Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench 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.

Notes on the Scripture

This is a wonderful passage and has such a powerful truth to it. This is one of those passages that should be read loud and with a since of urgencies. The ideas of a real hell and fighting forces of evil with God’s power are not so popular today. Mainstream theologians and ministers are not so dramatic, but in tempering their message to the sensibilities of the modern congregation, they have lost some truth. The power of evil is great; and it takes the strength of God to overcome it.

But even fighting the small struggles in ourselves, we are wise to put on God's armor in advance. If we encounter temptation unprepared, we will likely give into it. We must read, and pray, and realize every day is a spiritual battle. The battle is over your soul. In the morning we must fasten the belt of truth around our waist, no less than we fasten a belt around our pants. The allure of adultery, the automatic flash of anger when someone offends us, the moment when it is easier to ignore someone who needs a kind word — only if we have prepared ourselves can we fight the voices of evil when the time for action arrives. We need to obey the Holy Spirits voice and leading. We must be prepared in season and out of season.