The Armor of God Pt 2

The Armor of God Pt. 2

Ephesians 6:10-17

The 35th President of the United States, John F Kennedy, was a naval officer during WWII. In 1943 the patrol torpedo boat he commanded was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific. Kennedy and a fellow officer managed to swim to shore but they were behind enemy lines.

So, they had to hide and swim from island to island until finally, they found friendly islanders who helped them escape. Well, years later Kennedy was regarded as a war hero. But Kennedy’s response was, “I’m no hero,” It was involuntary, they sank my boat.

Well, the same thing is true in the life of a Christian. We didn’t volunteer for war but there is war raging all around us. A war of right versus wrong and good versus evil. We face a formidable foe who uses the world and our flesh against us. Make no mistake, Satan is the architect of this war. He is the composer, the world is his orchestra, and you are his target.

(Many people have the misconception that the moment they become saved the war is over, and nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is, the battle doesn’t even begin until you become a Christian. Now that your life has changed and you want to live differently you have become Satan’s enemy.)

The good news is our God has already claimed the victory, and He has provided everything we need to win the battle. That is what Paul teaches us in this passage. But we must be prepared to fight, and we do that by putting on the full armor of God. (Read Eph. 6:10-17)

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of PEACE.

16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [1](Pray)

When an artist begins to draw a picture, they either use an image captured in their mind, or they use a still model sitting in front of them. As Paul writes this letter, he is in a Roman prison cell. He is shackled to a Roman soldier who is wearing armor. And Paul uses that soldier as a model to paint a picture for us of the armor of God.

The armor of God is a metaphor for our relationship with Lord. It is a spiritual example of being commited to Jesus Christ and making Him the priority of your life. In this passage Paul describes 6 pieces of armor the Christian needs for the battle. Today, we are going to look at the first three in Vs. 14 & 15.

Last week we looked at Vs. 10-13, and learned we are to stand. That is a command from God. It means to resist. It’s a military term calling for us to hold on to the ground we are fighting for. We learned that we don’t stand in our own strength, but in the power of God.

We also learned the identity of our enemy. It is none other than Satan and his demons. Paul said, we don’t wrestle with flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces of darkness in high places. What he is teaching us is how important it is to be completely protected from the enemy. We must be prepared to fight, by putting on the full armor of God.

The first thing we see in this passage is the belt of truth, Vs. 14. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth.” The command is to stand firm, and the armor we need is truth. In other words, the battle is on, it cannot be avoided. It is imperative that you stand up for what you believe in, and that you stand for the truth.

A. What does it mean to girded your loins?

To gird your lions means to have strength and courage. It’s describing a leather belt a soldier would use to hold up his clothes.[2] In Paul’s day there were no pants. People wore long, loose robes, and if you were going to work or to a fight, you had to strap on a belt to hold everything together.

So, when a soldier prepared for the battle, the first thing he put on was his belt. It was like a girdle that stretched from his stomach down to his thighs and covered his groin area. It was the most fundamental part of his armor.

With his belt in place, he could run fast and not be afraid of tripping.[3] So, the belt wasn’t an option it was an absolute necessity. And Paul puts this at the top of his list because he wants us to understand how important truth is.

B. The very first piece of armor we need is truth.[4]

Scholars have debated for years about what Paul means by truth. Some say he is talking about the truth of scripture; The doctrines of the bible we need to know and understand. Others say he is referring to a Christians life. A Christian is to live an honest life, and be sincere.

I think the argument is irrelevant though because you can’t have one without the other. A Christian is to know truth and to live truth. They go together like a hand in a glove.

Webster defines truth as, “conformity to fact or reality.” In other words, truth is the way things really are. Unfortunately, truth is not as important as it should be in the world today. I want to give you several phrases as an example of what truth really is.

1. Truth is divine. That means God is the source of truth. All that is consistent with the character of God is truth. In other words, truth does not originate with man but comes down from heaven.

2. Truth is objective. It is black and white. It is concrete. It is not open for suggestion or opinion. It is uncompromising. There is not your truth and my truth there is only truth.

3. Truth is immutable. It does not change, it’s timeless. What is true today will be true tomorrow and will be true forever.

