The Whole Armor of God

Crossway Publishers brings readers the latest book by trusted Bible scholar and theology professor Iain M. Duiguid, The Whole Armor of God: How Christ's Victory Strengthens Us for Spiritual Warfare. Taking readers to the familiar passage in Ephesians 6 on preparation for the spiritual battle, Duiguid helps readers understand that the armor God gives us is God's own armor and that each piece points to Christ. Duiguid unpacks each piece of God's armor for readers, devoting a chapter to each one. He helps readers to understand exactly what each piece of armor is and how Jesus Himself embodies that piece of armor. Besides that, each chapter ends with some reflection questions to help readers did deeper into God's Word and to apply the truths found there to their daily lives. One of the things I appreciate most about the book is how Duguid helps readers see praying in the Spirit as part of the armor (Eph. 6:18-20). Not only that, but while so many people focus on the armor of God as something believers must "put on" themselves, Duguid helps readers see that the armor is God's, that Jesus has already "worn" it and fulfilled it, so that when we believe, we put on Christ--and we are putting on the armor of God. Standing firm in God's armor is really standing firm in our identity in Christ and what we have been given in Him. I appreciate Duguid's treatment of this topic and also how he helps believers put it into practice in everyday life.

Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

First sentence: Over recent years, there have been many television shows aimed at helping people get properly dressed.

The book is a study of Ephesians 6:10-18.

Who should read The Whole Armor of God?! One might as well ask who should not read The Whole Armor of God?! It is just that good. And I do love it when MUST-READ books happen to fall around the 125 page mark. It should be read by believers of all ages and stages. It should be read by all believers because all believers wear the armor. This book is not for "super-Christians." Duguid reminds readers, "the choice is not whether you will be a Christian soldier or a Christian civilian but whether you will be a prepared Christian soldier or an unprepared one. And an unprepared soldier of flesh and blood will not be able to stand against the scale of the spiritual forces ranged against him or her."

The first chapter, "Dressed for Battle," covers the introductory verses that serve as the preface to the armor of God. Duguid wants his readers to have a proper big-picture perspective for understanding and applying the armor. It is essential that believers understand the SCALE OF OUR NEED; it is essential that believers comprehend the VASTNESS OF GOD'S PROVISION; it is essential that believers take seriously the CALL TO STAND. If you fail to take into account any of these three, then your understanding of the armor of God might be a little warped. And a misunderstanding could lead to misapplication.

I love the example he gives: "What many of us hear in these words [Ephesians 6:13-17] is a call to triumphant action, as if it is completely up to us to take on the devil and withstand his schemes. If we would just put on the whole armor of God, we should therefore constantly be able to stand firm against all of Satan’s schemes. God has done his part perfectly in making the armor available; now it is up to us to choose whether to use it. Meanwhile, God appears helpless in heaven, waiting to see how it all turns out. When this wrong understanding holds sway, Christians get sorted into one of two camps. Some choose to be radical disciples of Jesus and live an epic life by putting on that armor. Others, by their neglect, become those “loser” Christians who are regularly tripped up by the devil’s schemes, falling into sin daily, leaving God perpetually disappointed. In reality, many of us find ourselves daily in the second category: we are often unwilling and unable even to think clearly about the armor, let alone put it on...If sanctification were as simple as some suggest (“Just try harder to put on the armor!”), we would not fail and fall in the Christian life nearly as much as we do."

Isn't it easy--even when you KNOW better--to fall into this mindset?! To shift the focus from Christ's wearing of the armor to OUR WEARING OF THE ARMOR. I think this is fairly common as well. Duguid writes, "An inevitable result of this self-focused perspective on our spiritual growth is that we become proud of ourselves and judgmental of others if we think that we are doing well in our struggle against sin and Satan. After all, we chose to put on God’s armor while they made poor choices."

The BIGGIE insight of chapter one is, "Our sanctification rests first and foremost on the finished work of Christ in our place. As we shall see, the armor of God is quite literally God’s armor—armor designed for and worn by God first and foremost. The armor God gives us to defend and protect us against Satan’s onslaught is the armor that he has already worn in the decisive battle on our behalf. We fight and stand firm against Satan only in the strength that comes from the victory that Christ has already won for us. That is why each of the various pieces of armor points us to Christ. The belt of truth is the belt that girds the messianic king in Isaiah 11:5. The breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation come from the divine warrior’s arsenal in Isaiah 59:17. The feet shod with gospel readiness are the feet of those who proclaim the arrival of Messiah’s kingdom in Isaiah 52:7. God himself is the shield of faith, as he describes himself in Genesis 15. The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is the weapon wielded by the promised servant of the Lord in Isaiah 49:2. What God clothes us with is nothing less than his own armor, the same armor that Christ has already worn on our behalf in his lifelong struggle with the mortal enemy of our souls, Satan himself. You are called to wear the armor of God not because that’s what Jesus would do if he found himself in a similar situation; you are called to wear God’s armor because that is what Jesus has already done, wearing God’s armor all the way to the cross."

