How to Put On The Whole Armor of God

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6:10-18


The belt of truth:  Be honest and forthcoming in all your dealings.  Confess your sins to the Lord, even the ones you're afraid to admit, and he will forgive you and wash you clean. (1 John 1:9) He will tie around your waist, a belt of truth.  It says in his word, that he is the way, THE TRUTH, and the life. (John 14:6)  We achieve truth in our life when we come to him, we achieve relationship with God when we come to his son, and confess all our sins to him.  When we bring our blemishes and uncleanness before The Son, He intercedes for us with the Father,  (Romans 8:34) thereby making a way directly to the Father.  Confessing our sins bridges the gap between us and God.

Breastplate of righteousness:  Righteousness comes by faith. (Romans 3:22)  Faith is defined in the bible as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  (Hebrews 11:1) Our faith proclaims that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and the redeemer of our sins, he sits at the right hand of the Father.  Our faith says that we are heirs to the kingdom of God. (Romans 8:17) We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), no matter what life throws at us, no matter our circumstances, our past, our weakness or our failings.  We are sons and daughters of the King.  We were bought at the price of Jesus' blood, and through his blood we are justified and made clean in God's sight.

Shoes of readiness given by the gospel of peace:  Peter says to be ready always to give an answer for the reason of your faith. (1 Peter 3:15) We receive this readiness, when we hear the gospel.  Why do we believe?  Because we have faith.  Why do we have faith in an unseen God?  Because he is very much seen, working in our lives, when we have ears to hear, and eyes to see.  When our hearts and minds are open to receive his word, and to receive his blessings and miracles.  What is the gospel?  Gospel means Good News.  The good news is, that Jesus died on the cross, was broken and bruised and beaten and took on the heavy weight of the world's sin, so that we might live, not because of anything we did, but because he LOVED US before we even knew him (1 John 4:19), and his grace of forgiveness and redemption is a free gift to us, that Jesus paid the price for, so we wouldn't have to. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  And not only live, but live in wholeness.  Wholeness of mind, body, and spirit.  The good news is, that when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives, and surrender our lives to him, he will come in and start repairing all brokenness, he will restore all that's been lost, every year that darkness engulfed your life, he will restore to you.  (Joel 2:25) Every thing the enemy tried to use to kill you, defeat you, or maim you, God will take and turn around to bless you, heal you, and to bless others.  And as Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave when he rose again, so he gave us authority over death, hell and the grave.  (Matthew 10:1)The enemy is rendered powerless and defeated.  No matter what he tries to throw at you, you can now stand boldly, and remind him of his future, and remind him of his defeat.  You can stand and shout: “I am a daughter/son of the Lord strong and mighty, and you cannot wreak havoc in my life, because you are defeated, and in Jesus' name, you have to flee from me right now!” And he will trip over himself to get away from you.

Shield of Faith:  When we have faith, believing in Jesus as our Savior and King, with full knowledge of our warrior status in Christ, and knowing that no weapon the enemy has in his arsenal can succeed in harming us (Isaiah 54:17), when we fully know that we CANNOT LOSE with Christ at our side, it becomes a shield that withstands every attack of the enemy, no matter how bad it may seem.  Our victory is not based on our circumstances.  Our victory is based on the fact that God is who he says he is, ALWAYS, and on the fact that WE are who Christ says we are.

Helmet of Salvation:  There's a reason it's the helmet of salvation.  It covers our mind.  Knowledge of our salvation, that we are redeemed, justified, and washed clean of our sin by the precious blood of Jesus, guards our minds from the lies of the enemy.  When he comes to whisper in your ear, that you're weak, that you can't do this, that you should just give up, when he whispers and tells you that God doesn't love you, or that you're disgusting and unworthy, we have only to look him straight in the face and say  “I am not weak, because I am a child of the Lord, Strong and mighty, and he is able to do all things, and I am able to do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13) I will not give up, because, though a righteous man falls 7 times, he gets up and keeps going 7 times. (Proverbs 24:16) Or 50.  Or 100.  God DOES love me, because he sent his only, precious son to die a bloody death on a cross so that I might live, because he SO loved the world, that he made the greatest sacrifice possible (John 3:16), and I am worthy of his love, because all my sin, all my shame, all my failure has been nailed to the cross, washed clean, and eradicated by his blood.  He sees me as clean, beautiful and precious.”  Get that knowledge, deep down in your heart and it will transform your thinking.

Sword of the spirit:  God's word, the bible.  Every day, read it, study it, consume yourself in it, and it will seep into your thoughts, it will be written on your heart.  (Jeremiah 31:33) So that no matter what the enemy tries to tell you, you can fight back with the word of God.  He says you're weak, you remind him you're strong through Christ,  he says you're defeated, you remind him you're a conqueror, he says that he's going to win, you remind him that HE is defeated, and that his future is to spend eternity in a bottomless pit, he says you're unloved, you remind him just why Christ died for you, he says you'll only ever be the person you were in the past, you remind that you are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Praying:  We often forget that prayer is also a weapon.  As the pastor at my church said, we do not pray as victims, we pray as victors.  This doesn't mean we can't take all our pain, sorrow and anguish to God, but when we ask for him to act in our lives, and to help us, we pray from a strance of boldness and strength.  “Lord, I feel defeated, like I can't go on, like the past will never let me move on, like I'll never heal, like I'll always be a failure, like I'm unworthy of love, like I'll never find love, etc....but your word says, that I am not defeated, but I'm a conqueror, that the past is no more, because it was washed away when you died on the cross, it says that you are greater and bigger than anything I might face, or any circumstance (Jeremiah 32:27) , so Lord, I come and ask you to help me to have a knowledge of who I am, through you.  Help me to know, in my heart, without any doubt, that I am loved, I am worthy, I WILL heal, I will overcome, because you are Emmanuel, God is with us, and I am no longer alone, no matter how it may seem...”

It may seem I'm repeating a  lot of the same things over and over again, but every piece of armor and every weapon works together, as a whole.  Righteousness comes by faith, faith comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), we use the word of God to counter the lies of the enemy, and in prayer, every weapon comes together to defeat the enemy.