What is this “Whole Armor of God” stuff? A belt, a breastplate, shoes, a shield, a
hat, and a sword… (And no pants,
apparently. But still..)
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty
power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm
against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen
world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in
the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will
be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will
still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the
belt of truth
and
the breastplate of God’s righteousness. 15 For
shoes, put on the
peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.[b]
16 In addition to all of these, hold up the
shield of faith to stop the
fiery arrows of the devil.[c] 17 Put on
salvation as your helmet, and
take the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every
occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers
everywhere.
When I started putting this together it was all wordy… I found great websites that expounded on
each item with paragraph after paragraph and description after description, but I think in all of that it can be
summed up in one thing—God’s Word.
The belt of Truth—God’s Word is the truth for, about, and
over our lives. Belts are made to wrap
around us, and we should do that with God’s Word. Wear God’s Word, wrap it around us, give the Sword of the Spirit a place to be
drawn from (that statement in itself will preach!!).
Breastplate of Righteousness—Can we ourselves obtain
righteousness? NOPE. It is through
Christ that we are made righteous. And
it’s by reading God’s Word and understanding what all that encompasses that we
can put on the very thing that protects our heart. It’s worth noting that a breastplate protects
the front—we are not to retreat but stand firm in God’s Word.
Shoes of Peace—It’s hard to stand firm when you’re sliding
all over the place--we have to have a strong footing in God’s Word. But not only are we to have peace (God’s good
news) for ourselves, but we leave it wherever we go in our footprints.
Shield of Faith—The devil is always firing flaming arrows at
us but out shield of faith deflects those arrows.
Heck, when we hold it up just right it even prevents the enemy from
making eye contact with us. Is it faith
in our "me" that protects us, NOPE. It’s faith
in God’s Word, what it says we have, that we can walk the authority it gives us
through Christ. A shield takes some
holding up, though—we can’t have flimsy faith in the heat of spiritual
battle. Our shield bears the crest of our
household, of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!!
Salvation as my helmet—God’s Word is specific about our
salvation—what we are saved from and what we are saved to. Only through salvation in Christ do we no
longer have to lose our mind and be tossed around and carried about by every
wind of doctrine. Our mind can be strong
in the Lord, and the power of His might.
Our thoughts have to be filled with God’s Word, ready to put into motion
the battle formation of my Commander.
Sword of the Spirit—Have you noticed that all these other items
are DEFENSIVE?? The sword is the only
one that is OFFENSIVE. Where the Spirit
is there is freedom, right? And why is that? Because He cuts away “the us” to make room
for Him. When we study the bible our
skill in the Word is sharpened, our sword is polished.
Pray—This one is really about attitude. We are to be
watchful so that we aren’t tempted; watchful over our families and our brothers
and sisters in the Christ; mindful of God’s presence in our lives.
Stand Your Ground, church!! It's time that we, as God’s soldiers,
stop simply discussing His commands and begin obeying them. “Fight the good
fight” (1 Timothy 6:12). Too
many of us soldiers are fraternizing with the enemy (this was me two months ago) and trying to reach the
world by bringing the standards of the church down to its level, but God is
calling us to bravely come up to His standard.
God calls us to be extraordinary and different—to stand firm in a world
of gutless wonders.
So how can we stand? How can we fight? “Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). Jesus
said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But we are also assured, “I
can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).
If you’ve been tempted to retreat, turn around and come back
up to His standard. It’s time we get up,
dress up, show up, and NEVER GIVE UP!!!!
