Put on the full armor of god

Armor of God

(Ephesians 6:10-13)

We are in a war. Our enemy is the OPPONENT himself. The name satan originally comes from the hebrew word sawtan, which means opponent or adversary. This name later on came to be known in greek as satanas, which means the accuser. Satan is our opponent. In 1 Peter 5:8 he is described as a prowling lion, seeking those whom he can devour. It is a mighty description of the OPPONENT. He shows us that his very goal is to destroy us, and take us down.

So, how to stop him? How to prevent this? To prevent failure and to prevent our being devoured, Paul gives a few instructions. In verse 13 of Ephesians he says,  “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 firm.” That’s it. That’s the advice. That’s the help. Stand Firm.

The real question to start asking ourselves is this. How do we put on the full armor of god so that we can stand firm?

To understand this better, let’s first look a bit more closely at the armor itself.

1. The Belt of Truth

The significance of the belt of truth is that it symbolizes the core upon which all else to built. The proper way to translate this piece of armor is “gird your loins with truth”. The girdle in roman attire was belt that fastened around the waist and abdominal region and draped down to below the groin. It protected the core of the body. The waist and abdominal region controls the movement your body, as well it controls the power and precision of attack and defense in a battle. You can see why it is so significant that the core of who you are is built upon truth. Truth must be what controls us, what leads us, what gives us our reason for attack and defense. Truth must be what hold us together.

2. Breastplate of Righteousness

The breastplate is quite obviously the section of armor that covers and protects the chest. To be more exact, it protects and covers all possible targets of a frontal attack on the heart. The heart is our source of life. Without it, we cannot live. This is something that we all understand and have known since we were small children. It should be no wonder that Paul declares we make our source of life righteousness. Righteousness is act and characterization of being morally correct and ethically sound. It is essentially to be a wise man.

3. Feet Shod With Preparation of the Gospel of Peace

In Matthew 28:16-20 Jesus commands his disciples the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Attributing the the gospel of to the idea of out battle ready footwear is by no means a mistake. A large part of battle is taking a stronger position and fortify the army forward. The roman soldiers often times had spikes placed on the bottom of their sandals in order to help them maintain their position and also to move forward. If we live by the idea of having feet shod with the gospel of peace, then we will constantly continue to move forward. Both in our personally walk with god and in our attempt to expand the kingdom of go with new believers each and every day.

4. Shield of Faith

The shield was the most important instrument of defense and protection that a soldier had. It alone allowed for a solider to ward off arrows being volleyed at him from a distance and to close in on an opponent swing a weapon wildly. It was the shield that they themselves put the most faith in. Not their helmet, their breastplate, their sword, or even other soldiers. It was the shield. They constantly had faith it the shield to protect them and withstand the abuse of the enemies onslaught. Our faith in god is our shield. In Psalm 7:10 it says, “My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.ut faith in him, much like a soldier put faith in his shield.

5. Helmet of Salvation

The head is an important part of life. More particularly, it is the brain that is so important. The brain gives commands to all other parts of the body. It is the place where all our thought happen and the place where we struggle with and must overcome our sinful nature. In fact, the mind is the first place our redemption occurs. It is through the mind that realize our sin, that we realize who god is and what christ has done, and we realize our need to be saved. In order to become a follower of god we must renew our minds by believing in Christ and confessing our sins. It is through the mind all of this comes about and so we must take care to clothe it in salvation.

6. Sword of the Spirit

It is said that the soul of a samurai is his sword. Such a statement can be no more correct. You see the soul has always been equated with life and purpose of one’s self. A samurai lived to fight, serve protect, and gain honor through his sword. His entire purpose came about because of the sword, without it he is nothing and has no purpose. Likewise, we as christians must learn to find our purpose in life through the sword of the spirit, also known and understood as the word of god. It is important to understand that this does not just mean what we have come to know as the bible. But it means everything that god tells us. By knowing god’s word through bible and through prayer, we obtain our greatest means at fighting back against the world, the flesh, and the devil. By forming completely our life’s purpose to the sword, we have a way to fight, protect, and serve.

I have heard many different sermons, lessons, talks, and read books about the armor of god. My biggest irritation with the majority of these, is that too often we focus on what the armor is, how it compares to the roman armor, why each attribute was put together with a specific piece of armor. It’s all very important. We need to know those things because they can help us better understand the purpose for wearing it all. But it doesn’t stop there. There is so much more to it. The biggest thing we need to know about the armor of god is how to put it on. You can know everything else about it, but if you don’t know how to put it on then you it is absolutely worthless. A warriors armor does him no god if he never wears it.

What I want us to understand next is how to exactly to put the armor on. We have just understood fully what each piece is and the purpose of it. We know that it is important to put it on. How else could we stand against our opponent. However, one must wonder, is the knowledge of the armor enough to put it on or is there more to it?

The steps to putting the armor on are in no way magical, mysterious, or reserved for only those who are spiritual enough to be given them. It doesn’t take days of praying and wailing to god either. It merely takes the change in lifestyle that we as christians should already be making every day. Let us take a look.

1. To put on the belt of truth, one must merely indwell himself in truth. The idea in the greek language when talking about the belt of truth, is this idea of surrounding oneself. That is exactly what we must do. We need to surround ourselves in truth in every way that we can, so that it can become to core foundation of who we are. There are many ways to do this such as studying scripture, reading christian books and biblical commentary, and praying. However, the most important way to do this is to surround ourselves with god and god’s people. Going to church and bible studies in order to fellowship and gain understanding together is one of the best ways to surround ourselves with truth. When we constantly seek it  and surround ourselves with it, it soon becomes who we are. If we do this and truly seek out truth and let it engulf who we are, then all other things will follow.
2. To guard our lives with a breastplate of righteousness we need to make our lives righteous. We to seek out everyday in everything we do, a way to live morally and ethically correct. We need to begin making wise decisions. This means choosing to listen to the right music, watch to right television shows, refrain from stealing, honor our parents, love one another. We must make the source of our life righteous so that we can truly have life.
3. The great commission is no easy task. Yet, still Christ commanded it of us and we need to strive to make it a a goal in our everyday life no matter what the consequences. If we can live that great commission out then we will have already fit our feet properly for the war.
4. Put your faith in god for he is your shield. Unlike the roman soldiers, we never have to worry about our shield crumbling or breaking under pressure. No matter the onslaught, no matter how much we face, and no matter the strength of the enemy; god is our shield and he will protect and deliver us.
5. “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) Get ready for the toughest battle your mind has ever had and prepare for it to get worse with each passing day. If you want to survive and live past the temporal, you must confess you sins and find salvation in god. When the battle comes you better find your mind protect by Christ himself.
6. Finally, take up the sword and begin you fight. Mold your life to that will and word of god. Study the scriptures and know what is said. Pray for yourself, for others, and receive the holy spirit. There is no purpose in life outside of life in christ. If you wish to join the battle and wield your weapon of the spirit, then you must commit your life will and commands of god. Wherever he directs, you must follow. The rules and laws he has lain out, you must obey. Form your life to fighting, protecting, and serving through the sword of the spirit.

The lifestyle is not magical, it’s practical. It’s not some hidden secret that only scholars can decipher, it’s plain and has already been lain out before us. The call to put on the armor of god, the study of it, and understanding of it, is meant to serve as a reminder. It is a reminder to everyday live the life that we, as christians, have been called to live. We pray for aid in putting on the armor because alone we will fail. If, however, we choose to stand firm in god and seek his help, then we will succeed.

“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 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 firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end( keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:10-20)