" 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." -- Ephesians 6:10-18
We are at War. It is no secret that Christians are under attack. We have been persecuted ever since the church started. The types and methods of persecutions change, but they are always there. Right now, Christianity is under attack by groups like the ACLU and GLAD. However, our fight is not against them, but against what is behind them. As Christians, we are all soldiers in the Army of the Lord. By choosing Jesus, you have chosen to serve. Service is not negotiable; Jesus said "you are with me or against me." We have been given the best gift we could ever receive, and while there are no strings attached to that gift, we do have responsibilities that we must fulfill. There are no sidelines in this battle. You can try to "sit is out", but the enemy will not leave you alone. The enemy is out to keep people from God, and will do all it can to destroy Christianity.
As soldiers in God's army, we need stand and fight. However, in order to do so, we need the proper equipment. This article is the second of two parts. In it, we will discuss the Armor of God that Christians need to employ to defend themselves against our enemy. The enemy fights dirty, often striking when we are at our lowest. It is important that we keep our armor in good shape, polished and strong. The key is to keep our armor in top condition, always being ready. We cannot allow ourselves to get distracted. Paul tells us, "No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer" (2 Timothy 2:4). We are all serving as soldiers in God's army and should not allow ourselves to be distracted by worldly affairs. When that happens, we neglect the maintenance on our armor. That creates weak spots, and the enemy loves to exploit our weak spots. To protect ourselves, we need to take care of and put on the full armor of God. Let's take a look at what this armor consists of, and how we take care of it, and ourselves.
Since the earliest days of organized warfare, men have realized the importance of protecting the body from the weapons of his enemies. The earliest armor was used by the Egyptians, consisting of a cloth shirt, with large brass scales or plates. This armor was very heavy and cumbersome and did not stick around long. A few hundred years later, the Assyrians improved upon this design by using smaller plates in overlapping rows. This armor was used well into the 16th century, A.D.
In any suit or armor, the breastplate is the most important piece of protection. It protects the vital organs, and a majority of the body. The breastplate Paul is most likely alluding to was first developed by the Romans. It was actually developed about the time of Christ and was used by the Romans until the empire fell in the 5th century A.D. Different types of armor have been tried since then, with the first full plate arriving on the scene around 1250. When the weapons of war changed, so did the breastplates. As swords moved to fire arms, bronze moved to iron and later, even steel. Both weapons and armor kept advancing, each trying to out do the other.
Just like protecting themselves from the physical weapons of their day, Christians need to protect themselves from the spiritual weapons the enemy employs against us. However, the Armor of God is never changing and is always able to withstand the mightiest of blows from the strongest of weapons that the enemy can bring to bear. So what is this mighty breastplate that will protect us? At the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul exhorts us, "let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate" (1 Thessalonians 5:8), and above he tells us, "stand firm then...with the breastplate of righteousness in place" (Ephesians 6:14). So we need to wear faith, love and righteousness.
Our breastplate consists of faith, love and righteousness. We will get to faith in a little bit and I have previously gone in depth into love (see issues five and nine), so I would like to focus in on righteousness here. What is righteousness? The Amplified Bible gives us a little bit of a clue in its rendering of Ephesians 6:14: "...having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God..." Integrity, moral rectitude and right standing with God. When most people think of righteousness, they think of right standing with God. However, what about integrity and moral rectitude? What are they and why are they important pieces of our armor?
Integrity can best be defined as doing the right thing when nobody is watching. It could be as simple as stopping at a stop sign in the middle of the night when no one is around, or returning extra change you may have received to the cashier. When I was in school, my first year was known as "plebe year". As plebes, there were many crazy rules we needed to follow to help build our discipline and commitment. One of these was walking six inches from the walls of the passageways at all times. After a while, it became habit, but at first it was rather unusual, and even a pain in the neck sometimes. Another rule we had was no talking in the passageways. Both were easier to break then they were to follow, but the punishments could be severe (I will leave out how many pushups I had to do during my plebe year).
Underneath our barracks was a connecting passageway called "0-deck". There were lots of corners and turns, plenty of places where "nobody was watching." It would have been real easy to cut a corner by leaving the six inch limit, or talk to a friend, with nobody ever finding out, and man was it tempting at times. For the most part, my classmates and I did do the right thing, even though it would have been real easy to break the rules and "get away with it." None of us were perfect, but the Bible does not ask us for perfection, rather integrity, and if you can do the right thing even when it would be easy to do the wrong one, even when you will definitely not get caught, doing the right thing takes and shows integrity.
