Armor of God

"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" (Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV).

When Paul wrote this, he saw the forces of darkness in this world and detected Satan's influence where human rulers are cruel tyrants and human institutions are corrupt and self-serving.  He was chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier and the soldier was there to make sure he did not escape.  The people in Ephesus had known the bondage of fear of astrology, magic, and spiritism.  So he relates to these Romans when he talks about the breastplate, belt, shield, sandals, sword, helmet, and darts (Knowles, A., 2001; Barclay, W., 2002).  

Paul is telling us that Christians are to put on the full armor of God.  In this situation, Paul is not talking about physical armor, but spiritual armor.  He is saying that one should depend on the Lord and not our own strength to withstand spiritual forces of evil and darkness.  Paul then goes on to talk about the belt of truth.  He wants us to focus on having strong faith in Jesus (since He is truth) and cling on to Him.  As Christians, we should move freely and quickly since we know that Jesus is truth.  When we are in Christ, we are clothed in righteousness and are meant to, with the Lord's help, show good Christian behavior regarding our thoughts, words, and actions.  He also tells us that we should be ready to stand firm in the gospel.  Paul is saying that faith in the true gospel of Jesus Christ and spreading this faith is what will help us against evil.  The helmet of salvation is in Christ's forgiveness of our sins and strength to conquer sin in the future.  He tells us to use Scripture as our defense as well along with prayer. (Barclay, W., 2002).

Fellowship with other Christians is another way to stand firm in your faith.  Isolating yourself constantly being alone is not healthy.  Jesus wants us to work together as one body in Christ to help each other in discernment of what is true and right and just in God's eyes.  

We are to speak the truth in love to our fellow neighbor about God's ways since His ways are higher than ours, even if it means facing persecution and hardship.  With God, Christians can win the battle against evil and the body of Christ will not fall.  

So I ask you the following questions:

What ways can you remind yourself to cling to the Lord in the midst of evil?

What can you do to read, study, memorize, meditate and hear Scripture to help your defense against evil?  

What can you do to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the sense that we are sinners, Jesus died and rose again for the forgiveness of sins and wants us to come to Him?

How can you be in fellowship with other Christians and speak truth in love?


References

Barclay, W., (2002). The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians. Westminster John Knox 

        Press.

Holy Bible: ESV (2001).  Good News Publishers.  Wheaton, Illinois.

Knowles, A. (2001).  The Bible Guide.  First Augsburg Books. 


    





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