The Full Armor Of God

There is a section in the Bible in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6, that talks about the armor of God. It has some interesting symbolism, apparently, and seems to call to the warrior's heart in understanding how spiritual warfare works. Yet, how does that apply to the world today, when a warrior is looked down upon and we are expected to be nice, peaceful, and timid as men by both the world and the church?

I was reading a book called Wild At Heart, by John Eldredge. It is an incredible book! The author proposes that, while the world demands one thing of us as men, our spiritual journies are, in fact, going through rugged country, not paved city streets. The spiritual journeys we are all on is untamed country calling for that warrior to fight for their soul. Near the end of the book he goes into the Armor of God, and it made me realize something.

I love that chapter in Ephesians. I am actually in the process with a friend of developing a video game where the goal is to put on the full armor of God and have it reinforced (if ya want details, I'd be happy to share) by the time you reach the end of the quest. Yet in reading it, and even making a videogame based on it, I never really understood the actual armor aspect. I had assumed it was just because at the times Roman soldiers were all over and the pieces of the armor were those worn by a Roman Centurian. It is so much more than that!

The pieces of the armor are as follows:

The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The Greves (leg armor, sometimes translated as the boots or feet shod with) of Peace
The Shield of Faith Above All (to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one)
The Helmet of Salvation
The Sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God)


I believe there is another piece to the armor that comes from 1 Peter 5:5: The Cloak of Humility. It completes the armor, and Rick Joyner did an amazing job of explaining its importance in our battle garb in his book, The Final Quest.

On this thread, I am going to go through the pieces of armor, and explain them as best I can. This is an introduction, of sorts. As of now, I have an inkling of where it's going to go, but I will be doing a lot of research into it, the church in Ephesis, and go through many interpretations to deliver as best I can how I believe this should be interpreted.

There is one thing, though, that has really struck me about the full Armor of God. There is nothing protecting our backs. We have been instructed to face the Enemy head on, not to turn tail and run. If we run, if we flee, we can be struck down. As long as we face our foe, using the Armor of God, we will triumph. This section of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesis even has gotten the subtitle in many translations of "A Call To Walk In Victory," because Ephesians 6 calls us to walk in victory, and explains how.

That idea of the back not having armor struck me a while back, and I had believed that this was a call to stand and fight, never turn your back on the enemy. While writing this, though, something occured to me. We are never called to battle alone. We need fellowship. In the NIV, the word "Fellowship", aka companionship, is mentioned 98 times. We cannot stand alone. We need Christ with us, but we also need other Christians there to support and fight with us. We need someone there who will defend our backs.

I am going to try to cover a piece of armor at least once a week, but please, interject any thoughts or ideas you may have on this, or any questions. I and many others who frequent these boards may be able to answer or know where to find the answer to your questions.

The example Paul used for armor is the Roman soldiers armor. But he attached symbolisum to each part as the same armor a man of God would wear.

Maby the symbolisim is to teash us that if we forge forward into our battles that we dont have to worry about our backe. Beside I like to think GOD has my back covered.

God doesn't only have your back covered, he has everything covered. Yet, how many times have you known what is good and right to do, yet you do otherwise? Having another person there with you gives you another perspective so, when you're told something is wrong by the Holy Spirit and you still go to do it, they can step in and really hold you accountable for your actions. Hopefully they'll correct you before you make the mistake, or else help you through no making that mistake again.

Matthew 18:20:
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

We are to gather and worship, live, and glorify God together, not on our own.

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" - Ephesians 6:17

"For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head." - Isaiah 59:17

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." - 1 Thessalonians 5:8

What do we know about a helmet? In medieval times, units would be given various types of armor based upon the mobility required. Heavy infantry would be equipped with full plate mail, medium infantry usually with chain mail, while light infantry would have either leather or no armor. Archers would usually have no armor either. Calvary would be broken down along the same lines as infantry as far as armor goes, though theirs could be heavier due to the strength of warhorses. There was, typically, one constant, though. All were equipped with helmets. Often these helmets would be made of metal, if they could afford it, regardless of mobility. Even today, helmets are worn even when other protection isn't used. Look at bicycle riders and even many motorcycle riders who don't also don leather armor. We, as humans, must protect our heads.

This was because of how critical protecting your head was. You could take a blow to your body or limb and not die from it. However, a blow to the head has a much higher mortality rate, and even if you lived through that blow, you would be dazed and possibly knocked unconscious from the blow, easily resulting in a undefended second strike killing you. The helmet is the most important piece of armor because of how vulnerable our head is.

Like our heads, salvation is the most important piece our spiritual armor. Without salvation, we cannot attain the other pieces, and without salvation, we have already lost the battle against the Evil One. It is key to spiritual warfare. On the surface, the helmet appears to protect our thoughts. After all, it covers our brains, which is the center of thought. Yet, salvation is so much more than that. Through salvation, we are assured of victory. Though we may lose battle after battle, with salvation we know we will win the war.

We do not take salvation, though. The Grace of God through His Son, Jesus the Christ, gives it to us. So why does the Holy Spirit through Paul tell us to take the helmet of salvation?

Many people, though they are saved do not act like it. They still have the fear, the anxiety, the doubt, the hesitation. They don't live and act as though they were already victors, but instead as though they were battle weary soldiers assured of defeat. We need to wear that salvation like a helmet. When someone is wearing a helmet, it's noticeable. Of our salvation, there can be no doubt. This is the first step in protecting our thoughts, our minds, from spiritual attack.

So how can we be assured of our salvation, so as to put the helmet on, instead of just possessing it? Read. Pray. Study. The Bible makes it plainly evident that we are saved through Christ. He was holding out his hand with this gift of salvation. As soon as we reached out and took hold of it, it was ours and would never be taken back. We were born again that day, and cannot be unborn. We need to read the scripture to gain that confidence that He has saved us, and this confidence will give us spiritual armor for our thoughts. We also need to pray. I have gone through seasons where I never even spoke to God, and during those times I felt very far away. I wasn't wearing my helmet, I was possessing it. If you are in communication with God, you are in a relationship with Him. He called us friend, because a servant doesn't know the purpose of the master. We talk with our friends, we communicate with them, and we get to know them. Communicate with God, and you will gain confidence in your salvation. Finally, study. Meditate on the Word, don't just read it as though it were a book. Read it, and then sit back and think about it, pray for understanding, learn. There are so many facets in the Word that we cannot see on the surface; we have to go deeper. When we go deeper, we see the true awesomeness and grace of this give that God HAS offered us unconditionally.