Armor


Armor
13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 In order to stand firm in The Lord, He has given to us 6 pieces of armor that we wear every single day of our lives in Him. These are gifts granted to us for our protection against the schemes of the evil one. Each piece has important attributes and as we don them, it is helpful to think about what we are taking up as our spiritual clothing. As I said yesterday, this isn't the order in which they appear in the text, but it does go from the head down to help us remember all the pieces.

 The helmet of salvation -- Upon our heads, covering our brains or our "selves" we place the knowledge that we are saved from our sins by the blood of Jesus. We have been given salvation by grace. Our very thoughts are protected, thus making us better able to take every thought captive making it obedient unto Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5).

 The breastplate of righteousness -- Covering our vital organs is the breastplate of righteousness. This righteousness was won for us on the cross and now protects our heart. Without righteousness, we are unable to be in God's presence. Jesus' blood forgives our sins and brings us His righteousness.

 The belt of truth -- In Roman armor, the belt held the breastplate in place. So in this mental image, see the righteousness of Jesus held firmly in place by His truth. In John 8, starting at verse 31, Jesus has a fascinating interaction with the Pharisee who claim sole ownership to the ways of God. Jesus sets them straight by telling them that they are actually children of the devil because they do not know the truth. The speak Satan original language - lies. When we are willing to live with truth rather than be surrounded by lies, we are protected from Satan's attacks. 

 The shield of faith -- The Roman shield was a fantastic piece of engineering. The were large enough to hide behind should arrows come raining down upon you. They also had notched edges so that they could be locked into place with the shields of those soldiers on either side of you. When those shields were put together they formed a wall of safety for the bearers. Our faith in God and the knowledge that He has provided for our salvation through Jesus protects us from the "darts" of Satan's lies. And when combined with the faith of fellow believers living in community, we are standing in a very strong place.

 The shoes of readiness -- Upon our feet we place the sandals of the gospel of peace (or readiness). This prepares us to share that which we have been given by the Holy Spirit.

 The sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God -- You have been given only ONE offensive weapon and that is the Word of God. But in order to have an effect weapon in your hand, you have to sharpen your sword. You have to actually know the Word in order to use the Word. Daily reading your Bible, intentionally studying it, and gathering with others to do the same is the only way to keep your sword sharp and useful in your hands.

 That's a lot for one day! We'll wrap up this important text on Monday. Then we're going to study James!

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