When a pastor looks out over his congregation, he shouldn’t merely see sheep who follow their shepherd, but soldiers who follow their captain. In contrast, the Devil wants the preacher to see his people merely through physical eyes. He wants a preacher to see what he knows so well. “This is a congregation of sinners.” “Our church is full of problems.” “These are people prone to grumble as in the wilderness.” “My people lack confidence in God against the Devil.” As we turn again to Ephesians 6, Paul wants the pastor to see by faith what God sees in his people. He wants you, the people, to see yourselves for what you truly are: soldiers who’ve been enlisted in Christ’s army. Ephesians 6 exhorts to our duty of dealing with the Devil: “fight[ing] against sin and the devil in this life” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 32). It’s the field manual for this war. In verses 14–17 he speaks of the armor of God that his army is to wear. We’ll focus here on your defense against Satan.[1]
The Belt
Paul calls us to stand and fight “having fastened on the belt of truth” (v. 14). What seems to us an insignificant piece of clothing was for the Roman legionnaire what held everything in place: his under garments, breastplate, and leg armor. Similarly it is with the armor of God. Our belt is truth. What is the truth? As Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” We’re to know the truth about several things:
- The days we live in. They’re “evil” (v. 14). We live in a present evil age (Gal. 1:4) that’s darkened by sin (Rom. 13:12).
- Who the devil is. He’s our enemy. No matter how alluring and appealing he and his schemes may look to us, we have to remember that he often disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14).
- Ourselves. We were once dead in sin, children of wrath, separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:1–3, 12). Yet through the work of the Spirit we’ve been made alive and been given hope in Christ.
- The deep truths about God. In his great love he’s made us alive and predestined us to adoption (Eph. 1:3–5).
- Our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the one who has redeemed us by his blood (Eph. 1:7).
Soldiers of God: the great concern for you in this spiritual warfare is to be saturated with the truth of God’s Word. Like a belt, his Word holds everything together in your fight against Satan.
The Breastplate
Paul goes on to call us to stand and fight Satan “having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (v. 14). The breastplate was another key piece of Roman armor. It protected the legionnaire’s vital organs. In a similar way our spiritual breastplate protects our souls. In the New Testament it stands for two things.
- The righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us through faith alone. All that he accomplished for us is ours. He who was sinless became sin for us on the cross so that by faith we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor. 5:21).
- The righteousness the Holy Spirit imparts to us that we might be more and more holy. Every day we’re “being transformed into the same image [of Jesus Christ] from one degree of glory to another” and “this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).
The Shoes
Paul calls us to stand and fight the Devil “having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace…as shoes for your feet” (v. 15). The shoes Roman soldiers wore had nails or spikes on the bottom to gave them an advantage against their enemies. So with the gospel that’s like a pair of spiritual cleats. It’s the gospel or good news that Jesus Christ saves sinners like us that gives us stability and traction amidst all the shifting sands beneath us in the world.
How does the gospel give us such traction against the Devil? By its great effect in our relationship with God: peace. “Having been justified by faith we have peace with God” (Rom. 5:1).
The Shield
The apostle then calls us to stand and fight by “tak[ing] up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (v. 16). The shield, of course, was the chief defensive weapon of the Roman soldier. Here Paul says faith is our shield and that it protects us from the Devil’s fiery darts.
The Devil is like an enemy archer constantly shooting his arrows at us. He wants to wound our faith, our families, our marriages, our consciences, and everything else about us. Hold your shield up high, solider!
The Helmet
Finally, Paul calls us to stand and fight by “tak[ing] the helmet of salvation” (v. 17). Obviously, the helmet protected the head while our spiritual helmet protects our minds. We must be meditating upon our salvation constantly. Meditate on the sin you’ve been redeemed from. Consider often the love of God that moved him to save you. Think upon God’s provision in Christ to save. Meditate upon the work of the Holy Spirit to apply that salvation.
Conclusion
Christian, you’re named after your Captain Jesus Christ. No matter what your enemy throws at you, stand firm in your strong defense. What’s really amazing about Paul’s description here is that in the Old Testament the coming Messiah was described as wearing each and every piece of armor that you’re called to wear. He wore:
- belt of truth (Isa. 11:5)
- breastplate of righteousness (Isa. 59:17)
- shoes of the gospel (Isa. 52:7)
- helmet of salvation (Isa. 59:17)
- shield that’s God himself (Gen. 15; Deut. 33:29; Ps. 3:3).
What does this mean? Your defense is Jesus Christ. Apply him. Embrace him. Cling to him in the battle at hand against the serpent and crush his head! As Paul promises: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20).
[1] Previously published in The Outlook 68:3 (May/June 2018): 4–5.
For previous articles in this series:
