God's Full Armour

Quoted for us is Ephesians 6: 13 – 18, which tells us of the full armour of God.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

From the text, seven pieces or items, make up the full armour of God. Seven, makes the whole. It’s like a week. As obvious and simplistic as this may be, it has to be said. Seven days make a week. If a person works for one single day and another person works for six whole days, neither has worked for a week. In like manner, if you wear six of the seven pieces of armour and run short on the other, you are not fully dressed. Paul knows the dire folly of being partially armed and with all his heart, admonishes us to wear the whole armour, omitting none.

Here is the full armour of God, in an itemized list.

1    Truth – Your loins or waist must be buckled or bound with truth.

 

2   Breastplate of righteousness – Your torso, or front, must be covered with righteousness.

 

3   Preparation of the Gospel of peace – Your feet must be fitted with the readiness, which comes from the Gospel of peace.

 

4    Shield of faith – Your hand holds the shield, to move it strategically in order to quench or extinguish the flaming, fiery arrows of the enemy.

 

5    Helmet of salvation – You will surely need to protect your head.

 

6   Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God – You need the Sword of the Spirit for fighting the enemy and defending yourself against the enemy.

 

7   Prayer, in the Spirit – You must always be praying, with all kinds of prayers, in the Spirit, for prayer is a powerful weapon against the enemy and the sure way of keeping you in God and with God.

As I am listing these, I am thinking of the human body, your body and my body and looking at how body parts are being covered. This was of particularly curious interest when I began to identify the body parts to be dressed in armour. Have you ever listed them also? For those who have never done it or thought about it, here it is.

May the teaching, enlightening and enabling Holy Spirit, grant us fresh, new offerings. Amen!

Here are the body parts spoken about. The loins or waist area, the chest or torso, the feet, the hands, the head, the spirit. It was in listing these body parts and thinking about these areas on my own human body that I was drawn away from me, from my body, to the Body of Jesus. I distinctly heard, the Body of Christ, Jesus; the Church. Indeed, it does change one’s thinking, understanding and zeal even, when the Church is kept before us and not just our individual, personal salvation. Paul was well entrenched with this holy truth. When he wrote to the Church at Colosse, for example, Paul was clear when speaking of the Supremacy of Jesus, to state that, He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. Colossians 1: 18 – 19. We also hear Paul labouring this point to the Church at Corinth. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12: 27. The whole armour of God is for His Church, the Body of His Son, Jesus Christ, of whom He is the Head and we are the body.

As we conclude we delve even deeper in the Church, and God’s armour.