The Full Armor of God: the defenses and weapons that believers need to fight the spiritual battles

Spiritual warfare is a very real reality for Christians. Though Satan’s power has been defeated and his future is doomed (Revelation 20:7-15), he lives in the present. He still schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). He still stalks (1 Peter 5:8). He still deceives (Revelation 12:9). He still ensnares (2 Timothy 2:26). He still hinders (1 Thessalonians 2:18). He still tempts (Ephesians 6:16). The thought of spiritual warfare scares many believers; however, the focus of spiritual warfare isn’t Satan, it’s Jesus and each piece of the armor comes from our Savior. As Jesus gave his apostles the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), He didn’t send them out alone. We aren’t alone either as God equips us (Ephesians 4:7-16), He empowers (1 Corinthians 12:11) and He accompanies (Matthew 28:20) as we engage in the spiritual warfare battles. Ephesians 6:10-12 instructs believers to be strong in the Lord and to put on the full armor of God in order to stand firm against the devil’s schemes. What is the full armor of God?

The first two pieces of the armor are the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness. The belt of belt is a defensive piece as Satan fights with lies. Lies so go that it sounds like the truth. By focusing on God’s truth in his Word, we can defeat Satan’s lies. When we have genuine faith in the truth of God’s word we can recognize Satan’s lies that would otherwise defeat us. As believers, we need to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We need not to cover sins but confess them. We need not to slander but speak with honest words. The breastplate of righteousness is to protect our hearts. Satan will attack our hearts as the seat of our emotions, our self-worth and trust. However, in Christ, we have a new identity as a new creation with the old gone and the new has come in its place (2 Corinthians 5:17). We can stand confidently in Christ’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21) rather than adopt worldly identities (Kell, 2021). The world would point out my every flaw and tell me how I am unworthy. However, I know that by Christ’s sacrifice, by his resurrection and by my faith, God reminds me that I am His child (1 John 3:1). 

                                          

The next two pieces of the armor are the footgear of readiness and the shield of faith. The footgear of readiness is for us to be prepared to spread the Good News. Being ready in the word and protecting our feet as we go out in the world, we can protect ourselves against compromise as Satan wants us to believe that telling others the Good News is worthless and hopeless; however, the footgear of God gives us the motivation to continue to proclaim the true peace that is available in God. This is where I struggle in my personal life. I fear saying the wrong thing or being unable to proficiently tell others about the Good News and counter the skepticism. The shield of faith protects from Satan’s attacks in the form of insults, setbacks and temptations. The shield protects and reminds us that with God’s perspective, we can see beyond our circumstances and the ultimate victory is ours. 1 Peter 4:12-14 says “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though suffering strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed for the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you.” 

The final two pieces of the armor are the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit. The helmet of salvation is protection of our minds. Satan wants us to doubt God, to doubt Jesus and doubt our salvation. We are to protect our minds with the peace of God (Philippians 4:7). The peace of God is not the power of positive thinking. It is not that everything in a believer’s life will be peaceful. The peace of God is that despite the struggles, despite the pain, despite the conflict, we can know that God is in control (Proverbs 19:21, Colossians 1:17) and he will not leave us behind (Hebrews 13:5). The sword of the Spirit is the only piece of the armor that is an offensive weapon. The sword is the Word of God for when we need to be on the offensive. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword” The pieces of the armor may sound an odd metaphor for us in this modern age. However, the armor metaphor would have been very familiar to the original audience among the early Christians (Winger, 2023). The illustration of the full armor reminds believers of Isaiah’s warrior King: the belt of truth (Isaiah 11:1-5), shoes to pronounce the gospel (Isaiah 52:1-10), breastplate and helmet (Isaiah 59:17), and sword (Isaiah 49:1-6). 

This armor is still important to us today as believers. Every part of the armor is easy to remember to put on except the footgear and sometimes I forget to pick up my sword. As I mentioned before, I struggled with sharing the gospel for fear of saying the wrong and pushing someone further away from God. Sometimes it is more than fear, we get busy and forget our armor, letting our guard down. However, when we falter, we can cry out to God and he will not allow us to be taken from Him (John 10:28), he will restore our souls (Psalm 23:1-3) and in Jesus, we are strengthened to go back into battle (Romans 16:20) (Kell, 2021). Calling out to God when we are weak reminds me of the Twila Paris song The Warrior is a Child (1984). It is a favorite song of mine to remind myself that despite my showing outward strength, I still need the comforting calm of my Lord and Savior. It is a song that never fails to bring me to tears as I am comforted in the knowledge that I do not go through this life alone. I know the Lord of all Creation is beside me, encouraging me, guiding me and even smiling down on me. Every day, my heart prays that I am doing a good job in His name as a wife, a mother, a believer in a world that continues to push him aside. 

