The Armor Of God

Ephesians 6:13-19

Full Armor of God.....Complete Armor......

The great objective of the Christian warrior is to stand........stand in Who we believe and not waver.

3 times Paul has encouraged us to stand! James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Loins girt about with truth....

Strictly the girdle is not part of the armour, but before the armour can be put on the garments underneath must be bound together. The metaphor of girding is often used in the Bible because it describes a preparatory action necessary for a person with the flowing garments of those days before work could be done, a race run, or a battle fought.

1 Peter 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

The idea is our lives are dictated by the Truth of Jesus Christ......the Truth is what holds everything together.

Breastplate of Righteousness..........This piece of armor protects the vital organs of life.

2 Corinthians 6:7 “By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,”

1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”

This is our righteousness, which is only found in Jesus Christ in which my life is dictated after!

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Feet shoed with the preparation of the Gospel......

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is like cleats.....they keep your feet steady and firmly planted, to keep us moving forward.....

Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

All of this armor is an outward symbol of what an inward understanding and faith can do.....

These shoes, the Gospel, the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us sure footing in our pressing forward to the high calling of God in Jesus Christ!

Shield of Faith.......it is a long shield that a person can be covered completely!!

Faith in the Gospel, faith in God’s Word.....they are one in the same......this completely covers our inward man!

2 Corinthians 4:16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

Helmet of Salvation.......1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”

Psalm 140:7 “O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.”

This helmet protects from the many doubts......the faith in the knowledge of the Salvation of Jesus Christ is our assurance against the doubts that we have of our salvation!

The devil is the great accuser......we must believe that Jesus is enough and that we are saved and that protects our mind!

Many soldiers in battle target the head because everything else seems to be either covered or not vital.....

However, if our enemy can aim for our mind and cause doubts or confusion, then he has got us!

The Sword of the Spirit......The Word of God.....Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

You can’t get away from this mighty weapon....it cuts going and coming!

This is what we battle with, nothing else it is what God says!

If you have questions about your life and what to do, it is what God says, not what smart people say or even what you say.....it is what God says! That wins the battle.

‘Each piece put on with prayer’, and then continue still in all prayer and supplication. The word all or its equivalent is used four times in this one verse in the original. As Barth (AB) puts it, ‘Nothing less is suggested than that the life and strife of the saints be one great prayer to God, that this prayer be offered in ever new forms however good or bad the circumstances, and that this prayer not be self-centred but express the need and hope of all the saints.’ The New Testament frequently exhorts Christians not to cease from prayer.

Romans 12:12 “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

The Spirit is the atmosphere of Christians’ lives, and as they live in the Spirit grace will be given to watch and power to continue in prayer.

Lastly notice that Paul does not ask for prayer for his physical well-being while in prison.......instead he asked for boldness and faithfulness to continuing proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the unsaved no matter what the cost!