And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:17 [AMPC])
Yesterday, I was reading about the armor of God in Ephesians 6 in the Amplified translation of the Bible. In verse seventeen, Paul said, “Take the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the word of God.” I had never read that last part before, “that the Spirit wields.” Yes, we understand each of these pieces of armor is God’s armor for His children who take and wear it. In our heads, as we read this chapter of Ephesians, we know this armor comes from God and helps us in our battles. The question though is this; how many of us just take it and do what we think we must do? God did not intend His children wear it without His power, strength, guidance, encouragement, and knowledge.
Consider verse seventeen. The point of this verse is you must take hold of God’s sword and join Him in holding the sword while He defends you or leads you. Do you understand this? The same thing should happen as we put on each piece of armor. The armor is God’s. He gives it to us and commands us to put it on each day, just as Paul commanded the Ephesians. Never do Christians have ownership of the armor they wear. The armor comes from God to help us.
This same thing applies to each piece of the armor we take and wear. Consider it this way. Wear the helmet to protect your head and keep remembering God is your salvation. Put on the shield of faith so you douse the flaming darts and arrows Satan shoots your way to kill you and lead you to doubt God and His protection and goodness over you. Continue to have a strong faith. Put on the armor of preparation to cover your feet. These armored shoes will prepare you to be ready with the good news of Christ, with firm-footing and stability to battle in rough terrain without doubting God. They will lead you in God’s path for your safety and His purpose of peace. Put on God’s breastplate to protect your vital organs and to give you His integrity and righteousness through Jesus. Tighten the belt of truth around you so you will always know God’s truth and can defeat Satan’s lies and not become distracted and forlorn by them. With each these pieces of armor, always pray in the Spirit with every kind of prayer. By doing this, God encourages you as you wear it and you have faith in Him in all things remembering He is almighty. Most of all, put on God’s complete armor, by which He saves you from Satan’s distresses, so you can resist him and stand firmly in your faith in God.
So many of us pray for the armor of God then walk away thinking, “I've got this.” Instead of this attitude, we should put on God’s armor and walk with Him holding onto His sword, wearing His helmet, tightening His belt around our waist, stepping in faith in His shoes, and raising His shield, so He wins the battle for us. By doing this, God receives the glory, He encourages us in our faith, grows us to be like Him, and we become closer in oneness with Him. Each piece of the armor of God is for bodily protection and a minute-by-minute reminder that God is the One who goes before us, behind us, above us, and with us. His armor protects us from doubting, from fearing, from quitting, and from falling.
The
Spirit wields the sword.
We hold it with Him while He swings it for God’s glory and our good.
When was the last time you took God’s armor and allowed
Him to protect you and be your champion?
