Dressing for Battle – God’s Armor

Dressing for Battle – God’s Armor

 

Romans 13:14: Cloth yourself with Jesus Christ by taking up His weapons and stop
paying attention to your sinful nature and satisfying its desires.

This post will get the ones ready for battle who know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
If you haven’t yet accepted Jesus but would like to click here and read Posts 1 and 1b.

There is a war zone that separates earth from heaven; therefore, we need to get prepared for
battle every day. Certainly, a Roman soldier, or any soldier, wouldn’t go to war without his
armor on securely and each item carefully tended. The same goes for us. So, let’s understand
what this armor meant to the soldiers and what it means today for us:

Ephesians 6:11-18

Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to successfully stand up against ALL the schemes,
the strategies, and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (humans),
BUT against the powers, the world forces of this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of
wickedness under the heavenly realms.

 Put on the whole armor of God so that we can resist evil…

When we do this, we are protected and able to stand against the enemy.

Stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness, with your feet fitted with the gospel of
peace and good news, above all, take the shield of faith, the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit (God’s word).

 Always pray passionately in the Spirit…

The armor is very important; so let’s break it down to understand each
piece for us and for the soldiers.

Belt of Truth: Stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide
band of truth (integrity, moral courage) around your waist. In doing this, we
make the decision ahead of time to walk/talk only in the truth.

 For the soldiers, the belt kept everything in place and held the sword, knife, and a
money purse. The shoulder strap was introduced to carry the spatha sword which was much
longer than the gladius, which was between 18’ to 20”.

Breastplate of righteousness: Righteousness means “right standing with God”; so
before you put this on, ask Holy Spirit to show you if you’re on God’s path. It’s so
easy to repent (feel regret, mean it from your heart, and change directions)
and God forgives quickly. 1John 1:9

      Notice that the breastplate covers and protects the heart. Obedience to God
protects us from being wounded by sin. 

For the Roman soldier, the breastplate covered both front and back. It was
designed to keep the enemy’s sword from reaching the soldier’s vital
organs, particularly the heart.

Feet fitted with the Gospel of Peace and Good News.

       This means that we carry and deliver a message of good news (Jesus) wherever we go.
We are the light in a world of darkness.  For the soldier, these scandals, later boots,
were prized possessions. They covered their shins and had thick soles to
protect them from rocks, thorns, etc. If their feet were injured, it
was hard, sometimes impossible, to fight.

Above all, lift up the Shield of Faith with which we extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one.

 

The Passion translation says: In every battle, take faith as your wrap-around shield,
for it is able to extinguish the blazing arrows coming at you from the evil one!
Faith comes by hearing, believing, and applying God’s word.

Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of Christ.

A Roman shield was soaked in water to put out the flaming arrows. Some were constructed
with 3 layers of wood and then covered with leather, so after soaking in water the shield
was quite heavy. The shield was also used with other shields to create a wall around
the fighting soldiers and sometimes the soldiers behind them covered their
heads so that the arrows could not come down on them.

Put on the Helmet of Salvation. This helmet protects our thoughts from lies and
schemes of the enemy and shows that we know and embrace our position in Christ. We
are seated with Christ at the right hand of God.

 For the soldiers, the helmet could mean life or death. The helmets protected their heads
from arrows, swords, and injury. The Cassis-helmets had cheek pieces to cover most of their
face. On the front was a 3inch rim that protected their foreheads. The rear had
a guard that protected the neck.

 When the armor was in place, it seemed the soldiers were extremely protected and yet, we
all know many of them perished.  For us, the blood of Jesus is our complete coverage, along
with God’s armor. When we are walking upright with God, the enemy will flee.

James 4:7 Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Amen and Amen

Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12  For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes
of the heart. Praying and decreeing God’s word will change the atmosphere and also change us! We
need to continue decreeing until it’s done! Amen

The sword for the Roman soldier was of most importance. The gladius Hispaniensis
(the Spanish sword) is a relatively short, double-edged weapon that became the hallmark of
Roman infantry. It would slash, thrust, and block and paired well with the Roman shield.

The Roman military was very effective because they were adaptable. As they fought against their
enemy, they would figure out their tactics and incorporate their own
maneuvers/strategies to win.  

For us, we have God’s word and the Name and blood of Jesus to fight with at all
times. Knowing the word and storing it in our hearts is of most value when it comes
time for battle. God’s word is a double-edged sword ready to win against the enemy.
Our job is to know His word and put the enemy to flight.
Amen and Amen