Pentecost Season · Proper 16 · Year B
Ephesians 6:10-20
The Armor of God
August 22, 2027

Overview & Insights
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11)
Since the imagery of war and armor is quite prominent throughout the NT, this section in Ephesians does not specifically represent any new teaching. Paul, for example, speaks of his own Christian life as a spiritual fight (1 Cor. 9:24–27), and the author of the Pastorals encourages Timothy to “fight the good fight” (1 Tim. 1:18; 6:12) in an age of apostasy. On several occasions Paul even identifies the weapons that the Christian is to use. Because the battle is a spiritual one, he says, “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). He exhorts the Romans to “put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12), whereas his admonition to the Thessalonians is to be “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thess. 5:8).
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Commentary
Working Preacher: Commentary on Ephesians 6:10-20 Working Preacher
Lutheran lectionary commentary on the armor of God for Proper 16.
Enduring Word: Ephesians 6 Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik's verse-by-verse evangelical notes on the whole chapter.
CEP: Ephesians 6:10-20 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
Reformed preaching commentary on standing firm in the armor of God.
BibleHub: Commentaries on Ephesians 6:10 BibleHub
Parallel classic commentaries keyed to being strong in the Lord.
Background & Word Study
Enter the Bible: Ephesians Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's scholarly introduction to the letter and its setting.
BibleProject: Ephesians Overview BibleProject
Animated overview of the message and structure of Ephesians.
BibleHub: Ephesians 6 Interlinear BibleHub
Greek-English interlinear for word-level study of the chapter.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What is the armor of God?
Paul lists the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel shoes, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, for the church’s battle is against spiritual powers (Ephesians 6:10–17).
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