Listen for God’s word to you from Ephesians 6:10-17…
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Introduction
To understand this passage in Ephesians we must remember where Paul is writing from. He is writing from prison. I, along with many other scholars, think that Paul is writing this letter from prison in Rome. He is writing to his beloved church in Ephesus. When he left them, at the end of Acts 20, he knelt with the elders of Ephesus and prayed. They wept as they embraced and kissed Paul. He told them then that they would never see his face again, and he was right, for he went from Ephesus to Jerusalem where he was arrested and eventually sent to Rome for trial before Caesar. Now Paul knows he is writing to the Church of Ephesus, perhaps for the last time. And he is thinking of the darkness of the world in which they live. What final words of challenge and comfort can he give to them?
It may be that Paul was chained to a Roman guard as he dictated these final words to the Church at Ephesus. Paul is literally the envoy of Love, in chains. And the guard to whom he is chained by the wrist, gives him an idea. The months that Paul spent in prison would have made him very familiar with the armor of the Roman soldier. And therein lies Paul’s inspiration for this famous passage.
The idea comes into Paul’s mind that the Christian, also, has his or her armor. And so, Paul takes the armor of the Roman soldier, piece by piece, and he uses it as a metaphor to talk about the spiritual armor that God gives to every follower of Jesus.
The Power on our Side
But before we talk about the armor that God gives to protect us in the spiritual battle of life, we must talk about the power that is on our side. Paul says, “Be empowered in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Paul uses the same trio of words in Ephesians 1:19. There Paul talks about God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe.” Then Paul goes on to say, “That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead…” So, the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead, is the same power that we have on our side. If we didn’t have God’s power on our side, our situation would be hopeless, because the enemy we face is also powerful…
The Enemy We Face
Paul talks about the enemy we face in Ephesians 6:11-12. The reason we need the full armor of God is so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes.
In the Preface to his book, The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis says…
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.[1]
I believe in the reality of devils for two reasons. One is because I find it impossible to make sense of the New Testament without accepting the reality of devils as fallen angels. The stories of Jesus’ and Paul’s exorcisms are simply too numerous and detailed for me to think that they are fiction. The reality of the devil is essential to the whole story laid out in the New Testament.
Secondly, I believe in the reality of the devil because I have personally witnessed his work. If you want to learn about this stuff from a scientific perspective, I recommend reading People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck. The book is all about Peck’s experience as a psychiatrist. Peck came to the point in his practice where he realized some of his patients had a problem with evil that transcended the normal psychological categories of definition. In the book he chronicles case histories of demon possession. It was a book I felt compelled to read with the light on.
Suffice to say, I believe in the reality of the devils because the New Testament talks about it incessantly and because of the experience of demon possession which I have witnessed. Paul makes the matter perfectly clear when he says… “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Traditionally, scholars have thought the terms “rulers, authorities, and powers” refer to different levels of demonic hierarchy, or as Lewis calls it in The Screwtape Letters, “the Lowerarchy”. The Ephesians themselves needed no one to prove to them that the devil exists, nor that God has the power to overcome evil. They had witnessed both realities themselves. You can read about it in Acts 19.
I realize that all this talk of devils can fill us with a sense of fear and foreboding. But I believe Paul gives us this instruction precisely to cast out fear. Four times in this passage Paul uses the word “stand”. Paul gives us this instruction so that, being armed with the protection God provides, we can still be standing after any encounter with the devil. With all this in mind, let us examine together that protection which the Lord provides for us, and that he wants us to put on…
The Armor We Wear
Paul says, “Therefore put on the full armor of God…” The Greek word translated as “full armor” is πανοπλία. From this we get our English word “panoply”. In ancient Greek and Roman military contexts, a “panoplia” was the full suit of armor worn by soldiers, including a breastplate, helmet, shield, and other protective gear. This imagery would have been familiar to early Christians living in the Roman Empire, where soldiers were a common sight. Paul uses this term metaphorically to describe the spiritual armor that believers must put on to stand firm against spiritual adversaries.
