteousness was not sufficient to save us, and our righteousness will never be sufficient. Isaiah 64:6 likens our righteousness to “filthy rags” (the rags of menstruation). On our own we could never become righteous in God’s sight. So, as Paul tells us, in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
You see, Christ is the true and only righteous One. God imputes His righteousness upon us. This means that Jesus’ death made us righteous in God’s sight. We are not righteous on our own, but are viewed as righteous because of what Jesus did for us. Because of the cross, we can now receive His righteousness. He died for us, in our place and now He gives us His righteousness in exchange for ours.
If we wear the breastplate of righteousness, it means our relationship with God is solid - it will be trusting and dependent, we will recognize that God is God, and we are not.
In 1934, King Alexander of Yugoslavia landed in France for an official visit. Before he left his warship, he dressed in the full uniform of an admiral of the navy. However, he didn’t wear his bulletproof vest. After leaving his ship, he entered a special automobile which met him at the dock and 5 minutes after stepping on French soil, he was assassinated by an assassins bullet. This didn’t have to happen, had he worn his bulletproof vest.
Without Jesus Christ and his breastplate we are going to be injured and we will not be able to recover. We will die eternally without Christ and will be susceptible to every temptation from Satan.
Lastly for today, comes the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
The Roman soldier wore an open-toed spiked shoe which laced up past his ankles. We are all well aware of the importance of shoes for a variety of different purposes. There are dress shoes, work shoes, athletic shoes, and more. These different types of shoes serve different purposes. The Roman soldier's war boot was an important piece of equipment. It was similar to a football player’s spiked shoes. They gave you traction. They helped the soldier stand his ground and advance. He needed traction since most combat was hand-to-hand. A soldier couldn’t afford to be pushed backwards or slip down.
Neither can we. We are to be firmly planted in the gospel of Jesus. The gospel is where we get our traction to fight and defend. In Matthew 7, Jesus spoke of building a house on sand or on the rock of Jesus. We are to build our lives on the rock of Jesus. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.
Part of our being equipped for battle is having our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. It is the gospel of peace which enables us to stand firm. We can stand secure knowing that we have peace.
There are two qualities of peace we experience. The first is peace with God. In Romans 5:1, Paul said, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Because of the good news of the Gospel, we can now experience peace with God. We are not enemies with God, God is not against us, He is 100% for us. We now enjoy fellowship with Him.
The second aspect is experiencing the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Not only do we have peace with God, but we also experience the peace of God. This means we experience His peace even in the most trying circumstances. The peace of God enables us to have that calm, assured confidence that enables us to handle any situation.
When trying circumstances come, it isn’t unusual for people to begin to fall apart. Sometimes people even get hysterical. You might say to such a person, “Get a grip!” Well, how can someone get a grip if they have nothing to grab on to. Knowing Jesus gives us something to hold on to. And the peace of God helps us to get a grip.
Without the boot on, the soldier is relaxing; with them on, he’s ready for combat. Paul’s irony should not be overlooked: the gospel of peace makes us ready for war.
Well, we’re only ½ dressed for battle, and next week, on Father’s Day, we’ll finish talking about getting dressed in God’s armor; and defending ourselves from satan.
For now, make sure you have the
belt of truth
breastplate of righteousness, and
shoes of the gospel of peace . . . on!
