Are You Wearing Your Armor?
The Armor of God from Ephesians, with its military metaphors, has been a part of my life for over thirty years. I’ve had a thing for the military ever since I worked for the US Army in Germany as an Entertainment Director, and I married a soldier. My first book, Hammer of God, was about a battle to save Christianity in Europe in the Middle Ages. The very first women’s retreat I attended was on the Armor of God. My current series, Forlorn, is all about spiritual warfare.
And of course, I had the incredible opportunity to write a middle-grade book series The Prince Warriors with Priscilla Shirer about, you guessed it, the Armor of God.
So when I was asked to lead the teaching for a women’s retreat for my church, the Armor of God was the first thing that came to mind. It’s kind of my wheelhouse. Yet this opportunity allowed me to delve even more deeply into this rich passage, the theme of many a VBS curriculum, and discover truths I never thought about before.
In case you are unfamiliar, here’s the passage from Ephesians 6:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
It starts with the word, FINALLY. I’m sure Paul’s listeners were thrilled to hear that word. Paul was renowned for his long, long sermons, sometimes lasting all night. There’s a famous and hilarious story of the time Paul talked so long that one of his listeners fell asleep, fell out of a window and died! Paul raced down, resurrected the man, and then went back upstairs and continued preaching until dawn.
Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. Acts 20:7-12
But I digress.
Here are a few truths I learned in studying this passage:
THE ARMOR IS GOD’S
Paul was in prison when he wrote the letter to the Ephesians, so there were probably a lot of Roman guards around. Some of the imagery of the armor he borrows from Isaiah 59, where the Lord himself is depicted as the divine warrior rescuing his people:
He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. Isa 59: 17
In using this imagery, Paul not only asserts that the armor belongs to God, but so does the battle. Our job is to Stand. Just as Moses told the people at the Red Sea:
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13
The battle belongs to the Lord.
OUR ENEMY IS SPIRITUAL, NOT PHYSICAL
Ephesus was a very religious city in the pagan sense. Ephesus had a famous temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Sorcerers, magicians, and fortune tellers abounded there, so the Ephesians knew that the supernatural world was very real. In fact, the Book of Acts records many of Paul’s interactions with these sorcerers and fortune tellers. In this passage, he’s calling out the gods of Ephesus as demons, spiritual forces of darkness, and counters them with the work of the Holy Spirit.
Whenever we are experiencing oppression or difficulty from other people, we remember that the human beings are not the real problem. Satan is behind the battles we fight.
Remember the Big Scary Head from the Wizard of Oz? Everyone was terrified of the Big Scary Head. But the Big Scary head wasn’t the problem. It wasn’t until Dorothy pulled back the curtain that she discovered the true source of her oppression.
Put on your armor before the battle begins
It may seem obvious, but it isn’t. Preparation beforehand is the key. 1 Peter says that the devil is a roaring lion, prowling around, searching for someone to devour.(I Peter 5:8). We must be ready for attack at all times. A wise woman of God once told me, “Gina, you got to get up every morning and put on your armor.”
Put on the FULL Armor of God.
We need all the pieces of Armor, not just one or two.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6: 14-17
A Roman soldier’s belt was the first piece of equipment he put on and the last he took off. The belt marked him a soldier. It held his weapons and supported his core. We, too, have to wrap ourselves in God’s truth. Truth in our world has become almost nonexistent, with everyone going around “living their own truth.”
Case in point, the new CEO of NPR, Kathleen Maher, said in a TED Talk that seeking the truth was a “distraction.”
“Perhaps for our most tricky disagreements, seeking the truth and seeking to convince others of the truth might not be the right place to start,” Maher said during the TED Talk. “In fact, our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done.”
How ignoring truth with help us find common ground is anyone’s guess. Our culture can’t even decide what a woman is or when a baby’s life begins. Now more than ever, we need to cling to the truth of God, even though it is wildly unpopular and, in some places, illegal. We need to know what God’s truth is, which means reading and studying the Bible.
