Two Types of Armor: What Armor are You Wearing?

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The New Testament talks of two types of armor--God's armor and man's armor. What armor are you wearing?

Here's God's armor, and I'm sure we all know this:

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. 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. [Ephesians 6]

Here's man's armor. Not many believers know this:

But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder. [Luke 11.22]

Seldom would you see someone wearing God's full armor these days. Often, what believers wear is just the helmet of salvation. By the way, "God's armor" is God's very own armor, the one he wears all the time. If you are in Christ (Christ rules you), God's armor is automatically put on you. But if you are a believer who relies more on your church attendance and activeness than on Christ's rule on you, then you're wearing man's armor.

As simple as that.

Man's armor has close semblance with God's armor--it also has a helmet of salvation, sword which is the Word, breastplate of righteousness, belt of truth, shield of faith, and sandals of readiness. But they're all just a semblance of God's armor, not God's armor itself.

Have you read the 7 churches in the Book of Revelation? Most churches there had man's armor--they looked great physically but God wasn't happy with them. But they were all Christian churches trying to do God's will.

The problem with man's armor is, it doesn't have real sustaining power. It can protect only as long as the enemy is not stronger than the one wearing the armor. Unfortunately, a stronger enemy always comes along and attacks and overpowers the believer.

Then that enemy "takes away the armor in which the man trusted" and steals from him. The enemy can never steal God's own armor. But he can man's armor.

There's an armor that seems right to wear--it looks and feels good to wear--but the end of it leads to death. Again, I ask, what armor are you wearing?

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Often, a tattered humble cloak is draped over
God's glorious armor which only the spirit world sees.

King Saul wanted David to wear his armor--man's armor. David tried it but decided it wasn't good for him. He rather relied on what meager "armor" God provided him with--God's own spiritual armor. Physically, it didn't seem much, Goliath even mocked him. David looked weak and vulnerable. Even stupid. But God's armor has power not just to slay giants but to make God's army win against enemy strongholds hands down!

Man's armor is great for display and bragging, but in real spiritual battles it has no use. God's spiritual armor keeps you looking small, weak and meek and yet winning even against the strongest enemies. You appear weak but the armor makes you win all the time--because God's power is made perfect in weakness.