Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For 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. Therefore put on the full armour 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
Ephesians 6:11-14 NIVUK
This year I had the privilege of seeing the football team I support go all the way to a continental final. They lost – on penalty kicks – but reaching the final alone was a huge achievement, since they had a team that was built using far less than half of the money their opponents had used in each of the previous four rounds.
And they don’t go that far very often. I had previously seen them do it twelve years ago.
But when they did it twelve years ago, their tactics were very different. They knew they were not as good as their opponents. The difference in quality was obvious. So their tactics were to stop their opponents from playing – to defend – and then to hope for their opponents to make a mistake so they could score a goal.
It wasn’t very nice to watch. In fact, for a neutral fan it must have been terribly boring. But it was effective, until they got to the final and lost.
Paul provides us with the tactics in spiritual warfare here. In fact, he tells us four times. But we often brush over these words because we don’t like to hear them.
During that famously defensive cup run, the team I support came up against the mighty Barcelona, complete with the greatest player in the world, Lionel Messi. Messi called my team’s negative playing style ‘anti-football’.
Some Christians, on seeing these words from Paul, might call this ‘anti-victory’.
You see, Paul’s tactics are not to protest outside venues hosting events we disagree with, or to wave placards with graphic pictures outside abortion clinics, or to write angry letters about Sunday working.
No, they are to stand. To stand and to withstand.
A careful examination of the armour Paul asks us to put on yields another critical piece of information: five parts of it out of six are protective and defensive in nature, and one part of it could be both defensive and offensive.
In other words, this armour is not for attack. Instead, it’s for self-defence.
Paul is not giving the Ephesian church a tactic to crush the enemy. No, he’s giving them the means to be strong and survive.
This makes even more sense when you consider a part of the message given to them by the angel in Revelation:
I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
Revelation 2:2-3 NIVUK
Twice we see ‘perseverance’. Once we see ‘endured’.
And the means to do so was given by Paul.
You see, Paul’s intention here is not – as some might allege – to turn the Ephesians into some form of spiritual special forces who will raid pagan temples like they’re an enemy encampment and deliver their followers as of they were kidnapping victims. He wasn’t preparing them to storm the gates of hell.
No. He was giving them the tools to take a stand.
The Armour of God makes sense only in that context.
But if you really think about it, this makes the truths in these verses all the more important.
You see, if these weapons were to be used only by an elite fighting force – a sort-of spiritual paratrooper regiment – then we could easily argue that they’re not for us. We could skip through them and say they’re not relevant.
But the truth is that they’re aimed at a church under fire, from a leader in prison, to help them cope with the pressures they faced every day.
Suddenly they’re relevant for all of us.
Because at some point in time every one of us will feel like we’re under attack. Every one of us will feel on the defensive. And it’s right then that we will need these weapons.
I’m also struck at another time in Jewish history when they were on the defensive – and, I’m fact, were absolutely terrified:
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’ Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’
Exodus 14:10-14 NIVUK
‘Stand firm’. ‘Be still’. Not usually words you hear from a great military commander. Even more unusual when you read into the Hebrew and see that when Moses was telling them to ‘be still’, he was effectively telling them to ‘be silent’.
A phrase that’s also used elsewhere in the Bible.
He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’
Psalms 46:10 NIVUK
There are many who would view this tactic as entirely negative. ‘Be still? Stand and withstand? Be silent? What happened to overcoming and being victorious and being a hero?’
You see, that’s just it. Christians who seek to be a hero are those who are seeking glory for themselves and not God.
But those who battle with deep courage and faith, who take a stand and withstand, and wait on the Lord to deliver them, they are the ones who truly overcome. Because when the Lord comes to rescue them, it is the Lord who gets the glory.
So before we look into each of the separate weapons of the Armour of God, we need to ask ourselves this question:
Why do we want to wear it?
Do we want to wear it because we want to be a mighty warrior for God?
Or do we want to wear it because we are in the heat of a desperate battle, and we need it to take our stand until the Lord rescues us?
That question will determine not only how we wear it, but if we even put it on in the first place.
So you do you want to wear the Armour of God?
Questions
1. ‘The armour is not for attack... it’s for self-defence’. Does this surprise you? How will it change your approach to spiritual warfare?
2. Both Moses and the psalmist spoke of being still and silent as being crucial weapons in spiritual warfare. Do you agree? Why / why not?
3. Why do you want to wear the Armour of God?
The Word tells us to hold our peace and the Lord will fight for you. Often very hard to do as our natural instinct is self protection.