Written ~ 09-18-2023
Ephesians 6:13-18
“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth, and the body armor of righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
In these verses Paul gives us a wonderful visual of how to prepare ourselves for battle in a world that has gotten increasingly dark and evil. Sometimes, it almost seems like it would be easier just to do what we want and just fall into madness, not have a care in the world. As believers though, that’s not what God has placed on our hearts, we should want to stand firm in our faith, no matter what. The guidelines Paul is showing us here in Ephesians are important for us to follow, here is a list of each piece of God’s Armor:
- Belt of Truth
- Body Armor or Breastplate of Righteousness
- Shoes of Peace
- Shield of Faith
- Helmet of Salvation
- Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God
- Praying in the Spirit
Some may look at that list and think it’s ridiculous, “We don’t wear armor anymore, that’s something Romans soldiers wore a long time ago.” But when you are looking through the eyes of the Lord, it makes perfect sense. Paul made it clear in verses 6:10-12 who we are in battle with, here’s what those verses say,
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His Mighty Power. Put on all of God’s armor so you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in the dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
The temptations of the world, the evil we see in people’s actions, the attack on another person just because of their color, the wars we hear about, the lying, cheating, the desensitizing of violent actions. These things and honestly, so much more, is because of the unseen world of evil spirits that want nothing more than to destroy anyone before they have a chance to know who God is and accept His Son as Lord and Savior. But if those evil spirits miss their chance to turn a person’s heart from the Lord, and that person becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, guess what their mission now becomes… their mission turns into being a nuisance, they will do all they can to hinder the believer from living their Christian Life boldly, to speak the truth and spread the Gospel Message so others can believe and accept the Lord! That’s why Paul is giving us this very practical visual, something for us to follow every day to ensure success in your daily walk with the Lord. Let’s look at each piece of God’s Armor and find out why each piece, securely in place, is so important for every believer.
Beginning in verse 6:10,
“Be strong in the Lord and His Mighty Power.”
The very first thing you must do is to stand firm in your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Being a believer in the Son of God gives you access to the might and power of heaven, walking strong, bold in Christ will give you a great starting point, now we build on that foundation. Putting on the full armor of God is what will help us resist the devil and the evil spirits in this world we’re living in. Each piece of God’s armor has a specific job. A Roman soldier would know the importance of each piece of his armor and know exactly how to use it. We should too. Not only should we put on the armor, but we also need to know how to use it correctly and effectively.
Verse 6:14a,
“Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth…”
Since the ruler of this world, Satan, is also called the deceiver, the prince of lies, the tempter, we must have a strong sense of what the truth is. The job of the devil’s evil spirits is to trip us up, so sit on our shoulders and feed us with lies. The more we give into those lies, the better those evil spirits get at making us turn our eyes off of Jesus. So that’s what the Belt of Truth is for, to stand firm in the truth of Jesus Christ. To stand firm in what the Bible says about you, to know the love the Father in Heaven has for you. As believers we have become the children of Almighty God, He would never fill our hearts and minds with lies about who we are to Him.
Verse 6:14b,
“…put on the body armor of God’s Righteousness…”
This piece of armor is also called the Breastplate of Righteousness. It is our moral compass, we need to know without any doubt, right from wrong. It is imperative we guard our hearts from things that could make us cross the line onto a path leading to sin. When you look at a Roman soldier’s armor, the breastplate in the piece that covers the soldier’s vital organs. If any one of the vital organs is damaged in battle, death could soon follow. In a spiritual battle, the devil loves to toy with the things of the heart. If he can devastate us with unrelenting heartbreak or get you to believe his lies, what better way can he get the upper hand. So, by putting on the breastplate or body armor of God’s righteousness, we are protecting those vital lifelines. Think of your physical body, your heart, your lungs, your entire abdomen. If you were under attack and these areas were heavily damaged, your life would be over. Protecting our hearts and other lifelines in a spiritual battle is just as important.
Verse 6:15,
“For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so you will be fully prepared.”
A soldier would never consider going to battle without shoes on. Nowadays, boots are thick leather and laced all the up the calves. Heavy boots are worn to guard against blisters or stepping on something that could pierce the skin. What happens if you’re out hiking or going for a walk and you’re not fully prepared and you get a horrible blister on your heel or ball of your foot? It is extremely painful! Makes it quite difficult to carry on! So, by putting on our spiritual shoes, what do you think it helps with? In verse 6:15 it says we are putting on peace. Walk in Peace. Walk with the Lord by your side. We need to be prepared with knowing the Word of God, know the Gospel message, the Good News of what Jesus did for us on the cross! We don’t want to be hobbling about or feel like we’ve just stepped on Lego pieces with our bare feet! If the enemy can keep us from going out and sharing the message of Jesus Christ because we’re afraid of stubbing our toe or stepping on a piece of glass, we need to be reminded that we have a pair of indestructible shoes to put on! We need to get out of our comfort zone and walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Verse 6:16,
“In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.”
