By Neibert David

God has provided His disciples with spiritual and strategic clothes that they should be wearing as they walk through this life as Christians. Know it or not, when people choose to become children of God, they have enlisted in the army of God to become soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the gospel: “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

When men and women became Christians, they enlisted in the army of God because there is a war going on. Christians have become soldiers of Jesus Christ, and they have now switched sides in the war, which everyone is part of. They have now entered the war on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ to win the hearts and souls of humans for the kingdom of God!

Before Christians enlisted to be soldiers in the army of God, God considered them to be in the army fighting against Him. The Lord Jesus said: “he who is not with me is against me.” (Luke 12:30a)

Jesus lets us know by His words that there are people, who are with Him, and there are people, who are hostile or in opposition to Him. Before becoming a follower of the Lord (known as Christians), people did not know that they were against or hostile to God. But that is exactly how God sees it “he who is not with me is against me.” At one time all humans were against God. But now that Christians are on His side and in His army, they have been given spiritual uniforms called the armor of God to put on.

Ephesians chapter six (6) verses 13 – 18 lists the full armor of God that has been provided. This armor must be taken seriously because verse 12 says: “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Verse 12 makes it clear that human beings are engaged in a struggle. But it also highlights that this struggle is not against flesh and blood. In other words, the struggle is not against other human beings, but the struggle is “against the rulers…authorities…powers of this dark world…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.

These are the spiritual forces that are influencing human beings against each other. And because these forces are invisible to the human eye, people generally do not recognize that they are being influenced by evil forces. These are the same invisible evil forces that influence human beings to be against God! The very God that loves them and is calling them to be in a relationship with Him.

Verse 13 says that Christians are to “put on the full armor of God,” which means they are not to neglect any of the pieces of the armor. If they neglect to put on any of the pieces of the armor of God, they will be vulnerable to “the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11) in the very area where the armor was neglected.

Putting on the full armor will protect Christians “when the day of evil comes”. (Ephesians 6:13) Notice the verse says when the evil day comes. This is not optional; the evil day will visit each Christian at some point or another. Yet, when that day comes, they must already be dressed in the full armor of God to be victorious against the attack. It is only when they are completely dressed in the full armor of God that they can stand firm! (Ephesians 6:13-14a)

When Christians are fully dressed in the armor, now they can be confident that they will effectively stand against the schemes of the devil. After they are fully dressed, they are to be anchored and trust that the armor will help them to withstand the schemes of the devil. They may bend, but they will not break. They will be fully protected!

Verse 14 says: have “the belt of truth buckled around your waist”. The waist area or the loins (King James Version) is sometimes known as the seat of human emotions. Therefore, truth and integrity will be stabilizing forces for the lives and emotions of Christians.

When Christians walk in truth, when they make truth the anchor for their lives, the evil forces will have nothing to accuse them of because they are walking and living in the light not in the darkness. Truth and integrity must be the only option for Christians! Oneness through truth and integrity must be the hallmark of who they are. In other words, who Christians are when no one is looking must be the same persons they are when they have an audience.

Verse 14 also says: “the breastplate of righteousness” should be “in place”. Christians must live righteously and holy before the Lord. And they can only live righteously and holy when they know what the Word of God says. They must implement what the Bible says into their lives. Christians read, seek and gain understanding, and implement that understanding!

Christians should also develop a relationship with the Holy Spirit so that He will lead and guide them into what He wants them to be doing. The Holy Spirit was given to Christians as a Comforter and a Guide who will lead them into all truth. They must depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance to live righteously.

Verse 15 says the feet of Christians should be “fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Christians are to be peacemakers in their lives. The Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

Christians must be ready to promote peace in every situation and with everyone that they encounter. This concept is communicated in Romans 12:17-18: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Verse 16 admonishes Christians to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one”. Notice the flaming arrows are coming – it is not optional – the flaming arrows are coming at Christians. The flaming arrows can be the wrong accusations that are leveled; they can be the unfair treatment that is received in a relationship or at work. But these flaming arrows or “fiery darts” (King James Version) can be defeated through faith in God. And Christians should inquire of the Holy Spirit on how to handle these situations when arise.

