The Full Armor of God



The Bible book of Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian Christians - primarily Gentiles, whose lives had not been informed by Jewish laws or experience.  Living in a culture that was quite contrary to their newfound belief in Jesus, they needed encouragement and guidance to better understand what it meant to "live in Christ".

The book contains 6 chapters.  It is the last one I want to talk about today.

Just as it was back in Paul's time, the world today can be a pretty rough place for Christians.  Therefore, before going out into it - Paul encouraged people to put on the full armor of God, so that they could stand against the devil's schemes.  

Paul claimed our struggles "are not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

He says that since we are fighting supernatural powers, we need supernatural help - we need the FULL ARMOR OF GOD.  

This includes the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness.  It has our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  

We are encouraged to take up our shield of faith "in order to extinguish all of the flaming arrows of the evil one", and to wear the helmet of salvation.

Finally - we are asked to carry the sword of the Spirit - which is the word of God.

Jim notes that 5 of the 6 articles are defensive weapons - ones meant to protect us from all the BAD that is out there.  Only the sword of the Spirit - the word of God, which we come to know by reading the Bible, can be used offensively to strike the powers that mean to do us harm.

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I have a friend - let's call her Candy DeNoss (😊) who says she once attended a party with a group of women who each brought a mirror on which they drew their "armor" to serve as a reminder before they went out to face the day. 

I liked the idea so much, I made my own...

Today - before you take on all of the challenges your world will throw at you - remember to put on the full armor of God!





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