Ephesians

Ephesians 6:10-17 — The Armor of God

In any war, victory and defeat is often determined by how well armored we are. If we leave any part of ourselves exposed, we give the enemy an advantage in battle. That is why Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, “Put on the full armor of God” (italics added). Our enemy is too crafty and too fierce for half-hearted measures. Our armor must be full, impenetrable, and without chinks that he can exploit.

Paul warns us of the severity and intensity of the battle before us in Ephesians 6:10-13.¹⁴ Then he goes on to describe the full armor of God in detail, so that we can be fully armored on every side, leaving no part of our soul or spirit exposed to the enemy. The various pieces of armor Paul details for us are the specific ways we carry out his call to be strong in the Lord. The armor is nothing more than a symbolic description of various facets of the Lord Himself. The armor is the life of Christ, lived out in your life and mine.

There are two general classifications of the Christian’s armor, indicated by the tenses of the verbs used. The first division, Ephesians 6:14-15, covers the first three pieces of armor, which refer to something that has already been done if we are Christians. These are pieces of armor we only have to put on once and for all. We need never put them on again—but we must be aware of them and continually remind ourselves of what they mean in our lives.

The second division, Ephesians 6:16-17, includes those things that are to be put on or taken up at the present moment. These three pieces of armor are aspects of Christ that we must deliberately take up again and again whenever we are under attack.

The order in which these pieces are given to us is very important. You cannot reverse them or mix them up. The reason many Christians fail to properly exercise the sword of the Spirit, for example, is that they have never buckled the belt of truth around their waist.