The Armor of God

open in prayer

tell the story of the challenge coin

read the scripture

What are we fighting against

In verse 12 paul says we fight not against flesh and blood. That means People. We arent fighing people. some one was rude to you, someone mocked you, someone stole from you, some one hurt you, we arent battling against them because remember they are created in the image of god and they sinned just like we did. None of us are perfect and the enemy will use people sometimes to attack us. But remember our battle is against rulers, authorities, against powers, and against spiritual forces.

Listen there is a spiritual realm that we dont see but it is there and there is a battle raging There are rules authorities and powers that are influencing our culture. music, movies, tv, our government. They attack our education systems. (talk about how entertainment is rough)

Now there is also spiritual forces and these are the forces of darkness that attack you and attack me. the ones that attack your identity your self worth, they attack truth, they tempt you with your personal temptation. and they get in your head and twist your thoughts.

How do we defend ourselves

so all this is happening so how to we defend ourselves how do get into the fight. how do we come against temptation and well lets look at vs13-17 again

So there are six things that paul talks about but today we are gonna focus on three

The belt of truth. Now paul starts with the belt of truth and that isnt a mistake. the belt was an essentail piece of armor for the romans it suppoerted the weight of the rest of the armor was used it was used to carry wepons and it was a symbol of status

so lets dig a little deeper. truth…truth is the foundation of armor and it holds everything together

The Bible presents starkly different outcomes for truth vs lies. Truthful speech endures, while lies are temporary (Prov 12:19). More seriously, God abhors lying lips but delights in faithfulness (Prov 12:22), and a lying tongue ranks among things God hates (Prov 6:16–19). False witnesses face punishment and perish (Prov 19:9). Conversely, knowing truth brings freedom (John 8:32), and believers are called to abandon falsehood and speak truth to one another (Eph 4:25).

you see God embodies truth itself—he speaks and judges truly and cannot lie1. By contrast, the devil rejects truth entirely, and when he lies, he does so from his own nature as “the father of lies” (John 8:44). This cosmic opposition means falsehood isn’t merely incorrect information; it reflects a spiritual rebellion against God’s character.

Next we move on to the breast plate of righteousness. The roman breastplate was used to protect your vital organs. The heart lungs stomach and liver. righteousness protects our heart from evil and deception. it is given to us because our own righteous acts are no match for the enemy

For humans, the New Testament presents a crucial distinction. Jesus rejected false righteousness based on self-trust or moral accomplishment, teaching instead that genuine justification comes through acknowledging sin and trusting God for forgiveness. God’s righteousness arrives as an unmerited gift—a gracious declaration pronouncing righteous those who trust in Christ, with God forgiving sins through Christ’s atoning death.1 Yet those declared righteous by faith also pursue righteous deeds and grow in righteousness through God’s grace. The cross reveals God’s “holy love” as simultaneously the supreme expression of justice against sin and supreme expression of forgiving grace.

Now lets remember the belt of truth. if the belt isnt tightly in place the breast plate falls off and our own righteousness is an attempt to impress god. and that let me tell you that will lead to one of two things. Leagalism or self condimnation

Sheild of faith

Faith in God involves believing all He has declared, accepting His word as true, and trusting Him to fulfill His promises1. Although faith is theological language, it remains fundamentally a human act essential to ordinary life—we perform acts of faith toward others daily, and understanding human faith provides a key to understanding faith toward God, which Christ taught as a school for acquiring higher-level faith.

Understanding this metaphor requires knowing the Roman scutum shield of Paul’s era. This shield was as large as a door and would cover the warrior entirely.1 Shields, often made of wood and then covered in hide, when wet, could extinguish flaming arrows.1 When fighting as a group, soldiers could position their shields to form an enclosure around themselves, called a testudo (“tortoise”), which was especially helpful to protect against arrows launched from city walls.

The flaming arrows represent thoughts, imaginations, desires, passions, lusts, temptations and fiery trials—or anything which seeks to undermine our identity in Christ, including attacks on holiness, prayer life, Bible reading, relationships with other Christians, and proclamation of the gospel.2 Satan’s attacks cause doubt, but faith reminds us that God is true to His Word, and when Satan attempts to plague us with doubt or entice us with instant gratification, faith recognizes the deceptiveness of his tactics and quickly extinguishes the arrows.1

A shield defends the whole body, especially the principal parts; similarly, faith defends the whole person from all sorts of temptations cast against him by spiritual enemies—the flesh, world, or devil. Faith is not self-deception but confidence and trust in Christ which unites us with him (talk about how truth will keep us grounded in our faith) and when we are confident about who we are in Christ, raised with him and enjoying every spiritual blessing, we are able to stand against the devil’s schemes. When we believe God and take Him at His word, we remain grounded in truth, the lies of the enemy lose their power, and we become overcomers.