Stand Firm with the Armor of God

In my Sunday School Women's Class I have been teaching about the Armor of God! It has been such a GREAT study that I thought others may enjoy what I have learned too!! As I've taught through the book of Ephesians, there have been a few weeks that have really had me super excited to share what I've learned. This study on the armor has definitely been exciting weeks for me! I have learned alot and have enjoyed passing on my newfound knowledge!

Let's begin with Ephesians 6:10-13

10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13 This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

The word Power here means “overcomes resistance” like the resistance that could come from Christ doing miracles. This is the kind of power this word speaks of. It is the power we find in the strength of Christ. So we can be strengthened not only by the Lord, but also in His resources.

We put on God’s armor, and then we don’t fight… we stand.. still. Wow.. that's hard!

We don’t fight satan. We hold fast to the truths of who God is and that He has already won the battle and the war! God has conquered satan… He doesn’t need us to conquer him too. Without God’s armor, then satan can more easily penetrate us and try to defeat us. His schemes have affected us Christians for years, but with the armor of God, then we can stand strong against his orders.


In my Monday night bible study we are studying the Israelites. One thing Moses tells the Israelites in Exodus 14:13 is to be fearless. Be still. Be watchful. And be silent. So when I was reading this about the armor it made me think of how Moses told the Israelites to be still just as Paul is telling us to put on our armor and stand still against the devil’s schemes. When Moses told them to stand still, then the Greek meaning for that was to stand firm. When Paul is telling the Christians to stand in verse 13, then the greek for that is to stand against. In verse 14, we go back to the Greek word for stand that means to stand firm. So I think it’s safe to say, we we are in a position to stand firmly against satan when we are wearing the armor of God!

Standing requires us to use our bodies. We have to have a firm resolve and be partnered with God while we stand. If we sit, then we’re likely to fall asleep or become lazy. But standing requires more of us. More than anything, standing still requires us to let God do God’s part. Nobody can do God’s job as good as God can, even though we try so hard to play God and do God’s work in our lives. Ultimately, we are useless at it and often can cause more harm (and even miss out on God’s blessings) trying to be God than if we would just stop. Be still. And let God do His work in our lives!

Psalm 46:10 says “Stop your fighting and know that I am God.” So the lesson we can take away from this is to put on the armor. Plant our feet. Stand firm. Let God do His work. We wait and we watch silently and prepare to see the hand of God work in our lives against the efforts of the enemy.

Here I will break down the pieces of armor. Feel free to read through these carefully and at your own pace. They are so beneficial to the Christian walk. Just like a Roman soldier would never enter battle without all pieces of his armor fitted to him, then so must we wear our armor proudly and daily in order to stand firm against the enemy!


Click on each verse for a more in depth study of each verse:


14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist,
righteousness like armor on your chest,

15 and your feet sandaled with readiness
for the gospel of peace.

16 In every situation take the shield of faith,
and with it you will be able to extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 Take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit,
which is God’s word.

In one sense, the “whole armor of God” is a picture of Jesus Christ. Christ is the Truth (John 14:6), and He is our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21) and our peace (Eph. 2:14). His faithfulness makes possible our faith (Gal. 2:20); He is our salvation (Luke 2:30); and He is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). This means that when we trusted Christ, we received the armor. Paul told the Romans what to do with the armor (Rom. 13:11–14): wake up (Rom. 13:11), cast off sin, and “put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12). We do this by putting “on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14). By faith, put on the armor and trust God for the victory. Once and for all, we have put on the armor at the moment of salvation. But there must be a daily appropriation. When King David put off his armor and returned to his palace, he was in greater danger than when he was on the battlefield (2 Samuel 11 tells us of when David saw Bathsheba bathing and wanted her. From that moment he stumbled into satan's trap. He had an adulterous affair, was caught up in numerous lies, & committed murder). We are never out of reach of Satan’s devices, so we must never be without the whole armor of God.^{[1] (emphasis added)}

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^[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 59). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Commentary used for my studies: 

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books