Ephesians 6:13-17 “Therefore take up the whole armour 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 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.”
We have seen thus far that not only have we, as sons and daughters of God, received the gift of faith from God, but the faith that we have received is His faith. The above quoted passage of scripture once again reaffirms that truth for us, for in this passage the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us to put on the armour of God. The scripture plainly tells us that it is God’s armour and not our own. In other words, it is not our “breastplate of righteousness”, for we are made righteous with His righteousness. It is also not our “helmet of salvation”, for Jesus Christ is our salvation. It is not our “sword of the Spirit”, for the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. And it is also not our “shield of faith”, for He is our shield. Therefore it is with God’s faith that we are instructed to withstand in the evil day, for we are to take up His shield of faith, not our own. The Lord would not tell us to take up His armour if we did not have access to His armour. As God’s children, each of us has direct access to the armour of God, including His faith. And so we see that as those who are justified in Christ Jesus that we do not live by our own faith, but rather we live by the faith of the Son of God.
Michael E.B. Maher
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