Ephesians 6:13

Ephesians 6:13 – 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 when you have done everything, to stand.

          Paul paints a vivid picture of a knight getting ready to defend his castle. We are to put on the full armor of God, as he says. This is in the spiritual, though, not in the natural; 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.”

          As we see this picture of a knight getting ready for battle we see that each piece of his equipment represents a different characteristic that we are to take on. We start with truth as a belt. For a knight everything hangs off the belt and so it is with us; everything hangs off the Truth of God. If not based on the Truth everything would come from a lie; so we must start with the Truth.

          Then we need righteousness which is the image of a breastplate. Our righteousness comes from Christ and because of Him we are called the righteousness of God. Next we have readiness, which is represented as a covering for your feet. This stems from the peace that comes with the gospel of Jesus. If we are living in fear or worry we will not be ready to do God’s calling.

          Now we come to faith. Faith is our shield; with it we believe God and therefore block all of the attacks of the enemy. Faith is also how we receive salvation, the next piece of the armor, which covers our heads and protects our thoughts. That is our defense. Most of our equipment is for defense, but last of all we take up the sword of the Spirit; the Word of God. This is our weapon. We use the Word to fight our battles. God’s Word has power and He has given us the authority to use it.

          And now that you have done everything, stand. Stand on all that God has done for you through Christ Jesus our Lord.