The Whole Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-24)

It was a normal day. Nothing exciting was happening. A couple men woke up early in the morning to do some training exercises. They had been doing their training for almost three hours when something popped up on the screen. They had never seen anything like it before. They didn’t really know what was going on. They thought they were seeing a large group of planes coming straight at them. They argued with one another what they should do. Should they tell anyone? They told some of the “higher-ups” but were told to forget about it. An hour later, planes started dropping through the clouds, dropping torpedoes on an unsuspecting Navy base in Pearl Harbor. Wave after wave of Japanese planes came upon this unsuspecting Naval base over a span of two hours, until 19 ships were destroyed and 2,400 Americans were dead or wounded.

In an article by the Smithsonian, Steve Twomey says, “Most devastating, Americans simply underestimated the Japanese. Their success at Pearl Harbor was due partly to astounding good luck, but also to American complacency, anchored in two assumptions: that our Asian adversary lacked the military deftness and technological proficiency to pull off an attack so daring and so complicated, and that Japan knew and accepted that it would be futile to make war on a nation as powerful as the United States.” This attack was so effective and destructive because the U.S. underestimated their enemy and were unprepared for an attack.

As we wrap up the book of Ephesians, Paul wants to make sure we don’t underestimate our enemy. He wants to make sure we are prepared for an attack and aware of the battle that we’re in the midst of. If, in our pride and ignorance, ignore the battle or underestimate our enemy, we will find ourselves in the midst of some devastating blows from our enemy. Let’s look at our passage. [Read Ephesians 6:10-24]

If you are a Christian, you are in the midst of a war. There’s no staying out of the fight. Paul says, “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.” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV). This is the reality for all believers.

I put it this bluntly because it is important for Christians to understand they are in the midst of a battle--it is natural and expected to be in this battle. I’ve known some Christians over the years who expect the Christian life to be all “sunshine and roses,” to be a peaceful walk through a garden. Then, when they find themselves in the midst of a battle, they doubt whether they are really a Christian. They think something’s wrong with them or with their faith. They become overwhelmed with anxiety or feel defeated or try to “do better” and “try harder” but eventually become weary. They begin to lose the battle because they didn’t think they needed to fight. They were ignorant of the battle they entered. So, be aware that this battle is a normal, expected aspect of the Christian life and it’s a battle we will be fighting until we are dead. You don’t get to stop fighting this battle once you’ve turned 65 or 70. You will continue to fight this battle until you’re dead.

Now, every time I talk about this battle, in this way, someone usually comes up to me and says something like, “Well, that doesn’t sound very appealing. I don’t want to be in a battle my entire life.” Yet, the reality is that you ARE in a battle, whether you like it or not, whether it’s appealing to you or not. You ARE in a battle. To ignore the fact is to lose the battle and live a life in the grip of Satan. Yet, to fight the battle, is to live a life in the grip of God’s grace--where there’s life and peace.

Since we find ourselves in the midst of this battle, Paul says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10, NIV). He tells us to be strong in the midst of this battle. More importantly, he tells us to be strong in the Lord and in HIS mighty power. Contrary to everything the world is telling us, we are NOT strong enough. The world believes that if we simply tell ourselves, convince ourselves, that we are strong enough, then we will be strong enough. So, the world tells us over and over and over again that we are strong enough to do whatever we want to do. It’s even crept into the church. Listen to many of the lyrics on Christian radio. Many of them are telling us over and over again that we are strong enough to overcome any trial that comes our way. Yet, we are not strong enough. Charles Hodge has strong words for those who try to fight this battle in their own strength. He says, “Therefore, whoever rushes into this conflict without thinking of Christ, without putting his trust in him, and without continually looking to him for strength and regarding himself as a member of his body, deriving all life and vigor from him, is demented” (211). You cannot fight this battle on your own and in your own strength. You must do it in the strength of the Lord.

Yet, the natural question comes up when we say things like this. HOW? How in the world do we fight this battle in the Lord’s strength and not in our own strength? Paul answers that question by saying, “Put on the full armor of God...” (Ephesians 6:11, NIV). When you put on the full armor of God, you will fight in His strength and not in your own strength. Actually, the armor of God forces you to no longer rely on yourself and your own strength. It forces you to look elsewhere for strength to fight this battle.

I want to briefly look at each piece that we are told to put on and show how it is used against Satan and his armies and how it forces us to rely on God’s strength.

We are told to put on the BELT of TRUTH. This makes sense as armor to be used against Satan’s armies. Jesus says, “[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44, NIV). One of Satan’s weapons is to lie. He is the father of lies. Therefore, if we are going to stand against his attacks, we must hold firmly to the truth.

We are told to put on the BREASTPLATE of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Again, this makes sense to be used against Satan’s armies. John says, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” (1 John 3:8, NIV). The opposite of righteousness is sinfulness. Satan’s attacks come as temptations leading us away from righteousness and into sinfulness. Putting on the breastplate of righteousness not only means living a righteous life, but more importantly, means holding fast to Christ’s righteousness that’s been credited to your account. You are not completely righteous, and will not be completely righteous until you die, but Christ was righteous in your place and has credited that righteousness to your account.