Moral rectitude, sometimes called moral courage, is doing the right thing, even when it is extremely unpopular. A good example of this would be our current president. [NOTE: Please understand I am not trying to bring politics into this discussion, or influence your political views in anyway. I am only going to provide an example of moral rectitude with something that has been on the news lately] President Bush is opposed to granting federal money to researches for use in stem cell experiment. He has not outlawed the practice, scientists in this country are free to create life for the sake of destroying it. However, they cannot do so on the tax payer's dime.
This position is extremely unpopular. A majority of American support stem cell research and believe federal money should be granted to support that research. With the passing of former President Ronald Reagan, this issue has come to the fore front of the news. His wife, Nancy Reagan has called upon President Bush to allow tax payer dollars be used for stem cell research. She has even threatened to not speak at the republican convention, which she is scheduled to open, unless he goes ahead and allows it. President Bush, to his credit, has stood firm. Even in the face of popular, and often influential opposition, he has stood his ground and refuses to allow federal money to be used in stem cell research. That takes guts. It takes courage, moral courage. That is what moral rectitude is.
I would like to go back to integrity for a moment. I was not exactly telling the whole story about the nobody watching part. See, God is always watching us. Where ever we are, He is there and He knows when we do the right thing or the wrong thing. When we consistently do the right thing, when we "walk in the light," we will be in right standing with our Father. There is more to that then just doing the right thing, though. We need to spend time with our Father, and we need to do so consistently.
If I were to stop talking to my wife today, how long do you think it would be until I found my pillow on the couch? My wife is a wonderful woman, full of grace, but she has her limits. After a while of ignoring her, I certainly would not be in "right standing" with her. God will never "put our pillow on the couch." He loves us so much that we are always welcome in His presence. However, it would be just as hard to be in right standing with Him if we were to ignore Him. I know full well, the distractions that life can throw at us, it is actually a strategy of the enemy. However, the more we spend time with the Lord, the easier it will be to stand firm against the enemy's distractions.
Integrity, moral rectitude, and right standing with God. They are three very important pieces of our breastplate. We need to do the right thing when nobody is looking, do the right thing even when it is unpopular, and we need to consistently spend time together in fellowship with our Father. The breastplate is the most important piece of protection in our armor. "As the breast-plate defends the heart and lungs, and all those vital functionaries that are contained in what is called the region of the thorax; so this righteousness, this life of God in the soul of man, defends every thing on which the man's spiritual existence depends. While he possesses this principle, and acts from it, his spiritual and eternal life is secure" (Adam Clarke's Commentary). If we wear it regularly, and keep it in good shape, we will be able to stand our ground more firmly against the onslaught of the enemy.
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While the breastplate is the most important piece of protection, the belt is undoubtedly the most important piece of the whole ensemble. The belt was worn to hold everything together, and to help carry weapons and even supplies. Paul tells us we need to have the "belt of truth buckled around our waist," but what does that mean? First, we need to take a look at what the truth is:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. -- John 1:14
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." -- John 14:6-7
36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."
37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." -- John 18:36-37
Jesus Christ is the Truth. All truth comes from Him and is of Him. As Christians, we are told to "clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14), we are to wear Christ, to immerse ourselves in Him. Isn't that fitting? Jesus Christ is the one who holds everything together. "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). Christ is the be all and end all. Just like the belt would hold a Romans clothing, weapons, equipment and armor together, Christ holds our armor together.
I once heard that Jesus is the "glue that binds us all together." He is that and much more. He is our protector (Hebrews 13:6), our savior (Philippians 3:20, 2 Timothy 1:10), our very life (John 5:24, Philippians 1:21). To have effective protection from the enemy, we need to buckle the belt, Jesus Christ. The belt of truth holds the armor and weapons together. Jesus Christ holds us together. Without Him, we can do absolutely nothing. Therefore, "stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist." Put on Christ, the truth, and trust in Him for all things.
Next, Paul tells us to take up the "shield of faith". The word he uses, thureos, refers to a large oblong, four cornered shield. It was a shield that could cover the soldier's entire body. We need to employ our faith in such a way, that our entire body will be safe from the "flaming arrows" of the enemy. Before we get into the shield itself, let's take a look at the flaming arrows that our enemy shoots our way. Back in Paul's day, most shields were covered with oiled leather. Flaming arrows were designed to stick in the shield, forcing the soldier to discard it. To prevent this, some sheilds were covered with metal in front. The arrows would then bounce of the shield and have no effect.
