Under construction (for a really long time)

The seed is the word of God (Luke 8.11).

THE ARMOR OF GOD, A METAPHOR

In Ephesians (5.10-19) we read about a metaphor where the armor of a solder is compared to the armor of God. Here we read that the armor of God is for spiritual warfare against Satan, powers of darkness, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, But what exactly does this mean? How is truth like a belt, or righteousness like a breastplate, or faith like a shield and so on. I will attempt give coherent and detailed interpretation of the metaphor.

Paul says that we should gird our loins with truth. "Gird" means to fasten, so this is the piece of armor that holds it all the other together. (The breastplate did not have a back piece so it could not hold up itself). Truth here means sincerity. Just as each armor piece are the physical traits of a solder, so also truth or sincerity is to be a trait of a child of God. The sincere child of God does not think of himself more highly than he ought (Romans 12.3). But humbles himself in the sight of the Lord and God will lift him up (James 4,10). Why? Because he is true to
himself, a sinner saved by grace. When we are not sincere then the rest of the breastplate of righteousness falls off.

The breastplate of righteousness guards the heart. Our righteousness does not come from our works but from God. We are right by the merit of Jesus Christ. Often Satan will attack our heart, the place where it hurts most. He will attack us by reminding us every sin that we have committed, telling us that no one could love us because of what we have done (1 Peter 5.8). We must always remember who we are in Christ, a new creation where the old has passed away (2 Corinthians 5.3 7)

The Gospel of peace is the a shoe on our feet because it is what moves, directs, and gives meaning in the child of God. We are commanded to go into the entire world and share the good news, that Christ as come to give us life and to give it to us to the fullest, a life of love, joy, and peace (John 10.10, Matthew 28.19). We are to share the good news of Christ, not only how he works to save us from death but also how he works in our lives every day.

The shield of faith also protects the child of God from the attacks of Satan. Often Satan will try to undo our faith by telling us that something is untrue, or unlikely. He may tell us that Jesus could not have rose from the grave or that God will not meet your needs. Just as the shield is moved to block an attack, we should have a faith that also involves action. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11.1).  We do not always have proof that God will come through, but we put our hope in him and his resurrection although they are not seen.

Salvation is like a helmet because it protects the thoughts of the child of God.  By meditating on the concept, our minds are renewed and transformed (Romans 12.2, 3).  We think how God has saved us by grace and how we will be so humbled in heaven that we will throw our crowns at his feet as he sits on the thrown and worship Him forever and ever (Revelations 6.10-11).  So we do not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to but will remain sober in judgment as we consider God's work in our life.

The Word of God is compared to the sword the weapon that the child of God uses to attack Satan.  The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword, dividing the soul and spirit (Hebrews 4.12).  Sometimes Satan will attack us from within by having his thoughts seem like ours. But the word of God protects our thoughts and guards our hearts.  It is Gods word that gives us divine power to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10.5).

Many of these concepts and others interface metaphorically and theologically (1 Thessalonians 5.8).  So this is only one way to study scripture.  Lastly, in 1 Samuel 17, David on some level wears the armor of God.  I challenge you to study it for yourself.

Vol. 3, #6

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