Home  > Short Studies  > The full armor of God (Eph 6:10-17)

The Christian life is a privilege and a blessing beyond all measure, but it is not without daily challenges to the believer. Convicted by the understanding of their natural fallen state, Christians are especially attuned to the problem of sin in their lives and the need for God’s grace. Because of this they are constantly grieved and burdened by lingering sinful tendencies and the world’s corrupting influences.

The Bible confirms that we are continually engaged in warfare that pits us not only against sin and temptation in the natural world, but the greater, underlying, supernatural forces of evil as well. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul explains that the Christian’s struggle “is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Indeed these forces comprise the greatest adversary to man and the greatest threat to his faith and obedience to God.

On what defenses can Christians rely in the face of Satan’s constant spiritual attacks? How exactly does God equip a believer to repel the enemy? The apostle provides the answer when he urges the Ephesian church and all believers to “take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” He goes on to describe this God-given spiritual armor made up of six key components. The illustration is that of a first century Roman soldier, whose armament displays the total coverage and sufficiency of the assurance God grants His own.

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

The first article is the belt of truth. If we are to endure in this battle, we have to be secure in God’s promises and our knowledge of His truth as revealed in His word. Satan seeks to manipulate our conscience to make us doubt our salvation, but armed with the truth, we are able to recognize and repudiate the lies of the enemy. Jesus set the example during His time in the wilderness, when He refuted Satan’s claims and countered his temptations by citing scriptural truth.

The breastplate of righteousness follows. By God’s grace, we are made righteous in Jesus and empowered to reflect His nature. Christ washed away our sin with His blood, making us righteous in God’s eyes and thereby freed from His judgment. God’s abolishment of our sins and our knowledge of our redemption nullifies the enemy’s accusations and attempts to use guilt and condemnation to undermine us.

and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

The footwear described as the preparation of the gospel of peace symbolizes the readiness that God bestows on Christians through the power of the gospel message. Because the believer knows a peace that only the knowledge of God’s truth can provide, they have spiritual focus and are sufficiently prepared to stand in obedience, advance in faith, and retreat from ungodliness and temptation.

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Faith is the gift of God and the means by which a believer claims protection from His judgment under the redeeming work of Christ. It is appropriately symbolized here as the shield of faith, a prominent, active defensive instrument capable of thwarting “all the flaming arrows” of Satan. Faith that is tested by trials and the attacks of the enemy only strengthens, and strong faith carries with it the assurance that God will never leave or forsake the believer, that they are eternally secure in Christ.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.- Eph 6:14-17

Once put on, the helmet of salvation is impregnable and cannot be removed. The product of God’s gifts of mercy, repentance and faith, salvation represents the ultimate and only security for mankind. The believer’s knowledge that he is eternally safe in Christ's possession gives him the ability to withstand anything Satan or the world can throw at him.

Finally, the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Here God’s word is portrayed as an offensive weapon. Sharper than any two edged sword, the word of God has the power to convict and save, and Christians are commanded to wield it that it may achieve His purposes. It is the primary weapon a faithful Christian has against the corruption and evil of this world, and we are to use it to subdue disobedience and attacks on God's truth. Returning to Christ's example when He faced Satan in the wilderness, it was His wielding of scripture and faithfulness to it that eventually drove away His tormentor.

In this life, to “stand firm” or endure is the goal because the one who endures to the end will be saved. Trials and tribulation are facts of life for those who follow Christ, but God has given us the tools to protect ourselves against evil in both in the physical world and the spiritual realm, and assert His truth. “Doing everything” to utilize the full armor of God is what makes endurance to the end possible, and through faith and obedience we are strengthened to go the distance and meet our full potential in Christ.

Scripture Alone • Faith Alone • Grace Alone • Christ Alone • To the Glory of God Alone
Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)

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