10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Although Paul’s letter was specifically addressed to the Ephesians, it was broadly distributed throughout the Roman Empire. God’s message through his servant was universal. Even today, that message written from prison is still current and relevant for every Christian’s life. So today we are going to get deep into the Armor of God.
The previous chapter of Paul’s letter establishes that we belong to the light and offers behavioral guidelines to be followed. Therefore when the sixth chapter starts by saying “Finally”, it should be understood that what will follow is to be interpreted as part of those guidelines. Let’s remember that The Bible was not originally written with separations of chapters and verses. Those were added later to facilitate the study and handling of the Scriptures.
In a style that is almost poetic, Paul invites us to get strong in God’s strength by putting on the Armor of God to fight the devil. He tells us we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, which means we are not fighting another human. Paul explains we are fighting against principalities (spiritual powers), against powers (fallen angels), against the rulers of darkness and against spiritual wickedness. Paul admonishes us to wear the full Armor of God, we are to use all the components of the armour as follows.
We are to wear the belt of truth, but, what is the truth? Christ is the truth! “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 4:16) This implies that like a belt tightens the body by its center, Christ, who is the truth, should be the center of our lives are we are to be held tight by Him, and emulate Him. That is the truth. There is no truth besides Him. We are to remember that Satan is the Father of Lies. In Christ we are more than conquerors; his precious blood which he shed in the cross defeated the King of Darkness and opened Heaven to those who believe in Him.
For this battle we are to wear the breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate is design to protect the heart and other vital organs. Although the terms righteous and righteousness appear hundreds of times in the Scriptures they do not offer a direct meaning for the terms. Nevertheless, by the context in which those terms are used we can understand their meaning; they refer with a relationship in rectitude with God and all men. The Bible describes what is righteous or what the righteous does in contrast with what is not righteous or what the righteous does not do. For example: “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.” (Leviticus 19:15) There, being righteous means to give each one what is meritorious or fair. We also find in Psalms 11:7: “For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.” This verse implies that to be righteous you must be upright, honorable. This is reiterated in Psalms 94:15: “But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.” The bible also teaches us that righteousness is related to wisdom (Psalms 37:30) , equity (Proverbs 2: 8-10) and peace (Psalms 72: 2-3). Therefore to wear the breastplate of righteousness means to dress our hearts with honor, equity and peace, providing to each what each deserves with wisdom. This translates into having moral character to fight evil.
We are instructed to wear shoes that prepare us for the good news of peace. Isn’t this an amazing way to say that we cannot move forward if barefoot. Being prepared by knowing the gospels we can receive the peace that Jesus gives which cancels all fear: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27).
For this war which is not of flesh and blood we were awarded a strong weapon: the shield of faith. We cannot do anything unless we fully trust our triune God. The authority we have been granted can only be executed by salvation through faith. Did you notice Paul clearly said we can quench all fiery darts of the wicked. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4).
Our armour would not be complete if our head was not protected. That’s what the helmet of salvation is for. We have to be saved in order to have spiritual discernment, sin distorts our thoughts. By being saved we are free to have the mind of Christ, with clear thoughts to understand the Father’s will.
Additionally, we have a mighty sword which the devil fears: The Bible. In it the Great I Am’s power is displayed clearly. In one place converge the fall of the bearer of light, his expulsion from Heaven, the prophecies of God’s plan and the perfect execution of the plan by Jesus who forcefully defeated Satan by shedding his precious blood: The Scriptures.
Now wearing our spiritual warfare attire, the full Armor of God let’s pray in the Spirit without ceasing. We are God’s soldiers, let’s go to war!
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