Ephesians 6:10-17: The Armor of God Is Mostly For Defense

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:10-17

There is a lot of defensive equipment in Paul's list of the full armor of God. I imagined that I would stand weapon-to-weapon with the devil and his various subordinates, striking the blows, defeating my enemy and winning the battles. But that isn't the way it is presented. 

The armor, the belt, the breastplate, the shoes, the shield and the helmet are all about defending and keeping me in one piece. The sword only shows up in the last phrase and, if Jesus is any example, it is also used in a defensive role. The devil attacks, we defend and then God wins.

That makes sense, because we are not the match for the wit, power and spite of the evil that this world can bring to bear on us. The "rulers...the authorities [and] the powers of this dark world" are more powerful, better resources and more intelligent that we are. I guess I imagined that somehow I became super-powered as a Christian; that God powered me up; some Iron Man-style spiritual outfit. 

There is a danger in that because it puts the "I/my/mine" into the sentence I use about victory. We might be tempted to say "I overcame the devil by the power of God's word" rather than "God defeated the devil by his word." That first sentence reminds me of Simon the Sorcerer who wanted the power for his own ends (Acts 8)

But James says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) We resist until God win's the battle. The faith, the salvation, the word, the truth, the righteousness, the peace, the Spirit--they allow God's people to live with certainty while under attack until God's victory is complete.