Armor of God

 Armor of God

September 29, 2025

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

10 Finally,be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

I’ve heard many teachings over the years about the armor of God, but I  it don’t recall any that explained that this imagery come directly from the messianic prophesies of Isaiah.

Isaiah 11:1-6 - Righteous Reign of the Branch

1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,

And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit of counsel and strength,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD,

And He will not judge by what His eyes see,

Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor,

And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;

And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,

And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,

And faithfulness the belt about His waist.

6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,

And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,

And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;

And a little boy will lead them.

Isaiah 59:16-19

16 And He saw that there was no man,

And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;

Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,

And His righteousness upheld Him.

17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate,

And a helmet of salvation on His head;

And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing

And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.

18 According to their deeds, so He will repay,

Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;

To the coastlands He will make recompense.

19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west

And His glory from the rising of the sun,

For He will come like a rushing stream

Which the wind of the LORD drives.

Isaiah 52:7

7 How lovely on the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,

Who announces peace

And brings good news of happiness,

Who announces salvation,

And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

We often hear how the armor in Ephesians 6 corresponds to the uniform of the Roman soldier, of which the first century Christian would be well aware, but they would also have been very familiar with the book of Isaiah , and so Paul’s words would have inspired visions of the conquering messiah, clothed in The armor of God, coming to save those who believe. This is similar the the vision of John in Revelations of the messiah coming with a sword in his mouth to conquer evil.

Revelation 2:16

16Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

This image of the Messiah coming to save His people clothed with glory and majesty would bring hope to a people under the thumb of the Roman empire, whereas the image of a fierce Roman centurion might bring feeling of despair apart from the knowledge that we are victorious , and seated with the Lord in heavenly places. (Eph 1:20)  So take heart. There is a battle with powers and authorities in heavenly places, but we can stand firm and experience the victory in Jesus, the glorious and victorious Messiah.