Dressed in the Armor of the Lord
Dressed In The Amor Of The Lord
J. Mike Minnix
Introduction
Ephesians 6:14-20
Paul was very familiar with the Roman soldier and the uniform that he wore to protect himself from any and all enemies, but Paul also saw the armor of the Roman soldier in a symbolic way. He viewed the armor from the perspective of a Christian seeking to protect himself from the devil and all his devices and attacks. He gave us a picture of a Christian who is armed and ready to stand faithfully for the Lord in this world. In other words, Paul was using each piece of armor to display the various characteristics which we must maintain in order to stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Let's look at those various pieces of armor that the Roman soldier wore and discern how Paul applied them to the Christian life.
I. Integrity - "the belt of truth"
The belt of truth speaks for itself - it is a matter of integrity. The waist was the place where all the other pieces of a soldier's armor were supported. A soldier without a belt is helpless and hopeless. Christians are to live on the truth of God’s Word and act with integrity in our lives. If we fail to do this most important thing, all the other pieces of the armor fall from their critical places. So, we can say that Paul stated that the Christian must keep himself or herself from error and untruth.
A. There is Secular Error
We see error, when compared to Scripture, in newspapers, media, movies, education, novels, music - well, I guess it is best to say that lies from Satan are everywhere in this world.
Psalm 51 states that God expects truth in the inward man. We must not let the world dictate what we believe and thus plant seeds of untruth in our hearts and minds. The Truth is Christ and His truth is in the Word of God. We must guard our hearts with faithfulness to the Savior and dedication to the the truth of scripture. We are to adorn ourselves with the “belt of truth.”
B. There is Spiritual Error
Recently I have read a number of books that distract from Christ, the Kingdom of God, and the Word of God. These books are written by false prophets who deny the veracity of the Scripture. They deny the deity of Jesus. Sadly, they use concepts that are false and often repeat fabrications they have read from others without testing them. We must be careful to avoid “spiritual” error. The “belt of truth” must be worn when we are considering every part of scripture.
Next note the armor piece we can call ...
II. Purity - "the breastplate of righteousness"
The breastplate was worn over the chest and heart of the ancient soldier. It protected all the vital organs of the body. So, we're being told in this illustration to operate as Christians in purity - righteousness.
A rather unusual sight in Cairo, Egypt intrigued author Bradford Abernathy, who told about it in his book “450 Stories From Life.” While visiting in an Egyptian home, he saw a servant give a pitcher of water and a rug to a boy who lived there. The lad washed his hands, his feet, his face, his neck, his ears, and his arms. He went through the entire ritual three times. Only then did he kneel upon the rug, bow his head to the floor, and begin to pray. Bradford saw the need for us who are Christians to take purity more seriously, for you see, this young boy who was so careful to cleanse himself before prayer was an Muslim, not a Christian. Granted, washing the outside of the body does not make one clean. This simply reminds us as Christians that we must keep our hearts pure, for that is where the breastplate fits. We need to be concerned that our hearts are covered with the breastplate of righteousness.
David cried out in Psalm 51:7, “Lord, you wash me and I shall be white as snow.” When something unclean is within, we need to bring that to the Lord to be washed clean so that our hearts may be pure and ready for daily battle in God's Kingdom.
Thirdly, look at ...
III. Mercy - "the shoes"
The shoes are next in order. It is said that an army moves is on its feet. Armies have won and lost battles on the basis of the quality of the shoes or boots the soldiers wear. I suggest to you that this speaks of the ability to move quickly, since the shoes of the soldier in those days had hobnails protruding from them which enabled the soldier to grip the ground as he walked, ran, or climbed.
But what does the "readiness of the gospel of peace" mean? My own sense is that this is speaking of our readiness to offer the mercy of God to people - people both inside and outside the kingdom. We must be quick to help fallen comrades recover from sin and error. For the lost, we must be quick to tell them of Jesus - the only hope for forgiveness. We are to carry with us the "gospel of peace."
