Suit Up In The Full Armor Of God!

Bible Study - Ephesians 6:11-13

Highlight – The passage you will be covering in this study

“11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.” Ephesians 6:11-13 (CSB)

Explain – Explain what this passage says

Let's break this one down verse by verse. In verse 11 Paul writes “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” What's he saying here? When you are getting ready to go into battle what kind of preparation should you take? Will your belt block the assault of who you're battling? Would throwing your helmet at the enemy stop the attack? Will you be able to fully protect yourself with just a few of the things available? It would not be wise to try these things. To be victorious against an opponent as experienced as the devil you have to use the right defense & weapons for all the ways he might attack.

He tells us that to we are to put on the full armor of God. What is the full armor of God? The answer to that question comes a couple verses later. Verses 14-17 describe the full armor of God. They say, “14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

First he tells us to gird our waist with truth. Another translation calls us to put on the “belt of truth”. Why do we need truth to battle the enemy? We need truth because Satan is the father of lies & that's a weapon he will use whenever he gets a chance. He tells lies to deceive us. In the many years the devil has been doing this he has gotten very, very good at it.

Where do we go to find this truth we need to combat the devil? To fully understand that let's take a closer look at the word truth Paul uses here.

The word translated truth is the Greek word aletheia (al-ay'-thi-a). In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This verse also uses the word aletheia. The same word is used in John 17:17 which says “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”.

Looking at these two verses we see that Jesus is truth AND God's Word is truth. How can that be? How can a person & a Word be the same thing? John 1:14 tells us “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God's Word & is full of truth. Jesus is the Word & the Word is truth.

By having a strong relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ we have the truth to overcome the evil lies of Satan. God wants us to put on truth for our own sanctification and deliverance, as well as for the benefit of those to whom we witness. No one will believe us if we are known to be liars. We want our reputations to be righteous & trustworthy.

The belt of a Roman soldier in Paul’s day was not just a leather strap like the ones we wear today. It was a heavy leather & metal band with a protective piece hanging down from it. The belt held the soldier’s sword & other weapons. The belt of truth in spiritual armor holds the sword of the Spirit, which links truth to the Word of God.

What's the next thing Paul writes about in the armor of God?

Next he writes about the breastplate of righteousness. Couple things to talk about here. First, why is the breastplate an important thing for someone going into battle to have on? What does it do? What's it protecting? A breastplate shields a warrior’s vital organs from blows that could be fatal. Not many warriors would survive a direct attack to the heart, lungs, or other organs that the breastplate would be protecting. That's why Paul urged warriors in Christ to put on this armor.