This world is not a playground, but a battleground. Preacher, put your armor on! You better be dressed for duty. There is never a time for “playing church.” We have a deadly enemy, bent on our destruction. Yet, we have a Sovereign—the Lord of Hosts who leads us. Pastors have been appointed as field commanders, serving under His direction.
Paul stresses the three great virtues of faith, hope, and love repeatedly in his writings. These must be the focus of our ministry. All we do is to help the church to be a people of faith, hope, and love. Through the preaching of the Word of God, faith is developed, hope is strengthened, and love is nurtured. Here, this holy trinity of Christ-like character is depicted as pieces of armor for the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged.
There is armor to guard our heart: “the breastplate of faith and love.” The two halves of the chest are protected by faith on one side and love on the other. Our heart is the seat of our affections. Faith enables us to experience the power of God, while love equips us to express our devotion to God. Whether on the march to assault some enemy stronghold that can be conquered by faith, or standing our ground in loving commitment when the foe sweeps in like a flood, we wear the breastplate.
There is armor to guard our head: “and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” Our head is the place where Biblical information is stored and Scriptural conviction is formed. The hope of salvation encases our minds with an assurance that wards off doubt, lest we waver in our doctrine and wander in our decisions.
Never let us shirk our work to equip our band of believers for battle. May we exemplify what it means to be dressed with faith, hope, and love, then to expound the Word in such a way that we help them to be armed likewise as they go into the world.
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