The Armor of God

After spending almost three months studying the Armor of God in my church's Sunday School class, and hand-lettering a series inspired by it, I decided it was time to write a blog post about all the Lord has taught me. Many of the thoughts written here come from notes on lessons taught by my pastor's wife, June Kimmel, and I want to be sure she gets the credit for much of what I've learned and much of what what is written here. Thank you Mrs. Kimmel, for all the hours you put into teaching myself and the other ladies at church!

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Sooner of later, every believer realizes that the Christian life is a battleground, not a playground. We know that we need armor to protect against Satan's attacks, because we also realize that our enemy is much stronger than we are. Thankfully, he is not stronger than our God! We have at our disposal the armor that God specifically designed himself to give us the victory. So let us stand firm an put on the armor of God to fight the good fight of faith!

1) The Belt of Truth

Truth is quite the piece of armor. It is found in God's Word, and our knowledge of His Word will fill us with His Truth. Truth strengthens us against the assaults and attacks of Satan, and protects our minds from the deceit of Satan. If we fail to study God's Word, then we leave ourselves open and vulnerable to the attacks of Satan.

2) The Breastplate of Righteousness

This piece of armor is important because it protects our heart and vital organs. Wearing the breastplate of righteousness means living in a way that is obedient to God and His commandments with a holy character and moral conduct. But unfortunately for us as humans, all our attempts at righteousness are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). We have to remember that we can only wear this piece of armor through Christ, and His righteousness in us. How wonderful that he offers this to us through His Son's death on the cross!

3) The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

As a solider of Christ, we need the proper footwear for solid footing - a firm foundation to stand on. Through Christ, the gospel makes peace between the believing sinner and God, and makes inward peace possible. With our feet shod with the gospel of peace, we can stand in confidence of God's love for us, His union with us, and His commitment to fight for us!

4) The Shield of Faith

Honestly, this piece of armor may be my favorite (because I know I can hide behind it). =P This shield protects me from the "fiery darts" of Satan, a.k.a. temptations that he wants to continually bombard me with. But what is this shield made of? Faith. It is a basic trust in God, and it will continue to bring blessing and strength as a person trusts God for daily provision. So remember, the only way to extinguish Satan's fiery darts of temptation is to trust in God by taking up the shield of faith.

5) The Helmet of Salvation

We get double protection with this piece of armor! First, we have assurance of salvation with the helmet. And second, when wearing the helmet our minds are fully surrendered to the Lord and thus ready to resist and defeat Satan's attacks on our mind through the use of God's Word. Often our mind/thought life is where Satan will try to attack us most, and that is why the helmet is such an important piece of armor.

6) The Sword of the Spirit

Our one offensive weapon - this is exciting people!!! The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and I think most of us already have a good idea on how to use it. Just as Jesus used the Word of God in Matthew 4 to defeat Satan and his temptations, we must use the Word of God to fight against the attacks of Satan. The Word of God needs to be read, meditated upon, applied to our lives, and memorized to effectively wield the Sword of the Spirit.

While I did not go into great detail about each of these pieces of armor, I hope that the little I did say will be an encouragement to you, and that you will remember to put on your armor, stand firm, and fight the good fight of faith!