This may just be the BIGGIE insight of the entire book. And it's a potential life-changer or game-changer. Hence why this book is a must-read in my opinion. Every believer needs to grasp these key truths about justification, sanctification, propitiation, and imputation. And these are the key doctrines being taught throughout the book AS Duguid unpacks Ephesians 6.

Every day believers can take joy from knowing that, "Your victory over sin belongs to Jesus, not you. Jesus’s struggle was the decisive one, not yours. His victory on the cross purchased your complete sanctification, your ultimate holiness before God. His Spirit is at work within you growing you at the rate that he intends toward his goal of your complete purity. Your sanctification is where he plans for it to be... Fight the good fight with all your might. Wrestle with all the energy that the Spirit gives you. But in the midst of that standing, fighting, and wrestling, don’t forget to rest in the finished victory of Christ and the assurance that the Spirit’s perfect sanctifying work in your life is what counts."

In the following chapters, "The Belt of Truth," "The Breastplate of Righteousness," "Gospel Boots," "The Shield of Faith," "The Helmet of Salvation," and "The Sword of the Spirit" Duguid unpacks spiritual truths one by one from the Ephesians passage. These chapters are packed with insight but also quite practical. I love that he teaches from the Old Testament and the New Testament, highlighting how Paul was using Old Testament texts and applying them in light of Christ. Believers not familiar with the Old Testament may not be aware of these connections and how they are among the OT passages that point to Christ.

The last chapter, "Praying Always," [Ephesians 6:18-20] focuses on prayer. "The armory needs to be under the control of the pilot; you and I need to be in close contact with God. And the means by which we stay in contact is prayer. Prayer is not so much another weapon that the Christian has been given as it is the means by which all of his or her weaponry is kept effective, under the control and guidance of God."

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
When I was in High School, it would've been easy to get the idea that the central defining pericope for the New Testament believer's life was Ephesians 6:10-18 -- thanks to Frank Peretti, Carmen, ETW, and the like. The idea was this is a call to arms -- notably with a stirring call to victory -- to stand against Satan's schemes and wrestle with the spiritual forces. It's a militant type of sanctification, and while well-intentioned, it's sloppy exegesis and ignores too many other things that Paul, Peter, other apostles, and the rest of Scripture tell us about the struggle of faith and the slow work of repentance. Of course, that was a long time ago, and many of those names would be unfamiliar to people (especially contemporary high schoolers), but the ideas are not. I know that Duguid is familiar with this because he talks about it in Chapter 1, which was pretty encouraging, because I'd mentally drafted this paragraph before I started the book.

After that dash of synchronicity, Duguid goes on to describe the armor Paul is actually describing in the passage -- the armor that God Himself wore into battle and now provides for His people to wear. The rest of the book is devoted to him showing how Christ's work and benefits are depicted through this armor. He spends a chapter per piece of armor: The Belt of Truth, The Breastplate of Righteousness, Gospel Boots, The Shield of Faith, The Helmet of Salvation, The Sword of the Spirit and Praying Always. He traces the use of the imagery throughout Scripture, showing Paul's lines of thought -- primarily through the Psalms and Prophets. These are not new ideas that Paul introduces to the Ephesians, but part of the warp and woof of redemptive history.

Yes, frequently Duguid calls his readers to use the armor in ways similar to the abuses I mentioned above (abuses might be too strong a word in some cases, but I think it fits the overall movement). But he does so while they're properly rooted, and done in faith. And that's always the last thing in his chapters.

Primarily, this book is an encouragement for the believer. I remember when I first encountered Reformed Theology what a revolutionary and wonderful thing it was to discover that the Gospel is for Christians, too. Duguid's main task is demonstrating how each part of the armor is Good News for those united to Christ by faith first and foremost. There are parts of this book that I'll go back to for further study on that point alone.

There are moments of evangelism for the non-believer as well. For the Gospel is to be indiscriminately proclaimed and this book reflects that as much as it argues for it.

