2026-10-04 Spiritual Warfare (3) – Put on the Full Armour of God

 (Eph 6:13-17)

Over the last two Sundays, we looked at Ephesians 6:10–12. We learnt to be strong in the Lord because we have spiritual enemies, and that our real enemies are not people, but spiritual forces of evil. Today, we come to Eph 6:13-18, 13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

1, Be prepared for the spiritual battle (v.13)

Verse 13 begins with “therefore.” Because our invisible enemies try to push us down, Paul says, “Therefore, put on the full armour of God.” In Paul’s day, when people heard the words “full armour,” they would probably have pictured a fully equipped Roman soldier, dressed and ready for battle. Here, we’re told that God also gives us spiritual armour for a spiritual battle. I often hear believers say, “oh, it’s too hard…Why do I always stumble?” A soldier can’t go into battle without equipment. How can we stand in spiritual conflict if we are not prepared? The purpose of God’s armour is to help us stand, so that we don’t stumble. “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.” “The day of evil” does not necessarily mean one particular day in the future. It can mean any season or moment of testing in our daily lives—when temptation, pressure, deception, rejection or spiritual opposition comes; when evil knocks at the door of our hearts; when anger arises within us, when our love for God and for people are challenged.

If we are not prepared, we may stumble without even noticing what is happening. That’s why God gives us six pieces of armour: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.  You may ask, “Why does the armour only protect the front? Why is there nothing for the back?” Isaiah 52:12 says, The LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard”. God goes before us, and God has our back. The armour of God is designed to help us stand firm in the battle, not to turn or run away from it. But if you turn your back on God, choose your own way, and run away from Him, you expose yourself to the enemy, and you’ll lose His protection. So what is the armour of God?

2, What is the full armour of God? (vv.14-17)

The belt of truth is about keeping God’s Word in our hearts, and rejecting the enemy’s lies:  “God doesn’t love you.” “Your past defines you.” “You have to prove your worth.” “God is too slow; you have to make a decision quickly.” No! Push back. Put on the belt of truth. Let God’s truth—not your feelings, circumstances, or the enemy’s accusations, tell you who God is and who you are.

The breastplate of righteousness is about turning from sin and choose purity and obedience. A breastplate protected a soldier’s heart and vital organs. Sin damages our hearts. After sinning, fear enters us. We try to put on a mask and hide ourselves from God and others. We make excuses and blame others: “Because he did that, that’s why I became angry.” Come on, Adam! Come on, Eve! Take responsibility for your own actions! The enemy tempted the Son of God, but Christ Jesus did not sin. So why did you choose to do it? We need to repent of our own wrong thinking and actions. Stop playing the victim and blaming others, because this can only give the enemy a foothold in our lives. We need to practise repentance daily, turning from our own rightness to God’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness says: “When the Word of God corrects me, I repent. I want to be right with God through Christ, because Christ is my righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Cor 1:30).”

The shoes of the gospel of peace are about faithfully following in Jesus’ footsteps, to forgive and love others, seek reconciliation, and remain in His peace. When conflict comes, we don’t react to people with hatred, revenge or bitter judgement. We remember that people are not our real enemy. We stand in God’s truth, and we carry the gospel wherever God sends us.

The shield of faith is about trusting in God’s goodness and faithfulness. Paul says that with this shield we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Those arrows may come as fear, temptation, accusation, doubt, or discouragement: “God has forgotten you.” “God cannot help you, coz your problems are too big.” “God hasn’t given you what you want, so there is no hope for you.” When the arrow says these, faith answers, “the situation is painful, but God remains faithful. When I take my cross and follow Him, His joy is mine.” The strength of the shield of faith is not found in how strong we feel. It’s found in God’s faithfulness and in His promises.

The helmet of salvation is about protecting our minds. The enemy attacks our identity, “if you’re a child of God, God will do this for you, why hasn’t He?” Remember how the devil tempted Jesus: “If you’re the Son of God...” The enemy also attack our thoughts with condemnation, “you’re not good enough”, Or with fear and worry, “what if I can’t get the job done…” But the helmet of salvation reminds us: “Jesus has saved me. I belong to him. My life is in his hands, and my future is secure in him.” When despair says, “There is no hope for you,” salvation answers, “My hope is in Jesus.” When accusation says, “Your failure is your identity,” salvation answers, “My identity is in Christ. I confess my sin, receive his forgiveness and I’m being changed in Christ every day.”

The final piece is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. God’s Word helps us recognise lies, resist temptation, and respond with truth. How do we use the sword? When Satan tempted him in the wilderness, Jesus did not try to reason or negotiate with him. He answered, “It is written.” Jesus didn’t learn the Word of God merely as head knowledge; He believed it, obeyed it and lived it out. That is why we need to read Scripture, meditate on it, keep it in our hearts and obey it. Then, when deception or temptation comes, the Holy Spirit can bring God’s truth back to our minds. So what is the full armour of God? Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. But here is the thing: Can we know all these things but still lose a spiritual battle? Yes.

