Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand, therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:10-18
Although the devil may use people and institutions against God’s Christians, the devil and his evil angels are our true enemies. We are in a spiritual war, as we have been since the Fall of Man. Therefore, Paul encourages not just the Christians in Ephesus but all Christians of all time to equip the armour of God, of which there are seven pieces. Now, most people interpret these different parts of the armour of God as forms of defence until they get to the sword of the Spirit. But Paul is using the imagery of Roman armour, and Roman soldiers used all of these parts not only for defence but also for offence. These are the seven weapons God has equipped us with:
First, the belt of truth. Yes, an item meant to keep your pants from falling can be used as a weapon. Anyone who’s been disciplined with a belt by their father knows this! But first, what is the truth? The truth is, “Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Saviour.” That is the truth that girds our loins. Therefore, spank the devil with the truth that Jesus is Lord when he’s being such an ass! Strangle that annoying pest with the truth that Jesus is Saviour, despite the lies he may tell you!
Second is the breastplate of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Not yours, but the Lord’s. You rely on Christ’s righteousness, not your own! Not on your good works, but on Christ’s perfect work of obedience to the Father. The best of our righteousness is equivalent to a filthy garment (Isaiah 64:6). The devil can easily shatter your self-righteousness by attacking your fragile ego with merely a whisper. He cannot, however, put a single scratch or dent into the righteousness of Christ, which is made yours by faith. Indeed, he may have nailed Christ’s flesh to the cross, but even then His righteousness was not punctured, for by the cross He has given us His righteousness by faith.
Third, God has put on our shoes the Gospel of peace. What kind of peace? Not peace in the world, but peace with God! “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). And as Paul writes, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Kick the devil in the face with this peace from God! It is a peace he’ll never have, which is why it hurts him so much!
Fourth, our Lord Christ hands us the shield of faith. Your faith in Christ, like St. Stephen’s (Acts 6-7), is able to withstand the arrows of the devil that wish to set you ablaze with hellfire. Push him back with it! And like St. Perpetua, you can form a shield wall of faith with the brethren. She was martyred for her faith in Carthage, Africa in AD 203. When she and other Christians were sentenced to be torn apart by beasts, she wrote, “We joyfully went” (Wolfmueller, 38-39). They went joyfully together, and rejoicing together, because they shared the same faith in the same Jesus Christ, united in their Baptism. “One Lord, one faith, one Baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). Like this young 22-year-old mother, form a shield wall with your fellow saints, whether that be in the Divine Service, a prayer gathering, around the table at home, or even in prison, the execution chair, or the firing line.
Fifth is the helmet of salvation. Helmets protect the most vital organ: your brain. Therefore, the salvation Christ has won for you is your most vital protection. Headbutt the devil in the face with the salvation Christ has won for you! The devil will try arduously to convince you otherwise, but you can pray the Benedictine prayer against him, “Begone, Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities! What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!” And add from Scripture, “I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me! For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation—including you, thou vile serpent—will ever be able to separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus my Lord!” (cf. Romans 8:37-39).
Sixth, the Lord equips us with the sword of the Spirit, which is His Word. Just like Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), use the Word of God to cut off the head of that repugnant basilisk. Speak it at him; he cannot stand it for long! Nevertheless, he will return “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13); therefore, keep the Word of God always ready to be unsheathed, constantly whetting it on your tongue. Eventually, Christ our King will use His Word on the Last Day to slay that dragon.
Lastly is prayer. Yes, though a metaphor is not used with it, prayer is a weapon. Luther understood prayer as our weapon against the devil, “We need to know this; all our shelter and protection rest in prayer alone… Therefore, we must consider and take up those weapons with which Christians must be armed in order to stand against the devil. For what do you imagine has done such great things up till now? What has stopped or quelled the councils, purposes, murder, and riot of our enemies, by which the devil thought he could crush us, together with the Gospel? It was the prayer of a few godly people standing in the middle like an iron wall for our side” (LC III, 30-31).
Like faith, the prayer of faith is a shield, and praying with the communion of saints is a shield wall against the dragon, with Christ our Dragon Slayer in the front to behead that pernicious Hydra.
Bibliography
Wolfmueller, Bryan. A Martyr’s Faith in a Faithless World. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2019.
The Lutheran Column 