We’re in a battle, and our enemy is on the attack. Spiritual warfare is real, but we do not have to engage in it unprotected. As Christians, we have been given a wonderful gift—the armor of God.
So what is the armor of God, and how do we use it?
The apostle Paul answers this question in Ephesians 6:14-17, where he mentions six pieces of spiritual armor, each dealing with a specific area of our life.
The armor of God consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
Each of these six pieces of armor serves an important purpose and offers a specific defense against the enemy.
~ The Belt of Truth ~
Ephesians 6:14
What is the belt of truth?
For the Christian, the belt of truth is a combat harness that allows us to identify the deceptions of the enemy, who wants only to trick, deceive, and entangle us.
It is important to know the nature of our enemy. John 8 says that Satan is a liar, and there is no truth in him. So if we want to properly defend against his lies, we must put on the belt of truth.
How do we use the belt of truth?
As Christians, we must be children of truth. We must know the truth—the whole comprehensive counsel of God—found within the Bible. You might never memorize the whole Bible but make it a priority to know your Bible well enough to know where in Scripture to find answers.
Someone once told me that if you want to identify a crooked stick, the best thing you can do is lay a straight stick down next to it. That same principle works when dealing with the deceit of Satan. If you lay the "straight stick" of God's Word next to what it is you are trying to discern, you will usually be able to identify Satan's deceitful propaganda.
Children of truth also must “walk in truth” (3 John 4). In other words, they don't just know the truth; they're living a life of truthfulness. Such a walk implies that we are dealing with the realities of life with sin and with ourselves. We're not allowing any conscious hypocrisy or any excuse. We’re not condoning sin. We're seeking to be honest before the Lord and before others; we're not faking the Christian life and putting a spin on what it means to be a Christian.
That's what the belt of truth is all about. It's knowing the truth and then allowing that truth to change who we are from the inside out. After all, how can we have any influence in the lives of others for the truth if we're not living the truth in our own life?
~ The Breastplate of Righteousness ~
Ephesians 6:14
What is the breastplate of righteousness?
The breastplate of the Roman soldier was a piece of armor made of hardened, reinforced leather and metal plating, designed to cover the torso and protect the soldier’s vital organs—especially his heart. A warrior without his breastplate was vulnerable and dangerously exposed to the enemy.
Paul said the well-dressed Christian soldier must wear the "breastplate of righteousness,” for it protects our spiritual heart—the spiritual center of one’s life.
Without righteousness, we are powerless to withstand Satan's tactics. But the Christian who is wearing the breastplate of righteousness will go through life and, no matter what happens, find some victory in every situation. In rejoicing, in sorrow, in plenty, in want, there will be a consistent quality about his life. That's what happens when you have the righteousness of Christ in you and when you are outwardly living the righteousness of Christ.
How do we use the breastplate of righteousness?
In one sense, Christians are already equipped with the righteousness of Christ. We call this positional righteousness. According to 1 Corinthians 1:30, Christ became our righteousness, and when we trust Him as Savior, we are clothed in Him. When God sees us, He doesn't see us in our sins; He sees us clothed in the righteousness of Christ. That is our position before God.
But we must practice practical righteousness. We must commit ourselves to a life that is honest, upright, authentic, and full of integrity. When we find little ways of lying, cheating, and shading the truth, we give Satan a foothold. The little sins we tolerate represent dangerous "holes" in our bulletproof vests. You can be sure that sooner or later, Satan will aim right at that spot.
We must be sanctified, meaning we must become in practice what we are in position. And what are Christians "in position"? We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness—living every day in light of who we are in Christ.
The Bible teaches us that we're to cultivate righteousness in our lives until, like a habit, it becomes an automatic part of who we are. But we cannot grow in righteousness by trying harder or just passively waiting for it to happen. Instead, we need to learn how to love better: We need to fall more deeply in love with God because that relationship will dictate our conduct—it will change our life.
The Bible tells us that "where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). What this means is that our heart dictates our lifestyle and defines our priorities. When you really love somebody, you do everything possible to live as close to them as you can.
