In Ephesians 6, verses 11 through 18, the Apostle Paul encourages us to put on the whole armor of God. The reason he speaks of this is because, as pointed out in verse 12, we are in a constant struggle with the forces of Satan. Satan wants only to destroy us; to make us ineffective in sharing God's love with others.

He mainly teaches here that the difficulties in life we often face are not because of the people we encounter or seem to give us trouble, but rather the evil forces that influence negative and harmful behavior. With the armor of God we can stand against the attacks of the enemy, the real enemy, Satan and his minions and emerge victorious.

  The first piece of armor mentioned is the loins girt about with truth. The reason the writer places the element of truth in this position is that the gird is the center point of the body. It is the center of gravity, the point of balance. A fighter depends greatly on balance to  remain effective in a fight. If thrown off balance, the fighter is easily defeated, taken down. It is in living honestly and truthfully that we maintain our balance. We have all heard throughout our lives that honesty is the best policy. This is true for many reasons. As long as we are just honest about any situation we are involved in, deception cannot overcome us. We cannot be found as a liar and anything (or anyone) that tries to deceive us will be exposed. No matter what, eventually the truth always comes out. Be honest with others, be honest with yourself.

   The next piece of armor mentioned is the breastplate of righteousness. The importance of righteousness is that it takes away the ability of the enemy to point an accusing finger. Satan is always looking for a reason to bring us into accusation before God. If we are not in right standing with God (the definition of righteousness), Satan has a right to accuse us. Without righteousness, we are not under God's protection. It is, however, not our own righteousness on which we depend. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags before the Lord, the Bible says. By Jesus' sacrifice for our sins on the cross, He became our righteousness. As long as we maintain a communicative relationship with God through prayer and Bible study, we have His protection through the righteousness of Jesus. Even if we sometimes err or are disobedient; we can come to God for forgiveness and He will restore us. The breastplate protects the heart and other vital organs; the areas of which the body is the most vulnerable. This is the part of the body that is more subject to fatal injury. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we always have a close relationship to the Father. Without it we would not survive (spiritually speaking). And after all, it is the spirit that is eternal. The flesh, the mortal body, will eventually die away.

  Your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. What does that mean? Well, we know that the Gospel of peace is the truth that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again the third day after His death to secure our redemption to God by offering the blood He shed for our sins. This is the Gospel of peace: salvation! We must always be prepared to share this truth with others to encourage them to enter their own relationship with the Father and receive salvation for their souls. Anyone who calls on the name of Jesus for salvation will receive it. He is always faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness. This is the message we take with us everywhere we go. That is why it is how our feet are shod. Since we enjoy the many benefits of salvation and our relationship with God, why not share it with others so they may enjoy the same peace in which we live.

   A very important piece of our armament is the shield of faith. The author of Hebrews tells us in the first verse of the eleventh chapter that faih is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (KJV). This all seems very esoteric, but it has a basis in reality.  Everything around us; what we see, touch, hear and even taste began as an idea, a thought. It all came from the unseen. With thought, effort and use of available physical resources it all became what we know as tangible reality. With faith, we are able to have the motivation to believe in the truth that we are capable of accomplishments. We can trust that God will guide and provide all that we need in our endeavors. We can maintain a positive outlook. The enemy does not want us to achieve. He wants to keep us under his control so that we slip away into a life of obscurity, never having a positive impact on the world around us. Faith really is simply, trust in God that He will provide for our needs and protect us in times of uncertainty. Very often we put our faith in material things; money, career, various objects, even other people. These things fail us, though. God does not fail us (2 Corinthians 1:20). Though, there are times when it seems like He has not supplied us what we think we need when we need it, it is important to remember that God is God, His ways are greater than our ways (Isiah 55:8-9). We have an idea of how something should be done, how a situation should be resolved, but if we have patience and just trust Him, things will work out even better than we expect and more to our benefit. Faith is placed as a shield because trusting God completely will protect us from the fears with which the enemy tries to attack us.

  Salvation as a helmet protects our thinking. Salvation gives us the ability to think with the mind of the Spirit, which is life and peace rather than the mind of the flesh, which is death (Romans 8:6). Salvation gives us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5-11). With the mind of the Spirit, the mind of Christ, we can understand the teachings of the Word of God. We also understand the power of humility and forgiveness. Salvation guides our thinking and brings us to a relationship with the Father. Without salvation we have no connection to the Spirit and the truths of the Spirit make no sense because thinking in the mind of the flesh only gives us the ability to understand the things of the mundane ( 1 Corinthians 1:18).

  The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Bible tells us that the Word of God is a sword; a weapon against the enemy which is always attempting to destroy us. As stated in Hebrews the fourth chapter and the twelfth verse, it is quick and powerful and even sharper than a two-edged sword, it has the power to bring down the enemy and destroy his devises against us. It can even discern the thoughts and intents of those we encounter. Of all the pieces of armor previously observed, the sword is the only offensive weapon, the rest is protective and defensive. We are continuously at war with the enemy and his onslaughts. The enemy wants to stop us from advancing the Kingdom of God in the Earth. , It is imperative that we remain protected from his attacks. However, in order to advance the Kingdom of God, we must take territory from the enemy. After all, the enemy is actually a trespasser on what really is God's land to begin with. So it is necessary to take the fight to the enemy, knowing that we are only taking back what is rightfully God's and also ours, as we belong to God as well. God placed man as manager of the Earth, not Satan (Genesis 1 26-28). The Earth is therefore man's dominion to look after and take care of and to benefit from as well. We need a sword, a weapon, to defeat and subdue the enemy. That is the reason God gave us His word, His promise, so that with the Word of God we have the power to defeat the enemy. Proverbs 18:21 tells us the death and life are in the power of the tongue. Every spoken word carries with it power in both the spiritual and natural realms. When we speak the Word of God, it generates a creative force to which even demons must submit. 

   Further, in the second book of Corinthians, chapter ten, verse four; it is explained that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (tangible, physical), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself ​against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Our true weapons are as stated in the passage of the above text along with patience, humility, forgiveness, and especially LOVE, HOLY LOVE, for all mankind.

 

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