Godly Underclothes + An Announcement!

Much has been said about the armor of God. There are many studies and teachings about it, but what do we “wear” under that armor? Physical armor did not take the place of clothing but went over every day clothes. What is a Christian to wear on a daily basis under his armor?

God’s Provision

In the beginning, mankind did not need clothes, but they also did not need armor. They were safe and free as God made them, but with sin came the necessity for covering and protection. Since this was before department stores, Adam and Eve tried to make do for themselves, but their efforts didn’t cut it. They needed to be covered in the clothes God made for them.

Genesis 3:21 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

As Christians, we need to be clothed in God’s work not the product of our own efforts. Because we are to be like Jesus, are being made into His image, we need to be clothed by Him.

In Regard To Work

Isaiah 61:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

His salvation is the first and foremost of our daily attire. Without His salvation, we are naked in our shame. Only His work on the cross can cover that.

Our Relationship With God

Galatians 3:26-27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Likewise, we also need to be covered with Christ Himself. That is how we become more like Him, by putting Him on instead of wearing the world. Christ and His righteousness needs to be what others see on us and in us. We need to be immersed in Jesus so that He is all others see. He needs to define us.

In The Gym

Luke 24:48-49 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

We are also to put on the power of God, which is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus told the disciples this, the Holy Spirit had not yet come to earth except in a few random instances and usually only for a brief period of time for certain people. After Jesus came the indwelling of His Spirit like never before. Only after He arose into heaven did the Spirit come to live in all believers, permanently. Never had mankind been blessed with such access and power. But having the Spirit dwell in us due to our salvation does not benefit us any more than clothes in a closet. We must use them, wear them, in order to derive any benefit from them. Just like physical clothing, we need to put on the power of the Spirit in order for it to cover us. We need to seek the Spirit, yield to the Spirit.

Our Mindset

2 Corinthians 5:1-3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.

We also need to clothe ourselves in heaven. This is a little more abstract than the rest, how do we put on heaven? I believe this refers to our perspective, in addition to being clothed with Christ. When we have our point of view fixed on eternity, we are clothing ourselves with it because we will live in light of it. Living with heaven in mind will change the way we act and think, and so will change the way others see us. It will change our clothes. That heavenly perspective will keep us hopeful and joyful in spite of the many troubles and suffering we will face. It will keep us from despair and bitterness. We need to cover ourselves with this view of heaven so that we will not be found wanting or ashamed when the day comes.

In Regard To Others

1 Peter 5:5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Humility is one of the most basic pieces of clothing we should wear, before we are ready for battle we must be humble. We cannot have salvation, power, heaven or Jesus without humility. Especially in our relationship with others, humility is necessary for life. The opposite of humility is pride, which destroys every relationship we could possibly have and God hates it. He despises those clothed in pride. We are no better than any other person, and certainly no better than God, but pride makes us act and think like we are. That is why God hates it. We need to view others as better than ourselves. We need to treat them as if they are more important. We have no right to do otherwise.

So what are you wearing? What do you clothe yourself with every day?

~

Announcement

Now that we have covered what we should wear every day, we need to talk about how to dress for battle. Next week I will begin a series on the armor of God. Join me here every Monday on my blog or my facebook page. You can also subscribe by email to my blog so that you can receive every article in your inbox when I post it. Simply enter your email address in the bar to the right where it says “follow by email”. Note that you must then click on the link in the verification email in order to get the emails, without that you will remain inactive.

Thanks for tuning in!