The Armor of God - Ephesians 6:10-17

Introduction - Brief overview of Ephesians

The letter to the church at Ephesus, written by Paul, likely during his imprisonment, is a letter written to a church that he helped to build personally, a church that he pastored for approximately 2 years (Acts 19:1-10)

Acts 19:1–10 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7 And all the men were about twelve. 8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. 9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

Paul purposed this letter to show the Ephesian church how to live, and divided his letter almost down the middle on the sides of “education” and “application. He takes the first three chapters of the book to teach his church about the position of the individual Christian, that being as a part of the Body of Christ, and the position of that of Christ as the head of the church.

The second half of Ephesians concerns appropriate living as a Christian, with Paul starting off Ephesians 4:1 by saying:

Ephesians 4:1 KJV 1900

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

Paul continues until the end of this letter teaching the church how to live their lives publically, privately, whether as masters or servants, or in relationships as husbands and wives or children and parents.

Finally, beginning in verse 10 of Chapter 6, after laying out how we as the Body of Christ are to conduct ourselves, Paul explains how we will be able to accomplish the lifestyle to which we are called to live.

The Soldier’s Charge - Ephesians 6:10-11

Ephesians 6:10–11 KJV 1900

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Here Paul encourages his church and us as believers, to be strong IN the Lord. Not to be strong in our own knowledge or wisdom, not in our jobs, families, or anything else, but to be strong in the Lord, in His mercy, in His grace, in His perfect plan.

Paul goes on in the next 5 verses to explain the six pieces of Armor that we have as believers in Christ, but it is important to note here that we are instructed to put on every piece of of the armor. Just as a soldier in the field would not have been effective without his full kit, neither are we as Christians effective when we leave out even one piece of our “spiritual equipment”.

Now Paul tells us to put on this armor to be able to withstand the wiles of the devil, and if there was one man who had the authority to speak on this, it was the Apostle Paul. Before his imprisonment, we can recall fro Acts 21, beginning in verse 27, that he was tied and beaten by Jews outside the temple at Jerusalem, until he was recused and held by Roman soldiers. Throughout Paul’s letters, we hear about the troubles and trials that he faces, even going so far as to learn to be content with the “thorn in his side” that the strength of God may be made manifest in his own weakness. Paul knew how to instruct the church in wearing the Armor of God because it had become a daily discipline for him in his life and in his ministry to ensure that he would would remain fully reliant on God.

The Soldier’s Armor - Ephesians 6:12-17

In these next five verses we see Paul reiterate that our enemy is NOT our fellow man, not flesh and blood, but instead the principalities, powers, the rulers of darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. While the Roman Empire and her citizens may have been well versed in conventional warfare of the day, they may not have understood the nature of spiritual warfare very well. So Paul takes this opportunity to list out the equipment used by soldiers in the Roman Army, that the people understood, and relates our spiritual armor to what the people knew.

The first two pieces listed are the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness. These two pieces by themselves were enough for anyone in Rome to be able to identify someone as a soldier. The belts that Roman soldiers wore were not only practical for protection and holding your sword, they were also status symbols in that the belts they were issued were only allowed to be worn by Roman soldiers, and were worn at all times, whether on or off duty.. Just the same, the Truth of Christ as the Messiah is something that only believers can truly know, and thus upon receiving salvation, we carry that truth with us wherever we go.

When we think of a breastplate, we understand that it provides protection to the most vital parts of our body, heart, lungs, and other internal organs. In the same way, living righteous lives, lives that honor the Lord and shun sin protect our spiritual lives and our testimony from attack. We know that Paul tells us that there are none righteous, and yet through our dependence on the Holy Spirit, we know that we can live in righteousness, and John tells us in 1John that whosoever is born of God does not sin. They live with that breastplate of righteousness on in their lives.