Are you equiped with the armor of God?

Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

When ever I look at this passage, the first thing that strikes my mind is, no, I’m thinking of Gundams, but RPG games that many people spend hours and hours playing. In the game, players would collect items to strengthen their characters and when they collect the whole set, they get an even greater bonus!. Doesn’t that sound familiar? look at verse 11. It says put on the FULL Armor of God. It is when we have the whole set then only we will be ready to stand. How is it then,that we can spend hours in an online game looking for armor that does not last rather than looking for an eternal armor?

1.Belt of Truth (v14):

-John8:32 says the truth will set us free.
-As a soldier’s belt gave ease and freedom of movement, so truth gives the believer freedom with self, others and God
-When you don’t have a belt, your pants fall right? When you run when yours pants fall, your are going to trip and fall when you run. This applies to our Christian walk

2.Breastplate of righteousness (v14):

-This refers to the sanctifying righteousness of Christ
-Breastplate protects the chest
-So the sanctifying righteousness guards a believer’s heart

3.Feet fitted with gospel of peace (v15)

-Not so much about spreading the gospel
-But rather more on keeping ourselves deeply rooted to the word of God
-This brings stability and peace

4.Shield of faith (v16)

-The shield consists of faith
-A Christian’s resolute faith in the Lord can stop and extinguish all the tricks of the evil one
-Satan wont come up to you in a big scary demonic form , he will probably try and get you from far, therefore like an arrow, hitting from far

5.Helmet of Salvation (v17)

-The head is one of the vulnerable parts of the body
-If the head is injured, we may have permanent and serious damage
-Having one’s head guarded by a helmet gives a sense of security
-The salvation may be personal safety or future promised deliverance

6.Sword of the Spirit (v17)

-This sword is specified as the Word of God
-Use the Word of God to combat enemies
-When Jesus was fasting in the desert and was tempted, three times hen quoted Scripture

7.Prayer (v18)

-Many would think that the sword was the only weapon
-Prayer can be used to moved mountains and against the evil one

Therefore, let us equip ourselves with the full armor of God and continue forward to the goal and plan God has for us