The Armor of God

Sometimes I will teach at Asbury College's Challenge Course. Because of my work there, I had an opportunity to minister to some Asbury College studenst. Through a trip called Archways, I spent a week this past summer in Red River Gorge with students who were entering Asbury College as freshman this fall. The purpose of this trip was five-fold.

First, the college wanted the incoming freshman to have a positive, spiritual experience in which they grow in their Christian relationship.

Secondly, the students were supposed to build new friendships.

Third, the students were expected to engage in fellowship within a Christian community.

Fourth, the leaders were supposed to help the students transition into the Asbury Community; preparing to better deal with life’s challenges.

And finally, we were supposed to emphasize creation care or Christian stewardship of the earth.

The 30 freshman were divided into groups of 7 or 8 and assigned a Lead Instructor and two student leaders. So, as a Lead Instructor, I had seven incoming freshman whom I was attempting to assist in their transistion and two upper classmen who assisted me in those efforts.

On the Thursday before we departed, as we prepared for the arrival of our students, the program director told us that if we didn’t have good backpacking gear and equipment that we should either buy it or borrow some from him.

If you’ve never been backpacking before, the equipment you take makes a world of difference. You want to carry the lightest stuff available because the heavier your pack is, the less comfortable it will be over numerous days and plentiful miles of walking. All in all, we backpacked around 30 miles. So, a good pack, a nice sleeping mat, a light weight sleeping bag, and a manageable stove are all important.

The director said that not only would we be more comfortable with the right equipment, carrying it would also lend us credibility as experts when the students see us. If the equipment the leaders carried was better or lighter than the items the students carried, the students would be more likely to place their confidence in us. I agree that having better gear probably did encourage the students. However, I suspect that our knowing how to use them was much more important. For example, if we didn’t know how to pitch our own tents, I suspect those students would not be able to place a great deal of confidence in our ability to lead them through this week long wilderness journey. Complete with river swimming, rock-climbing, orienteering/map-reading, and rappelling.

While on the trip, while backpacking, my friend JimBob and I were discussing another friend, Brian. We were talking about how good he was at outdoor education. He is an expert at climbing and rappelling, at challenge course facilitation, and backpacking, you name it, if it’s fun and outside, he’s probably knowledgeable about it and good at doing it.

For the previous two years he had done the work that I was now doing this year and he had done an excellent job. Incidentally, His wife, Jen, was leading a group this year and is also an expert. I think she even has a college degree in outdoor recreation. But at any rate, she's a professional in the field of outdoor education and is the boss lady at Life Adventure Center of the Bluegrass.

So, in our conversation, JimBob and I likened Brian to Superman and Jen to Wonder Woman. The students were listening to our conversation.

As I mentioned besides backpacking, we did things with ropes and rocks. On Monday we went rock-climbing and on Tuesday, we went rappelling. Both of these endeavors require some very specialized equipment. For these activities, you need ropes and harnesses, and carabiners and descenders and an array of other equipment. Now having that equipment wasn’t enough, you also want to be able to use them correctly.

As we approached a magnificent cliff called Courthouse Rock, off of which we were going to rappel, some of those students were very apprehensive, or perhaps even scared. They weren’t sure about going off that cliff. Which, if you saw that cliff, you would know is a very reasonable response.

While we were preparing to go off, I spoke with the guy who had set up all the ropes and who was the safety for this rappel. He and I are friends and we were chatting. Through our conversation, the students realized that this guy was Brian; the guy I had been talking about with JimBob. The students began to recognize that this was the guy who was so professional, the guy we had called Superman.

Immediately, they began to relax. They knew that this guy knew what he was doing. They knew they were going to be okay as they went of this huge cliff on the ropes that he set up. They placed their confidence in him. And they all had a great experience.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he mentions a lot of specialized equipment; equipment that is needed to get the job done. He likens them to the armor a soldier would use to get his job done, which is another concept with which having been in the military, I am familiar. Whatever the job, you want the correct equipment. Often, without right equipment you just can get the job done.

Much like climbing and rappelling equipment, Paul’s list of equipment is certainly of the variety that is required to do our work. He tells us to take up the whole armor of God, so that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. He says to stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for our feet, put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which we 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. That’s a lot of equipment with which to be prepared. But, we have to have it or we will not be able to stand in the face of adversity. The struggles we face may be internal or external, but the equipment enables us to face those difficulties and challenges.

But it is not enough to have the equipment; we must also understand how to use it and we do so appropriately. Further still, we must be able to place our trust in the one who set it all up. Like those students who understood Brian did a great job with the ropes, we must understand that God is greater than the dilemmas of our lives. Also, He is greater than our spiritual woes.

So, Paul’s message for today is about having the right equipment. Just as those college students need to have the right equipment to begin school, or as campers and hikers,to be adequately prepared for a backpacking trip, a Christian needs the right equipment for the battles of life.

