The Whole Armor of God

[Sgtazur]

I wanted to post this topic especially for those who enter into Spiritual warfare, but for all Christians as well. It is a topic about the Armor of God, what it is, and how to use it.

God gives every one of his followers a great amount of protection just because we are His sons and daughters, but He also gave us "The Armor of God" - it's purpose is to protect us and to keep us safe, and the Lord tells us to use so we can stand strong:

THE SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:11-17, KJV

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

God makes it clear that we're not just in a wrestling match with humans here on earth, but with wickedness and darkness of the world. Luckily God is much more powerful than anything that we'll come up against, and He will give us everything that we need to fight - and win. The armor of God consists of 6 pieces:

1. The Belt of Truth
   
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
   
3. Shoes to proclaim the Gospel of Peace
   
4. Shield of Faith
   
5. Helmet of Salvation
   
6. Sword of the Spirit
   

Every piece has a purpose, and every piece is needed. These are the tools which we use to fight for God.

THE BELT OF TRUTH:

The Belt of a set of armor holds everything else into place - it is the center of the armor, fastened around our waist (or as KJV says, "girt" about our "loins"). The belt also plays an important part in holding the sword and its sheath.

For a Christian, truth must be fastened at our center. Jesus says that he IS the truth ("I am the way, the Truth, and the Life") -which means Jesus and His truth, if they are at our core, will hold everything else into place.

Without the belt of truth, we wouldn't know what is right and what is wrong - our foundation becomes shaky, and the other parts of the armor become loosened.

A good way to study the truth, therefore, is to read the Bible. Know the difference between Gospel truth and Satan's lies, and know what "sin" constitutes - if you know these things, everything else will be fastened together.

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

The Breastplate protects the upper-torso of the soldier, and covers many of the major organs - including the heart.

God's cover for your heart is righteousness. and this is for three reasons:

1) The bible says that we should desire righteousness (and desire God) with all our heart, soul, and mind. (Matthew 22:37)

2) If we don't protect our hearts, we leave them open for attack through guilt. Evil will try to bring up your past sins, your former mistakes, perhaps even times you turned away from God, and will make you feel the shame of those things all over again. But God covers us with righteousness - reminding us that our past mistakes are taken away by Christ's triumph, and the guilt can no longer hurt us.

When Righteousness is so close to your heart, you cannot be pierced by guilt or shame. The tough, metal breastplate will not allow these things to go through.

SHOES TO PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL OF PEACE:

Shoes cover our feet, which are the part of us that get us from one place to another. Shoes come in all different styles and sizes, even in armor, but they all serve one purpose: they help/enhance our feet, which direct our physical body.

I am not sure 100% about the significance of this part of the armor, but I believe that God means "take some shoes that your feet, and use them to go out and spread the Gospel." This may mean that if you have a talent unique to you (something that is "fitting to you" - writing, singing, drawing, dancing, teaching, leading, explaining, et cetera), then use it to further the good news of Jesus! When you put on the armor, you're taking up your talents for God - you're proclaiming the Gospel of peace through whichever pair of 'shoes' may fit you!

THE SHIELD OF FAITH

The Shield is the outermost part of the armor, and probably the most protective. Without the shield, the body is left open to attack at almost any point.

In his letter, Paul says that we should take up the shield "above all" - meaning that our shield, FAITH, is the most important part of our armor.

Jesus always stressed belief: Faith can cause trees to be uprooted and mountains to be moved (Luke 17:6). By the greatness of our faith, we can do great deeds - but the reverse is also true: if we do not believe, we limit what we can do. The Disciples discovered this when they tried to cast out demons and were unsuccessful "because of [their] unbelief" (Matthew 17:20).

An important thing about the shield of faith: if you pray while believing that your prayer won't be answered, then it won't be. You've got to BELIEVE that God will help you (and scripture says He will: "For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you" (Isaiah 41:13)).

So when you are fighting and you feel like things are going badly, continue to believe! This is IMPERATIVE! By doing so, you are blocking and "quenching the firey darts" - allowing them no power over you.

The Helmet of Salvation

The Helmet of a set of armor covers the head of the fighter - in essence, the helmet covers the most important part of our physical body, which is our brain (and from there, our mind and our reason).

The Helmet of Salvation covers our mind - perhaps the most needed place for cover. The devil will try to put wrong thoughts into your head: most commonly it may be a thought of fear, anger, lust, or pride - these can do greatest damage, and Jesus specifically warns against them (check out the Sermon on the Mount to see what He has to say about them).

• Fears - like "God is not listening to me" or "I'm still going to Hell" - are completely untrue, going against what salvation stands for.
  
• Anger against others stops us from spreading the forgiveness we received when we were saved.
  
