The Armour of God

The clink of a chain. A soldier shifts on his stool, his sword at his side, his shield propped against the wall. And the prisoner he is guarding is looking at him very carefully, piece by piece.

Paul is a prisoner, very likely in Rome, kept under guard as he waits for his case to come before the emperor. Day and night, a Roman soldier is with him. Paul has been writing to the believers in Ephesus about God's great plan, about the church as one family, about how husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves should treat each other. Now he comes to the end of his letter. And he wants them to know that following Jesus is a real struggle. So he reaches for a picture right in front of his eyes.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Not in your own strength, Paul says, but in his. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The wiles are the tricks and schemes of the enemy. And Paul is clear about who the real enemy is. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, he says, not against other people. Our struggle is against the rulers and powers of darkness, against spiritual forces of evil. So put on all of God's armour, so that when the evil day comes, you can stand your ground. And having done everything, stand.

Then Paul goes through the armour, piece by piece, as if he is dressing a soldier. Stand firm, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. Put on the breastplate of righteousness, to guard your heart. On your feet, wear the readiness that comes from the good news of peace, so you are ready to go anywhere. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Flaming arrows, put out by trusting God. Take the helmet of salvation to protect your head. And “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, God's word. All of it is God's armour, given to us.

But Paul isn't finished. A soldier doesn't fight alone. So he adds one more thing, maybe the most important of all. Pray, he says, always, on every occasion, in the Spirit, with all kinds of prayers and requests. Stay alert. Keep praying for all of God's people. And then he asks for something for himself. Pray for me too, he says, that whenever I open my mouth, God will give me the words, so I can boldly make known the mystery of the gospel. Paul calls himself an ambassador in chains. An ambassador, someone who speaks for a king, but in chains. Pray, he says, that I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

The Greek historian Polybius, writing about two centuries before Paul, describes the Roman soldier's equipment in detail. The large shield, he says, was about two and a half feet wide and four feet long, made of two layers of wood glued together and covered first with canvas and then with calfskin. A soldier could crouch behind it almost completely. That is the kind of shield Paul's readers would have pictured: big enough to hide behind, strong enough to stop arrows.

The armour of God. You'll find it in Ephesians chapter six, verses ten to twenty. A prisoner chained to a soldier, who saw in his guard a picture of how God equips his people to stand firm. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, God's word, and prayer. So here is a question to carry with you. Which piece of God's armour do you most need to put on this week?