The Armour of God



As part of our church prayer meeting yesterday, we prayed through Eph 6:14-18 – putting on the armour of God. As we were praying I was thinking about the meaning behind the analogy to armour. So here are some thoughts about the armour of God.

I wondered about the “belt of truth” for a while. Why associate truth with a belt? I think I understand – what’s a belt for? To hold up your pants. And what if your pants fall? You are ashamed. And that is the essence of living in TRUTH. If we live in truth, we will never be put to shame by hidden secrets or sin. So confess our sins and live with transparency, integrity and truth, and we will never be put to shame.

The “breastplate of righteousness” – everyone gets hit in life. But when we walk in righteousness, God’s promise is that this (and not anything else) will defend and protect us from harm. We may be dented, but our bodies will be safe!

The “feet fitted with readiness that comes with the gospel of peace” is quite clear. As the song says, “These boots were made for walking!” - so the meaning is that we should be ready not only to hear the Good News but to MOVE upon it – actually take action!

The “shield of faith” – why associate faith with a shield? For two reasons I think. One, faith protects us when evil plans are set against us. We trust in God’s plan and continue to walk in it, thereby extinguishing the danger of the temptations that the Devil shoots our way. Second, in medieval times, the shield very often bore the emblem of the bearer’s lord, and signified his allegiance. It was a very visible sign of the bearer’s loyalties. And so it should be with our faith – we should proudly bear our faith and demonstrate it to the world.

The “helmet of salvation” – why a helmet? I think this is possibly a reference to the critical protection of the head. A headblow is generally the most deadly. And salvation is, if you like, the ultimate protection. Whatever hits we may take in this life, we have salvation in the life to come. A second possibility is a reminder that we should always keep in our heads, or our minds, the end goal – our salvation – and so keep an eternal perspective on all things. Helmets, particularly those knights’ helms in medieval times, often blocked the wearer’s peripheral vision – in this sense, a helmet of salvation forces us to focus only on salvation, rather than the peripheral, temporary things around us.

The “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” – why associate a sword with the Word? Because sword is just a word with an “s” at the start? Haha. No, I think it’s because a sword is a weapon – what the analogy is trying to say is that we need to be ARMED with the word of God to DO BATTLE. Knowing God’s word and how to use it to defeat the Enemy, is the weapon that God has provided for us.

So now put on your armour and get out there and fight!

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