The Christian's Armor

"Put on the full armour of God, that you may be able to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:11).  William Gurnall’s The Christian in Complete Armour is one of the masterpieces of Christian literature.  Gurnall’s treatise on the Christian’s warfare in Ephesians 6:10-20 runs to over one thousand pages.  Like all of the Puritan teachers, Gurnall is thorough.  Such a long book may seem daunting to the modern reader, but consider C. H. Spurgeon’s estimate of its value: “Gurnall’s work is peerless and priceless; every line is full of wisdom, every sentence is suggestive.”  Spurgeon wrote that The Christian in Complete Armour had more inflluence on his preaching than any other uninspired volume.  My first impression of Gurnall’s book was a desire that it was more concise, but only a little study changed my view.  Its pages are uniformly encouraging and relevant.  Gurnall’s use of illustrations is masterful throughout.  John Newton said that if he could read only one book beside the Bible, it would be The Christian in Complete Armour. J.C. Ryle said of it, “You will often find in a line and a half some great truth, put so concisely, and yet so fully, that you really marvel how so much thought could be got into so few words.”  Gurnall’s treatise is one of the greatest of all the Puritan’s practical writings, and you leave it wishing every Christian book had its virtues.  Forntunately, there are an abundance of Puritan masterpieces available today!