SABBATH THOUGHT 2026-07-18—ARMOR OF CHRIST

May God bless you on His Sabbath day!

Every Christian is familiar with the Armor of God that Paul described in his epistle to the Ephesians. This topic has been the source of many Bible studies. Armor is worn by those who are knowingly and intentionally engaging with an enemy that poses a threat. It is protects flesh and blood from harm, injury, or death. But there are two kinds of threats so there are two kinds of armor—physical and spiritual. Obviously, Paul emphasized spiritual armor:

EPHESIANS 6:13-17 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist [loin belt] with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

The phrase “shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace” is rather odd. The Greek word for preparation is used only here. Represented as sandals, “the preparation of the Gospel of Peace” portrays going about preaching the Gospel of Peace. Figuratively, though, preparation means a firm foundation[1] so the sandals signify standing on the firm foundation of the Gospel. Both fit the analogy because, on the one hand, the Gospel is a message of peace with God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ[2] as well as possessing the peace that comes from Jesus Christ[3]. It also refers to building a foundation for life upon Jesus Christ[4]:

ISAIAH 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The Loin Belt pictures Truth, which is intimately linked with Righteousness. God’s “word is truth”[5] and keeping God’s Word is righteousness. Truth and righteousness are tightly coupled so the Loin Belt can refer to Truth and/or Righteousness:

PSALMS 119:142, 151, 172 Your [the LORD’s] righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. … 151 You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth. … 172 My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness.

PROVERBS 12:17 He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit.

ISAIAH 26:2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.

The Armor of Believers is clearly designed for spiritual warfare against an enemy who cannot be defeated by flesh and blood. The problem is that no war can be won without taking the offensive and that is why the battle of flesh and blood must be fought and won by on a spiritual level[6]. And Jesus Christ also wore armor when He “became flesh”[7]:

ISAIAH 11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins [waist], and faithfulness [truth] the belt of His waist [loins].

ISAIAH 59:15-18 So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. 16 He [God the Father] saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His [God the Father’s] own arm [Jesus Christ[8]] brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. 17 For He [Jesus Christ] put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

ISAIAH 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him [includes Jesus Christ] who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

ISAIAH 49:2 And He [God the Father] has made My [Jesus Christ’s] mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His [God the Father’s] hand He has hidden Me [Jesus Christ], and made Me a polished shaft; in His [God the Father’s] quiver He has hidden Me [Jesus Christ].”

The following table lists the Armor of Believers and the Armor of Christ. The gray boxes indicate the differences in the pieces of equipment:

ITEM	EQUIPMENT	BELIEVERS	JESUS CHRIST
1	BREASTPLATE	Righteousness
2	GARMENTS		Vengeance
3	HELMET	Salvation
4	LOIN BELT	Truth (or Righteousness)
5	SANDALS	Gospel of Peace
6	SHIELD	Faith
7	SWORD	Word of God

The Armor of Believers and the Armor of Christ are similar but the purpose for each is different. Believers are engaged in defensive spiritual warfare:

EPHESIANS 6:11-13 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

In contrast, Jesus Christ engaged in an offensive war with Satan over control of this world:

1 JOHN 3:8 … For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

JOHN 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler [Satan] of this world will be cast out.

The armor of Believers and Jesus Christ is the same except for two pieces of equipment—the Shield of Faith and the Garments of Vengeance. The Shield of Faith is a part of the Armor of Believers but not the Armor of Christ. Why is it missing from the Armor of Christ? In all regards, He was perfectly one with God[9]. Even in the flesh, Jesus could perfectly recall His life with God the Father as the One who had created all things[10]. He absolutely knew that God would grant whatsoever He desired whether it was cursing a fig tree[11] or calling out a legion of angels[12]. He did not require faith in the same way as Believers.

In fact, it could be argued that Jesus Christ did not require faith at all. Faith is “the substance [assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”[13] Since Jesus Christ was with God the Father from the beginning[14], there was nothing He did not know or had not seen:

COLOSSIANS 1:16 For by Him [Jesus Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Why does anyone need faith? Faith is required when there is no direct evidence that something exists or will occur other than that of someone’s word. Paul contrasts faith with reality by saying “we walk by faith, not by sight.”[15] Jesus had no need of faith—hope and assurance—because He LIVED the reality of the Kingdom of God from the beginning. Instead of requiring faith, He walked by “sight.”

Another piece of equipment is part of the Armor of Christ but not the Armor of Believers—the Garments of Vengeance. The reason is rather obvious since vengeance belongs to God[16]. The enemies of flesh and blood are invisible spirit beings who cannot be seen, heard, or otherwise engaged so how did Jesus fight them as a human being? First, He knew Satan and the demons from the day He created them and had an intimate understanding of all their evil thoughts and ways. Second, He had the Holy Spirit without measure from God[17]. These things gave Him the ability to see and engage Satan and the demons in an offensive spiritual war even though He was flesh and blood.

When Jesus Christ conquered Satan, He also won the right to execute judgment upon the world:

JOHN 5:22 “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

… and vengeance upon the incorrigibly wicked:

2 THESSALONIANS 1:6-8 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The role of Judge and Avenger is represented by the Garments of Vengeance. He is returning to execute judgment and vengeance AND He will be wearing His armor:

REVELATION 19:11-15 Now I [John] saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He [Jesus Christ] who sat on him was called Faithful and True [Loin Belt of Truth], and in [Breastplate of] righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood [Garments of Vengeance], and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword [of the Word of God], that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Jesus Christ will be wearing many crowns. He is “King of kings and Lord of lords”[18] but He is also OUR King and OUR Lord. From the perspective of the saints, at least one of His crowns could be likened to the Helmet of Salvation—OUR salvation[19].

The only other piece of equipment not mentioned is the Sandals of the Gospel; however, the Gospel is preached to the world by the first of the Three Angels prior to Jesus Christ’s return[20].

REVELATION 14:6-7 Then I [John] saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth–to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people– 7 saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Even with armor, a defensive war is all that is possible for Believers, which is why Jesus Christ wears armor and fights on our behalf. But the Armor of Believers includes the Shield of Faith—the hope and assurance—that our victory will be through Him:

1 CORINTHIANS 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

May God’s grace and peace be upon you!

Steven Greene

https://sabbathreflections.org

sabbathreflections@gmail.com