So, let’s examine each element of this “full armor” mentioned by Paul. There are six pieces of armor, and the first one is the belt of truth.
Literally, in the Greek, Paul speaks of “girding your loins with truth”. John Stott explains…
…the soldier’s belt belonged rather to his underwear than his armour. Yet it was essential. It gathered his tunic together and also held his sword. It ensured that he was unimpeded when marching. As he buckled it on, it gave him a sense of hidden strength and confidence.[2]
By the belt of truth Paul may be referring either to the truth which comes from Christ, or Paul may mean truth in the sense of truthfulness, sincerity, integrity. Of course, we need both. And both prepare us to engage in the spiritual battle and remain standing.
Intriguingly, Isaiah 11:5 speaks of the Lord himself wearing armor… “Righteousness will be his belt, and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”
This verse is part of a famous passage in Isaiah that begins, “A shoot will come up out of Jesse.” Christians have for centuries seen this as a Messianic prophecy fulfilled in Jesus. The wonderful truth that Paul is conveying may have been inspired by this passage in Isaiah. If so, then Paul is telling us that the armor which belonged to the Messiah is now shared with us. What a privilege it is to put on the armor that belongs to Jesus!
The second piece of armor Paul mentions is the breastplate of righteousness.
John Bunyan, in his Pilgrim’s Progress, may have been the first to note that the armor in Ephesians 6 provides no protection for the back. Bunyan took this to mean that God does not intend for us to run away in battle, but rather to face the enemy head on, protected by the armor that God gives us. While this is most likely true in a spiritual sense, it is doubtful whether this lesson can be derived from Paul or first century Roman armor. The breastplate of the Roman soldier did, indeed, sometimes cover both front and back.
The key question is: From where does this righteousness come? In Romans 13:14 Paul says, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” And in Ephesians 4:24 he tells us to: “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” The only righteousness worth having comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we wear our own righteousness it will be a faulty breastplate indeed, with many chinks in the armor. Jesus is the only perfectly righteous person who has ever lived. And as we put our trust in Jesus, God offers us a grand exchange. We give to Jesus our sins and he pays for them on the cross. In exchange he gives to us his righteousness. But his righteousness is a gift we must accept. We are the ones who must put the armor on. And as we receive the gift of Jesus’ righteousness, God helps us more and more in this life to live like Jesus in true righteousness and holiness.
Once again, Paul may have been inspired by Isaiah. In Isaiah 59:17 we read about the Lord that… “He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head.”
How wonderful it is to have the righteousness of Christ protecting our hearts as we enter spiritual battle. We don’t have to wonder if we are good enough. We don’t have to believe Satan when he whispers that we are not good enough. Because Jesus is good enough! Jesus has us covered!
The third piece of armor that Paul talks about are the Gospel Boots. Paul talks about our feet being “fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
Markus Barth suggests that these boots are the caliga, the “half boot” of the Roman legionary. Caliga were made of leather. They left the toes free. Caliga had heavily studded soles. They were tied to the ankles and shins with somewhat ornamental straps. These boots equipped the Roman soldier for long marches and a solid stance. These boots simultaneously enabled the soldier to stand without sliding, but also be unimpeded in mobility.
Do we have our gospel boots on? Are we ready to run into the lives of others with the good news of Jesus? There are plenty of people all around us who need to hear the good news. They need to know Jesus. Will we tell them about him? Or will we at least invite them to church, to come to a place where they can learn about Jesus? It is time to run into battle with the good news. Our gospel boots were made for running!
The fourth piece of armor Paul talks about is the shield of faith.
It is important to recognize that we do not fight in the spiritual battle alone. We must remember that Paul is addressing these words to the church as a whole. He says, “Our battle is not against flesh and blood.” It is not my battle or your battle. It is our battle.
