God provides us with the armor we need to fight these spiritual battles. He gives us the belt of truth, body armor of righteousness, shoes of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit.
Body Armor of Righteousness: Armor was worn to protect against assaults.How will I get the armor of God? We “put it on” by seeking God and His righteousness above everything else (Matthew 6:33). We make Him and His ways our dwelling place (Psalm 91:1). We delight in His commands and desire for His ways to become our ways (Psalm 37:4; 119:24, 111; Isaiah 61:10).
Because our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers and principalities, our weapons are not physical weapons, and our armor is not physical armor. To stand against satan, we are not unarmed but spiritually armed amply. The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith and the sword of truth are all component pieces of the full armor. When the whole outfit is in place, there are no vulnerabilities in the front. True, there is no armor for our backs, but it is our fronts that will face the battle as the Church storms the gates of hell. If our backs are in need of protection, let it come from our brothers and sisters in the Church, who are watchful and fight beside and behind us.
This armor and weaponry are for offense. Our call is to be on the offensive. The devil’s schemes will be foiled as we advance and take souls away from him, plundering his house as Jesus left us here and commissioned us to do. Satan and death were defeated by Christ on the cross. Now he is a defeated, but still dangerous and vengeful enemy. He should be taken seriously as a threat, but not feared by the Church. The weakest Christian with a mustard seed of faith has more power in his or her little finger than all the demons of hell put together. By faith we stand, and by faith we conquer.
Breaking Down the Key Parts of Ephesians 6:11
#1 “Put on the full armor of God,”
Though we are saved by grace alone, and so righteousness, truth, salvation are all a given in our eternal reality, to “put on the full armor of God” is to immerse our minds in the awareness of the truth of who we are in Christ and the power that dwells inside us, by which we walk by faith through the gauntlet of demonic power that still dwells in the darkness of a planet that is bound for destruction because of the wrath of God for sin (Jn 3:36).
#2 “so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
In the New Heavens and the New Earth that we will dwell in with God for eternity, we will take off our armor, having no need for it. But for now, though we are saved and full of the Holy Spirit, we are still subject to temptation and scheming from satan. We should not sojourn here in this world without diligence, and we are called to “take our stand.” It is, in fact, what Christ has left us here to do until he returns.
“Today I claim VICTORY over Satan by putting on the WHOLE Armor of God!
I put on the Girdle of TRUTH! May I stand firm in the truth of Your Word so I will not be a victim of Satan’s lies.
I put on the Breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS! May it guard my heart from the evil so I will remain (tap your heart 3 times) pure, holy, and protected under the Blood of Jesus Christ.
I put on the Shoes of PEACE! May I stand firm in the Good News of the Gospel so Your peace will SHINE through me and be a LIGHT to all I encounter.
I take the SHIELD of FAITH! May I be ready for Satan’s fiery darts of doubt, denial, and deceit; so I will not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat.
I put on the Helmet of SALVATION! May I keep my find FOCUSED on YOU so Satan will not have a stronghold on my thoughts.
I take the Sword of the SPIRIT! May the two-edge sword of Your Word be ready in my hands so I can expose the tempting words of Satan.
By FAITH, Your Warrior has put on the WHOLE ARMOR of God! I am prepared to live this day in SPIRITUAL VICTORY!”