When a man graduates from His Way, he receives a “Full Armor of God” coin. This coin is a reminder of the weapons that God supplies him to fight the ongoing spiritual battle for recovery. As a graduate, he is leaving the safe protective harbor of His Way and its structure, accountabilities, and fellowship, yet he is promised by God an arsenal of protections to continue the victorious fight, which is the Full Armor of God.
Ephesians 6:10-20 is Paul’s great inspiration to God’s warriors. He first emphasizes to us to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might by putting on the whole armor of God” (v.10). Paul is using the imagery of the armor of the occupying Roman soldiers, which the average citizen at that time saw daily throughout their village. Paul highlights that one must put on the armor of God. In other words, we must take personal initiative to acquire and clothe ourselves with the six pieces of armor mentioned in Ephesians. A partially clad warrior headed out to battle is a defeated warrior. We need the entire armor to stand against the devil’s schemes. The two most vulnerable warriors are the unclad and unaware.
Know Who You’re Battling
One of the great clues to understanding the devil’s schemes is found in verse 12.
“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.”
Satan wants us to think our battle is with people or human entities or institutions, but it is NOT! There are spiritual forces behind every human experience. Satan wants us to think our marital problems are with our spouse so he can divide and conquer godly marriages. Couples must unite to attack the spiritual adversaries that they face in their marriage. Satan will gladly divide us over politics, policies, or personalities, but the key is to unite and attack the spiritual forces of evil!
A godly warrior knows their battle is never against people but against evil spiritual forces.
Put On Your Armor
After identifying our enemy, Paul gives us six pieces of armor we need to successfully fight this war.
Belt of Truth (v.14)
For a Roman soldier, the belt was the first thing to put on, and the other pieces of armor would be attached to it. This core element is TRUTH!
Lies about who we are, our value, and our purpose keep us trapped and in bondage. Jesus declares in John 8:32, “the truth will set you free” and later in verse 36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (truly and everlastingly free).”
Ultimately, Jesus will announce in John 14:6 that He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. The truth he is speaking of is not a body of knowledge gathered from a book or intense schooling, but in fact Himself. He also later promises us in John 16:13 that God will send the Spirit of Truth that will lead us into all truth.
The best defense against our enemy is the Truth! Jesus lets us know that Satan is the father and author of lies. (John 8:44) The one thing that will defeat him every time is the Truth! So let us be people of the Truth!
Breastplate of Righteousness (v.14)
Connected to the Belt of Truth is the breastplate, in this case, a Breastplate of Righteousness. Righteousness means a right standing or alignment with God, His purpose, and His people.
The breastplate protects the most vulnerable parts of the warrior: the core of your being, your heart and your soul.
Paul makes clear that God’s righteousness that protects us cannot be achieved by our actions or abilities. No one can be righteous on their own (Romans 3) but only through faith in Jesus Christ and His accomplishments on the cross and through the resurrection. Paul concludes II Corinthians 5 with this declaration, “so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”. (v.21)
Earlier in Ephesians, Paul encourages us that as we put on the new self through a renewed mind by God’s Truth you can be “created after the likeness of God in TRUE righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
This right relationship with God protects us from Satan’s attacks against our core self, which is our heart. His weapons of shame and guilt and self-doubt cannot penetrate the armor of righteousness that we have through faith in Jesus Christ and our new identity in Him.
Shoes of the Gospel of Peace (v.15)
Stable footing is key to winning the battle. Nike has built an empire on it. If you notice the key to winning, as in any hand-to-hand combat, is standing (vv.11,13,14). Slipping and/or falling are a guarantee of losing. The winning posture is always standing in the stable footwear of the Gospel of Peace! Through Jesus Christ, we have peace with God, ourselves, and others. Jesus even promised that while in the world you will always have tribulation, but in Him there is peace because He has overcome the world! (John 16:33)
Our feet are secure in God’s peace, and we travel to bring peace to others.
“Beautiful are the feet that bring good news.” (Romans 10:15)
In fact, he earlier emphasized in the Sermon on The Mount,
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
We receive the same recognition Jesus did as son of God when we perform the same task of carrying the message of peace to others.
In an amazing promise God brings to us through the Apostle Paul at the end of his letter to the Romans,
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
Because the gospel of peace is the only vehicle through which Satan is defeated.
Shield of Faith (v.16)
The Shield of Faith is a mobile piece of armor designed to stop Satan’s “fiery darts.” Roman shields were soaked in water to extinguish the flaming arrows that their enemies launched at them. In the same way, our faith-soaked shields expressed in trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ will extinguish Satan’s attacks. Our faith being soaked in the promises of God will douse the lies of Satan. The Hebrew writer gives us an entire chapter on faith which starts,
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
He assures us in Romans 1:17 and 3:21-31 that the only way to live right with God is by faith.
Helmet of Salvation (v.17)
The helmet protects the head and the mind. When you know you are saved through Jesus Christ, it is not merely a feeling, but a true, historical fact that defends you against all the mental and emotional attacks of self-doubt, despair, and depression. As Paul expresses God’s ultimate intention in Christ, he says,
“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:3,4).
Salvation is equivalent to knowing God’s truth. In II Timothy 2:25, God’s desire is to grant people repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, which is salvation in only Jesus. We must stand on the truth that we are saved–not that we think so, hope so, or wish so, but we KNOW so!
An absolute assurance of salvation is our only defense against Satan’s lies and deception.
Sword of the Spirit (v.17)
The sword is the only offensive weapon in our arsenal. It is the one instrument we have in the spiritual battle to wield against our enemy, Satan. This sword is referred to as the Word of God. In Hebrews 4:12, we are told,
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The Bible tells us that our weapon of God’s word is living and active. It is constantly working. It is powerfully sharper than any other known instrument. And it is piercingly precise, like a laser, to expose the deepest aspects of our being (Hebrews 4:13).
To defend ourselves and others from Satan’s lies we must rely on the Word of Truth. And we must become marksmen and craftsman of it.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).
With the assurance of God’s armor, we will win the victory in our daily spiritual war against the evil one.
“In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:13,14).
This assurance with the advocacy of God through His Spirit in prayer, “praying at all times in the Spirit” (v. 18), will win the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. “Be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Not as a last resort or as a final surrender when things are out of your control, but as our first response eliciting God’s engagement in every situation.
As a warrior of God’s kingdom, “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (II Corinthians 10:5).