Armor

The Armor of God

Eph 6:13-18
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. 14. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15. and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18. 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 saints. (NIV)

There are 6 specific pieces of armor:
1. Belt of Truth
2. Breastplate of Righteousness
3. Shoes of the Gospel of Peach
4. Shield of Faith
5. Helmet of Salvation
6. Sword of the Spirit

1. Belt of Truth

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist..."

Belt of truth; the one excessory that few Christians can survive without. For without a belt, the rest of the armor won't stay on. A Christian can not be a true Christian if there is no belt to hold up the rest of the armor. Having the belt of truth around your waist means that you are honest in everything. If you are dishonest you cannot be wearing the armor of God. For it would fall apart.

I checked my armor twice,
just to make sure that I had it all together.
I marched out to battle and was ready
to destroy the enemy...
but before I got very far I began to realize
that I had forgotten the one thing more important
than anything else....my belt

oh well, I thought. I can make it without it...
but on the first day of battle, I lost...
for when I stood my ground
and stomped my foot on the ground
I lost my armor....
it fell off because it had nothing to hold it to me,
because I'd fail to notice what a vital part
that it plays in the battle.

2. Breastplate of Righteousness

"...with the breastplate of righteousness in place"

The Breastplate covers the center of all emotions. The Heart. So, in other words, this peace of armor helps us keep our emotions under control. Rather than them controling us. There are healthy kinds of mostly negative (or at least the conotation of them is) emotions. Such as anger. There is a healthy, righteous anger. There is a reason for feeling it, and there are reasons we as humans feel angry when there is no cause to. That happens when we focus on ourselves and let our emotions rule us.

Upon my chest is the breastplate of righteousness.
it protects me from the twisted emotions
that the devil uses to control people
and to destroy them....
it keeps me from thinking only of myself
and what is good for me...
it helps keep my mind upon others
and what I can do for them...
without it I would be nothing
that I am today.
without it I wouldn't be anything
that I am today.
without it my life wouldn't be God's,
it would be mine...
and I know where it would go
when I have control.....
hell.
thank you Jesus for the breastplate
that protects me so completely

3. shoes of the Gospel of Peace

"and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

This piece of armor is also a part of the armor that is very necessary, yet is often overlooked. We must be prepared to share the Gospel, Jesus, with anyone at anytime. In order to be ready we must continually do 2 things. 1. Read the bible. reading the bible instills the knowledge within you. without knowledge how can you be prepared to spread it? 2. pray to the Lord. There will always be questions asked that we will not know the answer of. We must therefore stay in contact with the Lord so that He may help us say the right words when these questions are brought up. He also gives us a modern application of many of the principles taught in the bible.

I've been reading my bible
and praying....
and I'm prepared for batttle.
and I'm prepared to share my faith
with a lost and dying soul.
I've been preparing for war
with the devil...
I've learned his weaknesses
and I've strengthened my bond
with the only one who can defeat him.
and I'm prepared for battle.
and I'm prepared to share my faith
with a lost and dying soul.
I've put the shoes of the Lord
upon my feet
so I may walk over him in times
of struggle, in times of fear.
and I'm prepared for battle.
and I'm prepared to share my faith
with a lost and dying soul.

4. Shield of Faith

"In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

"My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart. (Ps 7:10)"

The shield. This piece of armor is probably one of the most recognized piece of the armor of God. Yet, it is probably the most misunderstood. The misunderstanding is that the shield is simply a defensive weapon; one that will protect the user. Yes, it is true that it does act like that. It is a protector. Yet, people often overlook the offensives uses for the shield. It is used to knock the weapons out of an opponents hand. See, faith is more than something to protect you..it is also something that will help you in the fight against the devil.

definition for faith:

Webster's:

2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

The Biblical:

pistis (pis'-tis); from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:

I have a faith in God.
that cannot be shaken
by anything.
by anyone.
they don't know the truth,
they don't know how wrong they are.
they're so blinded by themselves
that they can't see Him the way I can.