We are told to put on the SHOES of the GOSPEL of PEACE. Again, this makes sense to be used against Satan’s armies. In Revelation it says, “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him...the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” (Revelation 12:9–10, NIV). Satan is an accuser, trying to bring separation between us and God. Yet, the Gospel is a message proclaiming that we have peace with God. There is not longer a separation between us and God. As Satan bring accusations against us, we fend off these attacks by preaching the gospel to ourselves and to those around us.

We are told to put on the HELMET of SALVATION. Again, this makes sense to be used against Satan’s armies. Paul says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Ephesians 2:1–2, NIV). When we followed Satan, we were dead. All of his ways lead toward death and slavery. Not only do his temptations and plans lead to death (as all sin does--Romans 6:23), but he also works to convince us that we are still enslaved and unsaveable. So, we are called to put on the helmet of salvation. Repent of your sin, turn to Christ in faith, and be saved. As those who are saved, we’ve been set free from sin and satan. He no longer has dominion over us or power over us. As satan accuses us, we can defend ourselves by holding tightly to the salvation given us through Christ.

We are told to take up the SHIELD of FAITH. In many ways, this undergirds every piece of armor we’ve looked at so far. We are SAVED through the GOSPEL, granted Christ’s RIGHTEOUSNESS, and have our eyes opened to the TRUTH through FAITH. We RECEIVE  and USE all of these things by Faith in Christ. Ultimately, this is our ultimate defense against Satan’s attacks--against his fiery arrows. We hold up our shield of faith, which empowers the rest of our armor.

Finally, we are told to take up the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the WORD OF GOD. Much like faith, the Word of God undergirds all of the other pieces of armor. Calvin says, “Though faith and the Word of God are one, yet Paul assigns to them two distinct offices. I call them one, because the word is the object of faith, and cannot be applied to our use but by faith; as faith again is nothing, and can do nothing, without the word” (339). We cannot rightly use the Word of God apart from faith. In all honesty, we cannot understand any of the armor of God apart from the Word of God. We cannot know the Gospel and be saved apart from the Word of God (Rom 10:17). We cannot know about Christ’s righteousness apart from the Word of God. We cannot know the truth apart from the Word of God. All of this relies on Faith and the Word of God.

It is also important to understand that the Word of God is the only weapon in this list. Everything else is armor, used for withstanding the attacks of Satan. However, the Word of God is used to go on the offensive. As Jesus battled Satan in the desert, he took the offensive using the Word of God--he quoted Scripture back to Satan in faith. That’s how he fought this battle.

We must fight this battle using the Word of God as well. If we put on the armor of God, but do not take up the Sword of the Word of God, we will be defenseless, trying to withstand attack after attack after attack without any opportunity for counter attack. Yet, we have a weapon to wield in this battle--the Word of God. We must spend time in God’s Word. We must know God’s Word. We should memorize God’s Word. We must BELIEVE and have FAITH in God’s Word. Then wield it powerfully against Satan and his armies.

If we find ourselves being tempted to sin, we can wield the Word of God and cry out, “The wages of sin is death! The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus!” If we find ourselves under the accusers attack, feeling beat down, feeling as though we are not worthy of Christ’s love and salvation, we can wield the Word of God and cry out, “While I was a sinner, Christ died for me! I am saved by grace through faith, not by my own works!” If we feel ourselves questioning whether God is really there for us, we can wield the Word of God and cry out, “He has promised to never leave me nor forsake me! He has promised that he will always be with me to the end of the age!” And so on and so forth. We do not have to simply “take the punches” of satan and his armies, we can fight back. We MUST fight back with the Word of God.

Paul also calls us to pray. He doesn’t connect this to the illustration of armor, but he connects it with being ready. He says, “...be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18, NIV). Prayer keeps us ready for attack and alert for action. Prayer takes us beyond ourselves, looking to the Lord for strength. If we are not praying, it means we are completely relying on our own strength. That’s not good.

So, HOW can we be strong in the strength the Lord supplies? We pray that God would open our eyes to see the battle and give us strength to fight the battle. Then we step out in faith, trusting what He has told us in His word. He has told us that if we turn from our sin and put our faith in him we will be saved. He has told us that we are saved by grace through faith and not a work of our own. He has told us that he is always with us.

He has also told us that we will win this battle. Do you believe that? Do you trust what His Word says? We must not be afraid of satan’s armies. Jesus has crushed Satan under his feet. Satan no longer has power over us. In this passage he says, “Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13, NIV).  He says that you WILL stand your ground in this battle because of what Christ has done for you. As the enemy attacks you with blow after blow after blow, you WILL prevail and will stand your ground. It is a promise from your Heavenly Father. Calvin says, “There will be no danger which may not be successfully met by the power of God; nor will any who with this assistance, fight against Satan, fail in the day of battle” (337). In the strength that God supplies, you will prevail in this battle. Grab hold of that promise in Faith, Stand Firm, and Fight!