10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
EPHESIANS 6:10-18
So often we hear that we should put on the full armour of God. We read about it in Ephesians and we include it in our prayers. But, how can we actually put on the full armour of God? Surely we don’t just recite Ephesians 6:10-18 and suddenly the armour is suited upon us. So the question still remains, how can we practically equip ourselves with the full armour of God?
According to dictionary.com, armour is defined as “any covering worn as a defence against weapons”. God gives every believer a full set of equipment so that we have everything we need at our disposal in the midst of battle. God gives us 6 tools/pieces of equipment for us to use to stand against the enemy and his wicked schemes.
First, we are told to “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,” (EPHESIANS 6:14a). But, what is ‘truth’? John MacArthur sums up a simple yet excellent definition of ‘truth’ from a Biblical perspective. He stated that, “Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God; truth is a self-expression of God”.
How can we know the ‘truth’?
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. JOHN 14:6
Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth JOHN 17:17
When we take a look at the Webster Dictionary, we see that they define truth as “conformity to fact or reality”. Therefore, this goes contrary to the popular belief that truth is a subjective perception (“my truth”, “his truth”, “her truth”, “your truth”). What is THE truth, exists outside of us and that is Jesus Christ. He is the standard of truth. God is THE truth and the only truth. So, to know God is to know the truth. One way that we can get to know God is by reading His Word. Since God is the truth, that means the Word is also truth because “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17
So, it is important that we study the Word of God so that we would know the truth. Knowing the truth is very important as the truth prevents the lies of the enemy from shaking us. For example, if the enemy starts telling you that you are ugly and worthless, by reading through the Word, you would know that is a lie because the Word of God says:
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvellous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. PSALM 139:13-14
This is the truth and the truth over throws any lie that the enemy can throw our way.
It is also important to note that from a natural point of view, the belt is what is used to hold the outfit together. This is also the case with our spiritual armour. The belt of truth is what holds our armour together. Without the truth, everything falls apart. Also, the belt is where a soldier’s sword and other weapons are stored. If a soldier was to go out into battle without his belt, he would essentially be going to battle with no weapon. In the spiritual armour, the belt of truth holds the sword of the spirit, the Word of God. This shows a clear link, yet again, between truth and the Word of God (John 17:17). The Word of God should wrap around and adhere to our hearts in the same way the belt wraps around our waist.
Second, we are told to “Stand firm then… with the breastplate of righteousness in place,” (Ephesians 6:14). What is righteousness? According to D. W. Diehl, “righteousness is that attribute by which God’s nature is seen to be the eternally perfect standard of what is right”. So, i.e, righteousness describes a condition that complies with an established standard and therefore is consistent with God's holy nature.
What is the breastplate of righteousness? A breastplate is a defensive piece of armour. Lehman Strauss and Thayer note that the breastplate covers the body, both from the front and the back, as well as from the neck to the thighs. One of the biggest responsibilities of the breastplate is to protect vital organs such as the heart. If a soldier goes out into battle without his breastplate, he is left vulnerable to the attacks of his enemy. Therefore, it is imperative that we are equipped with the breastplate of righteousness to guard our heart against the attack of the enemy. For we know he is on a mission to steal, kill, destroy and devour us (John 10:10a; 1 Peter 5:8)
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. JOHN 10:10a
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 PETER 5:8
We become positionally righteous when we have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of our life but we can’t just stop there, we have to actively practise righteousness.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
Being positionally righteous is a necessary condition for us to be able to walk out righteousness in our everyday lives. It is impossible for us to live a righteous life on our own, without Jesus Christ because “all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Righteousness can only come “from God by faith” (Philippians 3:8b-9).
But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; ISAIAH 64:6
…that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; PHILIPPIANS 3:8-9
We are commanded to “not present [our] members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin” (Romans 6:13a) but instead to present our “members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13b). Here, Paul implies that our bodies are weapons to be used in warfare to go against the wiles of the enemy. We can look at it this way: both sin and righteousness are enlisting soldiers for their armies which is why it is so important for us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and offer ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness and making absolutely no provision for sin to reign in our lives (Romans 13:14).
And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. ROMANS 6:13
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts. ROMANS 13:14
When we are not living right, when we don’t have the breastplate of righteousness equipped, we are left in a vulnerable state and become easy targets for the enemy. However, when we are living right, having our breastplate of righteousness in place, we will be able to withstand in the day of evil. With that being said, we should deny “ungodliness and worldly lust [and] “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12).
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