I’ve been mulling over many things, but I felt led to post on the armor of God.

It seems like more people are talking about the armor of God recently, using it as protection as we go about our days or deal with difficult situations or people, but I have heard very few make the connection between putting on the armor, Ephesians 6: 10-18, and putting on Christ. Romans 13:14

I didn’t think much of it either, but as I’ve been walking with the Spirit more, I’ve become more convinced that the whole of faith is about relationship, how believers interact with and see God, so it makes sense that when we put on the armor, we are actually giving the Spirit of Jesus the permission to lead, guide and cover us (which makes sense; who better to deal with the powers of darkness than Jesus Himself and thus help us stand against them?)

I couldn’t articulate this biblically until just recently, so here is a rough go at it.

1. The helmet of salvation: Jesus or Yeshua means salvation. We are also reminded that we have the mind of Christ in (1 Cor 2:16). So we allow His thoughts to become our own, and we can perceive what is good and pleasing, instead of allowing our minds to be clouded by selfish or unhealthy thoughts.

2. The breastplate of righteousness: Jesus is our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). His blood covers us, and we are washed by the Spirit, which allows us to stand before God the Father and be accepted. Knowing we are accepted allows us our heart to be protected from the emotional lies of the enemy.

3. The belt of truth: this is probably the most obvious, but Jesus is the way, truth and the life. (John 4:16). A belt was meant to hold the whole armor together, so it wouldn’t fall off. So recognizing the truth of who Jesus is, and who He is to us and for us is the basis for our protection. We understand, and stand in everything else because of this truth.

4. The shoes of peace: Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 6:9). Peace binds chaos. It helps us see things clearly and navigate rocky terrain more effectively because we understand who we serve.

5. The sword of the Spirit: a lot of evangelicals rightly ascribe this to the Bible, but don’t go quite far enough. Revelation gives us the image that a sword comes out of the Messiah’s mouth (Rev. 1:6), so they are not just past words that have been spoken, but words He is still speaking. God is not silent today. He speaks by His Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus (Phil. 1:19). And in Ephesians 6:19, we are encouraged to pray in the Spirit. We need to be praying the things the Spirit is praying in order to be effective, so we need to hear what He is praying. Hearing and understanding His voice will keep us from being distracted any other voice. YES, read your Bibles because it will verify if the voice you are hearing is God’s or someone else’s.

6. The shield of faith: This is a bit more general, but there are quite a few verses about God being our refuge and shield, like Psalm 18:2. I believe this is the overarching theme of not only our armor, but our walk with God. God is faithful, and as we trust in His faithfulness, we are covered and safe.

The armor was not not meant to be something we do in our own strength. It is something we put on, but it is as close as our skin, so it is God’s desire to be to us, which we have access to because of Jesus’ sacrifice. We are able to be in fellowship and protected by the presence of God. We can have Him continually with us, fighting for us, covering us, but we have to make the choice to ”put Him on” or acknowledge and welcome His abiding presence.

Understanding this gives us as believers great power against the powers of darkness and the struggles of our own hearts. It also personally comforts and blesses me that I am not just doing an “act of faith,” but welcoming the lover of my soul to be close to me always. And with Him, I can run against a troop or leap over a wall! Psalm 18:29

I hope this encourages you to not only do “Christian deeds,” but to come to a revelation of what our faith is about: relationship with the God of the universe manifested in Jesus through the Spirit! Hallelujah!