The Armor of God
Ephesians 6:10-20 - "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 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, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."
The armor of God is a popular passage and is actually the inspiration for the name of The Armory. We have already gone through each piece of armor in a previous blog series, so for a deeper dive, please revisit or find that series. The main idea here is not that we are to take up arms or dress ourselves as knights or warriors. We are to find our strength in the Lord and in the grace He has shown us.
As a Christian, your strength comes from the Lord. It gets easy for us to rely on our own strength or abilities in situations where we need to be strong physically or even emotionally. But we must rely on the Lord's strength, which delights in our weakness because our weakness causes us to rely more fully on He who is more than capable of handling our situations. Paul uses a perfect illustration borrowed from different passages from Isaiah to give us a clearer image of what it means to be a Christian.
We are all in the middle of a cosmic war that has been in motion since before the fall of man. The war manifests physically through a myriad of sins, but it is ultimately a spiritual war. Spiritual attacks require spiritual armor just as physical attacks require physical armor. We do not fight flesh and blood. Instead, we fight Satan and his demons, who have only sought to steal, kill, and destroy through deception and manipulation. Their goal is to catch us off guard and redirect the course of our life by their evil schemes. Putting on the full armor of God, relying fully on Him for protection and provision, is our only hope in this battle against the enemy, a battle which has already been won by the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The armor is this:
Our unwavering belief in the truth of the Word of God.
The righteousness from God, which is credited to us by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
An evangelistic mindset to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as we can because we find rest in the gospel truth.
The commitment to remain faithful to God as we trust in His perfect faithfulness to bring to completion all that He has promised.
The promised hope of salvation to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Our reliance upon the Word of God to defend us and protect us in times of trouble.
Christian, this world is getting darker by the day. Each day is a day closer to the return of our Lord and Savior. Keep your eyes fixed on Him. Stay in His Word. Pray continuously. Seek His will, His righteousness, and His glory. He alone is our hope in these dark times.
