The Armour of God

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11)  What does it mean to put on the whole armour of God?  Is it just being protected by God by keeping his commandments?  I used to think that.  Really, is applying protection to specific areas that Satan attacks, through following what the Lord teaches us.  In Ephesians Paul goes through a lists the specific pieces of armour that we need to have.  I would like to cover this list.

1. "Loins girt about with truth." (vs. 14) One of the major purposes of our life here on Earth is to get married and have children.  We must have truth.  This truth comes from knowing what the Lord teaches about sexuality and about God's plan for his children.  We are taught in The Family: A Proclamation to the World that marriage is between a man and a woman and that children have the right to both a father and a mother.  Knowing this can protect us from the lies that the world tries to teach us about sexuality.

2. "Having on the breastplate of righteousness" (vs. 14) The breastplate covers the heart.  We need to protect our feelings.  By being righteous we will not be hurt by the pains of serious sin and we will have promises of being able to return to our Heavenly home after this life.  We won't have to feel the pain of complete separation from God.  By being righteous, we truly put on a breastplate that protects our hearts.

3. "Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (vs. 15) Our feet lead us to where we are going.  By having the correct cover on our feet, we are protecting the way to get back to our Father in Heaven.  I also love how it says "with the preparation of the gospel of PEACE" (emphasis added.) when we are prepared and following the the Lord, we will feel peace and we will be prepared for all of the things that we need to do.  Also, the gospel provides a plan and a path for us to follow.  We need to prepare ourselves for the journey.

4. "Above all, taking the shield of faith" (vs. 16) We have an added layer of protection.  When we have faith it stops doubt and other "fiery darts" from even reaching the rest of our armour.  Faith is the first defense.  We don't always know or understand everything in the gospel, but when we have faith, we don't need to worry.

5. "And take the helmet of salvation" (vs. 17) We all must turn our thoughts heavenward.  We need to protect our minds.  An application for this would be to turn of the movie that isn't the most appropriate, or stop playing the video games that have a little bit too much violence, or to not date a person that pushes your boundaries because each of these things pushes your mind into the gutter.  Protect your thoughts.

6. "and the sword of the Spirit" (vs. 17) the sword of the spirit is the word of God.  It is our scriptures. It's the word of the prophets.  It is patriarchal blessings.  When we have these gifts from God we can defend ourselves.  We can cut down the lies that try to attack us from all around.  The word of God is there to defend us.  We all just need to use it every day, keep it sharp by reading the scriptures and the words of the prophets.

We can all do better to put on the armour of God.  I'm going to leave you with verse 18 from Ephesians 6.  I hope that we can all do this: "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."  Let us all pray and continue to strengthen the armour that we are already wearing.