The Armor Of God- Dressing For The Battle

This post is part three of the series THE ARMOR OF GOD. It would be helpful to read The Armor Of God, Part 1, and Remember Your Battle Cry, Part 2 so far in our series. In this third post in the series we will talk about the armor God wants us to put on daily to protect our hearts, minds and spirit against the evil attacks of the enemy and live victoriously.

Most days, I dress in what I call my uniform. I wear jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and sneakers. The most important part of my uniform is my trusty bib apron, which I put on last. It serves many purposes: a catch-all, a splatter guard, a makeshift basket, and more! My uniform is perfect and practical for my workday at home!

I also put on another uniform every day. This uniform is the armor God commands me to put on and take off because I am in a day-to-day, minute-by-minute battle for my life! It’s something you should put on to because you are in a battle, too!

The Epic Battle

We are in an epic battle! A battle of good and evil. A battle that spans from our very first breath until our last. It is a close and intimate war! Hand-to-hand combat. But our great God has equipped us to be victorious like His Son! It’s our job to use what God has given us to overcome.

Our human brothers and sisters are falling left and right all around us. They are succumbing to evil and the schemes of the devil. But, we who know the Commander, put on His armor, and use His weapon will come out of this battle as the victor! Do you want to be victorious?

What To Do First

THEREFORE TAKE UP THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE OT RESIST IN THE EVIL DAY, AND HAVING DONE EVERYTHING, STAND FIRM.

Ephesians 6:13 tell us to STAND FIRM.

Stand firm in the greatest battle of all time! We are to not lose ground or heart but stand firm on the higher ground! 

The Greek words for “stand firm” carries with them the idea of planting oneself in a position of readiness. To stand erect and plant one’s feet firmly on a spot that we cannot be moved from.

Roman soldiers would dig in to their positions with their spiked bottom sandals so they would not be moved.  We too must not be knocked off our feet or shaken loose from our godly foundation as we go through this battle called life. We must ALWAYS stand firm in our position in Christ!

Now that we know we must stand firm, let’s collect our armor and put it on!

Our Battle Gear

Paul, as he writes the inspired words addressing our battle gear,  tells us to TAKE UP (PUT ON) THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD (Eph 6:13) in the order that an actual Roman soldier of Paul’s day would put on his armor to ready himself for battle.

STAND FIRM THEREFORE, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, AND HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS  Ephesians 6:14

Girding Our Loins With Truth

Girding of one’s loins was the first sign of getting ready for battle! A roman soldier wore a short skirt, sorta like a leather kilt that fit tightly to his body. But he would also wear a cloak or a tunic. This was a long, flowing piece of material. When the soldier was making himself ready for combat he would gather up the cloak and tuck it into his belt so that it would not hamper his motion or get in his way.  Tightening his belt with his garments secured with it was a sign of being battle ready! It was girding his loins.

When God tells us to gird our loins he is letting us know that the battle is imminent!

The belt was the central piece that held the other pieces of armor in place. And our belt is truth. The way these words are written in Greek tells us that we must do the girding. That no one can do it for us. It is our responsibility. Knowing God’s Truth is our responsibility!

In our daily hand to hand combat with the devil and his minions, we must tighten the truth of God’s word around us securely.

Satan is a wily one! Unless we know God’s Word he will trip us up in his deception and version of the truth all the time! Just look at poor Eve!

Following Jesus’ Example

I often think of how Jesus would slip away to a quiet place in the wee hours of the morning to spend time with His Father. Might He have been girding Himself with Truth? 

His example is a good one to follow. Since we must put the armor on every day we need to start in the Truth first… every day! How can we know God’s perfect Truth if we do not spend time in our Bibles learning The truth?  Devotions are a wonderful thing, but we need to be digging into the Word of God, letting the Holy Spirit be our Teacher. Face to face with God, listening and learning His battle plan for our lives!

If we are not girding ourselves with the Truth we will not be able to STAND FIRM. Evil, concealed as Truth, will blow us away!

The Breastplate Of Righteousness

The next piece of Armor we must put on daily is the breastplate of righteousness.

Roman soldiers would wear a heart protector. Usually, a piece of bronze that would cover the neck to the middle of their chest. Often there would be a piece to cover their backs as well.

I love the idea of a heart protector. In ancient times the heart was thought to be the center of one’s mind, emotions, will, and intellect. It was thought to be the center of who we are!  A soldier knew the enemy would certainly go for the heart if he could, so it was vital that it would be protected.

Satan is a master warrior. He will go for our heart every time! He works on our mind and emotions. He tries to bend our will and intellect until we think and act like him!  Our heart is a prime satanic target.

How then, do we protect our hearts? God tells us that it must be protected by righteousness.  Righteousness means being in right standing with God. And we can only do that through His Son Jesus Christ. We cannot be righteous on our own. Accepting God’s gift of saving grace, believing in Jesus Christ for our salvation is the only way to be righteous.

Christ Our Righteousness

Just like the Roman soldier who would put on his breastplate, we must “put on” Christ.

Righteousness that saves us from an eternity separated from God and adopts us into God’s eternal family is a once and done thing! We do not have to be resaved every day! It is ours and can never be taken away.

But God in Ephesians 6:14 tells us to put on the breastplate of righteousness every day. How can that be? 

Just like we dress in clothes to be presentable to the world every day, we must also conscientiously put on our Christ clothed righteousness daily. We must show Christ to the world in what we do and say and how we act every day. And like Jesus, we must be humble and loving and kind in His righteous breastplate. 

A Question Of Great Consequence

I have a question. Do you get up each morning and before you start your day dress in your battle-ready gear with the purpose of victoriously standing firm and meeting the day head on? Or do you go out into daily hand-to-hand combat defenseless and unaware? To be knocked off holy ground, beaten up, pierced through the heart and rolled up in the trouble of the day.

The answer to this question is literally the difference of win or lose… life our death!

Looking Ahead

Next week we will discuss more equipment that the Lord has prepared for us and how to be victorious in them! It’s all about our shoes!

An Important Thing To Do

It would be a good, no great, idea to memorize Ephesians 6:13-18. So you can remember to be battle-ready every day!

THEREFORE, TAKE UP THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RESIST THE EVIL DAY, AND HAVING DONE EVERYTHING, TO STAND FIRM.

STAND FIRM THEREFORE, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, AND HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND HAVING SHOD YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; IN ADDITION TO TAKING UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH WITH WHICH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO EXTINGUISH ALL THE FLAMING MISSILES OF THE EVIL ONE.

AND TAKE UP THE HELMET OF SALVATION, AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD.

WITH ALL PRAYER AND PETITION PRAY AT ALL TIMES IN THE SPIRIT, AND WITH THIS IN VIEW BE ON ALERT WITH ALL PERSEVERANCE AND PETITIONS FOR ALL THE SAINTS. Ephesians 6:13-18

May God bless you and keep you, Friends!