How have you been? Are you finding time to connect yourself spiritually? Are you taking time to arm yourself against Satan’s various attacks on you and your family? Are you carving out time to ground yourself in the gospel? I feel like that is what we need to be able to endure life at a time like this: a time of distraction, contention, division, busyness, stress, worry, stretching, and growth. I loved the discussion on the armor of God this week. As I started into it I had the same thought that Don’t Miss This explored: let’s take the armor of God, what it may figuratively protect by literally covering a specific part of the body, remember what principle that particular armor symbolizes and then figure out how that principle or practice will protect that part of us. If that is a bit confusing, hopefully it will become clear soon.
In Ephesians 6:10-18 Paul talks about putting on the armor of God and I’d like to go through my thoughts on each part of the armor.
First, 6:17 says the head is to be protected by the helmet of salvation. Perhaps the head represents our thoughts, our mind, our focus, our goals. We are counseled to protect those with salvation, or by focusing on, remembering, or thinking about salvation. How are our thoughts different if they regularly include the thought of salvation, the miraculous gift from the Savior? How does our self talk change? How are our thoughts about others affected? How are decisions related to addiction, fidelity, education, service, sacrifice and love affected if those decisions are accompanied with thoughts about salvation?
Next 6:14 says we need a breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate would cover our heart, our lungs, our vital organs. It may represent our emotions, our appetites or desires, our everyday necessities related to life. Righteousness can act as protection in relation to our emotions, who and how we love, or when we are devastated and looking to numb our feelings. It can guide us in our everyday choices: how we drive, how we interact with people, how we show up online, what we consume, what we watch, what we say. Righteousness can direct our everyday interactions and lead us away from anger, away from making harmful assumptions, and lead us into kindness and heartfelt concern.
Ephesians 6:14 also talks about having our loins girt about with truth. Loins can be translated to our waist or our reproductive organs. It can also mean our core strength or the ability to create life. Truth can bless us by giving us strength in our core, in the very essence of our belief. If we understand God’s truth about eternal families, His spirit children, and the power and blessing of self discipline we will be better prepared for temptation in relation to chastity. The Amplified Bible translates this part of the verse to say “having tightened the wide band of truth (or personal integrity and moral courage) around your waist.” I like truth being translated in this way as well: personal integrity and moral courage. Our waist is what ties our upper body to our lower body; our head to our feet. Moral courage and personal integrity around our waist keeps both our head and our feet headed in a good direction.
Next in 6:15 Paul says we need to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Perhaps our feet represent our direction, our intentions, our ability to stand in defense of ourselves, our families, and our beliefs. I learned in Follow Him that “feet shod” means they have put on a sandal that has nails hammered through the soles and then bent over to create a type of cleat or spikes. It was to aid in speed, advancing, or holding their ground. Shodding our feet in the readiness of gospel of peace allows us to dig in, hold fast, and move forward when the Spirit directs. Again to the Amplified Bible, it says we can “face the enemy with firm-footed stability and readiness produced by the good news.” Understanding the good news of the gospel prepares us for the onslaught, for the push back, for the barrage that will come. We can keep our feet not only firmly planted but moving forward toward Him because we have the gospel of peace to give us traction.
Chapter 6:16 says we need the shield of faith. The shield is both a defensive and an offensive part of the armor. It can be moved to protect any part of us, including being joined with other shields to create a bigger barrier against “fiery darts of the wicked.” Faith can protect us from not only our own internal unrighteous thoughts but from external intellectual attacks. Faith can be applied to protect our emotions from being manipulated and to strengthen a broken heart. Faith can be employed as a support as we stand for what we believe, and as an anchor when we withstand the onslaught of doubt, fear, and wickedness. Our faith can be combined with others faith to create greater strength, greater peace, greater understanding and courage.
Our last part of the armor is in 6:17– “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The sword and the shield are the only two pieces of armor that can be used offensively. What is it the the Lord wants us to use to fight our battles? The spirit (the word of God) and faith. How different are the disagreements that happen regarding a piece of doctrine, a policy, a personal choice, agency, or realities of mortality if the words we use are the words of God, directed by the spirit, and expressed from a place of faith?
What does this look like in application? When I feel like I’m losing ground with a friend, with my children, or in my faith, I need to employ more of the gospel of peace. I need my feet shod (cleated) and planted until I can move forward. When I find myself being judgmental, quick to anger, or unable to make better choices in my daily life I need to access more righteousness. I need to influence my desires, my feelings, my interactions, as I go about filling my daily necessities, with more righteousness. When a discussion turns into an argument or someone is looking to be confrontational I need to use more faith, more of the word of God, more of the Spirit in the conversation to come out on the other side with our relationship unharmed or at least less scathed.
By introducing the armor of God Paul has taught us that not only is there a need to prepare for battle but also how that preparation with protect us in battle. I loved looking at each part of the armor in a more practical, applicable way. Often when these verses are taught someone pulls out the play armor and we dress someone to be ready for battle. Although the cardboard armor is cute, I’m not actually dressing myself or my children in armor when we leave the house. Knowing and labeling the parts of the armor is a good start but if that is where it stops it isn’t very practical or useful. Changing how we look at the armor and being able to use thoughts of salvation, a heart of righteousness, a core of truth, traction of the gospel of peace, protection of faith, and the word of God to battle the dangers and wickedness of the world is when it becomes extraordinary.
Hopefully this break down was helpful to you as well. I would love to hear how you practically employ any part of the armor of God.