DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT
Ephesians 6:13-18 CSB
13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation 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 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
The Vietnam War ended when I was in the eighth grade. I was thirteen, and because I grew up and took a different route, I never saw combat. I am extremely grateful for the men and women who have served and laid their lives on the line for our country, but I was never one of them. I value the honor and discipline that our military promotes, and have been encouraged to see the mood of our country turn pro-military in the last 30 years. The Vietnam vets suffered way too much unjust indignation.
Even though I never served in the military, I have seen enough to know that a good soldier does not venture into a war zone without armor. The documentaries from Afghanistan and Iraq were more than enough to convince me that you did not operate without being armed and wearing combat armor. There was too much danger to risk not wearing armor. Good soldiers knew this, and yet we have not been nearly as vigilant regarding spiritual armor.
Paul lays out the armor of God in this last chapter of Ephesians. The metaphor of Roman armor paints a graphic visual, but I am not sure that we have been as serious in the Body of Christ about gearing up spiritually. For one, the armor is spiritual and not visible. The enemy is stealthy and not obvious. And it’s not easy to discern if our armor is on or not. But the principles behind the armor of God are important. And if the Lord says with His armor we can stand against the schemes of the devil, then I am all in.
The principles behind the armor of God are strong New Testament principles. Start with truth. We want God’s truth on the situations we face in life. A friend of mine says if there is a truth that sets us free, there is a lie that can bring us into bondage. This means we are constantly on a quest for truth. Truth is the foundation for all the armor of God.
Righteousness as armor on our chest. This righteousness can be a combination of what Jesus has done for us and how we live our lives. Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness. This means He took the punishment for our sins so we can have His right standing with God. This right standing is a position like being a child of God and a citizen of God’s kingdom. But now that we have been made right, we have the capacity to live right. Living right by God’s standards, not manmade religion.
The shoes of the gospel of peace have been described in many ways. But in our walk, we are always ready to acknowledge what God has done for us. And we are not ashamed to share this good news with others.
The shield of faith means we can believe for a countermeasure to every fiery dart the enemy brings our way. Shields stop attacks from taking us down. Satan is defeated, and our faith enforces the victory that Jesus won for us.
The helmet of salvation is protection for our minds and emotions. So much of the spiritual battles we face impact our thinking and soulish realms. And even though we live in a dark world, the darkness does not have to get into our minds.
The sword of the spirit is the Word of God. This is not the Bible per se, but rather the word the Lord speaks to our hearts by His Holy Spirit. Now, the Holy Spirit often gives us Scripture to use as an offensive weapon. But the idea is a spoken word to us that we use to speak and believe in order to defeat the enemy.
Prayer is part of our armor and there is no way I can cover the prayer topic here. But prayer plays a part in protecting us from the schemes of the devil.
God’s armor is a great thing that He gave to us for a reason. We are in a spiritual war zone. We have an enemy, but we are not helpless or victims. We are strong and armed.
PRAYER
Thank You for Your armor, Lord. Please show me any area where I am vulnerable and not taking advantage of what You have provided for me.