Reflection - The Armour of God - 2nd September 2023 - Dowanvale Free Church of Scotland
Reading: Ephesians 6. 10-17
Creator: Luc Viatour | Copyright: Creative Commons
Address given at the Men’s Prayer Breakfast
This morning I want to explore six short points with you, reading in to Paul’s instruction to ‘Put on the whole armour of God’. To do this, I’d encourage you to imagine a Roman soldier in battledress, as this was likely what Paul was imagining while writing this part of his letter. Particularly when you consider he was in prison so was likely seeing far more Roman soldiers than he would have wished!
1) v14a - ‘having your loins girt about with truth’ This verse is translated variously as ‘girt about with truth’ (KJV), or ‘the belt of truth buckled around your waist’ (NIV) or ‘having fastened on the belt of truth’ (ESV). However our Bible translation puts it, we know that the world in which we live is full of Satan’s lies. After all, he is the chief of liars and told his first lie back in Genesis 3. Satan’s lies seek to get inbetween us and our wives, our children, our families, our friends, and especially between us and God. Satan wants nothing more than to get in and twist the metaphorical knife. It is God’s truth, and only God’s truth, that can dispel satan’s lies. This is seen most vividly in how Jesus, tempted by the devil’s lies in the wilderness, turned to Scripture to combat them. Time after time satan told his lies, and time after time Jesus turned to Scripture. Only God’s truth can protect us from satan’s lies, so it is vitally important that we are well immersed in it.
2) v14b - ‘the breastplate of righteousness’ What is the purpose of a breastplate? To protect one’s vital organs. Being stabbed in the leg is not pleasant by any means, but is far less dangerous than being stabbed in the heart. So, to protect those most vital of organs, we clothe them in something strong and protective. On the Cross, as Christ died for sins He had not committed, He made it possible for us to be covered in His imputed righteousness, that’s to say that God does not deal with us according to our sins, but according to the righteousness that Christ has clothed us with. If this were not the case, and if the natural order were to be followed, we would be condemned for our many and varied sins, yet by Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross we can enjoy eternal life with Him.
3) v15 - ‘feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace’ An oft overlooked part of a soldier’s armour, the footwear can be the difference between defeat or victory. With good footwear, a soldier can run into or out of battle, he can cross rugged terrain, and he can stand fast for long periods of time. It is crucial that his footwear supports him. Anyone who has tried mountain climbing or long walks in sub-standard shoes will know where I am coming from! As Christians, it is only our solid grounding in the Gospel that allows us to stand fast. And let’s note that, in the verses we read, we encountered the word ‘stand’ four times - standing in the face of adversity shows confidence and strength of character. We are called, as Christians, to stand firm (under the banner of Christ) against sin, the world and the devil, not turning back nor losing our footing. But also, at times God may call us to run - either into battle or out of it. The Romans were well known for being able to run many many miles and then fight a battle, so were the Zulus, and let’s not forget the Marines who yomped across the Falkland Islands before fighting. God often calls us in to situations of difficulty or distress, and it is only supported by the Gospel of peace that we can ‘live and move and have our being’.
4) v16 - ‘the shield of faith’ If you’ve ever seen a mock up of a centurion, you’ll know that a Roman soldier’s shield was almost as tall as he was. It was a beast of an object, made from wood and leather and metal. Its purpose was manifold, it was used in hand to hand combat (to protect him from his opponent’s sword), it was used to force his enemy to the ground (a little like riot policemen do today) and, in a time when fiery arrows were in vogue, was big enough to hide behind and under. The first row of soldiers would stand their shields up in front of them, while the subsequent rows would hold their shields up above them, thereby protecting them from attack from the front and above. We are warned elsewhere in Scripture that the enemy ‘prowls around, seeking whom he may devour’, while in this verse itself we are told to hide from ‘the fiery darts of the wicked.’ I am sure we have all come under attack in the past, whether that is from other people or from satan himself. But we are not left to fend for ourselves, for ‘the shield of faith’ is the perfect protection from satan. Like the centurion’s, our shield is large enough to hide under, and strong enough to withstand even the strongest attacks. Having this shield does not mean everything will be nice (even with a shield, being attacked by fiery arrows would never have been a fun experience), but we are promised that it will be enough.
5) v17a - ‘the helmet of salvation’ The helmet is one of the smaller pieces of a soldier’s armour, but is arguably one of the most important; for, contained within our cranium, is our mind - a very delicate organ in great need of protection. The aforementioned pieces of armour have been for our bodies, but this piece is for our minds. Linked to the belt of truth (pt 1), the ‘helmet of salvation’ shows us how important it is to safeguard our mind as well as our body. Jesus tells us that ‘The light of the body is the eye’ (Mt. 6. 22), and it is important to consider what we allow our minds to be full of, and what the minds of those nearest and dearest to us are full of. Growing up, there were a few TV programmes that my parents would not let me watch, much to my disappointment, but now I have grown up (a little!) I can see exactly why they were protecting me from them. While Christ is right, that it is what comes from within that can defile a person (Mk. 7. 20), it is equally important to safeguard our minds from that which can defile. The world is full of untruth, of coarseness, of vulgarity, of misplaced loyalties and over-exaggerated values - these can infiltrate our minds and contaminate the way we think, the way we act, the way we interact with God and our fellow man. Our God-given helmet of salvation is there to protect us from this, but will only be effective if we put it on!
6) v17b - ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God’ All of the foregoing have been items of protection. The items have protected our vital organs, offered us shelter from attack, and allowed us to safeguard both body and mind. This last item of armour, however, is our means of attack. Sometimes attack is necessary, and sometimes it is the best form of defence. We do not fight and battle for the fun of it, but, to quote the old hymn, because as Soldiers of Christ we are called to ‘From strength to strength go on; Wrestle, and fight, and pray; Tread all the powers of darkness down, And win the well-fought day’. Sometimes this is to safeguard ourselves, and sometimes it is for the good of others. We will all encounter sin, temptation, challenge in our Christian lives. Sometimes it is enough to hide from it, to protect ourselves, but sometimes we need to fight it, slay it, overpower it, before it can do more damage to us or those around us. Again, we see this in Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Note that Jesus had the whole wilderness to Himself, yet when the tempter came, He did not simply run to another part of the wilderness, or stick His fingers in His ears, but He challenged satan’s lies head on and, using ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God’, He fought and overcame the lies and temptation of satan.
Six items of armour - the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the footwear of the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit - all the equipment we need to encounter, fight and overcome the wiles and snares of the devil. As Christians, we are called to wield this armour well, and as Christian husbands and Christian men, we are called to wield it for our own good, and for the good of our families. Let us willingly take up this all-sufficient armour, wield it faithfully, and overcome in the name of Jesus Christ that, like Him, we may ‘Tread all the powers of darkness down, And win the well-fought day.’