Section 3: Putting on the Armour of God

Section Introduction After a new-born babe in Christ has made attending the worship service a priority and a habit in their lives and they have begun to grow spiritually, there comes a time when the new Christian will begin to become more active in the spiritual fight against our enemy, Satan, Lucifer, the prince of this world.

Hopefully the leadership in their congregation has been studying with them, helping them in their beginning steps in living the Christian lives. I recommend the next logical step would be in helping these new Christians begin to prepare for their battle, by making sure they are equipped for the spiritual battle by helping them to understand about the armour of God, what it is, how it needs to be put on and how the armour is intended to be used in order to prepare the maximum protection against the formidable foes Satan will throw against us.

A natural place to start to prepare for the battle is to study in order to learn how God wants us to put on this armour and how it all interacts to provide safety for the Christian in the spiritual fight. Many Christians have begun the fight well by making the worship service a priority in their lives, only to fall victim to Satan because they have not understood the importance of putting on the whole armour of God. The purpose for this section is to help us to understand what each part of the armour is, how it may best be put on, and how it may be used to help us to stand in battle and fight the good fight.

Ephesians 6:11-18"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;"

The Apostle Paul considers every Christian as a soldier having warfare to fight against numerous, powerful, and subtle foes; and therefore they would need much strength, much courage, complete armour, and the skill to use it. The Greek word panoply which is translated “the whole armour” here refers to the armour of the heavy troops; those who were to sustain the roughest attacks, who were to sap the foundations of walls, storm cities, etc. The word rendered "whole armor" (The Greek Word: panoplian "panoply"), means "complete armor," offensive and defensive. The armor of God" is not that which God wears, but rather that which he has provided for the Christian soldier. The meaning here is:

(1) We are not to use in our warfare such weapons as people use in carnal warfare, but such as God provides; we are to renounce the weapons which are carnal, and put on the spiritual weapons as God has directed for the achievement of the victory.
(2) We are to put on the "whole armor." We are not to go armed partly with what God has provided, and partly with carnal weapons. Nor are we to put on "a part" of the armor only, but the whole of it. A man needs all the armor if he is about to fight the battles for the Lord. If he lacks one of the weapons which God has appointed, defeat may be the consequence.

Paul is comparing a Christian preparing to live the Christian life to a Roman Soldier preparing for battle. When you stop and think about it, it seems obvious since we are fighting the good fight of faith. I have used this entire section to deal with this subject in the hope that by using a full chapter to cover each piece of the armour, we can first better understand the purpose for each piece of armour and help each one of us in our Christian life and in our daily battle of fighting the good fight of faith against our enemy, Satan.

The first item a Christian needs to have is the Truth and it is compared to the armour that goes around a soldier's middle or loins. This may seemed strange to you now but hopefully it will be clearer after studying the first chapter. After I had studied and used some logic, hopefully it becomes obvious as to why the first thing a Christian should be concerned with in preparing for battle is the Truth.

For example, in the same way the armour a soldier puts on first, which protects his belly, loin, and upper thighs, is important because not only does it protect his belly from the enemy’s weapons, but by putting the armour on in such a way the armour placed around the loins serves as a foundation so the pieces of armour together overlap and provide much better protection. In the same way if a Christian does not have the Truth in everything they teach, they have no protection against the wiles of the devil instead they have become one of Satan's warriors.