The WHOLE Armor of God
Updated: Mar 18
The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 6:10-18 speaks to all Christians and tells them how to armor up spiritually for the attacks all Christians will face from the enemy of our soul, the adversary, the slanderer, the prince of the power of air Satan. He is a vicious adversary who is looking to slander you (Diablo is greek for slanderer) to all people, especially other Christians. To the non-believers he is looking to devour them, and he does wander to and fro on this earth like a roaring lion seeking who his next victim will be which in this day must not be too hard for him, Satan rarely even has to do work anymore. He is looking to make you stumble in your Christian walk and if you do not have the whole armor of God on, then he will, make no mistake defeat you. As followers of Jesus Christ we are now on team Jesus and must equip ourselves with the proper tools for the battle ahead. You are in a spiritual battle on this earthly plane whether you realize it or not, and I want to help you with understanding how to put on the entire armor of God properly so that you can walk in the fulness of what Jesus Christ won for you and me at calvary.
Ephesians 6:10 "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith he shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
The Whole Armor of God
Helmet of Salvation
Our very first defensive protection against the devil and his assistants is to know for sure that you are saved and born again. If you have any doubt whatsoever, then you must make 100% certain that you are saved without a shadow of a doubt. It's not enough to just know who Jesus is, there must have been a point in time where you can remember that you needed him and remember inviting him into your life. He is a gentleman and will not come in, unless you ask him. If you have not already done so you can get on your knees now, and say "Lord Jesus - I repent of all my sins from the day I was born until today, I ask that you forgive me, I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to be a bold witness for you today and always. Take me to heaven when I die and surround me with your holy angels." Then I highly suggest that you get baptized under full submersion at a local Baptist church that teaches from the King James Version of the Bible. I was saved at a Southern Baptist church which was a big church who leads anywhere from 500-1500 believers to Christ every year. You can go to the Southern Baptist Convention website to search for a church in your local area here https://churches.sbc.net if you prefer an old fashion church who sing the hymns and are more traditional you can search for a church in your area at : https://fundamental.org/kjv-church-directory/
I can't stress enough that you need to get baptized as soon as you can after you ask Jesus into your life because it can hinder your walk. This is the next step of obedience along with communion. I had a cousin who asked Jesus to save him but he had still not gotten baptized and he told me he was still struggling with sin. I asked him if he had already been baptized and he said no, so I told him to go get baptized at his local church. Sure enough the problem was solved. Then attend church regularly at least on Sunday and take communion with the local church that you have found and connect with other believers there.
Shield of Faith
My testimony and what the Lord delivered me out of is what makes me certain of my salvation and it gives me the faith that I need. However, the Bible teaches another way to increase your faith and it can be found in Romans 10:17 "17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Reading and studying God's word will most definitely increase your confidence and your faith. the Bible does not lie, so you can believe it with 100% certainty. If God said it then it is so. Paul in his writing to the Ephesians told them "above all taking the shield of faith" meaning this was the most important of all the armor of God. He goes on to say that "wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." How amazing is that, most of our battle is done with our faith in Christ so the main ingredient in a Christians life and walk should be to read the Bible as often as possible because by doing so we increase our faith, which is THE most important defensive weapon in our arsenal against Satan and his assistants according to one of the greatest warriors for Christ, the apostle Paul.
Belt of Truth
The belt of a roman soldiers armor held up the other parts of his armor. In John 4:16 Jesus says the following: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." It is clear that truth is only found in Jesus Christ. How do we get to know Jesus more? By reading his word because Jesus is the Word. In John 1:14 we are told "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." So how do we put on the Belt of Truth? We put on Jesus Christ by knowing his word inside and out, top to bottom, we saturate ourselves with the word of God, the one who became flesh for us all. Another aspect of the belt of truth, is that we are not to waver or compromise in our faith at all. Christians who are still walking in the ways of the world are compromising their faith and their walk as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus is looking for those who will serve him with his whole heart right now, and he is sifting the earth to see who he will find willing to surrender their entire life to him. I hope and pray this will be me and you! Other preachers teach that the belt of truth also may mean not to lie. I have some Scripture Memory Cards that I have created to help you saturate yourself and memorize scripture so you cannot be lied to by the devil when he comes to attack you. Jesus who is the son of God responded to Satan in the desert with the Word because as you will soon find out (keep reading to the Sword of the Spirit) is our only offensive weapon we have to combat the lies and temptations of the devil.
Breastplate of Righteousness
When we ask Jesus to save us, this covers all our sin with his shed blood on the cross. When God looks at us, he no longer sees our filthy sins, instead he sees the blood of Jesus and therefore his wrath against us for our sin is appeased. We put on the righteousness of Jesus after we are saved. Remaining holy with the help of the Holy Spirit is our job to continue. We are being made into Jesus' likeness and are being sanctified during our walk with the Lord until the day we die or the day he comes to take us to heaven to be with him. How do we remain holy? By not allowing ourselves to be tainted with worldly lusts of the flesh. By fellowshipping only with other believers especially if you are a new Christian and have just asked Jesus to be your Savior. We go to church as often as possible because this serves as a testimony to God and to the Holy Spirit and to other believers that we are true followers of Christ. We always do what is correct and right in front of others and also when there is nobody looking. Guess what the angels assigned to you when you got saved are watching and they are taking notes of all that you do and/or say and think. God knows everything, so you can't hide anything from him. He knows what you're going to do before you do it. Remaining holy is key in your walk with the Lord.
Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace
Romans 10:15 says "And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" What is the gospel of peace then? It means we now have peace with God the Father through the finished work on the cross of Jesus Christ. It's called the good news! The good news that we no longer have to go to hell, and that Jesus saved us from eternal flames. Having our feet fitted or shod with the shoes of the gospel of peace allows us to be ready to share Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and what it won for us at all times. As Christians, we should always be prepared, as we never know when an opportunity may arise to share the good news of the gospel with someone else who may be in desperate need of some hope and some good tidings. Are you prepared to share your faith and the good news with others? If not, don't worry I have put together a discipleship course to help you do just that. This is only one part of the armor of God, but in my opinion a very important one because other people are in need to hear the good news and especially in today's world. How many people's lives are broken right now that you know of who could use some good news? Sadly enough what was true in Jesus time is true today, Jesus said in Matthew 9:35 "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." He saw so many sheep that needed herding then, and today this is still true especially since churches today are not really even preaching the gospel they are having watered down bible studies instead with so many social activities that they are not being trained on how to win souls to Christ. So people are parched for the good news because churches are not telling them of it like they should. The devil has infiltrated most churches today.
Sword of the Spirit - The Word of God
The word of God is the only offensive and defensive weapon we have in our battle against Satan and his assistants. We are to stand with the defensive weapons previously mentioned and use the word of God like a sword in times of battle and when we are face to face with Satan in the battlefield. We are to strike with the word of God. How will you be able to strike if you don't know God's word? I have created Scripture Memory Cards that you can use to help you memorize scripture and learn his word with ease.
Prayer for your needs and those of other Christians
The final portion of the verse in Ephesians 6:10-18 is a call to prayer for our own requests and that of the other Christians he calls saints. Born again believers are the saints, once we believe and call on the name of Jesus, this is when we become "born again". the Bible says in John 3:1-3 "3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." We must be "Born Again" to see the Kingdom of God. This means our lives had to have changed and there must have been a point in time that we can remember that we asked Jesus to forgive us our sins and to save us. Then we are to follow him in believers baptism and then communion.