What is the “Garment of Praise?” Is this part of the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11, 14-17)?
If you have not read the last two parts of this Faith Fix question, I’ll encourage you to do so before continuing on in this reading. You can find them at fcmayville.org.
We saw last week that the garment of praise and the armor of God are both metaphorical. The idea of the garment of praise is a beautiful visual of the hope, joy and peace that Jesus brought to the world, whereas the idea of the armor of God is about Christians taking a stand against the schemes of the devil and standing firm in their faith.
Let’s look more closely at the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-13, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”
These scriptures teach us some important truths about our walk with the Lord. Firstly, we have to realize that we live in a fallen world and we will experience trials as a result of this. Remember John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” There’s a spiritual realm we cannot see that has influence over this realm that we do see but despite this, we can and must rely on the Lord, standing firm in His truths.
Let’s continue reading in Ephesians 6:14-17, “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.” Now there’s some things for us to keep in mind here. First we must realize the armor described here was typical of the Roman soldiers’ armor during the time it was written and both Paul and those reading would have been familiar with this image of Roman military gear. Roman soldiers wore a belt to secure their tunic and carry their sword and Paul is letting them know that similarly the truth stabilizes and makes ready the believer. The breastplate protected a soldier’s vital organs, righteousness protects the heart and soul of a believer. Roman soldiers wore sturdy sandals with good traction and the gospel of peace enables believers to stand firm and move forward with good spiritual traction so to speak.
Roman soldiers used large shields for protection and faith likewise acts as a shield. Salvation protects the mind of the believer similar to the helmet that protected the head of the soldier. The sword was the primary weapon for Roman soldiers being a powerful tool for both defense and offense in battles, while in like manner the Word of God is the primary weapon for spiritual battles. Again, Paul’s audience would have been familiar with Roman soldiers and their gear, so this metaphor would have been both a clear and practical illustration to the Christians at that time.
How can we take these truths for ourselves today? Although we aren’t as well versed in Roman armor, we can get a good visual from what the Apostle Paul was describing. For ourselves, we can consider what it means to be properly dressed for the occasion, especially those of us who live here on the northeast coast of the US. Winter time around here requires boots and thick jackets, hats and scarfs, gloves and extra thick socks, if we’re to stay warm and avoid catching a chill. As a child I remember fighting these things because I didn’t think I needed them. Time after time I’d come home with frozen feet, beet red nose and fingers, just wishing I could get warm. Maturity has told me that I like being warm, I don’t want icicles hanging from my runny nose, and if I can keep from catching a chill I’m going to! Likewise, spiritual maturity says, I know I think I don’t need it, but I DO need the full armor of God if I’m going to make it! We need to be filled with His truth, ready to response to every trial with trust in who He is and what He has said, and ready to stand despite the storms and the winds that come beating on this house. As we keep our feet firmly planted on the rock, and continue to be students of His word, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us, we can trust Him. We must trust Him! But, He has not and will not fail us!
Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée
