The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of his might.Our verse today begins the final topic that the Apostle Paul is going to discuss with the Ephesian church. “Be strong in the Lord.” How can we do that? The only way is to put on the whole armor of God. Twice in this passage (vs.11 and vs.13) we read the phrase, “the whole armor of God”. The armor that He provided for us is our only hope for remaining strong in the Lord and continuing to stand for Him. Verse 13 also gives us the phrase, “and having done all”. This is directly tied to the whole armor of God. He has given us everything we need to stand for Him and to be strong in Him, all we have to do is put it on.

1. The “belt” of truth
   Every other piece of armor is connected in some way to the belt. It is what holds everything together. Truth is the key essential we must have in order to stand strong in the Lord. He is truth. The truth has set us free. Our enemy is the Father of Lies. We must be secured at all times by God’s truth.
2. The breastplate of righteousness
   Our heart must be right. Our heart can only be made right by the righteousness of God given to us by Jesus Christ. As we stand strong for Him, we must be protected by His righteousness, not our self righteousness.
3. The preparation of the gospel of peace
   We cannot stand without a firm foundation. Our feet is what we stand on. Without our feet, we cannot stand. The only ground we have to stand on before a righteous God is the gospel. The only thing we can offer to an unbelieving world is the gospel. As we stand, we must know why we stand, Who we stand before, and what we stand for.
4. The shield of faith
   Faith is our shield, and what a shield it is! The fiery darts of our enemy seem to fly around us constantly. The only protection we have against them is faith. When we stand strong, we must believe God and take Him at his Word.
5. The helmet of salvation
   The helmet protects our head which is home to our brain. Our brain is synonymous with our mind. We must know we are saved. We must know about our salvation. We must keep our mind clear and clean before God by constantly reminding ourselves of His wonderful salvation He has provided to us. Do not let the enemy inside your head. Keep your helmet on. You are a child of God because of your salvation.
6. The sword of the Spirit
   It is the Word of God. It is both defensive and offensive. The Bible will shelter and protect us as we stand, and it will also put the devil and temptation on the run when we use it.
7. Praying always
   Prayer is the soldier’s energy. We must pray. We must pray for ourselves. We must pray for each other. We must pray for our leaders. Please pray. It is a piece of your armor. As your pastor, I beg you, please pray for me.