ARMOUR UP FOR GOD

[7-minute read]

To military personnel, proper body armour is a critical component of warfare to ensure that they will survive wounds that might otherwise incapacitate or kill them. Christians, too, are instructed to armour up because overcoming the Enemy is not something that just happens without our consciousness of who God is.

So what does the full armour of God look like? The apostle Paul used military metaphors in his writings about victorious Christian living. Perhaps it came easily to one who spent a substantial amount of his life in prisons guarded by soldiers in full gear. Every piece of the armour Paul mentioned in Ephesians 6:14-18 is important in our battle against the enemy’s attacks - from our heads (mind) to our feet (life focus). Each piece identifies who we are in Christ.

“14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

As we unpack these verses, we will see the seven items of defence and offence armour below.

V14 THE BELT OF TRUTH AS DEFENCE

In military gear, the belt keeps the entire body armour in its place. Our belt of truth says that Jesus is and will always be the Way, the Truth and the Life for us, even when it seems as though there is no way out and we wonder how our faith has any bearing on lived outcomes. But when the enemy attacks our integrity and character, only the belt of truth can adequately protect and defend us. Human argument is powerless against the enemy’s accusations and attempts to discredit us through the ignorance of the people around us, including those nearest and dearest to us (2 Timothy 2:25-26). It is not about being right but being confident that our Shepherd, Counsellor, Comforter and Everlasting Father will see us through all seasons of life. Our best defence is to keep the belt of truth close to us! 

V14 THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AS DEFENCE

Breastplates are designed to protect the vital parts of a soldier’s body. Our spiritual breastplate guards our character and integrity from being attacked by the Enemy who is bent on tearing us apart and repeatedly pointing out our failures, flaws and faults. Satan wastes no opportunity to create self-doubt and cracks in our self-esteem that keep us relationally ineffective and unproductive in our ministry. However, if we choose instead to put on the breastplace of righteousness, the enemy will only see Christ in us, the hope of glory!

V15 FEET FITTED WITH READINESS AS DEFENCE

A soldier’s footwear enables him to walk through rough terrains in full battlegear. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our feet must always be fitted with a readiness to reach people in hard places. At the same time, the Enemy will do whatever he can to keep us occupied and tuned out of people’s suffering. He wants us to have more travel tales than life-changing testimonies about people experiencing God’s love and grace through us. The devil is often successful in keeping Christians talking about ‘God’s timing’ without their ever taking the initiative to create ‘God-moments’, especially with those who are dismissed as ‘hard nuts to crack’. Satan makes us feel small and shameful so that we would avoid being vulnerable when we share about our lives with God. Yet, “the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” is all about walking the talk, taking the initiative, finding the time, and going the distance. “For the Word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12). It demands our action to make it come alive and push back the Enemy’s schemes and advances.

V16 THE SHIELD OF FAITH AS DEFENCE

A soldier stands to hold up his shield not only to protect himself but also those around him. As God’s army, we are not given our shields of faith only for self-preservation but to “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” When we keep our shield of faith in place, we are holding up the truth of who God is and the truth of His Word to deflect the onslaught of lies and accusations from the Enemy such as you’re not worthy, nothing will change, I can’t go on anymore, no one in the church cares, I am unlovable…

Our shields are not objects for flaunting God’s protection. When used in concert, they are effective for protecting the body of Christ. We stand and hold up our shield of faith when others are overwhelmed and they need an augmentation of faith to face their floods and fire. “As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s Word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him.“ (Psalm 18:30, 2 Samuel 22:30).

V17 THE HELMET OF SALVATION AS DEFENCE

We are told to “take the helmet of salvation” because we need to deliberately “take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Truth be told, the helmet is not the most comfortable thing to put on our heads. In the beginning, our spiritual body armour can indeed feel unnatural and cumbersome but over time, they will become second nature to us. The reality is that we live in a broken world and our broken lives make us very vulnerable to further woundings: and everything starts in our minds.

The Enemy does not know our thoughts but he can make a pretty good guess from our behaviour. And he will circulate flawed arguments, wrong thinking, lies that separate us from others, and doubts that make us distrust God in our minds. Unfortunately, many believers play down the importance of protecting their minds and the rigour of spiritual disciplines. They forget that anyone who loves God will not find obeying His Word burdensome because that is the only way to be an overcomer. (1 John 5:3-5).

Apart from our armour for defence, we also need two more armour for offence which is the sword of the Spirit and prayer.

V17 THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT AS OFFENCE

The Word of God is the sword we use to come against at the Enemy, expose his schemes and deny him success. We unleash the sword of the Spirit on the enemy when we declare the Word of God over lives, minds and emotions that are under attack. That’s why it is crucial for every believer to know the Word of God and its Truth. These are not lifeless axioms but they have power to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” (2 Corinthians 10:5).  

V18 PRAY IN THE SPIRIT AS OFFENCE

We can upstage the enemy when we learn to pray in the Spirit. This is when we ask God to reveal to us what to pray about and to show us what He sees about a situation. God does not really need us to supply Him with details because He knows full well that the devil is in it. Rather, we should continually pray using the Word of God and observe how God intervenes when people are in crises and need divine intervention; or when they are confused and considering the most damaging solution as the only way out.

Therefore, we need to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” God will always have the last word on anything we bring to His attention.

Scripture reminds us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.”(Romans 13:14 ESV). Whatever the enemy does to us, he cannot take away our testimony in Christ Jesus.

Our spiritual armour may seem restrictive when all we want is to be free of constraints and to run from danger. But here is the truth: we will find greater confidence and freedom facing the battle in the full armour of God than without it.

This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 1 April 2023.