The Armor of God

It’s hard work being a follower of Christ, one could say that when you become a Christian you are entering into the middle of a war. That may sound a little strange because when we come to Christ our hearts our filled with peace and joy, but just as all of heaven rejoices when one comes to be a Christian God’s enemy Satan really can become enraged.

So there is a battle that is taking place. We don’t see it because it is in the spiritual realm, but we can see the results of it. Satan will try to come against God’s people to keep them from doing God’s will.
I’m sure that many of you have experienced this, perhaps even on a daily level. It can come in the form of a quick tongue, the desire for power or money, or even those early Sunday mornings where Satan calls me to sleep in rather than get to church. Satan will stop for no one, even those in spiritual leadership positions.

While this battle is constant and fiery it is important to remember that Satan, himself, was creatd by God and is not more powerful than He. The Bible teaches that God will one day bind Satan for 1,000 years and then cast him into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:1-3 ). God has already won the war against Satan. Jesus defeated Satan when He rose from the dead. But while we wait for Satan to be bound, God has provided for us special armor for the battle. The armor is how we protect ourselves from Satan’s attacks. We need to remember that we do have a strong enemy, but we also need to remember that God has provided all we need to defend ourselves and fight back in this spiritual battle.

The armor that God provides for us is like the armor that a soldier would wear. In fact, the
apostle Paul had a Roman soldier in mind when he described the Christian’s armor. I taught confirmation last night and one of the things in the lesson that we covered was the armor of God. It was good for the students and for me as a teacher to look at the components and how God cares for us to equip us for this spiritual battle.

The first element of our armor is the belt of truth. This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be the "father of lies" (John 8:44). Deception is high on the list of things God considers to be atrocities. We are thus urged to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance and for the benefit of those we may witness to.

Paul tells us then to put on the breastplate of righteousness. The righteousness is not works of righteousness done by men but the righteousness of Christ. The purpose of the breastplate is to guard the most vital organs of your body; it is the bullet proof vest that protects the heart.

After the breastplate, Paul says to shoe your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The caligal, the Roman military boot, was one of the most important parts of their equipment. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan's territory with the message of grace so essential to winning souls to Christ.

The shield of faith makes ineffective Satan's assault of sowing doubts in regard to the faithfulness of God and His Word. Our faith—of which Christ is the author and perfecter (Hebrews 12:2)— is like a golden shield, precious, solid, and substantial; and like a shield of mighty warriors, by which mighty things are done, and by which the believer not only repels, but conquers the enemy.


Next is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the head, the seed of our thought life. Finally we are to take up the sword of the Spirit. While all the rest is defensive in nature, here is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus' temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!

When we take the Great Commission seriously and go on the offense, the devil and his horde of demons are going to fight back with flaming arrows. He will attack us and everything associated with us: our church, spouse, children, business, everything. And our armor against these attacks is given to us by Christ. We need belief in God and in his ability to protect us, having confidence in His word.

So what armor are you missing? Do you rely on your own moral strength, ethical wisdom, high ideals and a personal commitment to justice and righteousness? You may win some battles, escaped some temptation, overcome some sins, but ultimately without the full armor of God we are found lacking, and wearing down because God desired us not to go it alone. We need Christ who stands and battles with us and for us at every onslaught of sin. So what armor are you wearing?