A Roman soldier’s breastplate protected his heart. The breastplate of righteousness protects our spiritual heart through obedience to Christ, repentance and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. When I was young, I thought God had made up a bunch of rules, particularly when it came to sexual behavior, that were just designed to keep us from having any fun and enjoying life. Later on, I realized that those rules were actually guardrails to protect my heart. For as Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9)
Of course, our own righteousness can’t make us acceptable to God. We are sinners, and we will fail in our own efforts. All the good works in the world are, as Isaiah says, filthy rags compared to God. But when Christ died for us, He gave us His righteousness to wear.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:21)
This is why Christ must be not only our Savior, but our Lord. He’s in charge. Obedience to Him protects us from ourselves.
The Roman soldier’s shoes were heavy soled for protection, made up of leather straps to be lightweight, and studded with hobnails, like cleats, for traction and stability. They allowed the soldier to be ready for anything, to be anchored to the ground when running or standing firm. Likewise, the shoes of peace keep us anchored in the storms of life and help us to be ready for whatever comes our way.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor 4:8
A Roman soldier took up his shield when he was on the attack, moving toward an enemy stronghold. That’s when the “flaming arrows” would start flying. We raise the shield of faith when we are moving forward to demolish strongholds and act according to God’s will, which is when the enemy shoots flaming arrows meant to distract and discourage us.
Both the shoes and the shield are meant to be used in community. A formation of soldiers needed their hobnailed boots not only to help themselves stand firm in an onslaught, but to raise up their struggling comrades as well. When attacking a stronghold, soldiers put their shields together in a tortoise shell formation to protect the entire company from the rocks and arrows showered down on them.
God never meant for us to stand alone, but to be in community, the Body of Christ. God himself is a community, three persons in one. That is His design for us.
A soldier’s helmet not only protected his head, but it was a mark of his identity. Commanders had plumes on their helmets so others would know who they were. The plumes also made a soldier look taller. Centurions, the leaders of 100-man units, had large, horizontal plumes so that their soldiers would be able to identify them and rally to them in the chaos of battle.
Likewise, the helmet of salvation identifies us as belonging to Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Cor 5:17
Putting on our new identity in the salvation of Christ means taking off our old one. Some of us wear identities of shame or guilt from some past failure, or an identity of victimhood from a past trauma. We can’t wear two hats at the same time. Take off the old self and put on the new one. Claim your identity in Christ.
The helmet also protects our minds. Paul tells us,
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5
We can, indeed, change our minds.
In the book Switch on your Brain, Dr. Caroline Leaf, a neuroscientist and devout Christian, explains how changing our thought patterns can actually change our DNA:
Our choices—the natural consequences of our thoughts and imagination—get “under the skin” of our DNA and can turn certain genes on and off, changing the structure of the neurons in our brains. So our thoughts, imagination, and choices can change the structure and function of our brains on every level:”
Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health
What Paul says is backed up by SCIENCE. God has given us the power to change our minds.
Finally, we take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The sword was attached to the belt, therefore, we draw the sword from Truth. A Roman sword, a gladius, was meant for close combat, one on one. It was short and heavy, designed to thrust, not parry.
The Word of God is not to be used against other people, but against our real enemy, Satan and his demons.
Jesus demonstrates its use when the devil comes to tempt him after his forty days in the desert.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Matt 4: 1-3
Jesus responds by quoting scripture, Deuteronomy 8:3:
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matt 4:4
Each time Satan tempts, Jesus responds with the Word of God. This is how we are to wield the Word of God.
Sometimes you have to do it out loud. Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the movie War Room, where Elizabeth, played by Priscilla Shirer, has a “Come to Jesus” meeting with the devil that has been causing division and chaos her family.
PRAYER
Paul ends the passage with prayer, which is like the seventh piece of armor. He says the word pray three times in one verse.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Eph 6:18
Keep on praying. Prayer activates the armor. Prayer is essential in standing firm against the enemy that seeks to destroy our relationship with Christ.
We have a real enemy. We are in a real battle. The battle for our hearts, minds and souls. We need to prepared. Armed.
Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.”
But he also said, “Take heart, I have overcome the world.”
The battle is already won.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8: 31-32, 37-39
We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Stand firm.
Find out more about Gina’s writings at www.ginadetwiler.com