When Christ is our treasure and we are following Him as closely as we possibly can, sanctification will do its good work and righteousness will be cultivated.
~ The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace ~
Ephesians 6:15
What are the shoes of the Gospel of peace?
In battle, soldiers need a foundation that will protect their feet from injury and traps set by the enemy. For the Romans, these were thick-soled, hobnailed sandals with thick leather straps. For Christians, these are the shoes of the Gospel of peace—an important piece of the armor of God.
Just as the right boots protect our soles, the peace of the Gospel protects our souls. The Good News of Christ brings composure to our lives. It puts hard leather between us and the jagged stones of fear and doubt.
If we spend our time worrying and fretting or questioning God's care and concern for us, we will be unproductive on the battlefield (Matthew 6:26-27). The Gospel of peace stabilizes our hearts because we know that God is on our side! He is working for our good! And the settled peace that only He can provide is our foundation for fighting.
How can we minister to others in this world of woe and warfare if our own hearts are so upset that we seem no different than anyone else? It's like going into battle barefoot, grimacing in pain as the rocks of anxiety press into our tender soles.
We must stand firm and trust that the One who has called us into battle will always be working for our good.
How do we use the shoes of the Gospel of peace?
The Bible constantly tells us, "Do not fret.... Do not fear…. Do not let your hearts be troubled.... Do not be anxious.... Don't be discouraged." Are you going into your daily warfare shod with divine peace?
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A great method to help you requisition this peace in your life is Scripture memory. After all, Scripture is the Word of Peace. And when you get the Word of God in your life, you will find help to deal with the inevitable problems and stresses of life.
Colossians 3:15 says we are to "let the peace of God rule in [our] hearts."
When you have a decision to make and you're walking with the Lord, one of the ways that you test your decision is by whether or not the Lord gives you peace about that decision. I believe that God uses that sense of peace in our hearts to confirm and direct our decisions. That's how He rules in our hearts. When you put on the shoes of peace, measure your life by the rule of peace, and let that rule make a difference in your life.
~ The Shield of Faith ~
Ephesians 6:16
What is the shield of faith?
The shield of faith is given to us to deflect the fiery darts of Satan. These darts have but one purpose, and that is to produce doubt, distress of mind, depression of spirit, and disappointment in relationships or in work or in yourself. The shield of our faith in Christ is our defense (Psalm 18:30; Proverbs 30:5; 1 John 5:4). And Scripture promises us that this shield is sufficient to repel even the enemy's best shot. Faith is the key to all spiritual armor.
In Galatians, Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (2:20).
Notice that Paul does not say, "I live my life in the flesh by my faith in the Son of God." No, it's not our faith; it is the faith that God gives us. Even our faith is a gift from God; our faith in Jesus Christ is our shield. And we are to "take up the shield of faith" (Ephesians 6:16, NIV).
How do we use the shield of faith?
Faith has to be appropriated; then it can be used. The way we appropriate faith in our lives is by arming ourselves with the truth about God and who He is so that for every "fiery dart" Satan sends our way, we will have an appropriate answer, an appropriate truth, or an appropriate verse which we can use to repel him.
We need to take what God has given us in the precious promises of His Word and mine out of it the truths that will help us live the practical Christian life with victory. When we know what we believe, we're actively building our shield of faith so that it will be impervious to any attack Satan sends our way.
In order to fortify the strength of our faith, we must first focus on the source of our faith. Faith is irrelevant apart from the object of our faith. And our faith is not in faith itself; our faith is in the Lord God and His promises. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that we are to look "unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (12:2).
We must keep our eyes on Christ, and we must not become lazy! We need to consistently exercise and practice an active faith. And we practice by taking what we know from the Word of God and putting it into operation. Before we know it, we're putting together a life of obedience to the Word of God. And that is what builds us strong and makes it possible for us to stand against the wiles of the enemy.
Take up the shield of faith!
~ The Helmet of Salvation ~
Ephesians 6:17
What is the helmet of salvation?
