JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
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Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
The Whole Armor of God
10A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12For we* are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
13Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. 15For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.*16In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.*17Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.*
19And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike.* 20I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.
By the time Paul writes this letter, he’s not a stranger to Ephesus. He spent about three years there teaching, healing, casting out evil spirits, and watching people choose to follow Jesus (that’s back in Acts 19:19). And it was in Ephesus that things got dangerous when a silversmith named Demetrius stirred up a riot because Paul’s preaching was hurting his idol-making business (Acts 19:32).
Paul knew firsthand that following Jesus in Ephesus wasn’t safe. And by the time he writes this letter, things have gotten harder for him personally too — he’s writing from prison. Ephesians 6:20 says he’s “an ambassador in chains.” So when Paul tells this church to “put on the whole armor of God,” he’s writing as someone who has stood in an angry crowd and someone who was sitting in a Roman prison because he told people the truth about Jesus.
Paul isn’t talking about armor for a war against other people. Paul is really specific that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil.” Paul knew that there is an enemy who wants to keep people from knowing Jesus. That’s the battle we fight and that’s why we need to arm ourselves with the Armor of God.
Paul lists six pieces, and every one of them is something God gives, not something we make ourselves. Go through them and talk about how you might use each piece of armor in your own life.
Paul ends with prayer. He says we should be praying “at all times,” for yourself and for others, the same way he asks the Ephesians to pray for him. The armor isn’t something you put on once and forget. It’s something you keep putting on, the same way Paul kept preaching even from a prison cell.