As believers our warfare is not physical or against flesh and blood but rather spiritual, against anti-God or anti-Christ spirits, who wield words, ideas and knowledge that challenge the word of God.
Apostle Paul described the full armor of God by comparing them to the armor of the typical Roman soldier of his time. We understand that each piece of armor is a significant as well as important part of the arsenal a soldier needs, to battle victoriously. You have to put on the whole armor of God as a believer to be properly suited and ready for spiritual warfare, or as apostle Paul puts it, to overcome the ‘wiles’ of the devil. The interesting thing about the way each armor was listed, is that it is listed according to how a soldier would ordinarily put on his armor for war. He would start with the belt and end with his sword. As believers our warfare is not physical or against flesh and blood but rather spiritual, against anti-God or anti-Christ spirits, who wield words, ideas and knowledge that challenge the word of God.
Belt of truth: The Roman soldier typically puts on his belt, before putting on any of his other armors. The reason for this is that the belt usually serves as the hinge on which all the other armor parts of the soldier hangs or rests. For a believer, the Truth, which is Jesus Christ Himself, is the belt or the anchor on which all the other spiritual armors must rest. To wear the belt of truth is to receive the word of God in faith, as the only truth, just as God is the only God. Those who come to God must first believe that He exists, and how do you believe? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the word of God. The practical implication of this is to read your bible so that you will know what the truth is about all things, the other armors won’t function to their optimal capabilities without a good knowledge of the scriptures. If any part of a map, action or battle plan is missing, it is a serious matter.
Breastplate of righteousness: The breastplate protects the soldier from being hit during an attack from the enemy. The breast plate is specifically placed over the torso of the soldier and securely held in place so that no matter what angle the attack is coming from the innards of the soldier especially the heart is protected. As believers we are made the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus and this righteousness or ‘right standing’ with God is a free gift every believer has received, however we have the duty to put it on at all times or walk in the consciousness of being righteous.
Once this breast plate of righteousness is in place, you are protected from the darts of the enemy specially targeted at the heart. You put on the breastplate of righteousness through meditation on the word. Apart from the devils attack on your eternal destiny, he also attacks your earth fruit bearing. For example, if you are attempting to get a major business idea to increase your company’s market share. You might set out believing God for it, but somewhere along the line you begin to doubt if God really can, or wants to or will do it for you. Your heart has just been hit by enemy arrows. You were not wearing your breastplate of righteousness. Before you begin any battle, first get the battle plan from God, get His word on it, and then master the plan before launching out. Take the word of God concerning that thing, meditate on it till it forms a reality within you, then transfer it into the earth by confessing it, and then go to work. And while on the battle, keep meditating, because you have to have it on always, you will find out that doubt will be far from you.
Sandal of gospel of peace: For the soldier, even the sandals they wore during war were specially designed as armors. The scripture calls it the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. This particular armor, just like the breastplate, has to do with the soldier’s body, not with things external to it. It gives the soldier a readiness to move, because his feet are prepared. This refers to what the bible describes as entering your rest.
While putting on the breastplate of righteousness, meditating on the word, you must meditate on the word till you enter into that state of peace in your heart, where everything within you becomes at peace with the situation you’re meditating on the word of God for. When you enter that state, you just know that it is done, that the word you’re meditating on has just become flesh, it has just become the truth about your situation, and the peace of God that passes all understanding just floods your heart. At that point, you just know that you know, that you know it is done. People around will not understand why you are acting as if what is there is not there, that’s why it’s the peace that passes all understanding, but actually, you know it is no longer there, because God has brought you to labor, the baby is pushing to come out, you can feel the baby pushing even though it’s still inside you, ready to be made public, for ‘things’ must first become real in the heart of man before they are made to show up on the earth. Once you get to this point, you’ve put on the sandal of the gospel of peace. You are ready to work on external factors.
The concluding part of this piece will be published next Sunday.
Temitope Talabi is a founding member of The Trent Voices currently reside in Austin, TX. She graduated with a PharmD from Texas Southern University in Houston, TX. She works as a community pharmacist and spends her spare time writing to build and encourage others through the word of God. Temitope is also currently working on a series of self-help books created to empower people to take charge of their health and wellness, the first of which is scheduled to be released early next year.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