For the Christian soldier, the enemy tries the same tactic with us. They send flaming arrows our way, designed to stick to our armor. Adam Clarke calls these arrows, "evil thoughts, and strong injections, as they are termed, which in the unregenerate inflame the passions, and excite the soul to acts of transgression. While the faith is strong in Christ it acts as a shield to quench these. He who walks so as to feel the witness of God's Spirit that he is his child, has all evil thoughts in abhorrence; and, though they pass through his mind, they never fix in his passions. They are caught on this shield, blunted, and extinguished."
Faith is our all in all in our hour of temptation. The breast-plate secures the vitals, but with the shield we turn in any way to block the arrows. We are to be fully persuaded of the truth of all God's promises. Such a faith is of great use against the temptations the enemy throws our way. Consider faith as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1), and it will appear to be of admirable use for this purpose. Faith, as receiving Christ and the benefits of redemption, is like the shield, a sort of universal defense, or something that will easily extiguish the flaming arrows of the enemy.
Just like the belt of truth, our faith in Christ, our reliance on Christ will aid us and protect us from the tempting thoughts that enter our minds. These flaming arrows could easily set fire to us, if we let down our guard. Jesus tells us, "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). If we can move mountains with our faith, how much more are we able to prevent evil thoughts from taking root in our minds!
At this point, you may be thinking, now wait a minute! How can I keep thoughts from taking root in my mind? How can I control my thoughts when they just "pop in"? That would be a very good question. Sure, Jesus is the answer, but how does knowing that keep the evil thoughts away? We need to take the concept of our faith in Christ, our reliance on Christ, and make it practical. You can do this, right as the arrows are being launched! For example, whenever I notice evil thoughts "popping in" to my head, I start singing, about Jesus. The song "Jesus, Name Above All Names" works very well. It goes Jesus, name above all names/Beautiful Savior, Glorious Lord/Emmanuel, God is with us/Blessed Redeemer, Living Word. It may seem overly simple, even silly, but it works for me. I literally make Jesus my shield. I am not suggesting that all of you sing the same song to extinguish the flaming arrows, but if you make Jesus your focus and put your faith in Him, you can keep those evil thoughts from taking root.
The key is Jesus. We need to have faith in Jesus. We should have faith in what He has done and faith for what He will do for us. The size and effectiveness of our sheild will be determined by the amount of faith we have in our Savior. Sometimes, if the soldier was trained well enough, the shield could be used for offense as well. The soldier would use it to push his opponents weapon or shield out of the way, creating an opening for attack.
In the same way, if we have enough faith in our Savior, we can use our shield, together with the Word of God (the Sword of the Spirit) not only to extinguish the flaming arrows of the enemy, but to push through his defenses and go on the offense ourselves. When Jesus sent out the seventy-two, they accomplished great things. When they returned they were excited and told Jesus about all they did:
17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
18He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. -- Luke 10:17-19
If we keep our shield polished and exercise our faith, the enemy will have no hold on us. The flaming arrows he shoots our way will be extinguished, and we will be able to go on the offensive as well, bringing the fight to the enemy. However, just like the belt and breastplate, we need to remember two things. First, we need to rely on Jesus, he is the power behind our armor. Second, we need to keep our armor in top shape by consistently setting aside time to spend with Him.
While protecting the vitals of the body and holding everything together require the most important pieces of armor, the extremities of the body require protection as well. If the feet are wounded, a man can neither stand to resist his foe, pursue him if vanquished, nor flee from him should he have the worst of the fight. Thus, it important to have them protected as well. While most people associate armor boots from the middle ages, the Roman soldier typically wore sandals with hubbed nails on the bottom (like cleats) and metal bands going over the top of the feet. The nails helped the solider to dig in and make headway even when there was opposition.
Paul tells us to go into battle, "with [our] feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15). The "gospel of peace" could be referring to a few things. First, it could be the inward peace of mind that comes from being in a right standing with God. The Bible says, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). This ties into our breastplate. When we keep our breast plate in order, ie. when we possess integrity and moral rectitude, we will be in right standing with God. When we are in right standing with God, we will have peace, no matter what our circumstances. The enemy can try to rattle us, but the peace of God is beyond rattling.
Another possibility is being the bearer of good news. Being the bearer of good news (ie. bringing encouragement and understanding, displaying patience, cheerfulness and gratitude) is a lot better than being the bearer of bad news (gossip, discouragement, tension and strife). Jesus blessed us with forgiveness and peace and asks us to do the same in our relationships with others. No warrior can be victorious in his own. We are all part of an army, and an army cannot fight well when there is dissent in the ranks. Thus, we should be bearers of peace. Jesus tells us, "blessed are the peacemakers" (Matthew 5:9a), when we make peace in the ranks we will fight as a unit and be much more effective.