• Lusts turn us away from God by making us serve fleshy desires.
  
• Pride makes us believe "I did something great" instead of "Christ working in me did something great"
  

So remember: continue to keep your mind on salvation, and don't give in to the thoughts which contradict it!

The Sword of The Spirit:

The sword is the weapon of the armor, and the only part of all six which is used for fighting instead of defending.

The sword of the Spirit, according to Paul, is the Word of God. We are called to fight by using our knowledge of His commands - by doing this, we discern what we should cut down with the sword, and what not to. The sword can be used in two ways. First: it helps us to discern who is telling the truth and who is a "false prophet." If another's message does not link up with what the Spirit or the Word of God lays upon us, then we know that the message opposes us. Seondly, the sword of the spirit will help you discern which thoughts you have are true and which ones are false. The devil will try to sneak in a wrong thought into your head. Sometimes the thoughts will even come in the form of an "I" statement - "I hate this person" or "I think God is angry at me" etc. For this reason, God tells us:

2 Corinthians 10:5

Edited January 5, 2009 by Sgtazur

[irishcowboy]

and no where does it ever say to take it off, or to loosen it up any... we are to dawn it and maintain it properly......

and if we protect our brothers back and our brothers protect our back we are unbeatable......

mike

[OneLight]

It is wise to consider the fact that it takes a mature warrior to fit into the Armor of God. No child could ever bear the weight nor would they be able to wield it in battle. Be mature in your ways and the Armor will always fit properly.

[Blien]

I wonder.. what if we looked at that scripture from another perspective. Maybe there is more than we originally thought?

[trish55011]

more food for thought: 1) v10 we are commanded to be strong in the Lord and the Power of his might. this is a command not a request. 2) put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil: another command not request. 3) our fight is never with human beings it is always with principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (even when this form is human). 4 v14-15: stand another commandment not a request.

truth: Satan's #1 attribute is he is a master deceiver the only way to combat this is truth. truth in our lives and conversations and having our minds washed by the water of the word "thy word is truth"

v:15 feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: the covering of Christ protects us and gives us strength to live peaceably with all men, as well as share the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

v:16 shield of faith: no matter what the circumstance or situation, knowing that Gods word is true and choosing to believe what you know over what you may see.

v17:the helmet of salvation: again Satan is a master deceiver through this helmet of salvation, one is able when Satan reminds him of his past to remind Satan of his future.

the sword of the 'Spirit: Gods word, in the darkest moments of our lives when we are barley able to stand when we feel as though there is no hope, Gods word will separate us from that and fill us anew with hope, joy, peace and contentment. meant to be taken off the page and placed in our hearts.

I also submit to you that there is one more piece of armour that is not talked about. thus making it 7 pieces instead of 6: that would be:

Prayer: the covering and binding to all of the other pieces of armour, with out prayer none of the other pieces will be effective. without prayer there is no substance to hold the armour in place.

in Christ Trish

[Sir Gareth]

Kenny Luck, author of the book 'Fight' (a book on spiritual warfare)

goes into great detai, ecpecially about the sword of the spirit.

He points out that when Jesus resisted the devil in the desert he used no special ability, no Godly power, he simply used scripture to counter everything Satan said.

He goes on to say that for every temptation we face there is a verse in scripture to counter that temptation and strengthen our walk with the Lord, which is why it is so important to read our bibles. It's kind of like sharepening your sword, if your blade is dull it won't peirce the enemy, if it is sharp it will cut deep to the heart.

[Openly Curious]

THE SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:11-17, KJV

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Hello Sgtazur,

Ephesians 6:18--Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

I think that vs. 18 can be added into the scripture you've chosen as being part of the armour of God but is often overlooked as part of the armour.

God makes it clear that we're not just in a wrestling match with humans here on earth, but with wickedness and darkness of the world. Luckily God is much more powerful than anything that we'll come up against, and He will give us everything that we need to fight - and win. The armor of God consists of 6 pieces:

1. The Belt of Truth
   
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
   
3. Shoes to proclaim the Gospel of Peace
   
4. Shield of Faith
   
5. Helmet of Salvation
   
6. Sword of the Spirit
   

Every piece has a purpose, and every piece is needed. These are the tools which we use to fight for God.

This is two that I can bring out of vs. 18 that is just as much part of the armour of God that could be added to your list and they are.................................

1.) praying with all kinds of prayer and supplication-- as it teaches both men and women to do in a very familiar passage of scripture

found in 1 Timothy 2 which show various kinds of prayer.

2.) Watching with perserverance-- anyone who has served in the military knows the great importance of standing watch so the enemy

doesn't sneak up on us without warning while getting sleep we must be on guard being a good soldier.

OC

[Prycejosh1987]

Thank you for the insight.