The Whole Armour Of God

The book of Ephesians tells us of a very important weapon that all Christians must have, The Whole Armour of God. The whole armour causes us to be victorious in battles against the enemy.

Ephesians 6:12 clearly states that, our enemy is not against flesh and blood but it is against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Physically, when a soldier is enlisted in the army and is going to war, they must have their protection, which is their armour, so it is as Christians, we are soldiers of Jesus Christ and we are in a war on the battlefield against our enemy, satan. If we are to be victorious in this battle, we need the whole armour of God.

Ephesians 6:11says, ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. The wiles of the devil are his lies, his deceit, his schemes, his intimidation, among others. When we let our guard down, we can be wounded very easily and because satan knows who will stand against him or fight him, then the best time for him to catch you or attack you is when you are not fully clad in the entire armour. He will take pleasure in dealing with you. As believers, we ought to know the mode of operation of satan and, the prophet Daniel tells us what this is, we are to know it. It must be written upon the table of our hearts.

Daniel 8:23-26: And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

Ephesians 6:13- 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.

We need the entire armour and not just some of it, we are strong only when we are in the Lord, as our strength comes from him. The only way we can combat the wisdom of satan is to have the Word of God absorbed into our minds, our power comes from God and, in John 1:1 it says, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Therefore, if God is His Word and we need God, that means we need His Word. We are indeed in the evil days but, there is an ‘evil day’ that is coming where the son of perdition (satan) will come claiming to be God and, should we not have the Word of God in our minds, in our hearts then we will be deceived and pulled into his web of lies. Always remember, satan comes in peacefully and prosperous, performing miracles, pretending to be the saviour, doing great works he comes first. And so, Paul warns us that we need the whole armour so we can withstand all of his deceptions.

Ephesians 6:14- Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.

To girt oneself is to prepare for something challenging. In this case, it is to prepare oneself for war, the war against the enemy. When it says to girt ourselves with the truth, it is speaking of the Word of God, so as individuals, we must prepare ourselves with the Word of God for battle. As children of God, we are to know the Word because it is the Word that will defeat the enemy.

David said in Psalms 138:2: I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

God wants us to live in His Word, which is essentially living in God. It is in the Word that we will find solutions to what we go around in circles for years upon years. When we know the Word, we will know what steps to take.

The breastplate is a metal (shield) that protects the heart in battle and, that is why the Word says to guard our hearts with all diligence in Proverbs 4:23. Beloved, remember our heart is a contact point with God. Daily, we face challenges such as offense, hurt unforgiveness among others. When we are faced with these challenges, we are to be sure to be in the breastplate of righteousness. Satan can use any foolish thing to pry open and get inside a man’s heart to uproot them from their position with the Lord. If you find that these things are creeping into your heart and even taking root, then check your breastplate because it has shifted. When we let our guard down and let our armour slip, we can be wounded very easily. Our hearts are to be dwelling places for the Lord.

It is our righteous deeds and acts that protects the heart from contamination. What are the thoughts of your heart? Is it evil, deadly or wrong?

Ephesians 6:15- And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
To absorb the Word and knowledge of God, it takes preparation, it takes time, it takes patience and, it takes prayer for Him to give you the understanding of it or for him to release it to you and to retain it. It is your feet that you use to move around, so therefore it is for us to spread the gospel wherever we go having prepared ourselves with it. In today’s date, there are many avenues for spreading the gospel whereby others can learn of Jesus Christ and accept him as their Lord and saviour.

Ephesians 6:16- Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ‘Above all’, means that faith is the most important aspect.

Hebrew 11:6 says, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. We must believe in God and in Jesus Christ. Faith is most important because without it it’s impossible to please God. Faith must also be practiced and used as our weapon of defense against anything that the enemy comes with, be it negative thoughts, be it doctrines contrary to the Word of God, be it fleshy desires or, any other thing that is not of God. 
The woman with the issue of blood suffered for years but by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment she was healed. Jesus said to her, ‘thy faith hath made thee whole. Matthew 15:22- 28 narrates the story of a Canaan woman who asked Jesus for help because her daughter was possessed by a demon. Jesus ignored the woman at first but she was persistent and started worshipping Jesus until Jesus told her, ‘It is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs. She was not ashamed to agree, in fact, she said truth. Then she said Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Jesus said unto her, Woman, great is your faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

We must also remember father Abraham and how he believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. In other words, Abraham had faith in God (Romans 4:3)

Ephesians 6:17- And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Our helmet of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ and, we must have him as the head of our lives. For us to effectively use the Word of God and to be able to use it as a weapon, we must know it whereby we will be able to repeat it when needed. If we don’t know what the word says, then we do not have a sword to fight. The word of God is quick, powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword and is what we need to defeat the enemy.

Ephesians 6:18- Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Along with having on the whole armour, it is very important to always pray asking God for the things you need to advance you spiritually, to advance his kingdom and, his work. We are called to be watchmen and a watchman is to always be alert, hence, we are to be alert and persist no matter how difficult it gets. We should never quit or give up, the Word says in all things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us, that is through Jesus Christ. Having on the whole armour and keeping in prayer to God, we will always have the victory.