The Armour of God
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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 Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Introduction: Have you ever felt like you are in a spiritual battle and you are the battleground! I was talking to friend who was on the brink of Salvation, a number of things ‘just seemed to happen’ to hamper our efforts to pray together – how the enemy tried to thwart the mission. But the battle is the Lord’s.
The Christian has not only to contend with the attacks of other militant groups on Christians (eg Al-Qaeda and Hamas) which show there is an active power of evil in the world, a principality of Satan/the devil); Christians also have attacks of spiritual forces which are fighting against God. Ephesians 6:10 ‘spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ A Battle, warfare, combat, wrestling, a struggle against evil hoards, none of us can stand against their power. In the heat of this battle, Paul urges the Christians in Ephesus and us, ‘Put on the whole armour of God.’
All this time he was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier night and day. Paul suddenly sees a picture ready-made....
The Christian has armour, and Paul uses the armour of the Roman soldier to explain our defence in the spiritual battle.
[1] The belt of truth. It was the belt from which the soldier’s sword hung and which gave him freedom of movement. The robe was tucked in to belt for ease of movement (gird up your loins). Truth is what gives Christians freedom of movement because we have the truth and know the truth (sets free).
Belt of Truth is also ring of integrity that should surround a Christian soldier.
[2] The breastplate of righteousness (protects vital organs). When we are clothed in righteousness evil has no foothold no weakness around our heart. Of course, our righteousness is only secure if we come regularly to the cross for cleansing of our sins.. Righteousness (a holy life) is a sure defence against accusations.
The legend of Achilles was that his mother dipped him in the River Styx, in an attempt to make him immortal. She held him by the heels, (thus there was no protection on the heels). In the Trojan battle he was struck in the heel by an arrow and killed.
When we have unconfessed sin we are vulnerable to enemy attacks, that is our Achilles heel.
[3] Sandals…. were the sign of one equipped and ready to move. Marching was a main Roman battle strategy. To take the land, they marched in battle. Thus protection of the feet was vital. The sign of the Christian is that he is eager to be sharing the gospel with our FRAN (Friends Relatives Acquaintances & Neighbours) who have not heard it.
[4] The shield of Faith. The great shield the heavily armed warrior wore (a 6-foot high rectangular). One of the dangerous weapons in ancient warfare was the fiery dart, it was set alight and shot. The dart sank into the shield and the flame was put out. Faith can deal with the darts of temptation and darts of accusation (enemy accuses us of sin and unworthiness). With Paul, faith is absolute trust in Christ. When we walk close with Jesus Christ we are safe from temptation.
[5] Helmet of Salvation. Helmet protected the head (very vulnerable). Satan can’t kill the soul but he can wound the mind. Salvation is what Christ has won for us on the cross, the victory of: His death and resurrection. That’s where our Salvation is secure that is the protection we need for our minds (our helmet)
[6] Sword of the Spirit; The sword is the word of God: A weapon of both attack and defence. The word of God is our defence against sin and our weapon of attack against the sins of the world. [Illust] Cromwell's Ironsides fought with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other. We can’t win God's battles without God's book. Jesus in the desert foiled Satan’s attacks by scripture. The word is a real force.
[7] Prayer. Finally, Paul comes to the greatest weapon of all and that is prayer. Just as a soldier on the battle line has to keep in contact with HQ & commanding officers so we must be in constant communication with our Lord. If the soldier is cut off from HQ/Lord he is isolated and vulnerable (armour is worthless). If we are cut off from communication with the Lord we are vulnerable.
A final postscript. There is no armour for the back. It is not part of our warfare to run for it. Stand firm. Trust. Believe. These are words of advance not retreat. Our enemy is a defeated foe because of the victory of the cross.
Clothed in the truth, living righteously, moving out with the gospel, protected by faith against the enemy's accusations, secure in our salvation, using the scriptures and communicating with the Lord constantly we are ready for battle in the spiritual realm.
The Armour of God
