Ephesians 6:10-13
The Bible contains good news: the best news of all, the news of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ, the news that we are saved by God’s grace, not by anything we do. Yet the Bible also conveys bad news: the bad news of our sin and guilt, the bad news of our hopelessness apart from God. Ephesians 6:10-13 reveals more bad news. We are in a battle against the devil and his schemes (v. 11). Our struggle is really not against human opponents, but rather “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (v. 13). This certainly feels like bad news to me. How in the world are we going to do battle against powerful evil forces we can’t even see? Against the backdrop of this bad news, our passage also has good news for us. We do not have to fight in our own strength. Rather, we can “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (v. 10). How do we do this? Twice our passage gives the same answer: “Put on the full armor of God” (vv. 11 and 13). Of course, our next question would be: What is this armor? And how do we put it on? Here are a few words about the nature of God’s armor. Paul’s use of armor imagery was inspired by the Old Testament, especially Isaiah 59:17 where the Lord “put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head.” Both of these pieces of armor appear with the same imagery in Ephesians 6, which shows clearly Paul’s dependence on Isaiah. Yet in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul writes about “putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” The variations in the meaning of the armor indicate that Paul does not have one fixed schema whereby one piece of armor always has the same meaning. Rather, his use of armor imagery is fluid. What is conveyed by this imagery? In Isaiah, God’s armor consists of righteousness and salvation (Isaiah 59:17). In Ephesians the divine armor includes truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17). We might say, therefore, that the armor of God comprises those things that are essential to God’s nature, God’s work, and our response. The armor of God is composed of those realities that are absolutely central to Christian faith and life. For many of us, the notion of spiritual warfare feels foreign. We’re not apt to think in these terms or experience life in this way. In some segments of the church, however, believers easily—even eagerly—recognize the demonic dimension of our battle. They boldly go on the offensive against evil. Some focus on exorcism and deliverance, casting out demons while others practice an unusual sort of prayer that concentrates on rebuking the devil and his demonic minions, taking authority over these powers in the name of Christ. But this is not the point of Ephesians 6:10-20. There is nothing in this text to support a battle plan that revolves around rebuking or claiming authority over the spiritual forces of evil. Yes, we are to engage in the struggle against the dark powers, but in ways that seem much more mundane than we might expect. According to Ephesians, we are to fight principally by putting on God’s full armor. We are to put on truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. If we are to fight God’s battle in God’s way, these are the majors in which we need to major, both as individuals and as God’s people together. These pieces of God’s armor are certainly less exciting than engaging in verbal conflict with demonic powers. Yet they are precisely what Ephesians emphasizes in teaching us to do spiritual warfare. Consider for a moment some of the implications of this teaching. If you were to say, “I’m going to do spiritual warfare at work today,” your colleagues, even your Christian brothers and sisters, might be a bit concerned. But if you said: “I’m going to be committed to truthfulness; I’m going to make sure my relationships are right; I’m going to help make peace where there is conflict, I’m going to trust God more; I’m going to be gracious in how I relate to others; and I’m going to let God’s truth guide my actions” – I doubt that even your secular colleagues would be put off. The bottom line is this. If you want to fight in God’s way, if you want to put on God’s armor, then major in the majors. Be committed to truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God. Let these guide and form your life. Gracious God, thank You for Your strength. Thank You for giving us Your full armor, which we need to fight our spiritual battles. Help us, Lord, to put on Your armor. May we wear Your armor in our workplaces, with our clients, among our friends, with our families, and in our churches. Help us to “major in the majors” as we live our lives for Your glory. Amen. Comments are closed.
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