The Whole Armor of God
15 Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up
your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to
withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.
16 Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,
having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent
mine angels to commit unto you;
17 Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench
all the fiery darts of the wicked;
18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit,
which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be
agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I
come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also.
Amen.
One way we take God’s armor upon us is to take the sacrament. By
so doing we covenant with the Lord to always remember him and keep his
commandments. He, in turn, promises his
Spirit to be with us. Verse 18 states
that the Spirit is an offensive weapon: A sword. All of the other armor is defensive.
When the church was first
organized, they used wine for the sacrament.
But Joseph was instructed by an angel not to buy wine for this purpose.
Evidently, some enemies of the church had intended to sell wine that was
poisoned. Subsequently, it became the
practice of the church to use water instead of wine: a defensive move.
We cover ourselves with truth, righteousness, gospel knowledge,
faith in Christ, and the understanding that God is the source of salvation. These doctrines alone don’t save us, but
obedience to them will get it done. (For
fun, notice where the Lord placed each doctrine: head, chest, loins, feet,
etc. See if you can begin to understand
the significance of these locations.)
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