The Armor of God

Has any passage been more preached than this one in the sixth chapter of Ephesians? Has any exhortation been more frequently given to believers to "suit up" to defeat the devil based on these verses? And yet, this "putting on" isn't as simplistic or easy as it sounds. There is a depth to this picture that is easily overlooked, and a discipline that nobody wants to talk about.

But before we get into that, let's look at the armor itself.

The first thing Paul mentions is the belt of truth. He jumps to the middle of the costume. Most would start at the head and go down or the feet and go up, but Paul starts in the center. Why? Because truth is the central and most important piece of who we are as Christians. If we are not bearers of truth, our pants fall down, and our lies and hypocrisy are exposed. We've seen that a lot among supposed Christian leaders in the past few years, and it hasn't been pretty.

Every other piece of the armor is strengthened or weakened by the strength of the belt--by the purity of the truth we wrap ourselves in. This is of course Spiritual truth, but it is also real, physical truth. Because our Spiritual truth is often given credence by the world to the degree we are also grounded in physical truth. (Physical truth and Spiritual truth both have their roots in God. Physical truth, such as the basic laws of science, are merely the outward manifestations--the seen, as opposed to the unseen.)

This belt of truth--whether it is a thin ribbon or a thick, wide piece of leather--affects everything up to the helmet and down to the shoes.

The next piece that Paul discusses is the breastplate of righteousness, which has no functionality whatsoever without truth. We only feel confident to stand before God and enter into his throne room with boldness if we have knowledge of the truth of Jesus' righteous, sinless life, and that he is now our intermediary. This complete truth strengthens this piece of armor we receive upon accepting the work Jesus did on the cross. It's this breastplate that guards our hearts from the accusations of the enemy.

Paul then leaps down to the "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." In my book, Ephesians: The Plan, The Purpose, and The Power, I discussed why I believed that, based on the rest of this letter, the "peace" here is that which contributes to unity in the Church. The equipment Paul chose to represent that is shoes because the Church "moves," and we either move in step with the Spirit in unity or serpentine all over the place in chaos. Truth, therefore, is essential--the truth that God desires us to live in unity and the truth of who Jesus is. If you don't know Jesus--who he is and what he did while on the earth, you have no way to know what he's doing now and you're likely to run after another "commander" with a loud voice. You won't hear the Spirit when it whispers, "this is the way." A unified force moves as one in the same direction, listening to only one voice.

Paul then says to "take up the shield of faith." This is an instrument directly fueled by the truth belt. Faith has to be based on something or it will fall flat in a battle. The Christian's faith is built on the truth of who God the Father and God the Son are--their character and how they operate. A faith shield built out of anything other than truth will let those flaming arrows right through.

The next piece of equipment that Paul tells us to take with us is the helmet of salvation. Your knowledge of God's saving grace through Jesus' work on the cross lifts us out of the good works mentality that would have us striving toward our own salvation. So truth, again, is essential. Those without the truth of grace are not only exposed to the lies and accusations of the enemy and side-tracked by earning their own salvation, they will lack the confidence to ever pick up the sword.

The only offensive weapon listed is the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says is the word of God. The Greek word for "word" here is rhema, which is the spoken word. It isn't graphē, the written word--a word Paul has used elsewhere to mean the scriptures. Paul isn't talking necessarily about defeating the enemy by throwing a bunch of Bible verses at him, although it could be, if that is what God says to do. The point is that we defeat the enemy with the insights given by God for the moment. That requires being tuned in. Learning to hear God accurately isn't usually accomplished overnight, and you will never hear accurately without the knowledge of the truth of who he is.

The belt of truth holds the whole armor together.

So what are the practicalities of putting all this on? Is it more than a ritualistic declaration or mental spiritual practice?

If it truly relies on truth, then yes.

Proverbs 4:7 says, "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost you all you have, get understanding." This is another way to say, run after the truth. "Seek and you shall find," Jesus said. David said, "Your word is a light to my path." Only truth can illuminate--that which is false fogs the issues and brings confusion.

Studying and meditating on our triune God builds up our truth belt, and that in turn, strengthens every other part of our armor. With truth as its plating, the shield also grows thicker with use. Every exercise of faith adds another layer. With truth as the sword's hilt, God's voice and purpose become clearer, the sword becomes easier to wield, and you become more deadly to the enemy's schemes.

Paul's illustration is really a picture of who we are and who we can be when we are rooted in the truth of God and how he works. Because of Jesus, we are saved and declared righteous. With Jesus as our commander, we can be a unified force who cuts down the enemy with a timely word.

We all have armor, but it's thickness, impenetrability, and effectiveness is determined by us and the time we put into gaining understanding, walking out our faith, and listening to his voice.