The Whole Armor of God

One of my favorite favorite FAVORITE bible verses is found in Ephesians 6:11 where Pauls says the famous line: "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (NRSV)  If you were to randomly select on of my blogs.. you probably wouldn't find that verse. BUT, if you were to randomly select another one of my blogs...you probably wouldn't find that verse. However, if you were to select another blog you might just find that verse because I absolutely love that verse.  It's one of those memory verses that I often use because it's so applicable to this battle we have against Evil.

Here's the thing though, I've never fully described what that verse really meant.  I mean what exactly is the "whole armor of God."  What does that exactly entail.  Well fortunately for us, Paul gives us a clear description on what the armor of God is in verses 14-17!  How convient!  So now that I'm finished digressing, lets describe what said armor is.

Firstly, we have the belt.  Why Paul starts with the belt is beyond me because most people look at the belt as an accessory.  (And some of my brothas don't even use a belt because they'd rather have their Pants on the Ground;Pants on the Ground; Lookin like a FOOL with your pants on the ground.) Despite my quarreling, Paul starts with the belt.  And what does the belt consist of?  The Belt of Truth. Knowing the Word of God, knowing the truth keeps our pants off the ground.  It's the one thing that can prevent us from lookin like a true fool (see what I did there?).  If you aren't wearing the bible around your waist, you will look weird (well not really but you get my point.)

Next we need to wear the Breastplate of Righteousness.  For those you who aren't experts in armory (like I am..) the breastplate is the thingy that covers your chest.  (Just think of a Roman soldier.)  What you need to wear on your chest is morality.  Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:21 that where our treasure is, our heart is there also.  So we need to protect our heart with morality.  Having strong values and moral convictions are one of the keys to fending of Satan. (Check out When Enough..Is Enough)

Thirdly Paul tells us to walk in the Shoes of Peace.  Now I'm not here to convince anyone to become a pacifist or to downgrade anyone in the Armed Forces, but we should not be going around looking for a fight.  We are called to be the peacemakers.  We are called to find other viable situations.  Our hate of another human should not cause us to annihilate it.  The devil works on and feeds off our anger.  And if we don't have on our Shoes of Peace, we can be in a big pile of doo-doo in a penitentiary.

Moving along, we need to have the Shield of Faith.  How many people know that our faith is what literally shields us.  It keeps us secure and grounded.  Without faith, we are nothing.  If we don't have faith that Jesus is going to come back with all power in his hands, then we as Christians are nothing.  We can have on all of the other cosmetics and accessories, but without faith, we are vulnerable to anything and everything. (Unless you're Russell Crowe in the Gladiator)

To finish off the armor, we need to have the Helmet of Salvation.  Salvation is just the word Christians  us when we are saying that we are saved.  The most critical part of your body during a fight is your heart.  One punch in the right spot can knock you out cold (ask Manny Pacquio).  With the promise of Salvation imprinted into our heads, the devil won't be able to give us the knock out punch.  You might get concussed, but won't get TKO'd with a helmet on.

So that's it, put on the Whole Armor of God!  It's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship isn't it.  BUT wait Michael!  You are forgetting something.  All of the previous parts are all for the defensive.  I mean sure you can find a creative way to use your shield to slay the Devil, but we need something sharp and pointy...maybe a sword?

I'm glad you asked!  (even if you didn't)  Yes!  Paul does give us an offensive weapon and what a coincidence it is a sword. Equip yourself with the Sword of the Spirit.  When Paul says "spirit" he's not just talking about any ol' spirit, like the Spirit of Christmas-Past. Noooo, he's talking about THE Spirit; the Holy Spirit.  The most valuable asset that we have in combating Lucifer.  God himself dwelling in each of us!  The only way...I promise you...the only way we can cripple or harm Satan is to use the power of Christ within all of us believers.

OK.  So I have my Belt of Truth, check! Breastplate of Righteousness? Check! Shoes of Peace? Check! Shield of Faith? Check! Helmet of Salvation? Check! To top it off Sword of the Spirit? Check!

Well you are ready for battle!  It's up to you to beat Satan's spiritual demons.  Just remember as Paul says in a couple of verse prior to our armory description, "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."

Lets....Go!

--MJA