The Armor of God Explained

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Today on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Josh Philpot introduces us to Isaiah 59, which provides some Old Testament background to what Paul says in Ephesians 6 regarding the armor of God. The spiritual armor given in Ephesians 6 is a means for Christians to be strengthened in our daily walk with Christ. It’s meant to help us guard against the schemes of the devil. The armor of God is what Dr. Philpot would like Dr. Richard Caldwell to speak about in this episode today. Join in on the conversation to learn about the Christian's spiritual armor. You’ll hear about the pieces of armor we are to use and learn how we are to go about using them.

Dr. Caldwell tells us what the two passages have in common is the kindness of the Lord. In His kindness, He gives us imagery that helps us grasp what He has supplied for us, for what He’s called us to be and do. The Isaiah passage is obviously what the Lord Himself is doing. But, in Ephesians, it is what He supplies us with. The imagery in Ephesians is of very practical things that are filled with spiritual significance and power that enable us to walk in His ability and strength.

As we look at Ephesians 6, we are alerted to a world of activity that takes place all around us that we can’t see. Behind all this activity is the outworking of the devil, and we’re given this spiritual armor so that we can stand firm against his schemes. It is supplied for us to fight the spiritual battle we are engaged in that’s real and powerful, even though we can't see it. So Paul tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. We can be confident that the imagery supplied speaks of practical steps we are to take that are infused with real spiritual power from the God who gave us these steps. Putting on the armor is faith in action, believing the Lord, and taking the steps He's given us. And from the outset, determination is set before us. We do this by putting on the whole armor of God so that we are able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Dr. Caldwell walks through this passage and helps us understand these images and how each of them is meant to be worn or used:

 Fasten on the belt of truth – this imagery represents how we stand firm in the spiritual battle. We do this with truth, the Word of God. The example Dr. Caldwell gives is the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. We stand firm amid the battle by standing on the ground of truth.

 Put on the breastplate of righteousness – this is the knowledge of righteousness. The breastplate guards our hearts when we choose holiness. Our hearts are guarded by the knowledge that our holiness is found in Christ. It’s the knowledge that the Lord has forgiven all our sins and that He has gifted us the very righteousness of His Son.

 Shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel – this is a picture of the Roman soldier's shoes being compared with the knowledge that we are at peace with God. Dr. Caldwell does not see this as being about evangelism. He sees this as the means that we have the ability to stand firm and stand our ground when Satan, the enemy of our soul, brings accusations against us. Knowing that we are at peace with God, that the righteousness of Christ is really ours, and that God has really forgiven our sins is so helpful when we’re in the conflict.

 Take up the shield of faith in all circumstances – this is for extinguishing all the flaming arrows of the evil one. A soldier’s shield was covered with pitch to extinguish those flaming arrows shot at them. How do we do this? The answer is we believe God. We have the truth. Are we going to believe it? Are we going to stand on it in the moment, in the hour of testing? That is how we will extinguish those flaming arrows.

 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit – the helmet is the knowledge of salvation; you protect your head with it. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. The truth of God’s Word is interwoven throughout this entire thing. It’s standing on the truth, believing the truth, having our minds guarded with the truth of salvation, and taking up the sword, the Word of God; all of it’s about truth.

 Lastly, we are to sum it all up with prayer.

These are practical things given to us that we can do every day as Christians. We can get up every morning and practically put on our spiritual armor. Trusting that what the Lord has provided is sufficient; we just need to do this and live it out. That’s how we are meant to live the Christian life.