Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (Ephesians 6:14-16 — New American Standard Bible)
Paul spent years of his life in Roman prisons or under Roman house arrest and had plenty of time to reflect on a soldier’s armor. As he goes through the armor of God he presents it roughly in the order that a soldier would put the various pieces on. There are six pieces of spiritual armor — truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word — that keep our mind and thoughts focused on what is pure and true, since the devil works primarily with lies, doubt, fear, and confusion. His weapons are words — negative words and lies — and so our defense must also be words — words and thoughts that bring life and strength.
In ancient times soldiers girded themselves with a belt that held the rest of the armor in place, and from which hung strips of leather to protect their lower body. Truth is crucial. How can we hope to withstand the father of lies himself when we are not holding firm to the truth ourselves. Truth as a piece of armor means that we have to be truthful and honest at all times. It also means that we hold on to basic foundational truths of the Bible so that whenever we are attacked with doubt or lies, we can easily identify them as such.
A Roman breastplate went completely around the body so that a warrior’s back was also protected. It was made of hard leather or metal. Righteousness as a piece of armor does not stand for the righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus’ death on the cross, which we all possess, but the practical, daily choices to do the right thing and to run from evil and temptation. This is like a bulletproof vest that protects us from the destructive power of sin.
Roman soldiers wore tough, leather shoes with metal studs on their soles. No soldier would ever go into battle in his bare feet, and we cannot engage in war with the devil unless we keep in mind the great truths and power of the gospel message. We are forgiven and have been given authority. Jesus has restored the dominion that Adam lost in the garden. We have peace with God, and therefore are at war with the devil. When we keep these things in mind we are prepared for anything.
When Paul mentions the shield he says, “in addition to all”, which seems to mean that faith is a piece of armor that we need to pay particular attention to. Roman shields typically measured two and a half by four feet and would offer protection for most of a soldier’s body. Faith as a piece of armor means that the fiery attacks of the devil and his demons — no matter how strong, vicious, or often — are knocked away without causing us any harm. Faith shields us so that his lies and fear have no effect. When we are sure of what we do not see simply because God’s Word has made us promises (Hebrews 11:1), the devil is no longer a threat.
Tomorrow we’ll speak about the remaining pieces of armor.
No comments:
Post a Comment