Armor of God

For other uses, see Armor of God (disambiguation).

"Armour of God" redirects here. For the film, see Armour of God (film).

The phrase "Armor of God" (Ancient Greek: πανοπλίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, panoplian tou Theou) is derived from Ephesians 6:11: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (King James Version).^[2] As a biblical reference, the metaphor may refer to physical armour worn by God in metaphorical battles, or it may refer to vigilant righteousness in general as bestowed by the grace of God (Romans 13:12, King James Version): "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." In Islam, the concept of spiritual armor is best represented by Taqwa (God-consciousness/piety),

Ephesians 6:8–18 on Papyrus 46 (fol. 157 verso; c. AD 200)^[1]

Biblical Appearance and Background

Ephesians was written by Apostle Paul while he was under house arrest around 61 and 63 CE. ^[3] Ephesians was not originally adressed to the Church of Ephesians but rather “to the holy ones who are faithful in Christ Jesus". ^[3] This was later changed to say “to the holy ones in Ephesus who are faithful in Christ Jesus". ^[3] In Chapter 6:10 -18, Apostle Paul focuses on the idea of believers and members of the Church resisting evil and keeping firm in their faith. ^[3]  In these verses, Paul instructs the Church to put on the whole Armor of God to prepare for the spiritual battle coming against Satan and his wiles, however, Scholars have different interpratations of what this means. ^[4] Some believe that the Armor of God referenced is the same spiritual armor that him and his messiah wore in battle, while others side believes the Armor is Christ himself and equipping oneself would be to metaphorically "put on Christ himself". ^[4]

Pieces of armor

The following biblical texts in Ephesians chapter 6 mention six pieces of armor:

• helmet
• breastplate
• belt
• footwear
• shield
• sword

These pieces are described in Ephesians as follows:

helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, belt/girdle of truth (loins girt with truth), shoes of peace (feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace), shield of faith and the sword of the spirit/word of God.^[5]

The helmet of Salvation and the breastplate of Righteousness also appear in Isaiah 59:17.^[6][7]

See also

• Bibleman
• Miles Christianus
• New Testament military metaphors
• Shield of the Trinity
• Soldiers of Christ, Arise
• Territorial spirit