Putting on the Full Armor of God

 

In the body, most of us are familiar with the idea of putting on the whole Armor of God. As a kid, my siblings and I would watch this show called Bibleman which, in hindsight, was incredibly cheesy. However, it did an excellent job of helping young children visualize this act of putting on the Armor of the Lord. This armor comes from a passage in Ephesians 6.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." (Ephesians 6:10-20)

I want to break down each aspect of the Father's armor and really look at them practically, starting with the first component mentioned...

The Belt of Truth.
Belts are incredibly practical. Not only did the armor belts of old hold a soldier's weapons--such as his sword--but they also had long strips of leather hanging from them to protect a soldier's loins. If a soldier were to go into battle without his belt, he was considered vulnerable.
We as Christians must really reflect on what it means to be girded with truth. The truth of the Gospel is what all our spiritual weapons must hang upon! Psalm 51:6 says of the Lord, "Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart." He desires that we fill our hearts with truth. If we are not making truth the basis of all our defenses against the Enemy and our attacks on the powers of darkness, we are doing ourselves (and our faith) a huge disservice.

The Breastplate of Righteousness
Under the New Covenant, we were given new hearts.
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 36:26)
These new hearts were a gift--a reminder that we have been cleansed of all our past iniquities. We must defend these gifts fiercely, guarding ourselves with righteousness and courage. I'm reminded of the tinman in The Wizard of Oz. After receiving his "heart" from the wizard, he surely guarded it with everything he had. He viewed that as a symbol of his ability to pour out love for others. Similar to how our new hearts symbolize the precious New Covenant we have with the Lord. We must preserve these hearts with righteousness--morally upright and virtuous conduct befitting the grace He has shown us.

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
I love the imagery of this. A direct action against passivity. Rather than sitting back and kicking off our shoes, we as believers are called to BE ALERT! To await Christ's return with an eager and ready spirit. We need to put on these shoes of the Gospel of Peace so that we are ready to get up and go when He calls us home. And, in the waiting, we must don them in order to run out into the world and share the Good News. And this Good News we bring is a message of peace, just as the angels first proclaimed over Christ's birth.
"'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'" (Luke 2:14)

Shield of Faith
When I think of shields, I can't help but picture Captain America's giant, vibranium-metal, shield. Not only did he use his shield to defend himself from attacks, but also to stop potential attacks before they could even become a threat. In a very crude way, it's a picture of how faith through Christ works.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
We must cling to our faith, using it to--just as Ephesians commands us to--extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. When the Enemy attacks us with lies, doubts, shame, fears, and condemnations we must raise that shield against him to deflect every one of his blows. When we begin feeling those niggling doubts or anxieties starting to rise, we must use our shield of faith, Captain America style, to cut the lies down and remind ourselves of our Father's faithfulness to His promises.
Out of all the parts of the Armor of God, the Shield of Faith is the one which we have the most power over fashioning. We must strive to continually grow in our faith, like the believers in Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians 1). We must dedicate ourselves to pounding out, shaping, and nurturing our faith until it grows and molds into a large, formidable shield that completely covers us.

Helmet of Salvation
The purpose of a helmet is fairly obvious. It protects the head, saving soldiers from lethal hits, blows, and strikes. Our salvation was bought by the blood of Jesus, covering us and allowing us to take captive every thought and not be overwhelmed by the Devil's headshots. Without this helmet, our minds could easily become depraved. Much like the wilfully ignorant sinners Paul mentions in Romans.
"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done." (Romans 1:28)

Sword of the Spirit
This is such an essential aspect of the Armor of God! Unlike the other pieces of the armor (except for when I mentioned throwing the shield of faith to cut down doubts before they can have power against us...a less conventional way of looking at it, to be sure...) it is the only one that can be used as a weapon. A means of cutting down the Enemy. We are to defend the faith from the lies of the Enemy, and what better means of doing so than God's holy Word that He gave directly to us! Scripture is full of beautiful truths that can debunk Satan's falsehoods and remind us of the true character of God.
According to a website I read, Roman soldiers spent four months in training. First, learning to march as one, and then to use their weapons. After that period of training, they undoubtedly became more and more proficient with their swords with each new battle they tucked under their belts. In the same way, we as Christians must train, study, and practice in order to become proficient wielders of the Word. Proficiency also requires courage. Shouldering our Shields of Faith, we must be willing to step out into the unknown and strike against the forces of darkness. We must be willing to be open with the Word in our discussions with those around us. How can a sword be put to use if it is never even unsheathed?

The Father has been so good to us. He equips us fully to face each and every challenge thrown against us. If we put on fully the Armor of God, we will be fierce and mighty warriors of the faith. However, this is a process that requires intentionality and dedication. There will certainly be days when we forget to strap on the Belt of Truth and we are struck with false teaching. Or our Breastplates of Righteousness may become loosened, and we fail to fully pursue holiness and virtue. Or we may not lace up the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, and find it increasingly hard to go out into the world with a sense of urgency, preparedness, or willingness to spread the Gospel. But in each of these circumstances, we can remember that we do not march forth alone.
Like the childhood song that proudly proclaims, "I'm in the Lord's army!" We remember that we are surrounded by brothers and sisters of the faith who will fight for us and remind us how to put to use the Armor of God. And what's more, we are led by the King of Kings. He always goes before us, promising to keep His word and see us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He will be our strength and our Defender when we feel that we cannot possibly take one more step. He will meet us in our weakness and offer grace upon grace.
And so, because we serve such a good and gracious King, we can all the more joyfully don the full Armor of God, preparing ourselves each and every day to fight the good fight and keep the faith until the race has been finished. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)