Christians are not to be reactionary to any of the flaming arrows even though these arrows usually come through people. Christians must maintain their peace! And their trust, belief, and faith must be in God as they allow Him to deal with the situation and reward their obedience. As “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Verse 17 says “take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” The helmet of salvation protects the minds and the thinking of Christians. Their minds and thinking must align with the boundaries of their salvation as it is explained in the Bible for the helmet to be an effective weapon. The helmet of salvation can also refer to Christians having “the same mindset” of humility “as Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:3-11)

Christians are to wield the “sword of the Spirit” just like Jesus did when He answered the devil: “‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” The Word of God is a powerful sword that Christians have at their disposal to help them to remain victorious against the devil’s schemes.

When flaming arrows or fiery darts come, Christians should declare the Word of God over their lives and the lives of their loved ones. In declaring the Word of God over their lives, they will demonstrate whose report they believe. (Isaiah 53:1a)

Verse 18 says Christians should “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” With alertness, Christians are to pray with the power that comes from the leading of the Holy Spirit and pray in tongues (there is a controversy in the Body of Christ about speaking in tongues – this controversy is not being addressed in this article).

As Christians obey the command to pray about everything and “on all occasions” as well as pray for “all the Lord’s people” around the world, they will see the victory. The day of evil will come to all the Lord’s people, therefore they must be alert and dressed in the full armor of God so they can recognize and be prepared for the devil’s schemes!

This is how Christians fight their battles! Like good soldiers, they put on the full armor of God, and they take their offensive positions with alertness: they stand firm! I pray that Christians will always remember to put on their full armor of God as they take their places as warriors in the army of God!

Addendum

I always remember when I became familiar with the Armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18) It was about five years after I gave my life to Christ. By this time in my walk with the Lord, I was spending extended times in the Word of God and in prayer. Also, I, and some other women, had spent every Friday night for an entire summer learning about prayer from a mentor. It was a great time of learning and hearing the personal experiences of women who were more seasoned in the Lord than I was.

The teaching on prayer strengthened my understanding and drew me deeper into prayer and intercession. I began interceding for various situations that I would hear about from family, friends, co-workers, and in the news. I began seeing answers to my prayers. But one day a woman named Barbara came to me and forcefully said: “you are to put on the armor of God before you go to bed because you are being attacked in your sleep.”

This stunned me: I was being attacked in my sleep! I did not understand, but I obeyed. Barbara directed me to the passage on the armor of God, (Ephesians 6:10-18) and she told me to put on the armor as if I were dressing every night before I slept.

I did, and I immediately noticed that I no longer got weird dreams at night. I noticed a marked difference in the quality of my sleep: it was more peaceful. Yet, whenever I forgot to dress in “the full armor of God” at night, I would not have a peaceful and restful sleep. I would have weird dreams. Needless to say, my experience trained me to dress in the full armor of God before I went to sleep. I also began putting on the armor in the mornings before I went to work.

As I grew in putting on the armor of God, the Lord started leading me to put on the armor of God when I came into His presence and before I prayed. Around this same time, another mentor gave me a book that described a spiritual was for the control of the hearts and minds of human beings. This book gave me an understanding that there is a war going on in the unseen realm. Therefore, the kingdom of darkness had a vested interest in hindering me from praying and seeking God. The kingdom of darkness also had a vested interest in attacking me while I was sleeping as I am most vulnerable and unaware of the attacks when I was sleeping.

The strength of the kingdom of darkness is its invisible nature. Until the time that Barbara told me about the armor of God, I thought that I was just having weird dreams. I dismissed them because, in my view, I was just having weird dreams. I did nothing about it as I did not know I could do something about it. I accepted weird dreams as normal. I did not rebuke the enemy of my soul since I was blind to the onslaught against me.

I was vulnerable to the attacks from the kingdom of darkness because I did not know God had already provided a full armor that I could put on. The Bible says: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6a)

I believe that the armor of God is also a spiritual combat suit that we can put on at any time for protection. In addition to living right, try putting on the full armor of God. You may recognize a difference!