Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
-Ephesians 6:10-18
As a kid in Sunday School, I learned about the armor of God, or the spiritual weapons that we’re instructed to use regularly as believers. (Ephesians 6:10-18). Worksheets and flannel boards (anyone else remember those?) would show shiny, full-body metal suits like those of the storied knights of King Arthur’s court.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s an accurate depiction.
I think, if we could really see our spiritual suits of armor, we’d find they are marked by dents, knicks, stains, and scratches that have accumulated over time. That’s ok. Our suits probably look like they’ve seen better days because they’ve gotten us through some pretty tough battles. Each mark bears witness to a challenge we’ve had to fight as we’ve grown in our faith, and that’s why God tells us to put it on. Without it, there were some attacks that would have taken us out.
The belt of truth has held things together and freed us up for the fight. We have to be free to move in His power and His strength to be ready for the battle that’s in front of us, so He gave us the belt of truth because it’s the truth that sets us free (John 8:32). We are not constrained by sin that keeps us bound by the enemy. No, we’re ready to go! We can stand in the confidence of knowing the truth that the fight is fixed because Satan has already lost (Colossians 2:15) and King Jesus wins in the end.
The breastplate of righteousness has protected us, protected our hearts. When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, God gave us hearts made of flesh and replaced our hearts of stone (Ezekiel 11:14-21). He needs our hearts to remain tender and whole. Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) tells us we are to guard our hearts above everything else. One of the ways we do that is by suiting up.
The shoes of “the readiness of the Gospel of peace” have helped us stand firm on our Rock. When we’re wearing these shoes, we are prepared for the enemy’s attacks because we have been rooted in the peace that comes from having received the Gospel. This passage says after we have done everything – after we have moved in obedience – we stand our ground. In fact, we are told four times in this passage to “stand”. We do not give up. We do not give in. After everything is said and done, we’re still standing firm, not laying on our backsides in defeat.
That shield of faith has fought off thoughts of defeat and despair that the enemy fired at us in our dark moments. The helmet of salvation has covered us in God’s grace, favor, mercy, and protection as His children and as His champions.
Then there’s the sword of the Spirit, which this passage says is the word of God. It is only offensive weapon included in Paul’s description of our armor. I think that’s because the sheer power of the sword of the Spirit makes it the ultimate weapon. God’s word is rich with promises of courage, strength, and victory, and God’s word never fails to accomplish what it says it will (Isaiah 55:11). The sword of the Spirit, the word of God, can do some serious damage when it’s wielded correctly.
The one thing not on this list is anything that protects our backs. There’s no equipment that covers us from behind. That’s because we don’t need it. Isaiah 52:12 says that God is our rearguard. Not only does He go out ahead of us, but He guards us from behind, protecting us from sneak attacks. We don’t need to keep looking over our shoulder. We don’t need to retreat in fear. God has our backs.
We have a good God who has well-equipped us to stand firm and face what is in front of us, although I’ll be the first one to admit that it doesn’t always feel that way. Some days, we may feel overwhelmed, anxious, afraid, or just down right tired. On those days, friends, when that armor is feeling a little too heavy, we can call on the Lord’s strength, suit up, show up, and stand, knowing that we have a God who is with us and He is for us.
Until next time,
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