“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." - Ephesians 6:12
The spiritual battle that every Christian faces is so important to understand that the Apostle Paul described every piece of protection that God has given us. Before we look at each piece of armor, please pay attention to what Paul said in verse 13:
"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."
You and I have the choice whether or not we will arm ourselves for battle. You and I have the choice whether or not to give Satan any room in our lives (Eph. 4:27). We make the choice to resist the Devil (James 4:7). Just as God gave us the freewill to chose eternal life through His only begotten Son (Jn. 3:16) or reject Him (Jn. 3:18), God gives us the freedom to choose how ready we are to "...contend for the faith" (Jude 3).
For a soldier (2 Tim. 2:3) to be effective, the person must be fully aware of every piece of equipment in their arsenal. The soldier must know how to use what they have for effective defense and offense. If the soldier does not know what they have or how to use the equipment, then that person will not be useful in battle.
Truth and Righteousness
"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;" - 6:14
Before the Christian puts on the first piece of armor, they are commanded to stand. We should always slow down when reading the Bible and take note of every word. We are told in the first verse of Gospel message that we are to stand in it:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;" - 1 Corinthians 15:1
Before any Christian can put on the armor of God, they must be firmly planted in the Gospel. No compromise. It is the Gospel of the free gift of salvation by faith alone or it is nothing at all.
The first piece of equipment that we are to put on is the truth. This is why it is so extremely important to be firmly standing in what the Gospel says. Jesus Christ said that He is "...the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (Jn. 14:6). Either Jesus Christ is the truth or He is a lie. Either He is the only means of salvation or there are many ways to get to Heaven. Either He told the truth and His Bible is true or all of Scripture is a lie. We cannot compromise with the truth. No person is partially saved - they are either fully saved or fully lost.
The term "loins" has a different meaning than what we would think of today. This piece of equipment is referring to an area that covers from under the ribs and down to the thighs.
The next piece of equipment in this verse is the breastplate of righteousness. This item covers the shoulders down to the bottom of the ribcage and the primary purpose is to guard the heart. The Bible tells us:
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - 2 Corinthians 5:21
We have the imputed righteousness of God because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. This breastplate of righteousness is a gift from God that we are to put on, so that we can guard our hearts. King Solomon wrote in Proverbs:
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." - 4:23
The Gospel of Peace
"And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" - 6:15
Notice that the feet are covered with preparation. As believers, you and I are called to share the Gospel. We need to be prepared to walk up to people and tell them about Jesus Christ. We know the truth and are righteous because of it - we need to be prepared travel to wherever God calls us.
The Bible not only calls us soldiers for Christ (2 Tim. 2:3), but also calls us His ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20). Soldiers go where they are commanded to go and ambassadors travel to represent their government.
Faith
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." - 6:16
Paul puts an emphasis on this defensive item. It is by faith that we are saved (Eph. 2:8-9). It is our faith in God and His promises that get us through whatever the Devil attacks us with. A shield can withstand attacks from the teeth of lions (1 Peter 5:8) and it can protect us from arrows (Rev. 6:2).
It is vital that we keep our shield up to protect us. Just as we have not seen God, we might not always see the Devil's attacks. Paul said in Hebrews:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
The way to increase our faith (think of it as making your shield bigger) is to stand firm in the Bible (Rom. 10:17). We are each given faith at the moment of salvation (Rom. 12:3) and it is up to us to grow in our faith (Eph. 6:13,16).
The amazing thing that every Christian should realize is that the shield of faith can quench ALL of the Devil's attacks. Every single one. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God will never allow us to go through more than we can handle which means no matter how strong Satan's attacks are, God will not allow him to attack us in a way that we cannot withstand it.
Salvation and the Word of God
"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" - 6:17
Paul said in Romans:
"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." - 12:2
We must protect our mind constantly. When a person gets saved, they are given the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). This does not mean that we know everything (1 Cor. 13:12), but what it does mean is that we have a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
The purpose of a helmet is to protect the head. This includes the eyes, the ears, the mouth, and the brain. The Bible says that we can do all things through Christ's strength (Phil. 4:13). Because of the salvation that He provided freely: we can see God's love for us, hear the truth, meditate on His Word, and tell others about the freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
The only way to know the will of God is to believe the Gospel of salvation (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12
The sword is an offensive weapon. A soldier without a weapon has no purpose and cannot fight. The weapon that God has given us is the Bible. It is through the words contained within this precious, perfect Book that every believer got saved.
We must know how to wield this weapon! We do this by studying (2 Tim. 2:15) all of the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16). We read the Bible and then think about it constantly (Ps. 1:2, 19:14) because this allows us to know our loving Savior more intimately (Ps. 104:34, 119:15). By knowing the Word of God, we can attack false doctrines and false sciences that can deceive us (1 Tim. 6:3, 20-21; 2 Tim. 4:3-4).
The Full Armor
By the grace of God, He gave us protection as we walk in this world. If we want to be victorious and effective Christians, we will arm ourselves with this full armor and sword that the Lord has given to us.