“Finally 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…”
Ephesians 6:10-18
Most people make sure they are dressed before going out the door. Sometimes they put a lot of thought and effort into making sure to put on the right clothes for the day. Yet, as we can see in the above scripture, there are ways to make sure we are spiritually clothed as well. Have you ever thought about the significance of each piece of armor and why each specific item covers a particular part of the body? When you reflect on it, you gain more insight into the meaning of the armor and how to be properly clothed.
Let’s start with the breastplate of righteousness. We can get another description of this piece of armor in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 which says: “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love…” It is no mistake that this piece of armor is what covers our chest/stomach area. This is where our heart is; both in the natural and in the spiritual realm. As Jesus says: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38. Your spirit is located in this region. Therefore it is extremely important to keep your heart (spirit) protected. The Holy Spirit says the way to do this is with the breastplate of faith and love. That makes sense, since in Luke 8:15 Jesus tells us that the word of God is like a seed and when it is planted in good ground (an honest and good heart) with understanding and patience, then it will produce 100, 60 or 30 fold. However, if the ground is not good – it is shallow, easily offended, worried, bitter or angry, (basically not developed in love), then it will be unfruitful. Therefore in order for the Word of Faith to bear fruit in your life bountifully, you must receive it in Faith and Love and in a heart that is developing in the fruit of the spirit. We all have the fruit of the spirit when we get born again, but we need to help it grow and develop in order to be more fruitful, because Faith works by Love.
This is also why Proverbs 4:23 tells us to “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Jesus says in Luke 6:45 :”…for of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaketh.” You can see how these two scriptures are connected when you look at what Jesus says in Mark 11 as to how to get results. He says that we can have what we say if we do not doubt in our heart and believe that what we say shall come to pass. Therefore, if we can have what we say, and if out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, then we need to do as Proverbs 4:23 says and keep our heart with all diligence. We need to make sure our heart is abundantly filled with the word of God so that we will say what God says. When we are born again we get a brand new spirit, made completely new and right with God. Now we need to keep it developing in the fruit of the spirit by filling it with the good treasure of God’s word and God’s way of thinking. We need to feed our spirit on the word of God, not on junk food.
Notice how much of our victory in life comes from the heart. NO wonder this piece of armor is one of the largest pieces we wear. The heart, controls the course of our life because it controls what we say and of course we can have whatsoever we say, if we believe in our heart and do not doubt. Since our believing comes from our heart, it’s imperative to keep putting good treasure into our heart. Therefore if bitterness and strife, anger, envy amongst others, becomes “bad treasure” in our heart, then faith can’t come forth as effectively because faith works by love. As you can see, Proverbs 4 is absolutely critical to obey.
How do you keep your heart you may ask? I am glad you asked! That leads us to the next piece of armor: The Helmut of Salvation.
Notice this item goes on the head. Why? Because it’s in our head (our mind), where the battle takes place. This is where we allow good or bad treasure to be deposited down into our hearts. James 1:21 tells us to “…receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” (Your soul is your mind, will, emotions) Ephesians 4:23 says: “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” By putting on our helmet of salvation, we are putting on that new man, that new way of thinking in our mind. We wash our mind with the word of God. The enemy will throw thoughts at us that are not of God and do not line up with the word. They are full of fear, anger, strife, bitterness, and others works of the flesh. When we have our helmet of salvation firmly on through the washing of our mind with the word of God, then we are able to grab those thoughts and cast them down, as the scripture commands, and replace them with God thoughts. This is how we guard our heart. It starts with our thought life. When you watch shows or movies that are filled with ungodly images, words or ideas, that can affect your heart; especially if you continue to think on it. If someone has been unkind to you and you continue to rehearse it in your thinking, dwelling on wrong thoughts, then that can eventually take root. However, when you spend time in God’s word, then you are able to replace those thoughts with God thoughts. It becomes easier to recognize wrong thinking, arrest it and cast it down before it becomes “bad treasure” in the heart. Forgiveness is a big part of this. Choosing to forgive keeps your heart full of good treasure and helps the fruit of the spirit to continue to grow and increase in your heart. Feed your spirit with good food.
The belt of TRUTH – is around your loins. TRUTH will protect you from wrong decisions regarding this region of your body. This could be a vulnerable region, but when you have TRUTH strapped around it, you are firmly protected. Never let your emotions tell you what the Truth is; only God’s word is true. Let every man that says otherwise be a liar.
The feet with the gospel of peace. Gospel means good news. Peace of course goes hand in hand with walking in love. As we move forward in life, going into areas of new territory, it’s those shoes of peace that will keep us safe and on sure ground. Then our feet will not slip. When we walk in peace our feet become like hinds feet as in Psalm 18 and we can walk upon the high places without slipping.
Of course our armor isn’t complete without the shield of Faith (which we can’t take up effectively unless that breastplate of faith and love is in place) and the sword of the Spirit which is the WORD of GOD. As we speak God’s word in Faith, we go on the offensive. Our Faith is the defensive weapon, quenching the fiery darts of the enemy, but GOD’S WORD spoken out of our mouth, is our offensive weapon. This is our confession of faith in God’s promises, and this is how we take new ground.
Finally the scriptures tell us to pray without ceasing with all kinds of prayer, including praying in the spirit. As we pray in the spirit, this edifies us, makes us stronger, building us up. This is an important part of keeping our armor on. Although it’s not listed specifically as part of the armor we wear, it’s still an important part and undergirds it. By praying in the spirit, you are able to address things that you may not even know need addressed. It’s an important part of your battle gear.
Therefore, to fight the good fight of faith and be victorious, we must always make sure we are clothed with our spiritual armor. Don’t walk around naked! Keep your armor on!
Galatians 5:6
“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
Luke 6:45
“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (AMP)
“Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].“
Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh; (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Romans 3:4
“…let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
Galatians 5:18-23
“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Romans 12:2
“And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Jude 20
“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.”
1 Corinthians 14:4
“He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.”
Luke 8:15
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
Mathew 13:8
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