4. Truth is authoritative. It is binding on our conscientious. It determines who we are and defines what we become. It makes demands on our life and one day we will be judged by truth.

Finally, truth is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said so in John 14:6. He said, “I am the way the truth and the Life.” We must be equipped with Him. It is hard to believe a person could know Christ and live a life of deception and lies. A dishonest Christian should be like big foot. The world is searching for him but should never be able to find him.

2 Cor. 5:17 says, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old is gone and the new has come.”

This speaks of the transformation that takes place in the life of every believer. The moment you are saved your life is changed. The truth becomes preeminent. It is not only what you believe, but it is who you are, and the way you conduct your life. I trust that change that has taken place in your life. I trust that you know Jesus Christ that way, because I don’t think it is possible for someone to know the Lord and to remain the same.

So, to put on the belt of truth is to put on Jesus Christ. To center your life on Him. To make Him the priority of your life. That means there are no loose thoughts, no pervasive doubts, no spiritual questioning. You have settled it in your heart, and you are prepared for the battle.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the breastplate of righteousness. Vs. 14 says, The Christian soldier is to stand firm against the enemy, “having put on the breastplate of righteousness.”

A. What is a breastplate.

A breastplate was the armor a soldier wore to protect his upper body. It wrapped around his body from his neck to his thighs.[5]It was used to protect his heart and other vital organs.

I cannot emphasize the spiritual significance of that enough. In Hebrew the heart represents the mind, the will, and the emotions. The inner you, the you no one can see. The spirit of a man and it needs to be protected from the enemy. We do that with the breastplate of righteousness.

B. The question is whose righteousness is Paul talking about?

Is he talking about our own personal acts of holiness in this world, or the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ? Well, I think the answer is both.

There is no doubt a Christian is called to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. We are called to live a holy life. We are called to be separated from the world and set apart for God. When Christians fail to do that, and they continue to live in sin, they open themselves up to spiritual attacks.

Consider King David and the havoc he brought on his life. David was called a man after God’s own heart. But when he was 50 years old and comfortably living as King, he decided not to go out to battle. He allowed the lust of his flesh to take over his life.

He committed adultery with Bathsheba. He destroyed her marriage. He killed her husband. He lost a child. His own sons turned against him and tried to take over the kingdom. David was a man after God’s own heart, but David refused to let go of the world, and he suffered for it.

What about you? Are you straddling the fence of faith? Do you have one foot in the world and one in the church? Do you struggle between personal holiness and sin? Because the bible teaches us, “we reap what we sow.”

John MacArthur said, ‘Many, of the emotional and relational problems Christian’s face are caused by lack of personal holiness. Many of our disappointments and discouragements do not come from circumstances or from other people but from our own unconfessed sin. And when circumstances and other people do manage to rob us of happiness, it is because we are unprotected by the armor of a holy life.’[6]

You see we must become ready for the spiritual battle, and we do that by living a Godly life. Yet it is impossible for any of us to live up to God’s standards. It is impossible for us to be righteous enough to overcome the enemy.

C. That’s why we need the righteousness Christ.

When you come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness and grace, God credits you with His righteousness. It is not based on anything you have done, but it is based on what Jesus did on the cross. You can’t earn it, you don’t deserve it, but God gives it to us freely when we repent of our sin and trust in the Lord.

In Phil. 3:8-9 Paul wrote, ‘I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, not having a righteousness of my own, but that which comes through faith in Christ.”

It is the righteousness of Christ Paul is urging us to put on. Because it is infinitely more powerful than our own righteousness. It is a perfect righteousness that was born from the obedience and suffering of the Son of God.

Satan accuses believers before the throne of God as being unworthy, but he can’t accuse Jesus because He is so worthy, and it’s his breastplate we are wearing over our heart to protect us. Because even when we make mistakes and fall into sin we are forgiven. We are accepted by God and protected from the accuser. But listen, the breastplate of Jesus can only be worn by those who know Him as their Lord.

So, what we learn from this passage is, the Christian soldier is to live a holy life, but we are to strive after the righteousness of God, and when we do our heart is protected from the enemy.

