Know Your Enemy: Armor of God pt. 1

Read II Corinthians 10:3-5

1) What is Paul telling Christians in these verses? Our fight is not against the flesh; therefore, we are not to go into battle using fleshly weapons. What kind of weapons are we to use? Divine weapons. What does divine mean? Of God. The weapons we are to use in our spiritual war are created by God. Powerful enough to destroy any arguments, beliefs, opinions that are in opposition to God. In this lesson, we will examine what these divine weapons are.

Read Ephesians 6:10-20

2) In verse 10, what does Paul tell the Ephesians? Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. What does that mean to you in the context of the spiritual war that we are fighting? How we are to fight this war? In our own strength using our own (fleshly) weapons? No. To win the spiritual war we are in we must rely on God and His power.

3) Vs. 11 and 12. What all does Paul say we struggle against?

a) schemes of the devil

b) rulers, powers, world forces of this present darkness

c) spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places

Tough line-up we’re up against.

4) What does Paul twice encourage the Ephesians to do? Put on the FULL armor of God. What are the key words in this phrase?

a) Put on – Who is putting on the armor? Whose responsibility is it to put on the armor? You and I. God doesn’t force us to put on the armor. (ex. Not Nate’s commanding officer’s responsibility to dress Nate for battle.) We must do it ourselves.



b) Full/whole – what does that mean? If we are missing the breastplate, are we wearing the full/whole armor? If we are missing the sword, are we wearing the full/whole armor? If Nate is missing a piece of his armor, weapon or helmet, how long would he last in his battle against the enemy? If you are missing a piece or two of the armor of God, how long will you last in you war against Satan?

c) of God – If Nate replaces a piece of his armor with something else – rifle with a pellet gun, is he wearing the whole armor of the Marines? No. If you replace a piece of the armor of God with something else, e.g., the sword of the Spirit (Word of God) with the word of Greg Crawford, are you wearing the whole armor of God? If you replace a piece of the armor of God with one of your own or someone else’s creation, how long will you last in you war against Satan?

5) Paul tells the Ephesians to put on the armor of God so that they may do what?
You WILL BE able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything (to resist evil), to stand firm.

Put on the whole armor of God, in doing so you are practicing Ephesians 6:10. One day, the enemy mounts a full frontal assault against you. You submit to God and resist the Enemy. You make use of every piece of armor in your fight against the Enemy. What will be the outcome of the battle? You are victorious and the Enemy is defeated. You are standing firm. The Enemy is fleeing.

If you are missing a piece of armor God has made for you or you choose to replace a piece of God’s armor with fleshly pieces. The enemy mounts a full frontal assault against you. What will be the outcome of the battle? You are defeated and the Enemy is victorious. You are not standing firm. You are lying on the ground beaten and bloodied. The Enemy is standing over you laughing at you.

6) Read vs. 14-17. List the different pieces of armor. What is the use of each for a soldier in battle? What is the spiritual use of each for a Christian in the war against the Enemy?

First explain how Paul came up with this illustration. He was under house arrest in Rome. Guarded by a Roman soldier who wore armor. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul applied the pieces of the Roman soldier’s armor to describe the spiritual armor we are to wear to battle the Enemy.

A) Belt of truth

Purpose for Roman soldier – Why would a belt be important for a Roman soldier? Not to hold up pants. Roman soldiers didn’t where pants. The belt served a two fold purpose. 1) Hold scabbard containing his sword and other equipment needed in battle. 2) It kept his breastplate stable. Prevented it from moving around in battle. Before going to battle, the first piece of armor a Roman soldier would put on is his belt and then really tighten it. If he didn’t, what would happen to his armor during the battle? Armor becomes unwieldy. Constantly straightening his breastplate. Scabbard holding his sword starts to move around or dragging the ground. Result - Becomes distracted. A distracted soldier is unable to fight the battle effectively.

Purpose for Christian – Why does Paul attach the concept of truth to the belt? Truth is what holds our spiritual armor together. 1) It provides housing for our sword – the Word of God. 2) Keeps breastplate of righteousness stable. If we start to question God’s truth ... the certainty/accuracy of His Word/His promises/who He is … what happens to the belt of truth? It starts to loosen. If the belt of truth starts to loosen, what happens to our armor? Becomes unwieldy. Righteousness becomes difficult to maintain. God’s word becomes difficult to use. Result – we are vulnerable to the Enemy’s attacks.

What would happen if we failed to put on the belt of truth? Breastplate of righteousness would fall off. We would have nothing to hold our sword.


B) Breastplate of righteousness

Purpose for Roman soldier – What is a breastplate? What did it protect? A piece of armor that covered the chest and abdomen. Its purpose was to protect his vital organs, the most important being what? The heart. If a soldier were to go into battle without a breastplate, how long would he last? Not long.

This breastplate was attached to the belt by leather thongs passed through rings on the bottom to keep it solidly attached. It was anchored to the belt, and it was above the belt. Note: the belt had to be put on first, then the breastplate.

Purpose for Christian - Define righteousness – Doing what God says is right. By putting on the breastplate of righteousness, we’re putting on what God says is right to protect us from what Satan says is wrong. Why does Paul associate righteousness with the breastplate? Why not the helmet? Does the impetus to say/do what is right or wrong come from here (head) or here (heart)? Read Matthew 15:18-20 and Romans 10:10.

The breastplate of righteousness (doing what God says is right) protects our heart from Satan’s temptations to disobey God. If you go into battle without the breastplate … if you do not put on God’s righteousness …, you are giving Satan a target he can’t miss.

C) Feet shod with the gospel of peace

Purpose for Roman soldier – Kinda difficult to fight a war barefooted, don’t you think? You have to watch where you step. Avoid rocks and sharp objects lying around. It would be distracting and a soldier fighting a war can’t be distracted if he hopes to survive. The Roman soldier was equipped with footwear that had spikes on the soles which provided them a strong enough stance and balance that gave them a superior posture in battle on hills and uneven terrain

Purpose for Christian – We are to put on shoes that have the good news of peace which will enable us to stand firm against the Enemy. They protect us from anger, bitterness, resentment, anxiety, envy … the spiritual rocks and sharp objects that can distract us in our war against the Enemy. To successfully wage war against the Enemy you have to be able to walk in peace with God, your fellow man (spouse, children, neighbors, co-workers, etc.), and/or with yourself. If your walk with God, your fellow man (spouse, children, neighbors, co-workers, etc.), and/or yourself is characterized by anger, bitterness, resentment, anxiety, envy, you will find yourself distracted in your battle against the Enemy. He will gain the advantage. How can you tell if your feet are shod with the gospel of peace? Read Isaiah 52:7. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:13-15. In your everyday walk what are you proclaiming? Good news? Peace? Happiness? Salvation? God reigns? Or, are you proclaiming bad news? Discontent? Bitterness? Damnation? God has abandoned me?