God is my stronghold,
when I'm waivering
God is my strength,
when I'm weak.
God is my everything,
when I feel empty.
God is my love,
when I'm angry.

why can't they see that God loves me,
and that God loves them?
why can't they see that God
died the disgusting death on a tree
for their sake?
why can't they see by my faith,
that God is real?

5. Helmet of Salvation

"Take the helmet of salvation..."

This piece of armor is the most important, I think. Because it protects the part of you that you cannot live a successful Christian life without. The mind. The battle always begins in the mind. An action is a thought before it is an action. Satan knows that if he can slip in your mind then he has you already. So satan will fight with all his might to slip into your mind any way that he can.

In order to keep your mind pure you must do 3 things. 1. watch what you think. If you see a bad thought coming in, you know where it comes from. So, cast it out and don't think it anymore. (I know that this is sometimes VERY hard) 2. Pray to God. If you have trouble with your thought life, praying will do a LOT of good. I know, I used to have troubles with my thought life. (but, if you live with a troubled thought life, you will live a very weak and insugnificant life for God) 3. Read the bible. This is also very helpful in helping you overcome the bad thoughts that will attack you and try to creep into your mind.

Satan used to have me
like a puppet on a string.
for he controlled my thoughts
to such an extreme that
when HE felt the urge,
HE could make me do whatever HE willed.
it was because of my lack of self-control
when it came to thoughts....

but luckily that's changed.
luckily God rescued me from that pit.
luckily He showed me how to avoid satan's bait.
He taught me how to control my thoughts,
and when satan attacks again...
I plead the blood.
I plead the blood.
and there ain't nothing he can do.

6. Sword of the Spirit

"...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

This is without a doubt the most well known piece of the armor of God. It is also the most powerful and versitile piece of the armor of God. But, did you know that, similar to the shield, there is also another side to the sword of the Spirit? Yes, there is. A sword can also be used in defense. It is a way to help you protect yourself against the attack of the enemy. Using Scripture can destroy the enemy's scheme. In order to do this one must do only 1 thing. And that is to read the bible and become knowledgable of what the bible says. And when the temptation comes to do something unbiblical you will know it is of the devil and will be able to resist and to quote the scripture that shows it unbiblical. This is a very easy way to defeat the devil.

every day I sit down for weapon preparation.
I sharpen my sword against the grinder
for I know I can only defeat the devil
when my sword of the Word of God is sharper.
I bow my head and read the word of God
over and over again.
and then I think upon what they mean
so that I may be able to strike when tempted to sin.
And in my heart I contemplate the meaning
of every single phrase, so that I can do His will
and have His word as my greatest weapon.
so that I may strike the devil, and kill.
for I know the pain that the devil used
to bring me down into the despair
I know the lies the devil told me before,
but I know now that God's armor I'm to wear.

"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 saints."

Prayer brings strength to the person praying and also brings help to the situation about which the person is praying. Prayer every day is a very important part of a Christian's life.

I get down upon my knees
and cry out to God
so that He will help her:
overcome the pain that drives
her mad....
overcome the fear that lives
inside her mind....
overcome the enemy's plans
to destroy her...
I pray for her with a sincere concern.

I get down upon my knees
and cry out to God
so that He will help him:
overcome the temptations that cause him
to give in....
overcome the uncertainty that lives
inside his mind....
overcome the enemy's plans
to destroy what God made...
I pray for him with a sincere concern.

And all the while I feel better
for God has blessed me...
while I was obedient in the fact
that I took my time to pray for them..
and God has touched me through
my prayers.....

Those are the parts of the armor of God that we, as Christians are required to wear in order to live a successful Christian life. We must wear them all the time. For we never know when Christ is coming, and if we are not wearing the armor 24-7 then we are living in defeat and when Christ comes back, He is coming back for a strong Church. Not a weak one. Not one living in defeat. You don't want to be caught off guard by the devil. So, wear your armor 24-7. Read your bible and pray every day. Stay in Jesus love.

Written by:
Jonathan Johnston

© Copyright 1997 Jonathan E. Johnston

Back