Armor of God: Do you need it in marriage or not?
Exposed… genuine oneness in marriage leaves two people exposed to each other becoming one flesh. But in a marriage, is the armor of God necessary? I mean it’s your spouse, right? We each CHOSE to spend our lives with each other so why would we need armor since we have each other and God in the center of our marriage?
Because in a marriage, you are going to be attacked in ways you couldn’t have possibly imagined on the day you said, “I do.”
There’s nothing in this world that satan hates and fears more than a husband and wife devoted to the Lord first individually and secondly God ruling over and being the center of that marriage. If Adam wasn’t tempted prior to Eve, then the formation of the first marriage was an absolute terror to him.
Ephesians chapter 6 starting in verse 10 is when we are instructed to put on the armor of God. But I’m going to jump to verse 18 and then come back to the start in verse 10. Verse 18 says: “praying at all times in the spirit, with all prayer and supplication…” Paul is writing his letter to the Ephesians from a jail cell and could easily have been down on himself and angry at God for his situation but instead from a jail cell he’s giving us clear instructions to pray at ALL times, regardless of situation or circumstance pray. If we’re instructed to put on the full armor of God so that we can withstand the schemes of the devil and yet we do this but then are only spending a few minutes here and there praying for a bunch of wishes and wants then we are going to be powerless… like a Ferrari without gas… the vessel is ready but the source of our strength is disconnected… pray ALWAYS, pray alone, pray at work, pray driving, pray happy, pray sad, pray scared, pray thankful, and PRAY WITH YOUR SPOUSE! It’s not just one of us that is going to be attacked but BOTH of us, pray together and Satan will crumble. Back to suiting up now.
Ephesians 6:13 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 firm. 14 stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The belt of truth: If you’re not full of truth in any and every context there will always be an opening in our marriage armor for Satan to disrupt and destroy. Truth may hurt at times, but the torment that being untruthful can be is beyond compare. Your spouse is you, two become one flesh, you can’t lie to yourself so don’t ever try to lie to your spouse because it will end up hurting more than you can imagine. Choose to fasten the belt of truth so that it never becomes loose.
Breastplate of righteousness: Righteousness is described as what is right and pleasing to God. Proverbs 21:3 tells us “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” What would the breastplate of righteousness look like in marriage? Honoring your spouse by living each day in such a state that every decision is based on a foundation that Is pleasing to God. If each and every one of our decisions we make is pleasing to God then by default it will bring glory, honor, and an overwhelming amount of love to your spouse. There is nothing in this world that we could do that would be pleasing to God but not be pleasing to our spouse. This seems simple and almost thoughtless until emotions, pain, frustration, bitterness, anger, exhaustion etc.. are weighing down not only on you but your spouse as well. So how do we ensure that we keep our breastplate secure. It comes back to prayer. If we are not praying at all times in the spirit then we are opening our breastplate up for attack. It only takes one arrow from satan to wreck our lives so we must live in a constant state of prayer with our decisions being solely based on bringing honor to Christ.
Shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace: Paul metaphorically describes shoes in this verse but the focal point is more on the function of our feet, to travel and spread the gospel to the world. Jesus said in Luke 10:2 “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” How does this area of “armor” relate to marriage. If we as husbands are not spreading the gospel in the confines of our own home to our wife and children then we are failing before even starting. We must lead in our homes and saturate our family in the Gospel so that as husband and wife we can impact others as a unit through the testimony of our marriage. People are looking for someone to be able to relate to. Our testimony can be viewed as a match lighting the fuse of a bomb. It can be the spark that ignites the power of what Christ has done for us individually and even more so in our marriage. If we are not spreading the message of Christ and the impact that He has had in our covenant, then we are not fulfilling our duty on earth. Walking alone can be intimidating but walking hand in hand with your spouse as one unit pursuing others for the glory of Christ is an absolute treasure. Spreading the gospel with your spouse immediately dissipates the anxiety that satan can try to pile on to us because we have the single most important person on this earth by our side and NOTHING can be thrown at us when we are united for the cause of Christ.
Shield of faith in marriage: We spoke earlier on the topic of praying at all times, applying the shield of faith in marriage we should be praying constantly for our spouse and the strengthening of their faith. We should pray the shield of faith over their life daily so that no matter what life may throw at them they will be covered and protected by the shield of faith and will extinguish all of the flaming darts the enemy will throw at them. This prayer should be for protection over them and also, we should be praying for the strengthening of our own shield of faith so that as husbands we can better lead our spouses in their faith walk. The shield of faith should be our priority protection over our spouses and family. Without it we will be exposed to all attacks from the enemy and pain will be sure to follow.
Helmet of salvation and carry the sword of the spirit: so that we can allow God to guide us through each and every day. The helmet of salvation is something we need to always thank God for and for the salvation of our spouses. There is nothing more important in this life than our spouses being secured by Grace through salvation over their lives. If salvation in our spouses’ lives is something that we may question, then prior to anything else we must talk with them regarding their salvation and pray for conviction over them that they will turn to Christ and accept Him as Lord and savior of their life. This relationship is the only thing that will take priority over your spouse, and we must support each other in this area of our lives. We should always be carrying the sword of the spirit (the word of God) because so many times in life we are faced with insurmountable obstacles that the enemy will attack us with and there is no better guide for these obstacles than the sword. We should always be telling our spouses that we are praying for them and praying over them for protection and at the same time there is no better defense for protecting our spouses than the word. As husbands we should always be guided by the word and allow it to guide us in marriage. If our spouse is struggling in a certain area, then praying over them and reading the word with them has the power to instantly change our heart and minds regarding what the enemy might be throwing at them. Sharing verses with our spouses throughout the day can be just as uplifting as telling them “I love you and am thinking about you” because we are sending the word of God for protection over them and there is no greater way to tell them you love them than by covering them in the word each day.
The armor of God is absolutely necessary to surviving our walk with Christ in relationship with Him and if it is that important in our one-on-one relationship then we can and absolutely should cover our spouses and marriages with the full armor of God at all times. We must suit up for the sanctity of our marriages and overcome the evil that is fighting so hard to destroy us.
With God at the center of our lives and marriages the enemy cannot overtake us.
By: Andrew Lasater