Armor 'n Enemies By Shawn McEvoy Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. - Ephesians 6:13-19 Six pieces of armor. Five primarily defensive, one primarily offensive. And yet... Have you ever used the chest-bumper of righteousness on someone? How about the head-butter of salvation? The bludgeoner of faith? The shin-kicker of readiness or the gut-puncher of holiness? Even the sword of the spirit has its proper purpose: to fight our enemies. Which are? Other Christians? Unbelievers? Mean people? While we humans can be so hard on each other, no. One verse earlier, Paul tells us what we're fighting: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil (v. 12). |
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