The Whole Armor of God - Week 1

Women of Unity

Online Bible Study

The Whole Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,^[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

This letter is addressed to the church in the city of Ephesus., capital of the Roman province of Asia.  Paul is without a doubt the author of this book.  This is indicated in the first chapter, first verse.  The Greeting begins simply by saying, ‘Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus’. (Eph. 1:1) Paul wrote this letter while in prison in Rome sometime between A.D. 60-62. 

While we will only be talking specifically about the Whole Armor of God, I would highly suggest reading the entire book of Ephesians.  When we look at the book of Ephesians we find it to be very direct and unambiguous. In the 6^th Chapter Paul reminds believers of the full and sufficient spiritual armor supplied to them through God’s word by his Spirit and also of their need for vigilant and persistent prayer.

This week as we begin our Bible Study I want to concentrate of the sufficiency of the whole armor of God.  Notice I did not say the armor of God but the ‘whole’ armor of God.  As Christians one of the unfortunate things we are tempted to do is obey the Word of God in part and not in whole.  While we may be okay with loving others, we neglect the part about loving our enemies and doing good to them that spitefully use us.  The same would apply here to Paul’s word here regarding the whole armor of God.  In order for it to fulfill its intended purpose we must ‘put on the whole armor of God’.  Not the belt of truth without the breastplate of righteousness; or the helmet of salvations without the sword of the Spirit.  You get my drift?  All parts must be worn in order to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

Sufficient.  What does this word mean?  One might be tempted to define this word as ‘enough’ or ‘adequate’.  When we look at the definition of enough we find it to mean at times that something is less than exact.  For example, ‘Do you have enough to eat’?  In addition, the word adequate may imply barely meeting a requirement.  However, neither one of these was Paul’s intended meaning. So when we look at the word sufficient we can easily interchange it with the word competent.  Competent suggests measuring up to all requirements without question or being adequately adapted to an end.^[1]

Now when we look at it this way we should begin to understand that putting on the whole armor of God is not an option but a command.  Wearing the whole armor, and not pieces, is the only way to stand in the midst of spiritual warfare. Some of you reading this may be tempted to say that you are not in spiritual warfare.  Things are relatively good and right now I have no major struggles.  Let me clear something up for you.  The minute you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you enlisted in the army of the Lord. Who is God’s enemy?  The devil.  Your salvation made him your enemy as well.  Even though the devil knows that he has already been defeated that does not stop him from attacking you.  The mere fact that you are participating in this Bible study means that he is going to come after you with distractions.  Why?  Because he doesn’t want you to be prepared for battle.  He enjoys catching the Believer off guard.



Ladies, as a child of God, we are to live a Spirit-controlled life. Our motto should always be not my will but Thy will be done.  Ever since the fall of man the world has been plagued with evil.  This condition will continue until Christ returns.  What does that mean for you?  Every day will be a battle.  Here in this 6^th chapter of Ephesians Paul shares with us what we need to combat the adversary.  While it is true that in battle the belt, breastplate and shoes where worn continually on the battlefield; the shield, helmet, and sword were kept ready for use when actual fight began; we must be prepared.  We must take our stance from a position of offense and not defense.  Over the next five weeks we will discuss in detail each piece of the spiritual armor and how they will equip us to not only resist but overcome the devil’s assaults. 


 

Points to Ponder:

1.       In the past what has been your hesitation in putting on the whole armor of God daily?

2.      What temporary methods have you used to combat the devil’s assaults against you?

Personal Growth:

1.      What do you hope to gain from this Bible study?

2.      Write down your personal commitment to the Bible Study.

3.      List the things that may hinder your commitment and place them on your prayer list.  Make the commitment to pray about them daily.

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^[1] Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.