The last piece of armor I want us to look at today is the shoes of the Gospel, Vs. 15. “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of PEACE”

A. There was nothing more important to a first century soldier than his shoes.

A Roman soldier didn’t have a transport vehicle to take him to the battle. He had to march over mountains and terrain just to get to the fight, and once he was there, he had to hold his ground. So, a soldier’s footwear was essential for victory.

The Roman soldier wore boots that had small nails protruding out of the bottom like football cleats. That allowed him the ability to dig in and not be pushed back. Paul mentions this as the third piece of the armor a Christian’s need for spiritual warfare.

What He is teaching us is we must be prepared with the gospel, in our own life, to effectively communicate the gospel to others. In other words, we don’t run away from sharing our faith, but we move swift, and we stand firm, and we proclaim the good news.

I know we don’t see the word shoes in this passage, but to “shod your feet” means to bind your shoes on. It gives us the idea of tying your shoelaces tight so that your shoes don’t fall off.

And no one can put these shoes on for you. Notice you have to “shod your feet.” This is your responsibility. And the way Paul presents it, is you never take your shoes off.

B. We must always prepared.

The word “preparation” means the state of readiness. It is the state of being equipped, established, and ready for the battle. In other words, we don’t wait until we are in the fight to get prepared, we are already prepared. We already have our boots on.

The emphasis is we need to do it right now, today, in this moment. If you are not prepared this morning, you could be defeated tonight. If you are not prepared today, you could blow an opportunity tomorrow. And that is Paul’s point.

C. A Christian soldier is prepared to share the gospel in a hostile world.

Notice Vs. 15 ends with two prepositional phrases. It says, “Of the gospel” and then it says, “of peace” Of the gospel speaks of how we prepare. And “of peace” speaks of the content of the message. In other words, we must be prepared with the gospel ourselves, and the gospel is the message of peace.

When we think of the gospel we think of salvation. We think of how we became converted to Christ, but Paul is teaching us how critical the gospel is to everyday Christian living.

The gospel teaches us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves. It teaches us that all of mankind is hopelessly lost and alienated from God unless He acts on their behalf. And He did that in Jesus Christ who died upon a cross to freely provide salvation for those who call on His name.

That is how we become prepared of the gospel. We call on His name of Jesus, we ask Him to forgive us of our sin, and to come into our life, and when we do we have peace with God the Father.

Ephesians 2:12-14a, “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, (talking about before we knew the Lord) excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.” Notice that Jesus doesn’t just give us peace, but He is our peace.

It is because of what Jesus did for us on the cross we now have peace with God and Paul says we are take that message and share it with the world. Now that your feet are firmly placed in the gospel of peace go and tell others they can have this peace as well.

Throughout the pages of the New Testament, we see Satan constantly attacking the gospel. He does it by using false teachers to prevent people from hearing it. And he does the same thing today. We live in the age of the church entertainment industry. The church resembles the world.

Satan uses so called ministers of truth to pervert the gospel. He wants us to believe there is some other way to heaven than Jesus Christ. But do not be deceived. Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the message of peace, and He must first bring peace to our hearts and then we take that peace to the world. Paul says, bind that on your feet and be prepared to wear everywhere you go.

What we learn from this passage is we must be prepared for the fight, and we do that by putting on the full armor of God. Paul uses a Roman soldier’s equipment to teach us this spiritual truth.

In this world there are going to be attacks against us but everything we need has been provided for us. The belt, the breastplate, and the shoes are just metaphors for the Christian armor.

The real armor is truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace. All these things belong to those who are in Christ. We put the armor on by putting on Jesus and making Him the priority of our life. By committing our life to Him. When we do, we can’t lose the battle because Jesus has already won the war.

[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update (Eph 6:10–17). (1995). The Lockman Foundation. [2]Cole, S. J. (2017). Lesson 57: Protected by Truth and Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14). In Ephesians (Eph 6:14). Galaxie Software. [3]Phillips, R. D. (2016). Ephesians(p. 439). Mentor. [4]Cole, S. J. (2017). Lesson 57: Protected by Truth and Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14). In Ephesians (Eph 6:14). Galaxie Software. [5]Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (1996). Galatians–Colossians(p. 226). Leadership Ministries Worldwide. [6]Phillips, R. D. (2016). Ephesians(p. 440). Mentor.