Put On The Armor Of God | Ephesians 6:10-17 Explained

Today we are going to talk about what it means to put on the armor of God.

Now it’s very possible you’ve been told that putting on the armor of God is something that requires human effort. You’ve been told it’s something you need to do or try to do. But that’s not at all what it means to put on the armor of God.

The reason we put on the armor of God is to protect us from attacks from the evil one. So to begin the short lesson the first thing I want to do is talk about what the evil one can do and what he cannot do.

WHAT THE ENEMY CAN NOT DO

1 John 5:18 teaches us that the enemy cannot touch us.

So the enemy cannot push you in front of a truck, he cannot give you cancer, he cannot physically hurt you in any way.

WHAT THE ENEMY CAN DO

The Scriptures tell us the enemy is a liar. The enemy can accuse you. Revelation 12:10 tells us he accuses us day and night.

So, we know the enemy lies to us and he accuses us.

Now let’s see how putting on the armor of God protects us against the fiery darts of the enemy hurls at us.

Ephesians 6:10-17 | Armor of God

Verse 10 starts off by telling us:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”

So I want you to notice you’re not being asked to be strong in yourself. You are being called to be strong in Jesus. So this is not about you and your effort.

Next in verse 11 he tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes.

So again, I want you to notice that we are not fighting earthly things. The context of putting on the armor of God is about fighting against the devil’s schemes as he lies to you and accuses you. And we get further evidence of that in verse 12.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

So then in verse 13, that’s where we are told to put on the full armor of God so when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground.

So now let’s look at this armor and see how we would use it to protect ourselves against the accuser and the liar.

In verse 14 we first see we are called to put on the belt of truth. So to put this in perspective the enemy has no problem telling you your sins are not forgiven. He has no problem telling you God is still angry with you. He might even tell some of you that you can lose your salvation. So putting on the belt of truth is recognizing what we are told in Scripture. And in this example, we realize that God is not angry with us and that he has taken all of our sins away and they will never be remembered again. We also recognize that we cannot lose our salvation. This would be a perfect example of putting on the belt of truth.

Verse 14 continues by asking us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. In this case, the enemy might be telling you that you are not righteous and that you have an evil heart. As we put on the belt of righteousness we realize that God has told us we are the righteousness of Christ. We realize that our righteousness comes from the finished work of Jesus and not from our perfect human effort or lack thereof.

In verse 15 he speaks of placing our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. I love this. The idea that you can stand firm in the truth. Romans chapter 5 opens by telling us we have been justified through faith and that we all have peace with God as a result. So when the enemy comes along and tells you you’re not worthy of Jesus or that you’re not qualified you can stand firm in the truth knowing that the gospel of peace applies to every one of God’s children.

Next, we come to verse 16 where we are called to take up the shield of faith. But I want you to notice what it’s for. Once again we see this is not about things happening on earth. This shield of faith is so we can extinguish those flaming arrows being fired at us from the evil one. Those flaming arrows would be lies and accusations about who you are in Christ. Perhaps he’s telling you you’ve sinned too much to be qualified for God’s grace. Maybe he’s telling you that you haven’t done enough recently and God is not pleased with your performance. This is when you put on the shield of faith and remember that you have been made right with God through faith in the finished work on the cross and God is not judging you or rating you based on your human performance.

And finally, in verse 17 we are called to take up take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. And the word of God tells us that your salvation is only found in Jesus. As we renew our minds and believe in our new identity we learn to protect our minds from lies hurled at us from the evil one as we put the helmet of salvation on and believe what God has told us in his scriptures. We are literally fighting off the lies and the accusations of the evil one with the sword of the Spirit.

So what I want to leave you with today is an understanding that putting on the armor of God it’s not about an outward effort Christians need to exercise. Putting on the armor of God is a spiritual armor that we use to fight off the evil one. It could be summed up by saying believe that you are blameless. Believe that you are righteous. Believe that you are justified. Believe that your sins have been completely taken away. Believe that God will never ever leave you nor will he ever forsake you. Believe that when you are faithless he will remain faithful.

That my friends is what it means to put on the armor of God.

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Author: Mike Cynar

Mike Cynar was raised in a church setting where he frequently noticed that many attendees would eventually drift away. The church labeled these individuals as ‘back sliders’ or ‘fake Christians’ just looking for ‘fire insurance’. However, Mike realized the issue was rarely with these individuals but instead with the church’s message itself. The teachings heavily emphasized behavior improvement and one’s flaws, with only a fleeting mention of one’s identity in Christ. It felt as though every sermon was tailored to the church of Corinth, who as we know or committing sins that even unbelievers don’t partake in. This trend was noticeable not just in one denomination, but across Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, and many other churches. Upon understanding the true essence of the gospel – that our righteousness comes from Jesus’ actions, not our own – Mike was inspired to liberate believers from lifeless sermons and reconnect them with the genuine teachings of Jesus. He believes that one can nurture a vibrant and growing bond with Jesus, unhindered by rigid religious practices. And thus, “Jesus Without Religion” was born.

It turns out that it is grace that leads to repentance. And if our heart is to get others to walk in the Spirit and live a godly life, then the best approach is not a beat down sermon, but rather to remind other that it is only when we understand our true identity in Christ that we will live it out. Yes, it’s true, if you’re convinced that God thinks you’re a dirty sinner, you will ultimately continue a lifestyle that mirrors that view, but if you truly believe that even on your worst day, you are called holy, sanctified, justified, and will be presented blameless in the end, well, it turns out this is the secret to living out on the outside what has been worked in to the inside.

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