The passage we heard from the letter to the Ephesians is one of the more war-like in the Christian canon. It uses strong military imagery to describe the armor we must put on to defend ourselves in a great struggle. With whom are we struggling?
Paul says, "Our struggle is not against enemies of flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

It doesn't say that there are no enemies of flesh and blood. It says that our struggle is not against them. Paul states we are fighting not so much enemies of blood and flesh but spiritual forces from outside; and attitudes, feelings, and moods from inside.

Then he calls everyone to put on new gear or new equipment; the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes of gospel peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God, and at all times to pray for the faithful. Rather than combat on a battlefield of human war; Paul is asking us to prepare for spiritual warfare.

But, what is “spiritual warfare” and what’s it got to do with us? Paul says, that what we’re up against here is not simply human opposition, but rather corrupt spiritual forces and cosmic powers of evil. Forces that are responsible for the destructive chaos which is threatening to engulf the world.


We know that there are also things that well up inside us and attempt to persuade us into unrighteousness. We all experience it from time to time. There is something that prevents us from fully seeking Christ and calling him lord. THer are elements within our selves and within society that make it difficult to freely and fully rely on Christ a Savior. That is a spiritual battle for which we must be prepared.

Paul identifies how we should prepare ourselves so that we will be able to defend our position in this rigorous struggle called life. So, the image Paul uses to describe how we should prepare ourselves is the image of a platoon of soldiers getting suited up and armed for dangerous duty. He says we are going to need the arsenal God provides us. The armor and weapons he describes are truth, justice and righteousness, a passion for peace, faith, salvation, and knowledge of the Word of God. Paul describes each of these things, likening them to items of armor or weaponry. Righteousness and justice are like a bullet proof vest, protecting your heart. If you loose heart, you will fall away from Christ. Faith is like a shield that protects you from whatever is thrown at you. Strong faith can take a lot of punishment and still hold firm. Paul describes each of them in turn, but then he says that the most important part of our preparation is prayer.

I mentioned earlier that having the right gear gives you credibility. The freshman seeing their leaders with the best gear gives them confidence that their leaders know their jobs. When others see a Christian who is neatly fitted within the armor of God, they too can see us as an example to follow. But, in order not to let them down, we must be trained in our gear. Otherwise, there is little use in having it. What good is a water purifier or a camp stove that we can’t operate them? Therefore, we must learn to use it.

In backpacking, there is no way to know how to set up a tent or to appropriately adjust a backpack except by simply doing it, learning through experience (John Dewey would be proud). By Paul’s logic, there is no better way to become comfortable in the Armor of God except through prayer. It is no use having all the armor if you’ve never had any training and have no idea how to use it. You’ll just panic at the first outbreak of trouble and turn and run away. And in Paul's list of defensive items, I don't remember him describing any protection for your back. If you turn to run, you’ll be totally defenseless. Pray long and pray hard; nothing else will enable you to stand firm.

The forces opposing us in that quest are powerful, but ultimately, they’ve got nothing on the power placed in our hands by Jesus Christ. But, we must choose to carry the armor with us each day.

Like I said, having rock-climbing or rappelling gear is not very helpful if you don’t know how to use them. They are also of no value if you have no faith they will assist you in going down a treacherous cliff. If I can’t trust the equipment, I won’t climb or I won’t rappel. Similarly, it is not until you put on God’s Armor and have faith that it will do the job well, that the armor will provide for you in spiritual battle. You have to place your faith in God, it is He who outfits you with the equipment and makes the equipment strong.

During my time with the students out in Red River Gorge, we had a number of devotionals or sermonettes. I was regularly feeding them scripture and giving them insights in to God. The most powerful spiritual time while we were in the wilderness occurred on Wednesday. That morning the students awoke and went off in the woods by themselves, seperating themselves from visual site of one another. This time was set aside for them to fast and spend time alone with God. They could pray, they could sing, they could read their bibles or write in their journals. They could contemplate life and love and the Lordship of Christ.

After several hours, they returned to me at the campsite. When they returned, my team and I had a worship service set up. I brought them together and shared a sermon with them. The sermon was followed by the sacrament of Holy Communion, a foot washing accompanied by laying-on of hands with individualized prayer, and then a common meal. It was an extremely emotional, spirit-filled service in which several of the students were moved to tears.

In discussion, one of the students expressed to the group that while she was in the woods, during her alone time, she noticed how dirty she was. Remember this was Wednesday and none of us has bathed since Friday morning. We were all very dirty. This young lady looked at her arms and legs and saw the dirt and grime on them. You could see where her sweat had streaked the dirt on her arms. She said that she couldn't help but feel that she looked the same inside; that she was dirty and disgusting. She thought God saw her the in same way.

She spent her quiet time praying and crying and hoping for relief, but found none. Upon returning the campsite and the group she still felt dirty and worthless. But, during participation in the Lord’s Supper, she realized that through Christ’s blood, she was clean. She cried and cried through our communion and worship service. Through the Holy Spirit, she had won a spiritual battle that day.

There are forces, both external and internal, with which we must deal. We are called to carry or wear new equipment, new gear with which to prepare for struggles. We are to learn: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God and we are to pray at all times. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God.