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.
