Jesus Is the Armor!
By Lee Ann Rubsam
Ephesians 6:10-11, 13-17 -- "Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor
of God, so that you are able to stand against the wiles of the
devil. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, so that
you are able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all,
to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with
truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above
all, take the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God."
I was having a hard time one day. Life had become just a wee bit
too overwhelming. What was I doing wrong, spiritually, that
would make my life in the natural world go so haywire, I
wondered? Had I not put on my spiritual armor appropriately that
morning? And what in the world was this whole business about
spiritual armor, anyway?
I had never really understood what people were talking about
when they said I needed to "put on the armor of God" each day. I
questioned why there was a need to fuss about it, and whether
people were just being superstitious. I reasoned, "It's not like
I take it off when I go to bed at night, so why do I have to put
it on again in the morning?"
As I mulled these ideas over, the Lord spoke into my thoughts,
"I AM your armor." It was a whole new idea. To put on the armor
is to put on Jesus. It is about abiding in Him. He began to show
me, piece by piece, how He is represented in the armor, and why
He is the covering that protects us from all the onslaught of
the enemy.
Let's take a look at the armor, and see how Jesus is present in
each piece of it:
The belt of truth Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life ." (John 14:6) Jesus not only gives us truth; He is the
truth! When we are wearing the belt of truth, we are wearing
Jesus around our middle, the place where our vital organs are
located. Wearing, or abiding in, Jesus the Truth keeps our
spiritual vital organs protected from harm. The belt and the
sword are closely associated. From the belt hangs the sword in
its scabbard, when it is not being actively used. Ephesians 6:17
tells us that the sword is the Word of God, and Jesus said of
the Scriptures, "Sanctify them through your truth: your word is
truth." (John 17:17) We are sanctified (cleansed and made holy)
through living in God's truth. There is a time to wield the
truth of God's Word, and there is a time to dwell in it, to rest
in it. (This is the equivalent of the sword being in its
scabbard, hanging on the belt).
The breastplate of righteousness Jeremiah 23:6 says, in speaking
of the coming Messiah, " this is his name whereby he shall be
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jesus is our righteousness.
We cannot be saved by our own good works; we must be clothed in
the righteousness of Jesus Himself. "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ
our Savior." (Titus 3:5, 6) The breastplate covers the upper
torso, where the heart is located. Jesus is the covering for the
seat of our spirit-man where our affections, attitudes, and
loyalties are located.
The shoes (boots) of the preparation of the gospel of peace The
gospel is the good news, and of course, Jesus is the Good News!
He is all our hope of salvation. It is interesting that in
Genesis 3:15, God said of the "seed" which was to come (which
was the Savior), "it [the seed Jesus] shall bruise your [the
serpent Satan's] head, and you shall bruise his heel." Jesus was
bruised for our sins (Isaiah 53:5), and now is the covering for
our heels so that the devil cannot bruise us!
We are not only protected from the enemy's attack by Jesus, but
it gets better yet. Romans 16:20 tells us, "And the God of peace
shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Jesus crushed the
head of Satan for all time by His victorious death and
resurrection, but we are privileged to participate with Jesus in
crushing the enemy's head in ongoing victory.
Shoes cover the feet, and those feet are intended for walking.
We must carry the gospel of peace (Jesus) to the nations, for He
is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) through Whom the nations
receive peace and reconciliation with God the Father: "Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)
Through being clothed in Jesus the Boot, as we spread the gospel
message and establish His Kingdom here on earth, we tread on
Satan's head. In the sense of trampling the enemy underfoot, the
shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace are as much an
offensive part of the armor as they are defensive in nature.
The shield of faith Psalm 119:114 says of the Lord, "You are my
hiding place and my shield: I hope in your word." Notice that
Ephesians 6:16 exhorts, "Above all, take the shield of faith ."
Faith is critical to successful Christian living. Hebrews 11:6
states, "But without faith it is impossible to please him."
Faith, essentially, is about whether we believe He is Who He
says He is, and whether we trust Him to do what He has said He
will do in His Word. To not have faith in God is to insult Him
as though we question His integrity. "So then faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) Faith
is closely tied to God's Word, and, as we will see when we get
to the sword of the Spirit, Jesus and His Word are one with each
other.
The helmet of salvation We all understand that Jesus is our
salvation: " You shall call his name JESUS; for he shall save
his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) The helmet covers
the mind. Our minds, emotions, and heart attitudes are the main
battlegrounds where the enemy tries to render us ineffective,
and thereby defeat us. If he can get us to think things that are
not truth, he can keep us from establishing God's Kingdom on
earth. Doubt and fear are the most common agents he uses against
our minds. This is why Isaiah 12:2 says, "Behold, God is my
salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid." When we have Jesus,
our helmet of salvation, firmly in place, we are immune to the
devil's doubt and fear tactics. We trust and are not afraid.
Trust and the determination to not fear take a conscious effort
on our part, but it is Jesus our Salvation who makes it possible
for us to repel the enemy's attacks on our minds.
The sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God) The sword is
an offensive weapon in the armor. We have been taught to wield
our sword, to oppose the enemy of our souls and take territory
for God's Kingdom by speaking the Word of God. Many of us have
not caught the full impact of this concept. I find it very
intriguing that Jesus identifies Himself as being synonymous
with His own Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Essentially He
is saying, "I and My Word are one. The two cannot be separated."
This is why there is so much power in the Scriptures. This is
why devils tremble and flee when the Word of God is spoken with
authority. When the powers of darkness hear the Word, they
understand that that Word packs the very essence of Jesus
Himself, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The Word
carries all the backing of Almighty God. If only we would as
fully understand this as the devils do!
Every part of the armor of God is integrally connected with
every other part, and no part is unnecessary. This is why we are
told to put on the whole armor of God. The breastplate protects
our heart attitudes, which are closely connected with what we
allow ourselves to think; our thoughts are protected by the
helmet, but also by both abiding in (being girded with) and
actively wielding (the sword) God's truth; our faith (the
shield) keeps us from doubt and fear; and having our focus on
carrying the gospel to the world will assure that we do not get
sidetracked into idle thoughts and temptations.
***********************
There is one last piece of the armor which we must not neglect,
and it is found in Ephesians 6:18 "praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance." Prayer in the Spirit according to the
Holy Spirit's perfect understanding of the will of the Father is
the seventh piece in the whole armor of God. It is another
offensive weapon, and it is a mighty force to be reckoned with.
Romans 8:26, 27 tells us, "Likewise the Spirit also helps our
infirmities [weaknesses]: for we don't know what we should pray
for as we ought to: but the Spirit himself makes intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he who
searches the hearts [God the Father] knows what the mind of the
Spirit is, because he intercedes for the saints according to the
will of God."
Those of us who are Pentecostal or Charismatic in our theology
understand "praying in the Spirit" to mean praying in our prayer
language. We know that when we do this, the Holy Spirit prays
perfectly through us, according to our Father's will, and as a
result, His Kingdom is established on earth in the area we are
praying about. The prayer language is a powerful weapon of our
spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 10:4).
I believe that even when we pray in our natural language,
however, we can "pray in the Spirit." I ask the Lord to guide
all my praying, both in tongues and in English, so that none of
it is done in the flesh; so that all of it is according to His
will. As we are sensitive to Him and stay in intimate connection
with Him, we grow more adept at hitting the bull's eye of
praying perfectly in the Spirit at all times.
Lee Ann Rubsam is the author of nine nonfiction books in the
Christian and home schooling fields.
She also works as a
freelance writer, specializing in articles about prayer,
character building, encouragement, Christian growth, and
family-centered humor.
http://www.leeannrubsam.com
