The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to put on the full armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-20. This is a common theme for children’s ministry, but it’s incredibly important for every Christian to consider the meaning and symbolism. In this post I hope to unpack the various pieces of armor along with its relevance today.
Our True Enemy
Take a minute to consider the three greatest challenges facing Christians and the Church today. Now consider this quote from John Calvin:
“Let us remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood when the painful treatment of others provokes us to revenge. Our natural disposition would lead us to direct all our efforts against the men themselves; but this foolish desire will be restrained by remembering that the men who annoy us are nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of satan. While we are focused on destroying those darts, we leave ourselves open to be wounded on all sides.”
John Calvin (Calvin’s Commentary on Ephesians 6:12, slightly edited for understandability)
The Christian enemy is not the fiery arrows, but the archer who is shooting them. If we ignore the arrows then we’ll get struck, but the enemy isn’t the arrows themselves. Instead, we guard ourselves from the devil’s schemes which seek to destroy our faith and witness while remembering the bigger picture.
Living Theologically 