The helmet of salvation, which protects the believer's mind from the attacks of Satan, is a crucial piece of the armor of God. And when it comes to spiritual warfare, helmets are not optional.
The primary battlefield for spiritual warfare is always the battlefield of the mind where thoughts compete against one another. The enemy is constantly at work trying to wear down our defenses and corrupt our minds with anything to confuse our thinking about God and His purposes for our life. Our only defense is to have the benefit of a mind that has lived in and conquered this world—and that is the mind of Christ.
When we put on the helmet of salvation, we are putting on the mind of Christ and the wisdom of God.
How do we use the Helmet of Salvation?
To answer this, we must first ask: How do we get the wisdom of God? Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that Jesus Christ has become for us the power and wisdom of God. As we put on Jesus Christ, He becomes the wisdom of God to us. Therefore, the helmet of salvation is the wisdom of God in Christ. And it's available to every believer through prayer and God's Word (James 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15).
Wisdom can be defined as: "doing the right thing without a precedent." The believer who can respond to an unexpected situation or circumstance in the same way Christ would is someone who has biblical wisdom—the mind of Christ.
The helmet of salvation is also the promise of hope. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says: "But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation."
So what is our hope?
It's the hope that Christ is ultimately going to resolve this warfare, that one day He's going to come back and set everything straight. We're fighting in a war that, in essence, we have already won. We don't have to skirmish around in fear of defeat because we know victory is ours in Christ.
We also know that this world is hostile to the things of God. As Christians, we are going to find ourselves on the defensive in this world, and we must be prepared to speak with the wisdom and power of Christ. We must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15). And that will only happen if we nurture our minds in Him—if we put on the helmet of salvation.
~ The Sword of the Spirit ~
Ephesians 6:17
What is the sword of the Spirit?
Within God's armory we have one offensive weapon with which we are to do battle against the evil one—"the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6: 17).
In Matthew 4:1-11, we have an example of how Christ used three swords of the Spirit, three particular verses, to defeat the three temptations Satan presented in the wilderness.
Temptation 1: The first temptation was to turn stones into bread to satisfy His hunger. Remember, Jesus had been fasting for forty days. But Jesus never acted independently of the Father, nor did He perform a miracle to serve Himself. Instead, He took out a sword of the Spirit, Deuteronomy 8:3, and said: "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4).
Temptation 2: Next, Satan tempted Jesus to prove He was the Son of God. Instead, Jesus pulled out another sword, Deuteronomy 6:16, and said: "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God'" (Matthew 4:7).
Temptation 3: Satan told Jesus he would give Him the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him. But Jesus pulled out one final sword, Deuteronomy 6:13, and said, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'" (Matthew 4:10).
How can we use the sword of the Spirit?
Jesus resisted the devil with the Word of God, and the devil left him (Matthew 4:11). And we can use the sword of the Spirit just as Jesus did! All we have to do is reach into our armory and pull out the right sword. It is written!
Think of areas in which you know Satan will tempt you, find some Bible verses relating to those areas, write them out on little cards, and put them where you see them often. Memorize them. Internalize them. Learn them by heart, and be ready to use them when the enemy confronts you.
"Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).
The Armor of God for Everyday Battle
As we look at the spiritual armor that is listed for us in Ephesians 6:14-17, it is quite apparent that the armor is nothing less than Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, when Paul wrote to the Romans, he said something very similar to what we find in Ephesians. He said in Romans 13:14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ."
In essence, Paul is telling us that we are to wear Christ like we wear a suit of clothes.
Ray Stedman suggests this approach:
When I got up this morning I put on my clothes…with the intention that they would be part of me all this day, that they would go where I go and do what I do. They will cover me and make me presentable to others. That is the purpose of clothes. In the same way, the apostle is saying to us, "Put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning. Make him a part of your life that day. Intend that he go with you everywhere you go, and that he act through you in everything you do. Call upon his resources. Live your life in Christ."1
So get in the battle and defeat the enemy by wearing the full armor of God!
Sources:
1Ray Stedman, From Guilt to Glory, Volume 21 (Waco, TX: Word, 1978), 136.
