How do I acquire the Armor of God? 

How Do I Acquire the Armor of God? 

If you have diligently completed the prior nine steps of this program, you have already attained the Armor of God. First, you have confessed, rejected, and crucified the old practices of the flesh (Sessions 1-5). You removed Satan’s foothold, refusing him the right to deceive and harass you. You have demolished the stronghold of darkness that held your life hostage to destruction. You have freed yourself from evil dominion and spiritual oppression. You have washed in the blood of Jesus (Sessions 6,7). Your life is now cleansed, purified, and sanctified. You have closed all legal entry of the enemy through any generational line (Sessions 8,9). At last, you have filled your “house” with the Spirit of the living God. This is the scriptural understanding of self-deliverance. 

In obedience to God’s Word, you stepped in faith and fought for your freedom against spiritual dominion and oppression. You acquired the full Armor of God. Your “breastplate of righteousness” is Christ’s righteousness in you, imparted as a permanent character trait. Because Christ lives in you, it is not your righteousness and holiness but His righteousness and holiness manifesting in your life now. The “shield of faith” is your new level of awareness and personal conviction of the truthfulness of the Bible and Christ as your Lord, God, and Savior. Your “helmet of salvation” is the stamp of the Holy Spirit with whom you are sealed for Eternity (Ephesians 1:13). Your “belt of truth” is your testimony to what Christ has done for you. The greatest of all these blessings is the impartation of the agape love. Apostle Paul elevates agape love as the essential attribute of the Armor of God. It is the most refined weapon in the arsenal of the Armor of God, which believers must attain.

But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love (agape) as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet. (1 Thessalonians 5:8, emphasis added)

Lack of agape love is a weakness in the Armor of God. Jesus loves us with agape love, and we must reciprocate with agape love also. This agape love can be attained only through obedience to His commandments (John 14:15,23-24). Jesus' words, “If you love me,” refer to the divine agape love. To keep the commandments, the believer must attain agape love to reciprocate Jesus’ love. And the believer must obey the commandments to achieve agape love. No, it is not a paradoxical situation of contradictory rules. The obedience to His commandments is the prerequisite, not the other way around. 

At this point, you have acquired all the above attributes of the Armor of God. Wielding the “sword of the Spirit” threatens the kingdom of darkness and pushes wickedness away. You are to trample on snakes and scorpions with no fear of harm (Luke 10:19). You are given the power and the authority to do “violence” to the kingdom of darkness just by speaking the Word of God, thus establishing God’s will on Earth as it is in Heaven (Matthew 6:10). The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16). You have become more and more like Christ because you have sanctified your life. You are now EHAD with Christ. Your Armor of God is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). 

Question: How do I put on the full Armor of God? How do I practically put on the breastplate of righteousness? Refer to page 15, Session 1 for a comparison of your answer. How did your understanding change? Discuss your findings. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________