Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 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 firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Ephesians 6:10-20 (ESV)

In this passage, there is a recurring theme: stand. Defined in the concordance as oppose and resist, I noticed that those words take an offensive stance. We are to be actively fighting “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Each of these is not referencing the same idea, but different degrees of a similar concept.

After listing the who, we are told the what. There is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the helmet, and the sword. The belt holds everything together, it is the foundation of the uniform. The breastplate is defined as a breastplate of justification – the term for salvation and redemption. The shoes are for the guidance of our walk with Christ and the shield of faith is a reliance on Christ for salvation. The helmet is symbolic of the promises of God being our constant focus while the sword of the Spirit is the only thing by which we can injure – the Word of God (John 1).

Altogether it boils down to these concepts: truth, justification, peace, faith, mentality, and your defense. That order is laid out beautifully since it details the “steps” of a Christian. We are born with Truth written on our hearts (Romans 1:18; 2). Justification occurs when we are made aware of Christ’s work on the cross and accept His love. Peace occurs when we obey and share the Gospel thereby making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Faith is fully relying on God daily for guidance and support. We are to guard our minds for if Satan controls it, he can control our actions. Lastly, the tool of opposition is the very Word of God, Jesus (Heb. 4:12). Finally, we are to be in constant communication with our commander (v.18-20).

God doesn’t expect a newborn Christian to do everything. Nor does He expect a mature Christian to only make disciples. In this passage, we see that disciple-making comes before offense and that it is the preparation of the Gospel of peace. That would infer we are only to tell and plant or water, NEVER to do the work of the Holy Spirit.