Armor

New Kind of Armor

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:1

When we think of “armor,” our mind goes immediately to the shiny metal suits worn by European combatants in the late Middle Ages. But armor is older than that. In the Old Testament, Goliath was covered from head to toe in various kinds of bronze armor (1 Samuel 17:5-7). And Saul tried to clothe young David in his own armor (1 Samuel 17:38-39). Throughout history, armor has served to protect the wearer physically.

But Paul wrote that we Christians “do not war according to the flesh [physically]. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [physical]” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). For the first time in history, a new kind of armor was introduced to protect the Christian: spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-18). Like physical armor, our spiritual armor—the “armor of God”—covers us from head to toe. Our armor consists of truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. Clothed in this armor, we are “able to stand.”

Do not consider spiritual battle (the daily Christian life) without being fully dressed in the armor of God. Fully clothed, we are prepared for any spiritual challenge!
Our enemies are on every side, and so must our armor be.
William Goral