The Armor of God | Part I: An Introduction and Overview | Ephesians 6:10-18

THE ARMOR OF GOD | PART I: AN INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW | EPHESIANS 6:10-18

INTRODUCTION

National Geographic ran an article about the Alaskan bull moose. The males of the species battle for dominance during the fall breeding season, literally going head-to-head with antlers crunching together as they collide. Often the antlers, their only weapon are broken. That ensures defeat. The heftiest moose, with the largest and strongest antlers, triumphs. Therefore, the battle fought in the fall is really won during the summer, when the moose eat continually. The one that consumes the best diet for growing antlers and gaining weight will be the heavyweight in the fight. Those that eat inadequately sport weaker antlers and less bulk.
There is a lesson for us in this illustration: spiritual battles await, and Satan will choose a season to attack. If we stand victorious, or if we fall depends on what we do now before the wars begin.
In our modern, fairly peaceful world, it is easy to forget that as the God’s people we are soldiers of war and at war. In (v. 12), we are reminded that we have an immensely powerful, consistent, and insistent enemy- Satan.
He is doing everything in his power to defeat, dismantle, and destroy the kingdom of God. We must fight him in God’s power, wearing God’s armor. Unfortunately, many Christians do not suit up, and when the opportunistic enemy comes, defeat is certain.
The truth is, every child of God is at war because we are Christians, because we hold to the testimony of Jesus, and because we stand on the Word of God- all which makes one a target for spiritual warfare (John 15:18-20, Matt. 24:9, Rev. 6:9, 20:4).
In God’s army, there are no deferments, and no one is exempted from service. The saints are at war with Satan and his army, and we will be until the Lord calls us home to glory. Thus, we need to heed what the Spirit of God is saying to us in these verses.
When Paul says, “put on the full armor of God”, (illus. pic of full armor) it literally means “to take up the whole armor of God.” It is the image of a soldier being presented with everything he needs to fight the battle.
The armor is arrayed about him, lying at his feet, all he needs do is pick it up and put it on. Everything he needs has been provided, but it must be appropriated, if that soldier expects to fight well and if he expects to survive the conflict.
If we expect to “stand” the attacks of the enemy, that word speaks of “resisting,” then we must tap into a reserve of power greater than ourselves. The phrase “when the day of evil comes”, not “if it comes but when”, refers to the days of our lives.
That is, all the days we live in this world are “evil days,” because they are days when we come under attack by the enemy and his forces. There will be no rest in this war. There will be no cease fire. It will continue until we die, or until the Lord comes to take us home.
Therefore, it is possible to stand against the devil, against his attacks and his methods, unless we stand in the full armor of God. We will not “stand” until we have taken advantage of all the Lord has provided for us in Jesus.
This morning, I want to begin a thorough study of the armor of God, with today being the introduction and overview of our text. In (vv. 10-12), the Lord provided us with all we need in this world to survive spiritual warfare.
Paul clearly indicates that any conflict with Satan is spiritual, and therefore no real weapons can be effectively used against him and his demons (v. 12). We are not given a list of specific tactics Satan will use. However, the passage is quite clear that when we follow all the instructions faithfully, we will be able to stand, and we will have victory regardless of Satan’s strategies.
Let us consider the pieces of the armor of God and what they mean and how they prepare us for battle. We will just have an overview today and I will come back in the next few weeks and work through each piece in detail.

I. THE BELT OF TRUTH (v. 14a) | The first element of our armor is truth (pic of belt of truth), and this is easy to understand, since Satan is said to be a “liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44); just the opposite of Jesus who is the truth. Untruth is high on the list of things God considers to be an abomination. A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes as an “abomination to Him” (Prov. 6:16-17, 12:22). We are therefore exhorted to put on truth first as the center of our lives.

II. THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (v. 14b0 | A breastplate shielded a warrior’s vital organs from blows that would otherwise be fatal. The righteousness mentioned here is not works of righteousness we can do, but rather, the righteousness of Christ. This righteousness is imputed (put in our account) by God and received by faith. This righteousness guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan and secures our innermost being from his attacks.

III. THE GOSPEL SHOES OF PEACE (v. 150 | In warfare, sometimes an enemy will place dangerous obstacles in the path of advancing soldiers. The idea of the preparation of the gospel of peace as footwear suggests what we need to advance into Satan’s territory, aware that there will be traps, and with the message of peace with God, we will be victorious. Satan has many obstacles placed in the path to halt the spread of the gospel (Matt. 13:19-23).

IV. THE SHIELD OF FAITH (v. 16) | Satan has been sowing doubt since the beginning of time (Gen. 3:1). Sowing doubt, and fear, is his method of penetrating our lives about the faithfulness of God and His Word. Our shield of faith is what extinguishes the flaming arrows of doubt and fear in battle.

V. THE HELMET OF SALVATION (v. 17) | The helmet of salvation is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception.

VI. THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (v. 17) | The sword of the Spirit it is the Word of God and is the other bookend along with the Truth. While all the other pieces of spiritual armor are defensive in nature, the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. It speaks of the holiness and power of the Word of God. A greater spiritual weapon is not conceivable. In Jesus’ temptations in the desert, the Word of God was always His overpowering response to Satan. What a blessing that the same Word is available to us!

VII. PRAYER IN THE SPIRIT (v. 18) | Prayer in the Spirit, in addition to wearing the full armor of God, is the means by which we draw spiritual strength from God. Without prayer, without reliance upon God, our efforts at spiritual warfare are empty and futile.

CONCLUSION

The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world, they are divine weapons to demolish strongholds and fight spiritual warfare (2 Cor. 6:7, 10:4).
If you notice the weapons, they are all spiritual not physical: truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. They are not from us, not by our voices, not from dynamic preaching, not from gimmicks, and especially not from our power!
They are all the weapons God has given us through Jesus Christ, through which we can be spiritually victorious, overcoming Satan’s attacks and temptations in this evil world.
God has provided you with the full armor, the question is- are you suiting up every day?