Put on Christ
“Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11
If you are a child of God, I don’t need to tell you that you are in a battle. You understand that anything Kingdom-related is surrounded by a certain amount of spiritual warfare. You know that your enemy is strategic, but you are not defenseless.
I imagine that Paul might have been meditating on these thoughts while imprisoned for his affiliation with Jesus Christ. I imagine he looked over at the Roman guard a time or two and thought about the weapons of his warfare. He understood his enemy was not flesh and blood, but evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, evil spirits in the heavenly places. Perhaps he thought about who Christ is and how we are to “put on Christ” as he wrote in his letter to the Galatians (Gal.3:27).
The armor of God is comprised of 4 pieces that we are to “put on:” truth, righteousness, peace and salvation. Each piece has a purpose and as we “put on” each piece, we are putting on Christ.
Truth is like a belt, the foundation that holds the armor in place. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) When we put on truth, we are putting on Christ.
Righteousness is like a breastplate that protects our heart. “Jesus became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). When we put on righteousness, we are putting on Christ.
Peace is like the shoes we put on when we are prepared to march out into battle. The Bible says of Jesus that he himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14). When we put on peace, we are putting on Christ.
Salvation is like a helmet that protects our minds and our thought life. Zechariah prophesied these words concerning Jesus, the Messiah: “(God) has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David.” When we put on salvation, we are putting on Christ.
Besides the armor that we are to put on, we are to hold up faith like a shield and take up the word of God like a sword.
Our enemy may be strategic, but we are fully equipped for battle when we put on Christ. It’s through him and him alone that we can stand firm against all strategies of the devil.