God is giving us a warning in this verse; this vital information is saying there are evil spirits in this world that want to take us out, just because we believe in who Jesus is! Verse 6:16 says we need to stop the fiery arrows of the devil; another version says we need to extinguish all the flaming missiles from the evil one. The shield of faith is the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we know He is the Son of God, we know He died on the cross and rose from the dead three days later. If we have given our heart over to the Lord and we have faith in who He is, that unwavering faith is what will stop or extinguish any fiery arrow or flaming missile pointed straight for us. Having that shield of faith put up and having us stand firmly behind its truth will guard against attacks from the enemy. So, make sure your shield is in good shape, not rusty nd dented, and don’t drag it behind you, leaving yourself vulnerable to attack. This shield is vital because not only can it be used for protection, it can also be used as a weapon. Having an unwavering faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, gives you a powerful stance when in battle with the enemy.
Verse 6:17a,
“Put on the Helmet of Salvation…”
The helmet of salvation is one of my favorite pieces of this armor. When I visualize putting on a helmet of salvation, I don’t see one of those skull caps that some Harley riders like to wear. No, the helmet I want to put on covers my entire head, straps under my chin, and leaves just enough room for me to see out of. When you think about the word Salvation, what does it make you think of? Well, for the believer it is what Christ did for us on the cross. By the shedding of His blood and the sacrifice of His body, He paid the price to save us from a life of darkness and a future eternity in Hell. So, as we place the Helmet of Salvation on our heads, essentially, we are anointing our heads with the Blood of Jesus. Let’s also think about this… on or in our heads we have our eyes, our ears, our mouths, our tongues, our brains. By covering our heads with this helmet, the salvation of Jesus, it should guard our eyes, to be mindful what we allow ourselves to look at. This helmet should guard our ears so we can carefully discern what we listen to. The words that come out of our mouths should also be guarded; hurtful words can come from our mouths if we don’t stay mindful of who we are representing. The helmet of salvation also covers the brain, our minds, our thought lives need to be heavily guarded, by having Jesus as Lord of your life, your thoughts should be fixed on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable; think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)
Verse 6:17b,
“…take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…”
The sword of the Spirit is the defensive piece to our armor that can absolutely paralyze the devil and his evil spirits. When the Word of the Lord is spoken, the devil must flee. Reading the Word of God, knowing the Word of God is a powerful tool in our arsenal. The devil cannot stand against its power. By using the sword of the Spirit or the Name of the Lord, we can have full confidence going into battle. So, when you pick up your sword, what does it feel like? Is it made of cardboard, that with the first plunge it bends in half and is useless? Or maybe it is made of silver, sure it’s beautiful and shiny, but can it withstand the heat of battle? What if your sword is forged from the strongest steel, it comes from the hottest fire, it’s been tried again and again and with each battle it prevails! Your sword should look well used, not pristine, it needs to be ready for battle.
Verse 6:18,
“Pray in the Spirit at all times…stay alert…pray for other believers…”
The power of prayer should not be taken lightly. When you bring your requests before the throne of Heaven, God takes those requests and in His Almighty Power through His Holy Spirit He works through those requests by His Will. We cannot forget to pray for one another. Every believer has a battle to fight, we need to keep them in our constant prayer that they stand firm. When we pray with the Power of the Name of Jesus, we give all Christians across this country and in every corner of the world a fighting chance to be successful in the battle raging around them every single day. Stay alert. Be persistent. Pray.
So how do we put on our armor?
Here’s a sample prayer…
Jesus, would you help me put on my armor today? Help me to put on my Belt of Truth. Lord Jesus strap on my Breastplate of Righteousness. Help me lace up my Shoes of Peace, that I can be ready to take Your Word wherever I need to go. Lord hand me my Shield of Faith, You are the one I have complete faith in so help me keep my shield up in front of my body, protect me, don’t let me drag my shield behind me. Lord, I pray You would set the Helmet of Salvation on my head, cover me with Your blood, anoint my tongue that I would speak only those things pleasing to You. Guard my ears that I would not listen to idle gossip or foul language. With the covering of this Helmet, tame my thoughts so they would only meditate on the things that glorify Your Name. Lord, hand me the Sword of the Spirit, Your Word, help me recall what I know to be true and use Your Word defensively as I go into battle. And Lord Jesus as I bow down before You, I pray for all Christians everywhere that they too would be successful in their daily battles; strengthen them as You have strengthened me. I’m ready Lord. Thank You for helping me prepare for my day.
~AMEN~