3. Knowing the truth is not enough — fear God and obey Him

Solomon is one of the clearest examples. Solomon knew God. He encountered God. God gave him extraordinary wisdom. “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight…” 1 Kings 4:29. He spoke 3,000 proverbs and composed 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32). He even built the temple of God. How could someone with so much wisdom fall? The problem was not that Solomon did not know the truth, but he stopped practising the truth he knew. Deuteronomy 17:16–17 had already warned Israel's kings not to multiply horses, wives, silver and gold. Yet Solomon accumulated horses (military force), enormous wealth, seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.(1 King 4: 26, 1 King 11:3). Look at the progression: horses multiplied → wealth multiplied → wives multiplied → idols multiplied. Then comes the tragedy: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God.” 1 Kings 11:4. Solomon knew what was right but knowing was not enough. He wrote about the dangers of sexual temptation yet took many wives. He knew the danger of idolatry yet built high places for foreign gods. He possessed extraordinary wisdom, yet gradually compromised. Solomon did not fall overnight. He did not wake up one morning and say, “I will abandon God.” It happened through progressive compromise. One political marriage. Another alliance. More wealth. More horses. More wives. Tolerance of their gods. Then accommodation. Eventually participation. Finally, “Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD” (1 Kings 11:6). And the Lord tore the kingdom away from Solomon’s house. Solomon’s wisdom and knowledge didn’t ensure spiritual victory. He still lost spiritual battles. He did evil. He himself said, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Yet he failed to practise what he knew.

Brothers and sisters, knowing the armour of God is not enough. We must put it on. The full armour--Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Word of God ultimately point us to Jesus. He is the Truth. He is our righteousness. He is our peace and the centre of the gospel. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is our salvation. And He is the living Word of God. Therefore, putting on the full armour of God means putting on Jesus Himself. Walk with Jesus. Remain in Jesus. Trust Jesus. Fear Him. Arm yourself with the same attitude as Christ. Obey Him, so that when the day of evil comes, you can stand firm with Him in His Word.

Prayer:

Thank You, Jesus, for Your blood that was shed on the cross for each of us. Thank You for loving us so much that You haven’t left us alone in spiritual battles. You know that our own good deeds can’t save us or protect us. Even Solomon’s great wisdom and knowledge couldn’t ensure spiritual victory.

So You graciously gave us the full armour of God. You are our truth. You are our righteousness. You are our peace and the centre of the gospel. You’re the author and finisher of our faith. You are our salvation. And You’re the Living Word to us. Lord Jesus, You’re our victory and our protection. But how often have we failed to put on the full armour of God? Because we didn’t really believe Your words that the evil spiritual force in the heavenly realm were coming against us. So Lord, forgive us.

Now, if you like, you can make the following prayer personal:  “Lord Jesus, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief! Forgive me for the times I trusted in myself and in my own judgement. Based on what I saw or heard, I immediately became angry with people, or even with myself, and I failed the spiritual battle, forgetting that my struggle is not against flesh and blood. My emotions and my relationships suffered.

Forgive me for the times I believed the enemy’s lies. I allowed fear, worry, accusation and discouragement to enter my mind. I blamed others or myself, and I felt tortured inside. Thank You, Jesus, that Your saving grace never ends. Today, I repent. I choose to receive Your forgiveness, to forgive myself and others, and to put on the full armour of God—that is, to put on Jesus Himself and arm myself with the same attitude as Christ.

Holy Spirit, help me meditate on Your truth in my heart, replacing every lie. Remind me that Your righteousness replaces my old ways of thinking and living. Guide me to pray and let Your peace rule in my heart instead of anger, bitterness and conflict. Let faith rise in me instead of depending on my own reasoning and what I can see. Let the assurance of Your salvation guard my mind against fear, condemnation and disappointment. And let Your living Word remain in my heart, so that when temptation and deception come, I can stand on what You have spoken. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Communion

Now, those who are serving communion, please come forward. We’ll wait until everyone has received the bread and the cup, and then we’ll take them together.

As we come to Communion, take a moment and look at the bread and the cup in your hands. They remind us that Jesus has already given Himself for us. We don’t need to prove ourselves to God. We don’t need to save ourselves. We don’t need to fight spiritual battles in our own strength. Jesus said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving Yourself for us. Remind us that You are our strength. Help us to arm ourselves with the same attitude as You, so that we can resist evil, stand firm and bring glory to You in spiritual battles. Let’s take the bread together.

Now, take the cup. Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your precious blood. You are enough for us. Our salvation, our healing, our hope and our victory are in You.  Let’s take the cup together.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the cross. Thank You that we belong to You and that You are with us in every battle. Help us keep our eyes on You, our hearts close to You, and our feet walking in Your ways. May our lives bring glory to Your name. Amen.

Small Groups Discussion：

1. What does it mean to “put on the full armour of God” in your daily life?

2.Which piece of the armour of God do you most need at the moment? Why?

3. Have you ever treated a person as your enemy instead of recognising the spiritual battle behind the situation?

4. What can we learn from Solomon about knowing God’s Word but not practising it?

5. What is one practical way you can put on Jesus and stand firm in His Word this week?