The Christian is in a no-man’s land between the opposing forces of Light and darkness: between the Almighty God and His dire enemy, Satan – otherwise known as the Devil. On our own, we cannot face the demonic schemes and principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world; therefore, we must align ourselves always with God and take the Heavenly aid that God provides through His divine weapons of warfare and through His Armour – the Armour which the Son of God (Christ) Himself wears.

In Isaiah, two passages about the coming Messiah declare that: “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head… And righteousness shall be the girdle {belt} of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle {belt} of his reins.” (Isaiah 59:17a, 11:5)

In 1st Peter, we are told to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 ) Paul, in Romans 13:12, tells us to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. We are to resist the devil and be stedfast in our faith. (1 Peter 5:9 and 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6)

No soldier in his right mind would ever enter a battlefield weaponless and without his protective armour, yet many Christians do this every day. Utterly defenseless, we are easy prey. Christians must begin their day by putting on each piece of God’s Armour, found in and provided by Jesus, “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14)

Ephesians 6:10-17:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,
and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

As these verses indicate, there are four items of defense. They are as follows:
A belt, a breastplate, a shield, and a helmet.
There are also two weapons here:
Shod feet (which may not sound like a weapon at all), and a sword.

Ordinary items of armour would be ineffective because we are not struggling against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of Satan and his devils (fallen angels). Yet none of these items are ordinary or useless – they are divinely empowered by our Lord. (See 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

(1) We are first told to gird ourselves with the Belt of Truth.

We are to learn the truth and bind ourselves with it. This foundational piece of Armour holds us together and, in fact, securely fastens all other pieces in place (like the belt on Roman armour holds the rest of the armour together.)

This is the first stage of being a Christian – learning the truth and making it so much a part of our being that we can’t live without it. When the day of evil comes, we won’t fall apart or be crushed because we are wearing this Belt.

NOTE – If you will look at the verb tenses in verses 14 and 15, you will find that they are in the past tense (having girt, having on, having shod): As Christians, we are already wearing the first three pieces of God’s Armour (the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace), but it is up to us to make use of them.

“But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.” (2 Corinthians 6:4a, 7)

Continue reading “Day 34 – The Armour Of God” →