The Armor of Elohim

Many people have heard the story or passage about “the armor of God”, but how many people really understand what it means and what the application of the armor is? It has become a “buzz word” among the Christians without the actual knowledge or application of what is being taught.

Once a person turns to the faith and belief of the Messiah יהושע (Yehoshua), that person joins a battle field where there are many attacks from the enemy. Satan (the adversary) and all his evil forces are the enemy that constantly tries to destroy anyone who turns to follow the government and rule of the Almighty.

There are also a few misconceptions about the armor of Elohim, for instance, it is taught that you must daily put on the armor of Elohim. But I ask you, where does it say daily, or everyday? It just says put it on. Are you not also in need of the armor at all times, even while you sleep? Another thing is that we all need to put on the ENTIRE armor, otherwise it is of no use at all. One piece of the armor cannot function without the others. We will get into that in more detail as we go through this article.

Let us now work through the passage where Shaul teaches about the armor of Elohim:

“Put on the complete armor of Elohim, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil (Accuser).” (Eph 6:11). Here it is very clear that the complete armor is needed in order to stand against whatever the devil has to give. If you do not have the complete armor on, the rest of the armor is of no use and does not function, you cannot have one piece of armor on without the rest, it is a package deal. The Accuser will always find an opening and will always attack you there at your weakest point. That is why the entire armor is needed to stand against his attacks.

“Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.” (Eph 6:12). So we do not fight one another, but rather the false teachings and false spirits that lead and deceive others. If we all wore the armor of Elohim, then we would all stand together on the same team in total agreement with one another. There are, however, only a very few that truly wear the armor of Elohim, and these people are attacked even by flesh and blood. This is only due to the fact that those attacking are being lead by the evil spiritual forces. By wearing the full armor of Elohim, we will be able to stand up against everyone and everything.

“Because of this, take up the complete armor of Elohim, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph 6:13). Once again, Shaul teaches the importance to wear the FULL armor of Elohim. If we do not have the full armor on, then we will not be able to stand in the “wicked day.” What day is this “wicked day?” it is the day of judgment where we are going to stand in front of the Almighty, and the devil (Accuser) is going to accuse us of all terrible things. Unless you are wearing the full armor of Elohim, you will fall to his accusations and be guilty of sin. If, however, you are clothed with the full armor of Elohim, you will be able to stand up against any accusation that the Accuser may give.

“Stand, then, having girded your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” (Eph 6:14). Here we start to learn what the armor of Elohim is. The first item of the armor that is mentioned is the “waist girdle” or “belt” of TRUTH. Truth is the opposite of lies and falsehood. Truth is based upon facts and evidence. Truth is what comes out of the mouth of the Almighty, it is what is written. Any writing that changes the original truth is considered false. That is why it is so important to go back to the original writings, rather than relying on the many false translations that we know as Bibles today. The “waist girdle” is what holds your sword, without truth, you cannot have any weapon to fight or defend yourself with.

The second piece of armor mentioned in this verse is the breastplate of righteousness. Without righteousness, you do not have a breastplate to protect your vital organs, like your lungs and heart. Righteousness is the opposite of sin. It is the obedience of the Instruction of the Almighty which is His Torah, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” (Rom 6:16). This next verse explains that everyone that does not do righteousness, that is keeping the Torah of YHWH, is not of the children of the Almighty but are rather the children of the devil. To be part of the children of the Almighty, you have to live by His rules, which is His Word also known as the Torah. “In this the children of Elohim and the children of the devil are manifest: Everyone not doing righteousness is not of Elohim, neither the one not loving his brother” (1 John 3:10)

If you do not live righteously, then you do not have a breastplate to protect your vital organs in the Day of Judgment and the Accuser will give you up to death in that Day of Judgment.Having to stand in the wicked day can also mean the day/days that believers are attacked, and one's enemies devise and carry out evil plans against you, so that we do not fall and turn away from Elohim and His ways. These are also to do with schemes of the devil.

“and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;” (Eph 6:15). The Scriptures indicate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Good News originated at the very beginning of time. The True “gospel” has always incorporated the Almighty’s Torah (instruction in righteousness) in building a relationship between YHWH and humankind. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you, and cause you to live by my Torah, and ye shall keep my statutes and judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Here we clearly see the basis of the Good News, that YHWH Himself shows favor and mercy to His people who will live according to His Word. The Good News is the revelation of YHWH’s Eternal Favor (grace) that saves and empowers His people to be able to stop transgressing (breaking Torah) against Him. Torah is YHWH’s blueprint for moral, righteous living. To attempt to annul Torah is to teach a different “gospel” than what the Talmidim (disciples) and Shlichim (Apostles) originally taught.

False gospels preach that Y’hoshua or “Jesus” is “the gospel” and/or that belief alone in Y’hoshua brings salvation. However, Adam and Chawwah (Eve) “got saved” long before Y’hoshua came to earth, because YHWH is Salvation. Y’hoshua is the door to salvation but belief in his atoning blood is utterly futile without being “re-born” spiritually and keeping His Father’s Commandments (becoming Set Apart). Even the demons believe in YHWH and the fact that there is only One Elohim; but demons are certainly not Set Apart unto YHWH, and therefore belief in itself without a righteous lifestyle is simply false religion. The false gospel has removed the TERMS & CONDITIONS of salvation, covenant and atonement and replaced them with a cerebral belief system or Christian religious label (identity); whereas the Renewed Covenant demands a complete change of lifestyle once Torah (instruction in righteousness) is written upon the heart.