IV. Security - "the shield"
An oblong shield was carried by the ancient soldier. A soldier could squat down behind the large shield and the spears or arrows of the enemy were unable to get hit his body. Dear Christian, we are to hide in faith, trusting God completely. Fiery darts were often fired at a soldier, but he could shield himself behind his oblong shield. God has given us a shield - the shield of faith - to cover ourselves.
We can have full faith in God's love, grace and power in our daily battle with our spiritual enemy. We can rely upon God in our most difficult moments. Satan is always firing darts at us. He also seeks to make us blame the Lord when things don’t go the way we want them to. He will remind us of our failures from the past. He will push us toward arrogance and pride, shooting firing darts of selfishness at us. Kneel behind the shield of faith, and trust God through it all. We are to remember that our Lord is a refuge in a time of trouble.
In Psalm 5:11 the Bible encourages us to take refuge in Him and be glad. We are to rejoice, even in times of trouble, and thereby stop the fiery darts of Satan. Remember that Psalm 34:8, which declares that our Lord is good and we are blessed when we take our refuge in Him.
The shield of faith places us in a position of security and trust.
V. Certainty - "the helmet of salvation"
The helmet of salvation is next in order. The helmet covered the head, the brain of the soldier. The head, the control center of life, must be covered completely in battle. In the Christian life this speaks of assurance as to who God is, where our salvation rests, and that He is always with us. Certainty of God's nature, certainity regarding His Word, and certainity of our purpose in ife produces protection for our minds.
Look at Isaiah 26:3. God will keep us in perfect peace if our minds are fixed on Him. Consider Philippians 4:8 where we are told to think on proper things. You will notice that this text calls for us to remain positive in our thinking and trusting in our minds. We can know that God is who He says He is and will do all He has said He will do. (Hebrews 11:6)
VI. Proficiency "the Spirit of God"
Now Paul brings us to the apex of his teaching on this subject. He introduces two issues in one context. The context is the Spirit of God. Remember that we are taught in this very same book of the Bible to be filled with the Spirit. There are two things we must do in the power of the Spirit. One is to use the Word of God and the other is to pray.
One is PRAYERFUL and the other is CAREFUL.
One points UPWARD and the other points OUTWARD.
We are to pray in the Spirit. In other words, keep life in your prayer life!
Also, we are to use God’s Word in our approach to the world. We are to ever be growing in these two areas of our lives. We can only use this armor if we practice faithfully the act of praying in the Spirit and the faithfulness to use God's Word iin our daily lives.
Conclusion
Every Christian is a Soldier of the Lord. You are to live like a warrior. We are not in a physical conflict but in a spiritual conflict, in a struggle with an evil, spiritual, and wicked power that battles against the Lord and His people. Look at 2 Timothy 2:3. A good soldier does not get entangled with the things of this life but serves faithfully the one who called him. The Christian Soldier is ...
- Called by the Lord
- Enlisted (Saved) by the Lord,
- Armed by the Lord
- Directed by the Lord
- Empowered by the Lord
- Informed by the Lord
- Comforted by the Lord
Note that the text in 2 Timothy tells us that we will have struggles. Sadly, many believers expect the Christian life to be a bed of roses; however. we are told directly and plainly that our lives in Christ call for a willingness to suffer and endure. We are, indeed, soldiers of the cross.
Let me close by pointing out that we are to “please” the One who called us. We cannot do that unless we are fully dressed in the armor of God and stand faithfully for one purpose – to please Him. He will not fail us. He is a faithful Captain of our Salvation. Let us make a new commitment to serve Him clad in the full armor of God. He will never desert us - let us never desert Him.
Remember that in this world we are not yet home. Our home is with the Lord. We are passing through this world as soldiers of Christ. We are not sitting in a military barracks at church; rather we are getting instructions for our struggle against the enemy each week. We must be armed and ready for the fiery darts that will come our way. Come to Him now. Kneel before Him. Gain strength from Him. Be dressed in His armor.