Deliver us (Pt.4) – Know and use your weapons

1 Kings 22:34-37 tells the story of King Ahab of Israel who was struck between sections of his armor by a random arrow. The wounded king was led away from battle by a charioteer, but it was too late. Ahab slowly bled to death; he was gone by evening. The story is a sober reminder of the importance of proper armor in battle; it can make the difference between life and death.

Ephesians 6:10-18 reminds believers that they are in a spiritual war against the enemy and if they hope to withstand his assaults and schemes, they must “put on” the “full armor” of God. The Christian’s strength in battle is “in the Lord and in His mighty power” (Eph. 6:10). This means believers depend on God and fight in accordance with his nature and character. There is no place for carnal tactics like revenge, deceit, back-stabbing, cheating, meanness, rudeness, cruelty, and so on in the believer’s arsenal (2 Cor. 10:4). The more God-like they are in character, the stronger Christians are in battle and vice versa.

Paul tells believers to put on the following pieces of spiritual armor (all of them) :

Truth. This is the belt that holds things together. The truth in Eph. 6:14 is a general disposition of honesty and sincerity in all our dealings, not necessarily the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit mentioned later in verse 17. Christians must live by the truth in speech and action, free from duplicity and falsehood. Just as water is essential for the functioning of your entire body, truthfulness is essential for a healthy spiritual life. Habitual lying in significant or insignificant areas will leave the believer especially vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks because a life of lies is inherently unstable.

Righteousness. This is the breastplate that protects the vital organs. Here Paul is not only speaking of the righteousness imputed to believers through Christ but also the idea of walking uprightly, living a life of moral rectitude (Eph. 6:14). Our character is a protective piece of armor, without which the enemy can have enormous leverage against us. Gal. 5:19-20 lists various internal dispositions and actions that Christians must avoid—envy, hatred, discord, fits of rage, selfish ambition, drunkenness, sexual immorality, all manner of impurity, and so on. It encourages them to live a Spirit-filled life characterized by joy, peace, kindness, goodness, self-control, gentleness, and so on (Gal. 5:22-23). It’s been said that a good life is a defense against accusations, words alone are not.

Faith. This is the shield that extinguishes the flaming arrows of the enemy (Eph. 6:16). The enemy will throw many arrows—personal attacks, doubt, worry, fear, threats, lies and more lies, name it! But our faith—our confidence in God—makes us face every challenge with the knowledge that we do not fight alone.

Salvation. This is the helmet that protects the head, our command center (Eph. 6:17). The enemy is a liar skilled at playing mind games, so Paul is seemingly telling believers to be Christ-like in their thinking or, put differently, to think like a Christian. Christ turned a lot of truisms on their head and much of Christian living runs counter to culture, so thinking like a Christian requires discipline and deliberate positive action. Phil 4:8 provides guidelines for the types of things Christians should think about. Christians cannot afford to be lazy thinkers who believe everything they hear (or think) or allow their minds to just roam uncontrolled. For better or worse, what we think about is what we become.

Peace (gospel of). These are the shoes in which we walk (Eph. 6:15). At all times, as far as it depends on us, we walk in peace (Rom. 12:18). But Paul is also reminding believers that they should be ever ready to boldly and lovingly share the good news of Jesus with others.

Word of God. This is the single offensive weapon in Paul’s list (Eph. 6:17). We cannot wield this sword effectively unless we know the Word. The enemy excels at deception and not knowing the word of God makes us especially susceptible. Christ was able to detect the enemy’s misuse of scripture in the wilderness because he knew the scriptures well (Matt. 4:1-11). This kind of critical knowledge comes from disciplined and diligent study not “a verse a day keeps the devil away.”

And, of course, Paul adds, prayer. (Eph.6:18). Without ongoing communication with God, the believer is essentially powerless against the enemy.

Are you wearing your armor?