Armor Up!

Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (2 Corinthians 10:3)

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or raw recruit, we are all on the front lines of a spiritual battle, not just daily but moment by moment. But the glorious good news is that God has given us His armor so that we can fight against our enemy — not in our strength, but in the strength of Almighty God — and be victorious. Scripture instructs us, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10 emphasis mine). If we attempt to fight a spiritual battle in our own strength, we are doomed to inevitable, abject failure.

Let’s take a quick look at the individual pieces of the full armor of God to make sure we are putting them on each day. By the way, if you are not a regular attender at Cross Community Church, I recently preached on each of these pieces of spiritual armor. You can access those messages here. Scripture instructs us:

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 6:14-17)

The Belt of Truth – Jesus said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). To put on the belt of truth is to put on the Word of God. We must spend time meditating on and marinating in the Bible.

The Breastplate of Righteousness – The Bible tells us that Jesus is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30). We do not have any inherent righteousness in ourselves. We need this “alien” righteousness that comes from our Lord. When we are in Christ, we have been clothed in His righteousness to protect the most vital organ in the body: our heart!

The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace – Good footwear is absolutely essential for long marches toward the battle and for staying upright during close combat with the enemy. God sends us into this world with His shoes on, spreading the Good News about the Prince of Peace, who graciously gives us the peace that passes all human understanding.

The Shield of Faith – Roman soldiers covered their shields with heavy animal hides and would then dip them in water so that when flaming arrows fired by the enemy hit the shield, the wet hides would extinguish the fire. Our shield of faith must be dipped in the water of God’s Word each and every day to extinguish the fiery darts of Satan, because “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

The Helmet of Salvation – The battlefield of our mind is the primary place where our spiritual battle is fought each day. We must renew our minds by “setting our minds on things above, not on earthly things below” (Colossians 3:2).

The Sword of the Spirit – This is the only piece of God’s armor that is both defensive and offensive. The best example of wielding the sword of the Spirit, of course, was provided by Jesus during His wilderness confrontation with Satan. When the devil tempted Jesus, our Lord used the Word of God to chop down every temptation; you and I must do the same thing.

Christian, God has placed His armor within our reach, but we must put it on. God will not dress us for battle each day, but when we clothes ourselves in His full battle dress, God will give us victory against every attack of the devil. And on those days when we fail, we do not despair, because we know that we are fully loved and completely forgiven. We have His Word on that!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!