Ephesians 6: Standing Firm in the Armor of God
Today is Veterans Day, and many of us will thank men and women in our congregations who once wore a uniform and stood a post. We owe them that. Paul knew soldiers well. He wrote Ephesians as a prisoner, calling himself "an ambassador in chains" (Ephesians 6:20), and in Rome he lived under guard (Acts 28:16). So when he reached the end of this letter, he reached for a soldier's gear and told the church to get dressed for a war most people around them couldn't see.
Plenty of people aren't sure that war is real. A Verasight survey taken this past May found that 58 percent of American adults believe in the devil at least moderately, and only about a quarter said they're absolutely sure. Paul had no doubt at all. If we're going to study the armor of God, we have to start where he starts.
Know where the strength comes from
Paul opens with a command that's easy to read past: "Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength" (Ephesians 6:10). The verb is passive. We don't work up this strength on our own. We receive it from the Lord. That's worth settling before a single piece of armor goes on, because the armor belongs to Him too. Paul calls it "the full armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11), and God supplies every piece.
Know who the enemy is
Then Paul names the opponent. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens" (Ephesians 6:11–12).
When I preached this text, I told our church that just because the battle is invisible doesn't mean it's imaginary. Peter said it in plainer terms: "Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He wants our marriages, our children and our faith. Paul calls his methods schemes, which tells us he's patient and he plans.
This verse also corrects us. Most days it's people who feel like the problem: the coworker, the family member, the brother at church who said the wrong thing in a business meeting. Paul says our struggle isn't with flesh and blood. When we start treating people as the enemy, we've already lost track of where the real fight is.
Put on what God provides
Paul keeps coming back to one word in these verses, and it's stand. "For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand" (Ephesians 6:13). The picture is a soldier holding ground that's already been taken. Then he lists the equipment:
"Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:14–17).
Each piece answers something the devil does. He's the father of lies (John 8:44), so we belt ourselves in truth. He pulls us toward corruption, and a righteous life guards the heart. The gospel of peace gives our feet solid footing when he'd rather keep us restless and unsure. His flaming arrows come as doubt and temptation, and trust in God's promises puts them out. He's the accuser, so the helmet of salvation reminds us whose we are. When Jesus faced him in the wilderness, He answered with Scripture every time, and the word of God is the one piece in this list made for going on the offense.
Then Paul adds something that isn't armor at all. "Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18). Prayer keeps the soldier in contact with his commander. Notice that Paul says to pray for all the saints. Nobody in this passage stands alone.
Remember how this ends
It would be easy to read Ephesians 6 and walk away nervous. Paul doesn't intend that. The enemy is real, and he's already beaten. Paul told the Colossians that at the cross God "disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him" (Colossians 2:15). The same rulers and authorities Paul warns about in Ephesians 6:12 were stripped of their weapons at Calvary.
That's why James can make a promise: "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). The outcome was settled at the cross. Our part is to live faithfully inside the victory Christ has already won, and the armor is how we stay on our feet until He comes.
Taking it home
So where is the attack coming at you right now? It may be an accusing voice that keeps bringing up sins God has already forgiven, or a slow drift where the Bible stays closed more days than it's open. Some of you are fighting something in silence and smiling on Sunday so nobody knows. Paul's counsel is the same for all of us. Stand in the Lord's strength and wear what He provides, and let your brothers and sisters know so they can pray for you (James 5:16).
If you'd like to take a ladies' class through this, Lonnie Cruse's Does This Armor Make Me Look Fat? is a good place to start. It's a 13-lesson workbook that turns a woman's attention from the mirror to her spiritual condition, with humor and honesty, and it walks through what the Bible says about putting on the armor of God. Thirteen lessons fit a quarter of weekly classes, and it comes as an 86-page coil-bound workbook or as a PDF for personal or class use.
Lonnie lives in Metropolis, Illinois, and worships with the North Thirty-Second Street church of Christ in Paducah, Kentucky. She has taught children's classes and classes for Christian women, and she's also written two mystery series. You'll find her other Spiritbuilding workbooks, including Recharging Your Prayer Life and Passionate for Psalms, in her collection.
Which piece of the armor have you been leaving on the shelf?