In conclusion, the full armor of God are the tools every believer uses to fight in the spiritual battles that we can face every day. The majority of the pieces are for defense to protect our minds and our hearts. To shield us from the enemy’s attacks. Our offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Even when the world rejects the authority of the Word of God, God reminds us in Jeremiah 8:9, “The wise will put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?” And when people reject us as believers, and this is something I need to remind myself quite often, we need to remember that they are not rejecting us but God. 1 Thessalonians 4:8 says “Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.” So believers, arm yourself with the Word of God and put on the full armor and prepare for battle.

References

Kell, Garrett (January 18, 2021). Tempted and Unarmed Why We Need the Armor of God. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/tempted-and-unarmed. Retrieved July 2, 2026. 

Winger, Mike (February 7, 2023). Explaining EACH Piece of the Armor of God. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Wvcwe-wqN6M?si=qK3uV9gGqPNUt3Lu. Retrieved July 2, 2026. 

The Fruit of the Spirit: what it means to live by the Spirit and produce the fruit

This month I studied the Fruit of the Spirit which I briefly touched on in a previous post a couple years ago. However, this time I wanted to study it in more depth. Writing to the Galatian church, Paul discusses what it means to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:14-26). Simply put, living by the Spirit is simply resisting the desires of the sinful nature as they are in conflict (verse 16-17). The acts of a sinful nature are listed in verse 19-21, including sexual immorality (which I will do an in depth study at a later date), hatred, jealousy and fits of rage. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (verses 22-23). We can see why our sinful natures would be in conflict with the Spirit. These are character traits found in the nature of Christ and as the Spirit grows in every believer, he or she will begin to exhibit the same Christ-like nature. 

Love is declared the greatest above all (1 Corinthians 13:13). To love others was commanded by Christ (Matthew 22-37-40, John 13:34-35). To love others is to help each other out in times of need or struggle. It doesn’t have to be monetary. It could be a phone call at 3 am. It could be answering a question for a stranger while at the store. Taking time out of your busy day, errands and schedule to help with a gracious heart. Essentially, as 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “do everything in love.” Joy in a true believer is undeniable. It is that despite their struggles, despite their pain, they are joyfully seeking God’s guide, love and grace through their valleys as well as their mountain tops. Proverbs 17:22 says that “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Sometimes it is hard to be joyful when life looks bleak; however, because we love Christ and believe in him, we are “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). Peace is hard to imagine in this world as it seems we are always at odds with each other. But Christ tells that we will have trouble in this world but to take heart as he has conquered the world (John 16:33). We can claim the peace of Christ in the most troubled times as we know Jesus has already been victorious. 

Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate something without getting angry or upset. It is not rushing into a situation, into a relationship or a decision. Patience is something we all struggle with as we deal with frustration. Psalm 37:7 tells us to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. It is following God’s plan and timetable rather than our own. Patience is not just waiting but having the right mindset and attitude while we wait. Kindness is showing mercy to others, generosity with our time and resources, and being sympathetic. It is being civil. Proverbs 11:17 tells us that kindness is a benefit to those receiving the kindness as well as the one giving it. Kindness has a boomerang effect. Give kindness and you will receive kindness (although we all know it’s not always from the same person). The kind person honors God by sharing his resources with others and in return, God will bless him. Goodness is working for the benefit of others and not just ourselves. In Greek, the word for goodness is agathosune which means “an uprightness of heart and life.” It is not done for recognition but to bring glory and honor to God who loves us. In Galatians 6:10, Paul writes, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” To return goodness with goodness and overcome evil with goodness. 

Faithfulness is consistently doing what one says he will do. It is keeping your promises. It is fulfilling your duties as a follower of Christ. Another divine characteristic of God as He does as He promises. Hebrews 10:23 says “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Faithfulness is being reliable and trustworthy. It is being steadfast until the very end. Despite our struggles. Despite the world coming in around us. Gentleness is tender, compassionate, tenderness and consideration. It means showing love and care for others in how you act and speak. It is to have a soft spirit or nature. Gentleness is also humility. Humility in reference to who God is and it is not self-hatred or to see yourself as unvalued but to think of yourself less. Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Humility is seeing that apart from God, we can do nothing of worth (John 15:5). Self-control is the discipline to resist the sinful nature. Jesus perfectly demonstrates this disciple during his time in the desert. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is tempted by Satan and does not give in. Self control is also not rushing into a fight without a thought. It is to gather all the information before making a decision. “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls” (Proverbs 25:28). 

In conclusion, the word fruit is singular which highlights that these attributes are intertwined, growing in harmony with and interacting with each other. Living by the Spirit and bearing the Fruit of the Spirit is not something we can do on our own. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As each believer exhibits these behaviors, it can be viewed as the Spirit winning the conflict with our flesh (Galatians 5:17). The fruit of the Spirit are not something we can work on to achieve but flows naturally when we abide or walk in the Spirit. How do we do that? By prayer and studying His Word. “It is living moment by moment in dependency on Him, to listen for His Voice and be obedient to it” (Charles Stanley). Living by the Spirit and exhibiting the fruit is a daily activity. Some days we can be on point and others we will need help. But God is faithful to those who live by faith.