The Armor of God

Today I want to write my first devotional for the blog. This was the topic of my Sunday school class last week and I used it for our first devotional on our mission trip and also for the Sunday teaching that I led at the church service. This was also the subject of the first sermon that I gave when I was an intern at The Exchange, and was always my favorite text to teach from when I was a military chaplain.

The Armor of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-18.

The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 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 Lord’s people.

(New International Version)

The theme of this passage is spiritual warfare, and the tools that we, as Christians, possess to defend ourselves against spiritual attacks. I know that the topic of spiritual warfare can be a little uncomfortable for some people, mostly because they are uncertain of what it is. To think of spiritual warfare is to think of something out of The Exorcist, of demonic forces encircling you, something that seems so distant.

I admit that the language of spiritual warfare made me uncomfortable and made me roll my eyes when I first heard it. But I am now quite convinced that it is real. What is interesting to me is the way that it can manifest itself within our culture. It is surely not as tangible or in our face as it might be in other cultures, it is something much more subtle. Spiritual warfare is engaged in the way that makes it most effective, and it can be adaptable by individual or by culture. A tangible, in our face attack would spark a response. A subtle attack, the thoughts of inadequacy, the desire to compare (often unfavorably) to others, the hesitation to be open and honest, the fear of rejection. These are the types of spiritual warfare that we engage in on a daily basis in the church in the American culture. They can be just as effective and devastating as attacks in more tangible ways.

And these are just the small scale attacks, there are also large scale attacks happening, the types that are hinted at in this text. There are attacks upon our leaders, upon our systems. Issues of injustice that are not resolved. Attacks can come in a variety ways, and this text talks about how we can withstand them as individuals and as a Christian community.

Verses 10-12 really lay the foundation of the source and nature of the attacks and how we can respond to them. We are to be strong in the Lord and put on the armor that He provides for us. The attacks, as mentioned above, are not tangible and in our face (not flesh and blood), but are more subtle and from things we cannot see. No matter the source, we are to be strong and we are able to be strong because of the armor of God.

A key aspect of this passage is the use of imagery of armor. I think this can best be explained by the fact that at the time of the writing Paul was in prison and would have been guarded by one or two Roman soldiers at all times. He chose to use imagery that was right in front of him and that would have been very understandable to his audience, as pretty much the entire known world was under the rule of the Roman army at this time. This use of common imagery as a representation of God’s truth is quite like the style of Jesus, and would have been effective for his audience to remember and put into practice. Hopefully the same can be done here.

The first item is the belt of truth (tucked around the waist). The belt formed the core of the armor, it is what would hold together all of the rest of the armor and would have been where the sword was sheathed. In the same way, the truth is core of our protection. Everything stems from God’s truth. The truth is what makes the rest of the armor possible.

The second item is the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate was a key piece of armor that would protect the chest cavity and all of the vital organs within. Foremost among those organs is the heart. It is righteousness that similarly will protect our own heart. By acting in a righteous manner and pursuing righteous behavior we protect our own hearts, a key aspect of our defense against spiritual attacks.

The third item is the shoes of the gospel of peace. Paul describes this as having feet fitted with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace. Shoes are an underrated aspect of armor for a Roman soldier. Most ancient battles would start out as pushing matches, so having good shoes would form the foundation necessary to be strong. In the same way, peace is the foundation for us. If we start from a point of peace, we will be much less susceptible to spiritual attacks. This does not mean we are peaceful because everything is perfect, but peaceful because we have confidence in the gospel and all that it means for us.

The fourth item is shield of faith (which can extinguish flaming arrow attacks). The shield is what protect the Roman soldier from long range attacks (and close up ones). Our faith is what will provide the ultimate shield around us. With faith, we can repulse spiritual attacks. The shield has other importance which will be covered later.

The fifth item is the helmet of salvation. The helmet, of course, covers the head and protects the brain, or the mind. Knowledge of our salvation is what will protect our mind. We can and should have confidence in our salvation, and with that confidence comes a protection against any sorts of mental attacks.

The sixth item is the sword, which is the very word of God. The sword is the one offensive weapon in the armor of God. The sword was the way that the Roman soldier fought back, and it is the way that we are able to fight back against spiritual attacks. When Christ was tempted in the desert, he ultimately repulsed the attacks through the use of scripture, which we can utilize as well. And the key point of the sword, is that it was critical to practice using it. To become an expert took training. It is the same with the word of God. We must be in the word constantly to best utilize it as an offensive weapon in response to spiritual attacks.

Paul concludes by telling us to pray to the Spirit on all occasions. To pray, pray some more, keep praying, and then when you are tired, to pray again. Prayer is the most effective weapon, and one that all of us can use.

Two final points:

First, Roman armor was the most effective when soldiers were lined up next to each other. The armor, especially the shield, were designed to protect not only the individual soldier, but the soldier next to them. This is a critical point. The armor of God is effective on its own, but it is that much more effective when standing next to other people in Christian community. The entire community is needed.

Second, the armor best protects the front of the body. It is effective when facing an attack head on. The initial clashes in battle did not result in the most casualties, it was when the line would break and run and the soldier would be cut down from behind. So it is with us. The armor of God is most effective when we take the attacks head on. It does not work when we face attacks and run away.