Exploring the text: The armor of God
Welcome to a very popular portion of Scripture. However, to get the full meaning of this passage one has to look back to chapter 5. Paul is dealing with our relationships. Beginning in Ephesians 5:21, he writes about family relations. He goes on to deal with workers and bosses. These horizontal relationships are quite important.
In chapter 6, verse 2, Paul takes us to our vertical relationship. This is our relationship with God. We are to be strong in the Lord. An important piece of this puzzle is dressing ourselves for spiritual warfare in order to combat the enemy. The fully dressed soldier is decked out from head to toe. As follows:
In addition to being dressed for spiritual warfare, we also need to be in constant prayer. Paul urges us to pray for one another. It is certainly good news to hear that we are not in the battle alone, but that there are others there with us and helping us. Just as army soldiers fight in groups and cover one another's backs, we must do the same.
Lastly, Paul asked for prayer for himself, that he would have boldness to proclaim the gospel to others. He knew the value of sharing his faith. Without that proclamation of faith to others, the kingdom of heaven would not be advanced.
Let’s start each day by getting dressed for battle. Then we can fight the fight with other Christians and share our faith with others. Let’s defeat the enemy and build the Kingdom of God together!
Rick Heinrich
Welcome to a very popular portion of Scripture. However, to get the full meaning of this passage one has to look back to chapter 5. Paul is dealing with our relationships. Beginning in Ephesians 5:21, he writes about family relations. He goes on to deal with workers and bosses. These horizontal relationships are quite important.
In chapter 6, verse 2, Paul takes us to our vertical relationship. This is our relationship with God. We are to be strong in the Lord. An important piece of this puzzle is dressing ourselves for spiritual warfare in order to combat the enemy. The fully dressed soldier is decked out from head to toe. As follows:
- Belt of truth (verse 14). In order to successfully live for God we must separate ourselves from the world's ways. We have to live in the truth that God’s Word proclaims.
- Breastplate of righteousness (Verse 14).This piece concerns the heart. Protecting the heart from hardness allows one to stay humble before man and God.
- Feet prepared with the Gospel of peace (verse 15). Feet give us direction. They lead the body in the way that it will go. We must follow the right path and therefore bring peace into our lives and others as well.
- Shield of faith (verse 16). Paul says that this is the most important piece. The shield protects from the darts thrown at us from the enemy. It is inevitable that the devil’s fiery darts are coming, but using the shield properly can keep us from being harmed in this way.
- Helmet of salvation (verse 17). This protects our eyes, ears, and mind. We must be careful with what we see and hear because those things can affect our way of thinking.
- Sword of the Spirit,the Word of God (verse 17). This piece is our defence tool. We must know the Word of God in order to be able to use it.
In addition to being dressed for spiritual warfare, we also need to be in constant prayer. Paul urges us to pray for one another. It is certainly good news to hear that we are not in the battle alone, but that there are others there with us and helping us. Just as army soldiers fight in groups and cover one another's backs, we must do the same.
Lastly, Paul asked for prayer for himself, that he would have boldness to proclaim the gospel to others. He knew the value of sharing his faith. Without that proclamation of faith to others, the kingdom of heaven would not be advanced.
Let’s start each day by getting dressed for battle. Then we can fight the fight with other Christians and share our faith with others. Let’s defeat the enemy and build the Kingdom of God together!
Rick Heinrich