Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:14-18)
If we are to stand firm in the day of evil, we need to be dressed. Sometimes, the emphasis of discussion on this passage is on the armor: belt, breastplate, boots, shield, helmet, and sword, rather than on what they are made of: truth, righteousness (right behavior,) readiness that comes truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with from the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. Today, let’s look at it in terms of what and what.
The Belt of Truth The belt protected the guts, and served as a way to keep tools and weapons handy. From what I’ve read, the problem with an injury to the guts is that one painfully bleeds to death, or ends up with a horrific infection. When this was written, the guts were considered the seat of emotion. Attacks to one’s feelings tend to result in a long, slow bleed, or sepsis. If it was intended and not just where the weapon happened to hit, the goal is a miserable death. This is one of the main attacks, it seems to me, of the toxic person.
Breastplate of Righteousness This armor protected the heart, which was considered the seat of the will. Damage to the heart tends to result in quick death. Damage to one’s will results in bad behavior… toxic behavior. It’s amazing how quickly one falls into bad habits, into that which kills.
Feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace The word “feet” often alludes to living’s one’s life. It’s closely connected, it seems to me, with the will and therefore the heart. Keeping one’s feet from injury is vital because they give you the ability to move.
The shield of faith. This covers and protects everything, from head to toe, mind, will, and emotions. Knowledge (even experience) is not enough. Will-power is not enough. Feeling is not enough. It takes all three of those, acting with belief in God (not the weapons.)
The helmet of salvation. This is one that tends to stump me some. The key may be that the helmet protects the mind, and therefore knowledge. We tend to think of knowledge in terms of information given to us, but “knowing” also means experiencing. Our experiential knowledge of salvation, our holding on to the rock solidness of the promises of God, starting with salvation is what protects a mind that otherwise tends to wander into speculation.
The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is our one and ultimate weapon, because it powers all the other weapons. It is the foundation on which the others function. It His Word, we find instructions on the use of all the others.
And pray… This is the other weapon we have, and it works better if we have the armor in place. It’s even more powerful when the sword is used with it – sort of like turning a regular sword into a lightsaber.
The Belt of Truth The belt protected the guts, and served as a way to keep tools and weapons handy. From what I’ve read, the problem with an injury to the guts is that one painfully bleeds to death, or ends up with a horrific infection. When this was written, the guts were considered the seat of emotion. Attacks to one’s feelings tend to result in a long, slow bleed, or sepsis. If it was intended and not just where the weapon happened to hit, the goal is a miserable death. This is one of the main attacks, it seems to me, of the toxic person.
Breastplate of Righteousness This armor protected the heart, which was considered the seat of the will. Damage to the heart tends to result in quick death. Damage to one’s will results in bad behavior… toxic behavior. It’s amazing how quickly one falls into bad habits, into that which kills.
Feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace The word “feet” often alludes to living’s one’s life. It’s closely connected, it seems to me, with the will and therefore the heart. Keeping one’s feet from injury is vital because they give you the ability to move.
The shield of faith. This covers and protects everything, from head to toe, mind, will, and emotions. Knowledge (even experience) is not enough. Will-power is not enough. Feeling is not enough. It takes all three of those, acting with belief in God (not the weapons.)
The helmet of salvation. This is one that tends to stump me some. The key may be that the helmet protects the mind, and therefore knowledge. We tend to think of knowledge in terms of information given to us, but “knowing” also means experiencing. Our experiential knowledge of salvation, our holding on to the rock solidness of the promises of God, starting with salvation is what protects a mind that otherwise tends to wander into speculation.
The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This is our one and ultimate weapon, because it powers all the other weapons. It is the foundation on which the others function. It His Word, we find instructions on the use of all the others.
And pray… This is the other weapon we have, and it works better if we have the armor in place. It’s even more powerful when the sword is used with it – sort of like turning a regular sword into a lightsaber.
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