The fitting our feet with the gospel of peace could also mean that we need to maintain a holy readiness of spirit, and a resolute frame of heart, to undergo any suffering, and endure any hardship in your Christian warfare; which frame of spirit being wrought in us by the doctrine of the gospel. Jesus did tell us we would go through tribulation, and war is definitely no picnic. When we fit our feet with the gospel of peace, we put on the peace of Christ, the peace that passes all understanding, we will be able to endure all that the enemy throws at us. In His parting words to His disciples in the garden, Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). When we don the sandals of the gospel of peace, we can take heart in knowing that no matter what the enemy throws at us, no matter what tribulation life may bring, Jesus Christ has already overcome, and with Him and through Him, we will overcome as well.
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While we discussed weapons in part I, I would like to take just a moment and mention the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God). Much like some pieces of armor discussed here, the sword can either be an offensive or a defensive weapon. Soldier would use their swords in combination with their shields to block and parry the blows of the enemy. Just like the shield of faith can be used to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one, the sword of the Spirit can be used to parry the same blows. When temptation strikes, look to God's Word. When Jesus was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11), he responded to every temptation by quoting scripture. If we use the same strategy, the tempter will flee in frustration. When we use our faith in Christ in combination with the Word of God, the weapons of the enemy will be rendered ineffective.
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Finally, we come to helmet. One blow to head could be fatal, thus it was important to have some kind of protection. From the earliest bronze helmets, to the those made of kevlar today, man has always sought to keep from losing his head. The helmet the Christian warrior wears is better than the toughest bronze or the strongest kevlar. We wear the helmet of salvation. It is the only piece of armor the enemy can never get through. Satan and his dark forces have absolutely no power over our salvation:
27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. -- John 10:27-29
With Christ, we are secure. The Newsboys, a contemporary Christian music group have a song entitled, In Christ Alone. It happens to be one of my many favorites, and in the last verse, they sing, "No power of hell, no scheme of man/Can ever pluck me from His hand/‘til He returns or calls me home/Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand". There is nothing that any man or any demon or the great liar, Satan himself can do to take away our salvation. When we stand in Christ, we stand secure.
The helmets of Paul's day were pretty much used throughout the life of the Roman Empire. The design was not of Roman origin, but based on helmets the Romans had seen on their expeditions to foreign territory and was based on these designs. It did not sit completely flat against the legionnaire's head, but slightly raised at the top and touching the head only at the rim. The purpose of this is to give the soldier the appearance of being a few inches taller and also protecting the top of the head from blows that would otherwise have fractured the skull, causing severe damage.
When Christians don the helmet of salvation, we, in sense, look taller as well. Paul tells us, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). We look different to the world and to the enemy in this world. Paul also tells us "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4), so not only do we look more formidable, with Christ, we are more formidable. Again, the key is Jesus. Without him, we go in to battle unprotected and vulnerable. However, when we put our hope in Christ, when we join God's family, we don a helmet that cannot be breached or broken.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the U.S. was quick to build up its forces in the region. Then president Bush, Bush Sr., quipped, "The best defense is a good offense." The same can be said in spiritual warfare as well. Not only do we possess weapons powerful enough to demolish demonic strongholds, but the armor we use to defend ourselves can be used for offensive purposes as well. We need to keep both our weapons and armor in top shape, and we need to train constantly. When I was in the Navy, we had about 3 or 4 weeks of "stand down" after our deployment, then we immediately started training for our next one. While we were on deployment, we were always training. Christians need to always be training. The only way to be effective in war, and we are at war, is to train with your equipment and trust your leaders. Our leader is Jesus and our equipment is the best a spiritual warrior can get.
While discussing the equipment a Christian warrior needs for battle took two articles to cover, it could have been done in two words: Jesus Christ. In both parts, a definite pattern has developed. Both the weapons with which fight, and the armor with which we are protected rely on the same thing, our Savior. Jesus is the key to, well, everything. It is Him we fight for, Him we fight we and Him we rely on in order to fight. It almost seems paradoxial that we need Jesus to fight for Jesus, but without Him we can do nothing at all. The Lord is our "refuge and my fortress" (Psalm 91:2). When we rely on Christ, and train with Him, we can take the fight to the enemy, instead of them taking it to us. Right now, it seems that Christians keep falling back to regroup, only we never regroup. We need to regroup, prepare our armor, strengthen our weapons, and go on the offensive. We can take the fight to the fight all the way to the gates of the enemy. We know which side will win, but that does not mean we sit on the sidelines. We need to form up as the Army of the Lord and fight on as fully equipped, and prepared, Christian warriors.