I was thinking about the breastplate of righteousness the other day. Actually, I was thinking about things I shouldn’t have been thinking about and I realized how much I needed a breastplate of righteousness, and a helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith, and…You get the picture. What is it about putting on the “full armor of God”? Have you ever seen this armor? Is it one size fits all or is it custom made? And how do I know when I have it on anyway?
Ephesians 6:10-20 tells us all about the full armor of God. It tells us what it is and how to use it, but it takes understanding the nature of God to grasp its application. We realize first and most obviously that the battle we are fighting is a spiritual battle (Eph 6:12). We are therefore going to need a spiritual armor to wage war with the enemy. The first piece of armament is the belt of truth. The scripture tell us that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). We are also taught in John 18:37 that Jesus came to the earth to testify to the truth. Jesus came to testify to us about himself. To put on the belt of truth I must put on Jesus. As the belt of the armament holds all the other pieces of the armor together, so knowing Jesus is the first requirement in my protection from the enemy’s wiles.
The breastplate covers my vital organs. I’m sure you’ve heard that before. Scripture teaches that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Rom 4:3, Gal 3:6, Jas 2:23). Righteousness like the belt of truth deals with my salvation. It is in believing that I am made righteous. There is no real effort of my own that makes me righteous; if there were I could take credit for my own salvation. No, my righteousness is a gift from God (Eph 2:8) and I wear it like a breastplate. It protects me from the lies of the enemy. I am vitally protected.
The shield of faith is the tool used to extinguish the enemy’s fiery arrows. Those arrows – the lies, the accusations, the doubts, the inappropriate thoughts – they are no match for the shield of faith. Faith is a gift (Eph 2:8). We are all given a measure (Rom 12:3). We are given more than enough faith; only a mustard seed amount is needed to move mountains (Mat 17:20). I acknowledge my reliance on Christ for my salvation. There is no other way. It is in that knowing (faith in action) that the shield of faith is activated and effective.
Our last defensive weapon is the helmet of salvation. We are taught in 2 Cor. 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” It is in the activities of the mind that most of the battle is fought. It is also here that we have our greatest advantage. In the understanding of my salvation I realize the great price that has been paid. It is in this understanding that I am positioned to take thoughts captive. The truth of my salvation protects me from the accusations of my imagination.
You will notice the commonality of all the pieces of our armament; they are custom fitted in our rebirth story. The “putting on” is the walking out in the understood of the reality of our salvation. When we are born again, we are fitted with our salvation armament; ours is in the learning to use is effectively (Phil. 2:12).
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