Ephesians 6:10-18 says this about spiritual warfare: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye 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: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
A number of books on the market today advocate what they call “dressing for success.” These authors believe that a certain look will help a person achieve more and have a better reputation in the business world. Dressing for success is a reality as well in the spiritual realm, and it involves putting on the whole armor of God. In fact, that’s the only way to dress for success in the Lord, because wearing the whole armor of God is a requirement given to us if we want to be victorious in our spiritual warfare.
In Ephesian we are given the truth, that if we are to be overcomers in this life, we must wear, and use, the armor of God. It is critical to our survival. It is critical to our victory in the battles we will fight while we are still on this earth. If a combat soldier went out into battle unprotected he would not last long.
Allow me to give you a revelation. I have studied spiritual warfare for many years. I have read more books about this warfare than I care to even mention. And in all of those books, I have never read a single one of them talk about how Jesus wore the armor of God while he was on the earth, but it is right there in your Bibles. As a man, Jesus Himself chose to be clothed with this armor as He walked on earth. Isaiah 59:17 (ESV) tells us, “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.” Now, if Jesus Christ Himself wore the armor, how much more so, then, do you and I need this same armor!
Allow me to give you some insight into this armor that we are now supposed to wear. This armor represents the very character and attributes of Jesus Himself! Each piece of armor is nothing more than a manifestation of Christ in our lives. When we put on the armor of God, we’re really putting on Jesus as our defense and offense while we are engaged in the battles of life. That’s right. You read it right. Jesus is your whole armor of God! Allow me to explain.
The first piece of armor is described as having “our loins girt about with truth.” The Names of God Bible says it this way: “Fasten truth around your waist like a belt.” Who is our truth? Jesus! He Himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Now, what are your loins? Your loins are those secret parts of your body–your reproductive organs and the organs that expel waste from your body. In the spiritual realm, then, you're using God’s Truth to release the spiritual waste out of your life. These are falsehoods, lies, deceptions, and a thousand other things. We must put on Jesus as our one and only Truth. Then, and only then, will the girdle of truth be put on around our loins.
Next, we are to put on the “breastplate of righteousness.” Who is our righteousness? It’s Jesus Christ. We have no righteousness on our own. Only the blood of Jesus covering you gives you the gift of righteousness, which is Jesus Himself. What does the breastplate of righteousness cover? It covers our chest, where our heart is. My heart pumps blood to all of my body. The Scriptures teach us that “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” So, that same thing is true spiritually. Thus, my spiritual heart pumps spiritual blood to my entire spiritual life. And it is because of the blood of Jesus that we have been made righteous. “Therefore, by much more, because we have been declared righteous now by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath” (Romans 5:9 LEB).
When you know that you’re covered with the breastplate of righteousness, then your life will be balanced because you aren’t struggling to achieve righteousness on your own. You have realized that you are not righteous by works, but only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Next, we are to have “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” The Amplified Bible says it this way, “and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news].” What exactly is this talking about? Well, the gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose on the third day. The word preparation means “the action or process of making ready.” In other words, readiness. Readiness to walk in the gospel of peace. It is the ability to walk in the Spirit just as Jesus did proclaiming the Good News.
Jesus, living on the inside of me, is ever ready to walk after the Spirit. If I am to have on this piece of armor, then I am supposed to be prepared to go wherever God sends me, and so are you. We need to realize that in this warfare, we must not walk after our own paths of the flesh, but rather, walk after the paths of righteousness for His sake. Then, and only then, can we truly know the gospel of peace.
Next, we are to pick up “the shield of faith.” Why? So we can quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. As we pick up our shield of faith, we must ask ourselves, who is our faith? Nobody but Jesus! He is my faith. I like what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20 (ESV), “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” It is not I, but Christ that lives. And the life that I now have, I live in by faith in the Son of God.
Jesus is our shield of faith. We need to lift Him up between us and all of the missiles that satan would throw at us. He is our invisible shield. He has the power to stop every single thing that the enemy may throw at us. Satan may throw lies, deceit, temptations and more our way, but through it all we are victorious thanks to Jesus Christ.
Next, we are to put on “the helmet of salvation.” This one is easily recognizable, for Jesus is our salvation! We need to put on the helmet of salvation so that we may also utilize the Mind of Christ. We need to be fired up about our salvation. Far too many Christians today seem to have lost the “joy of their salvation” (Psalm 51:12). It is time for the Church to quit playing games and get serious about our warfare. It is time for us to get a passion for soul-winning, to be passionate about our relationship with Jesus.
The last piece of our armor we must have is “the sword of the Spirit.” What is this sword? It is the Word of God! And, who is the Word? Jesus Christ! John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He, Jesus, was in the beginning. John is talking about his master, the Lord Jesus Christ here.
We need warriors today that will pick up the sword of the Spirit and say, “God, let Your Word be my sword today. Let my words by the words of Jesus coming through me.” We should take the sword and use it against the enemy like Jesus did in the wilderness. Jesus defeated satan every time with the Word. Jesus was tearing down everything that satan was trying to build up in His mind. Jesus used the sword of the Spirit to cut through the darkness of the devil’s temptations. He used it to cut satan’s arguments to shreds.
And so must we, saint of God. We must wield the sword in battle against the forces of darkness. We use it as an offensive weapon against all the lies and deceit that satan throws at us. We must fight, for if we will, we will win!