The armor of God is not something we mentally visualize ourselves putting on each morning before we begin our day. Instead, each piece of the armor has to do with doctrines based on the gospel of grace. It has nothing to do with the old covenant, but rather, the new covenant. If you have a wrong belief in any of the areas represented by a piece of the armor, it can become an area where the devil can attack and try to shake you from your position of victory in Christ.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”
— Ephesians 6:14 NKJV
“girded your waist with truth” — Back in that time, Roman soldiers used their belts to hold their sword, small daggers, and other possessions. So the belt was important for keeping their weapons with them. Today, the belt of truth is the gospel—the truth that sets you free. If you have heard the truth of the gospel and it has set you free, leading to you being saved, your waist is girded with the belt of truth.
“the breastplate of righteousness”— The breastplate protects a soldier’s chest in war and is very important because the chest is a critical area to avoid injury in.
Some people teach that the breastplate of righteousness represents a person’s moral integrity and right behavior. However, this is not true. Every piece of armor has to do with objective truths of the gospel, not subjective truths such as our actions. The breastplate of righteousness represents Jesus’ own righteousness that we have put on as the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). It is not your inward righteousness which you work out that gives you the breastplate. If you think this way, you will never be sure if you have your breastplate on.
YOU ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST—THIS TRUTH IS YOUR BREASTPLATE PROTECTING YOU FROM THE ACCUSATIONS AND FIERY DARTS OF THE ENEMY.
The breastplate of righteousness protects your heart. The heart of man consists of the soul and spirit and is known as the “hidden man of the heart” or your “inward heart.” The enemy will often aim at your heart to try to condemn it, hence it is so important to protect it by knowing that you are the righteousness of God in Christ.
“and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”
— Ephesians 6:15 NKJV
“shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” — The word “preparation” in the Greek is the same word used for “foundation” in the Septuagint. According to WE Vines, what this verse actually means is that the gospel of peace is your foundation or your firm footing. The gospel of peace is unshakable because it does not depend on you, but rather, it depends on Christ. It’s not about how obedient you are. You are righteous by the obedience of Christ and that is what we must bring our thoughts to—the obedience of Christ, not our own obedience.
“above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”
— Ephesians 6:16 NKJV
“the shield of faith” — God’s idea of a shield seen in other portions of Scripture such as the Psalms carries the idea of all-encompassing protection that covers your back as well as the front of your body.
“the fiery darts of the wicked one” — The Greek word for “darts” here is “belos,” which is the word for “javelin”, “arrow,” and is also the word from which “ballistic” (missile) is derived. This shows us that the devil attacks us by shooting missiles of condemnation into our minds.
“(For they could not endure what was commanded: “And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.””
— Hebrews 12:20 NKJV
“shot with an arrow” — This verse quotes what happened to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai where the law was given. God had taken care of the Israelites and provided for them not because their behavior was good, but because He is good. Yet, they presumed on their own strength, confident that “all
that God says to us, we can do it.” As a result, the law was given, and God told Moses to tell the people that if a man or a beast touched Mount Sinai, it would die by being stoned or shot with an arrow. This speaks of the fiery arrow of the law as the Bible says when God came down, there was an appearance of fire.
Today, God does not send fiery arrows of judgment down on us because Jesus took all divine judgment for our sins at the cross. But the devil attacks with fiery arrows, sending thoughts and emotions of condemnation and guilt into your heart. 1 Peter 5:8 refers to the enemy as “your adversary the devil.” The word “adversary” is the word “Satan” in Hebrew. It literally refers to “your opponent” or “your prosecutor at law.”
The devil is your prosecutor and seeks only to find fault with you and tear down all your defenses. Your only plea is the blood of Jesus. All of the enemy’s arguments fall flat the moment you look to Jesus. However, once you justify yourself with your own actions done to obey the Lord, the devil will continue pointing out the things you have not done or fallen short in.
Beloved, make sure that you have put on the armor of God by having the right beliefs about the gospel so that the enemy’s fiery darts cannot prevail against you.
Comments
Post a Comment