The Whole Armor of God

by Larry R. Ping II

Paul instructs the Ephesians to “put on the whole armor of God” so that they could fight against the “wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). If one is to fight for the Lord, then he ought to be outfitted to do so. What are we equipped with?

We Fight With Truth. Lies get nobody anywhere. God hates the “lying tongue” (Proverbs 6:17). A quick look at the life of Abraham helps one appreciate that half-truths are whole lies (Genesis 12:13, 20:5), not to mention the trouble that they bring. When we speak to our friends and family about Christ, it has got to be the whole truth and nothing else. In time, most will appreciate this.

We Fight With Righteousness. We have many who subscribe to situation ethics. God disagreed when he chastised those who say “Let us do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8). We always live the RIGHT kind of life and do the RIGHT thing. It is always the RIGHT time to the do the RIGHT thing.

We Fight With Peace. This is related to the admonition recorded in Ephesians 4:15 which says to be “speaking the truth in love.” We are to show folks in a truthful, kind way that peace is found in the “blood” of Christ (Colossians 1:20). Untactful tactics will not soon help anyone to obey the Gospel.

We Fight With Faith. There is never a time in this spiritual battle to have faith that declines. Our faith must be ever-present (Hebrews 11:6). Perhaps we can lead others to Christ by our steadfastness (I Corinthians 15:58) and our unending faith in God.

We Fight With Salvation. All have sinned (Romans 3:23) and are therefore subject to penalty of sin (Romans 6:23). We need to go out to war for others’ souls with the knowledge of salvation from sins. Let our hearers know that they can be a “new creature” (II Corinthians 5:17) and that their sins can be “washed away” (Acts 22:16).

We Fight With The Sword Of The Spirit. We have a weapon that is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). It is the flawless Word of God. It is the ultimate weapon to use against Satan and his workers (Matthew 4:1-11). Do not ever give any thought whatsoever about going into a spiritual encounter without the Holy Text. To do so is foolish!