the Christian’s armor

1 Peter 4:1-2

1 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

Here the suffering of Christ in the flesh (His body) is death on the cross. If we arm ourselves with the same mind (or purpose), we are putting on the armor of that attitude of Christ’s readiness to die. Hence, if we have on that armor we are, in a sense, dead to the world of sin.[1]

More basically, as a Christian our old self (old man) was crucified with Christ; and so, we are free from the slavery of sin (Rom. 6:6-7); hence we should consider ourselves to be dead to sin (1 Pet. 4:1) and alive to God in Christ (Rom. 6:11), having a new nature.

The problem for Christians is that we can’t keep our armor on! We must in our prayers put off (put to death) sin in our mortal (earthly) body (Rom. 6:12) and put on the new man, which is to live by faith in the Son of God (Gal. 2:20).