Increased popularity of a false gospel will in no way make it acceptable to YHWH or His Mashiyach. Even if every soul on earth put their faith in a false gospel, it would not cause YHWH to change His Word to comply with man’s opinion. YHWH is His Word and His Promise and He cannot change Who He is! The false gospel is a theology that pits Y’hoshua against the Word of YHWH (Torah). Those who lead the charge of the false gospel adamantly speak against the terms and conditions of the Renewed Covenant. The Good News is that YHWH our Creator is a Loving, Merciful and Forgiving Father, which is why “the sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart.” This Love of the Father is clearly demonstrated in Y’hoshua haMashiyach as an offering for all souls to turn to YHWH, to enter His Kingdom and turn away from transgression of His Word (Torah).

“above all, having taken up the shield of belief with which you shall have power to quench all the burning arrows of the wicked one.” (Eph 6:16). The shield of Belief is spoken of as “above all.” This is because none of the rest of the armor is of any use without belief. If you have truth and not belief, then the truth is of no use, just as the others are of no use either. It is exactly the same as not being able to have belief without truth and works. “So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead” (Ya’akov/James 2:17). Once again, it is a package deal, it cannot function without the other pieces of the armor, and without the shield of belief/faith, none of the other armor is of any use. This shield stops any fiery attacks that the wicked one may shoot at you. If you do not have belief, then you will not be able to stand against any attacks and will fall.

“Take also the helmet of deliverance, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Elohim,” (Eph 6:17). Now this is an interesting verse that has a specific aspect that many people do not understand. All Christians agree that the sword is the Word of the Almighty, but what they do not understand is what exactly the Word of the Almighty is. Let us ask ourselves some questions, “Who wrote this letter? When was it written? and what existed as the Word of the Almighty in that time?” Let us now answer these questions. The letter to the Ephesians was written by Shaul (Paul). It was written in the time of early to mid 60’s AD. Now the key is to what was available in that time as the Word of the Almighty. One thing to notice is that the “New Testament” was not written or compiled yet and it certainly was not considered to be the Word of the Almighty. A lot of it had not even been written yet as most of it was mere letters sent from one believer to other believers. Ephesians was even written before some of the Gospels were.

So what was and still is the Word of the Almighty that Shaul and all the other disciples always referred to? It is the Tanakh (Old Testament) of course, the Tanakh is the Word of the Almighty and always will be as it is eternal. Shaul and many of the disciples studied and referenced the Tanakh in their letters and Gospels too. The Messiah Yehoshua quoted the Tanakh repeatedly and every time He said, “it is written…” so that we can know for certain that it comes from the Word of the Almighty which is the Tanakh.

The Word of our beloved Creator is also called Scripture. The Tanakh is the only thing that is or can be considered as Scripture. The “New Testament” is not the Word of the Almighty. But rather 4 witnesses to the happenings of the Messiah and also a collection of letters, written from believers to other believers who all followed the Scriptures (Tanakh). Let us see, for example, what one believer wrote in his letter to the other believers, “All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Now you have to once again remember that the “New Testament” did not exist at the time of the writing of this letter, and that the Scripture being referenced here is the Tanakh. That proves that the Tanakh is the one and only writing that is considered the Word of the Almighty and the only thing that is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight and for instruction in righteousness. It is also our only guide to show us what good works are.

It is sad that the Church teaches its followers that it is an Old Testament and yet have no facts to support this evil thought. It is the Living Word of the Eternal Creator and Almighty YHWH. The term “New Testament” is also an evil man made title that has no facts to support it. The correct term is “brit chadashah” which means “Renewed Covenant,” NOT “new”. The term “New” implies that the other is “Old” which is not true but rather a false teaching. The Messiah did not bring a New Law, He came to renew the One perfect law that is eternal and taught us how to obey it. He also does not have any authority to change even one little part of the law at all.

There are many people who claim that the Tanakh is a curse and imperfect that had to be done away with and replaced by something better by the Messiah. Now consider what they are saying… they are saying that the Word of the Almighty, that even teaches us of the Messiah, is a curse and imperfect… would you like to say that to His face one day when you stand before Him? It is a perverse twisting of Scripture to think that the Word of the Almighty is in any way not perfect.

Now to get to the helmet of salvation/deliverance, the verse just says that you need to also take it. Now keep in mind that salvation is not possible without belief, truth, righteousness and the Good News combined, which are all necessary before you can wear the helmet of deliverance. What use is a helmet without a breastplate and a shield and a sword and a girdle to hold your sword? The meaning of our beloved Messiah Yehoshua's Name is, "YHWH is our salvation."

“praying at all times, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones” (Eph 6:18). Here we can see that the armor is not only spiritual, but physical too. Prayer is a physical act which needs to be done in the spirit. Righteousness comes from physical acts, truth comes from a physical studying of the Word of the Almighty and without the study of His Word, then the Sword is useless to you, and without any of these, belief is not possible as belief comes from the study of the Torah.

The term, “set-apart ones” is speaking of the believers in the Messiah who guard to do the Word of the Almighty. They are those who are set-apart from this world. You cannot be set-apart and still look like the world and do the things of this world. We need to look like and do the things of the Messiah, we need to walk in His footsteps and live like He lived, hating everything that is unrighteous and doing the Word of His Father in heaven. “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city” (Rev 22:14)