Yes, I wish the book was about twice as long and a little more detailed and technical. But that's not the intention, nor the audience he's writing for, so I'm not complaining, just noting. Iain Duguid isn't William Gurnall and doesn't try to be (the book would be about six times as long if he was), but he does follow similar trajectories. Duguid writes crisply, clearly and effectively. So much so that it'd be easy to breeze through the book without giving it the thought its subject deserves. There's a lot of meat for reflection and consideration here, and the discriminating reader will take advantage of it -- hopefully, less-than-discriminating readers will, too.

I enjoyed this a lot, and will likely be giving copies as gifts, as well as returning to it myself. Recommended for all ages.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Crossway via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

The fight for sanctification often feels like what happened in the movie Groundhog day, in which Bill Murray's character was forced to live the same day over and over again. That is the normal way in which God teaches us the depth of our brokenness and our utter inability to change through our own willpower, so that we come to treasure the beauty of the gospel more deeply. But however many times we struggle against sin and fail in this life, our failure is not the last word; the last word is Christ's perfection, which clothes us, and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit within us.

I have read several studies on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and the difference between other studies and this one was the work of Christ thru the Gospel. The mistake we (I) often make is putting on the armor of truth thru my own power instead putting on the armor thru faith in Christ. I never saw my own work for the reason for my despair when I failed or fell short. Putting on the armor of God always always has the gospel as the driving force of each weapon. The armor of God is a good visual of why and what each part entails such as the sword (the word of God) the Helmet (the salvation) but to use these to strengthen our need of the gospel makes the gospel that much more powerful. It becomes the emptying of yourself so that you can become full of the spirit. This is word is a great example...Paul talks about putting on the breastplate of righteousness, he is describing the righteousness that God gives us in the gospel, about which he wrote "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" It is easy to say as the Rich man, I have done this and I do that. It become about I and the pride sweeps in and takes away any armor that God has for us in Christ.

This is not just about putting on the Armor of God but living out the gospel. It allows the Holy Spirit to indwell in our hearts and for pride to flee. I highly recommend.

A Special Thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

It's a decent book, outlining the fact that when Paul talked about the Armor of God, he was most likely alluding to OT texts, especially in Isaiah. I've never realized this before, so this made the book an interesting read. Other than that, the book seemed pretty basic, almost too easy to read.

"The Whole Armor of God" examines the pieces of spiritual armor found in Ephesians 6. The author was easy to understand even though he dug deep into what the different pieces of armor were and how to use them. He drew in references to this same imagery in the Old and New Testament to help gain insight into the spiritual armor. He also pointed out how Jesus used this same "armor" and how that should encourage us. He ended by also talking about prayer and how prayer pulled all these pieces of spiritual armor together. I gained new insights into Ephesians 6. Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting, encouraging book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Iain's book. It's clear the Armour of God that Paul outlines in Ephesians 6 has been a favourite topic of Iain's over many years with the acknowledgements at the end mentioning it all began with a sermon series he did way back in 1994.

This is a short book and there is a chapter of 8-10 pages on each piece of armour. I particularly appreciated that Iain included in the last chapter the "praying in the Spirit" which is often left out in discussions about the armour. But as Iain explains, "But it is not enough simply to put on the armour. There will be no powerful reality to your walk with God unless you are in intimate contact with your heavenly Father... The armoury needs to be under the control the pilot; you and I need to be in close contact with God. And the means by which we stay in contact is prayer." This chapter on prayer was probably my favourite. Iain provides such an insightful perspective on the relational aspect of our walk with God.

Some of the books written on the armour reflect on the fact that Paul was sitting in a jail observing what the guards wore but Iain takes us back to Isaiah where each element of the armour is actually mentioned and is being worn by Jesus. Therefore, what's good for Him is good for us.

This is an excellent outline with sufficient detail to make it compelling reading for all believers. I highly recommend it.

I received a PDF copy of the unfinished book from the publisher via Net Galley with no expectation of a positive review.

I received an ARC of this book from Crossway via NetGalley, this review is my personal opinion.

Great book, with clear information, well written and Biblical sound. An important subject I truly like how Ian M Duguid writes it. In a tone that I believe is looking to bring awakening and opening to the importance of using the Whole Armor of God and how that change is view in our Christian life. I like that this book, although has a very serious and profound theological theme it is also a personal and reachable book. The other thing I also liked was the section of questions in my case was a surprise and got me thinking about my answers. I think this book could be a great opportunity for a Bible study for individuals or groups. I recommend this book because I believe we all need to be clear, alert and know how to wear the armor of God and the spiritual war we daily live.

Grateful to Crossway for the ARC of this book.