WHAT AN AMAZING GOD-GIVEN ARMOUR!

Ephesians 6:11-17

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Many times, I thought Paul was captivated by the Roman soldiers and their dress, especially during battle times.

But surprisingly, ‘Historymuse’ tells us that, the Roman Legions were trained as though they had been born with weapons in hand. They never had a respite from training, never waited for emergencies to arise. Moreover, their peace exercises were no less persistent than actual warfare. Each soldier was powerfully trained to throw all his energy into his drill daily, as though he were in action in the frontlines.

And when we in this modern time, think of the “Armour of God” we all think, of course, of these inspiring verses in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

But, as we see, this analogy was not original to Paul. 

We find all this in the book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament.

The first of these verses appears in Isaiah 59:17… “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle”. 

The second group of verses that would have been well-known to Paul is found in Isaiah 11: 4 and 5… “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist”

Amazingly Paul developed and adapted this analogy to his time and space where he was and to the Christian church in his time.

As an OT scholar, Paul focused on the elements found in Isaiah. Instead of the seven articles of armour mentioned in the parallel verses in Isaiah, Paul lists six articles of armour in Ephesians 6, and he adjusts and combines some items in order to do this.

Then he combines the belt of righteousness and sash of faithfulness into the “belt of truth”.

He also combines the only offensive weapons mentioned by Isaiah – the “rod of his mouth” and “breath of his lips” – into the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This is also the only offensive weapon mentioned in Ephesians 6 and is clearly the same thing, the “rod of his mouth” being the “word of God.”

Furthermore, Paul leaves out completely, the “mantle of zeal” and “garments of vengeance” as these belong to God alone as in Romans 12:19.

But the “breastplate of righteousness” and “helmet of salvation” are identical in both lists. 

The only items of armour Paul adds to those mentioned explicitly in Isaiah are the “shield of faith” and the shoes of the “gospel of peace,” although the idea for the latter can also be found in Isaiah as well:  “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7) – a verse which Paul quotes in Romans 10:15.

So why did Paul do all this?

Good question! It is not wrong to adapt God’s Word to our times and places.

Paul developed and applied the model of the armour of God first to himself as a servant of God, and then to the Christian. He also lifts the weapons of spiritual warfare out of the realm of things that we must somehow put together of our own strength, for the articles of armour Paul shows we need so badly are, like salvation itself, the gift of God. 

See what the OT says.

When David tried the armour of King Saul, he could not use it as he had not “tested” or practiced with it. This is what the Bible says, “38 And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 1 Samuel 17:38-39). 

So, in closing this let me share my heart with you…three things I must say.

Firstly, the armour of God is not meant to be left at home or kept in safe keeping for others to see. This is a spiritual armour and needs to be worn all the time.

Secondly, this armour, which needs to be worn all the time you spend here in earth, needs to be used and tested and tried daily. You are not to be afraid of the wiles or the workings of the enemy, the devil.

And lastly, there is no armour guarding the Christian from behind. So, you have to face your enemy, and not run. If you run, you lose the battle!

Shalom!