I have often wondered if what Paul had in mind here was the Roman testudo. The testudo was a defensive tactic where soldiers would hold their shields in a compact formation to create a protective wall. Often in ancient warfare the enemy would shoot fiery arrows and the testudo would protect the Romans from such attacks. If this is what Paul had in mind it is a reminder to us that we do not raise the shield of faith alone. We do it together as a church.
Every time we receive new members into our church, we confess our faith together using our church’s own statement of faith. I like to picture that moment in the worship of the church where we confess our faith as a testudo moment where we are raising the shield of faith together. We are called to trust in Christ together and confess our faith in him together. Fighting together, raising our shield of faith together, helps protect us from the flaming arrows of the evil one.
The fifth piece of armor Paul talks about is the helmet of salvation.
Now, one might be tempted to ask, “Why doesn’t Paul mention the helmet of salvation first?”
Perhaps Paul is not moving through the pieces of armor in a logical order. After all, the Roman soldier would usually put on his belt last. And while it is true that our spiritual journey begins with Christ saving us, it is also true that salvation is not a one-time event.
Let me illustrate my point this way… On one occasion, theologian R. C. Sproul was walking across the campus of Temple University when he was accosted by a street preacher who asked him, “Sir, are you saved?” And Sproul responded, “Do you mean: have I been saved? Am I being saved? Or will I be saved?”
The truth is that salvation has a past, present and future tense to it. We are saved from the penalty of sin the moment we put our trust in Jesus for salvation. That’s called justification. We are progressively saved from the power of sin as we continue to walk with Jesus in this life. That is called sanctification. And one day we will be saved from the very presence of sin when we stand before Jesus in glory. That’s called glorification. Any way you look at it, salvation is a process. The important questions are: “Have we begun? And are we continuing in the process?”
I also think it is striking that Paul associates salvation with a helmet, with something that protects the head, because, in a sense, that is where salvation begins. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in direction. Salvation begins with the mind, moves through the heart, and then to the feet and hands where we move into action.
It is also important to note that this isn’t the only time that Paul uses the imagery of armor to convey the reality of spiritual warfare. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Paul says, “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
The final piece of armor that Paul mentions is the sword of the Spirit. Paul says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Note: the sword of the Spirit is the one offensive weapon we are given among all the pieces of armor. Since the sword of the Spirit is our one offensive weapon, we need to learn to use it well.
Since Paul identifies the sword of the Spirit with the word of God, many people have thought that the Bible is the sword of the Spirit. But Paul could not have meant this because the Bible as we know it did not exist in Paul’s time. When Paul was writing his letters, the New Testament had not been formed. Paul’s own letters had not even been collected and circulated as one manuscript. And the Gospels had not even been written.
Now, certainly when Paul was writing, the Old Testament existed. But the canon of the Old Testament had not yet been firmly established in the way we know of it today. Still, I imagine Paul would have thought of the Law and the Prophets as being “the word of God”.
But there is another problem with thinking of the Bible as the sword of the Spirit… When the New Testament writers refer to the written word of God, they usually use the word “logos”. But Paul here uses the word “rhema”. In the New Testament, “rhema” refers to that which is spoken, an utterance, or a specific word or saying. The New Testament sometimes contrasts the spoken word with the written word (logos). “Rhema” can denote a particular statement or command, often with a focus on its immediate impact or relevance. In the Greco-Roman world, the spoken word held significant power and authority. Oral tradition was a primary means of communication, and the spoken word was often seen as more dynamic and immediate than the written word. So, in the context of the New Testament, “rhema” is used to convey the power and authority of God’s spoken word.
It is always important to remember the threefold form of the word of God. There is the living Word, Jesus Christ. There is the written word of God which is contained in the Bible. And then there is the spoken word of God. It seems to me that Paul’s point is that the powerful sword of the Spirit is God’s living, spoken word, and that God is still speaking. It is ultimately God’s word that will win the day in spiritual warfare.
Next Sunday we are going to continue our examination of spiritual warfare and wrap up our series on Ephesians by looking at what Paul tells us to do once we have our armor on.
Let’s pray…
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