The Whole Armor of God: How Christ’s Victory Strengthens Us for Spiritual Warfare

by Iain M. Duguid

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2019

Overview

The book of Ephesians ends with a charge to Christians to take up the armor of God so they will be equipped to fight in a spiritually dangerous world. But they often think they must put on this armor themselves in order to stand. In reality, God himself clothes his people with his armor, the same armor that Jesus wore when he won the ultimate battle for us at the cross—and therefore God’s own strength is inevitably at work within them. In this reflective book, Iain Duguid walks through Ephesians 6:10–13 from this unique angle, highlighting the Old Testament context of each piece of armor. Readers will be encouraged in their daily battle against sin as they rest in God’s power at work in them through the finished victory of Christ.

Key Features

• Examines each of the pieces of spiritual armor described in Ephesians 6
• Presents a gospel-saturated, Christ-exalting, and disciple-making companion
• Explores related themes of salvation, assurance, and spiritual warfare

Contents

• Dressed for Battle
• The Belt of Truth
• The Breastplate of Righteousness
• Gospel Boots
• The Shield of Faith
• The Helmet of Salvation
• The Sword of the Spirit
• Praying Always

Top Highlights

“Jesus Christ is the only pathway through whom we may approach the Father. The apostle” (Pages 26–27)

“In the same way, we are not in control of the process of our spiritual growth. The God who has started a good work in us will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). Even though we are not passive but are to fight with all our might, our sanctification is ultimately God’s work from beginning to end.” (Page 18)

“But it is not our own weak and failing righteousness that guards us, not even our ability to strap on God’s breastplate well; rather, it is a perfect righteousness that comes from God, a righteousness given to us in Christ as part of the cosmic transfer deal by which our own guilt was laid on Jesus. It is this imputed righteousness that is worked out in us as the Holy Spirit renews our thinking and renews our living. In that way, we begin to live the lives we were created to live, made like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Page 49)

“Just as a breastplate defends a soldier’s vital organs, so the righteousness of Christ protects us against two of the chief lies that the devil wants us to believe, which are that God doesn’t really love us and that sin doesn’t really matter.” (Pages 45–46)

“Jesus wore it first. In the final analysis, standing our ground simply means clinging desperately to Jesus Christ as our only hope of salvation. In that attitude of dependent trust is true victory.” (Page 22)

Endorsements

This is another great book of expositions by Iain Duguid. In this unfolding of the armor of God, he shows us not only his well-known exegetical skills and accessible writing style but also his pastoral wisdom. This comes from both years in ministry and acquaintance with spiritual classics.

—Timothy Keller, Founding Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City; Chairman and Cofounder, Redeemer City to City

Here is a rare find! This is the work of an Old Testament scholar with an easy-to-read and engaging style who believes in the ongoing activity of the evil one and writes about spiritual warfare with pastoral wisdom and biblical sanity. He knows that the battle in which we engage and the armor God supplies for us are not ideas dreamed up by the apostle Paul but were deeply embedded in the long narrative of the Old Testament. And he knows that the Lord Jesus himself faced the enemy and field-tested the armor for us. So here is a much-needed book, a battle manual for every Christian to use, and a guide for every pastor to follow.

—Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Teaching Fellow, Ligonier Ministries

A typical nightmare for a soldier is being unarmed and undressed on the battlefield. Drawing upon decades of academic and pastoral ministry, Iain Duguid explains why Christ himself is our armor and how, paradoxically, we can only win the battle through the victory he’s already achieved. Along the way, he also opens up wide vistas on how we are to live as battling victors. Highly recommended for personal, family, or group Bible study.

—Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California; author, Justification (New Studies in Dogmatics)

Product Details

• Title: The Whole Armor of God: How Christ’s Victory Strengthens Us for Spiritual Warfare
• Author: Iain M. Duguid
• Publisher: Crossway
• Print Publication Date: 2019
• Logos Release Date: 2019
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Ephesians 6:10-13 › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Spiritual warfare › Biblical teaching
• ISBNs: 9781433565038, 9781433565007, 9781433565014, 9781433565021, 143356503X, 1433565005, 1433565013, 1433565021
• Resource ID: LLS:WHLRMRSPRTLWRFR
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T03:45:29Z

About Iain M. Duguid

Iain M. Duguid (PhD, University of Cambridge) is professor of Old Testament at Grove City College and pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He has also served as a missionary in Liberia, taught at Reformed Seminary and Westminster Seminary California, and planted churches in Fallbrook, California, and Oxford, England. Some of Duguid's other work includes books such as Living in the Gap Between Promise and Reality and Hero of Heroes, as well as commentaries on Ezekiel, Daniel, Ruth, Esther and more. He was a translator for the Holman Christian Standard Version of the Bible and is a contributor to the New Living Translation Study Bible, the HCSV Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible. He and his wife Barb have five children.