Over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at the Armour of God, and reading this out of the book of Ephesians. The writer of the book, Paul, wanted to strengthen the believers in Ephesus in their Christian faith by explaining the nature and purpose of the Church. Paul was a man whom God spoke through on many occasions and the writings about the Armour of God are no exception. We have been looking at what is the armour and how it affects us and the way we live, but I just wanted to take a minute to look at the combinations of the armour. For example, why isn't it the Shield of Salvation, or the Belt of Righteousness? Is there any meaning behind the way the armour is made up? Or is it just an insignificant detail? Evan mentioned on Tuesday night in Life:Group that Paul would have been referring to the Roman Armour and so using the Bible, Roman Armour and a dictionary, I want to examine the meaning behind the combination.

Let's start with the Helmet of Salvation.

A helmet is simply a hard hat worn for protection and the Roman helmet was no different. It was designed to protect the soldier from sword attack on nearly every part of the head. So why combine this with Salvation? Salvation comes from believing that Jesus dies on the cross to save us from the consequence of sin. And in that sentence is the clue as to why it is the Helmet of Salvation. It is a fact that Jesus DID die on the cross to save us, but it is also a fact that we have to choose to believe it. Therefore it is our minds that have to accept Salvation and satan will do anything to stop us believing and accepting our Salvation. The best way to explain this is in 2 Corinthians 4:4 "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ". The helmet of Salvation is therefore crucial, as by wearing it we stop satan from blinding us with his lies.

Next we have the Breastplate of Righteousness.
The Breastplate was one of the first and last pieces of armour ever to be used on the battle field. The reason, simple, it protects the vital organs without limiting mobility. So why link this to Righteousness? To be righteous means that you have been judged to be leading a life that is pleasing to God. Unfortunately then no-one is capable of being righteous because in this world is sin! Sin enters our hearts and causes us to think and do things that does not please God. Thankfully, God sent His one and only son Jesus to live a life that was completely Righteous, and so when Jesus died to save us from our sin, we are able to accept that Righteousness into our hearts. The Breastplate of Righteousness is there to protect our vital organs without stopping us from living our lives freely. Our vital organs give us life and as Jesus said in John 10:10, He came that we may have life, life in all its fullness. Thanks to Jesus living a life that was perfect and pleased God in every way, we cannot die, but will have eternal life!

The Belt of Truth
A belt serves two functions, firstly it something that holds all our clothes/armour in place and stops it from moving. And secondly it is often a decorative item that shows off a persons wealth. Lets look at the first function of a belt. It is something that holds our armour in place and stops it moving. When we lie we are not pleasing God and we are not living out the gospel of Christ. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life". Without the belt (Jesus) there is no salvation. Have you ever seen an old comedy clip where someone removes the belt from a mans trousers and his trousers fall down, leaving the man embarrassed (i think it was laurel and hardy? or maybe charlie chaplin?). The point though is that when we are without the belt (the truth), i.e. when we lie, we get embarrassed and feel guilty when we are found out. Remember right back in the Garden of Eden, where we see the first ever lie, the reaction by Adam and Eve to God is to hide because they knew they were naked. Without the belt of truth we are left naked.
The second purpose of a belt is as a fashion item and to show off a persons wealth. This is also an important part to recognise. When we accept Jesus into our lives and put on the armour of God, we are welcomed in Gods family as His Children. In terms of fashion what greater name is there than Jesus! In terms of wealth who is there richer than God, the creator and owner of everything that is seen and unseen! The belt of truth is therefore the most expensive and most decorative belt that anyone can wear. Even in our post-Christian society lying is still seen as an ugly thing.

The Shield of Faith
Firstly it is worth pointing out that a Roman Soldier’s Shield was huge! It was about 4 foot high and 2 foot wide! It was designed so that they could hide their entire body behind it, and if anyone came charging at them no one or nothing could get through it. However, it is important to note that a Roman Shield was not some magically force field that covered the soldier from every side. The shield would protect the soldier from flaming arrows and attacks, but the soldier had to make sure he was facing the right way and saw the attack/arrow coming. It is exactly the same with our faith. Our faith in Jesus is more than powerfully enough to stop satan from any attack, however we have to make sure that we see the attack coming. Evan mentioned that he thought something would happen to disrupt our service last week as satan wouldn’t like what we were talking about. And sure enough we did have a disruption, but as a Church we were ready for it, we saw it coming and with our Shield of Faith we were able to stop the attack. In the same passage that Paul tells us about the Armour of God, Paul also tells us to be alert!

Sword of the Spirit (The Word of God)
The sword needs no explanation. Have you ever read or watched a film about King Arthur? In that story there is one sword that is more powerful than any other sword ‘Excalibur’, and whoever has that sword will be all conquering. Also in Star Wars it is key for the Jedis to master the use of their ‘sword’. So it is with us, we must master our Sword. We must spend time reading the Word of God, studying the Word of God, listening to the Word of God, basically anything that we can do to make sure that when we are needed to fight we know the Word of God intimately so that we can cut down the attacks of the evil one. When Jesus was being tempted, Jesus fights the enemy by quoting the Word of God. Jesus didn’t use any weapons, or command angels to come and fight. Hebrews 4:12 tells us “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” So be dedicated to knowing the Word of God, ready for when the enemy attacks.

Feet Ready with the Gospel of Peace
The feet of Roman Soldiers were protected by Caligae (Sandals) made of several thicknesses of leather, studded with conical hobnails for marching over rough ground. The Roman Empire was huge, the soldiers marched hundreds and thousands of miles fighting for what they believed in along the way. And that is exactly what Jesus asked us to do. Our Great Commission from Jesus was to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). The roman soldiers often had to march over rough ground and that is exactly the same for us as we share the Gospel. If sharing the Gospel was meant to be an easy thing to do with no problems then I’m guessing there would probably be no need for any armour in the first place. A roman soldier would put on his armour ready to fight, if he forgot to put on his Caligae before he went into battle I am sure that he would not be able to march the same distance as the other soldiers and would fall by the wayside, vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.

And so it is for us, it is no coincidence that the types of armour were chosen with an exact purpose, and without just one item we are vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.