The Whole Armor

The Whole Armor

Ephesians 6:13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

   The Apostle Paul begins his discourse on spiritual struggle by telling us to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)  He warns us to do this so we “may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  (verse 11)  He tells us that we should be properly prepared because we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (verse 12)
   So now that we are warned to be prepared and warned of what we are facing in our struggles, he then tells us how to be prepared.  He tells us to take up the “whole armor of God.”  Paul, like Jesus before him, makes use of metaphors to make his point.  The metaphor, or word picture, used here is that as we should prepare ourselves for spiritual warfare by putting on spiritual armor.  He lived during the height of the Roman Empire and Roman Legionaries, (soldiers,) were a common sight.  The Romans were sticklers on uniformity and all Legionaries were outfitted with the same basic armor.  So Paul pictures in his mind how the Roman Legionary would equip himself and uses that image to tell Christians how they should equip themselves.
   The Roman Legionary was equipped to fight and survive a battle – whether or not it was alone or in a unit with other Legionaries.  Only by using all of his armor could the Legionary expect to be battle ready and only by heeding Paul’s advice and equipping yourself with the whole armor of God can you expect to be battle ready.  No Roman Centurion, the equivalent of a squad’s Sergeant, would allow one of his Legionnaires to go into battle without his helmet or without his belt or his shoes.  So your Pastor and church leaders should keep an eye on your growth and make sure you’re properly equipped to enter battle against the schemes of the devil.
   The Greek word used here for armor is “panoply” which means “all arms.”  It is used in Greek writings to mean a heavily-armed soldier.  The Roman Legionary was the best trained soldier in his day.  He was trained in single combat and in unit combat.  In other words, he was trained to fight by himself and defend a six-foot wide area around himself.  In his unit he was trained to defend himself and the man on his right and the man on his left.  The second row of soldiers was divided into two functions:  one man defended the head of the man right in front of them and the next man defended the feet of the soldier in front of them.
   Training and preparation are the keys to preparing yourself for battle.  You need to become familiar with your weapons and armor and you need to test them and become familiar with them.  Just being given armor does not make you a soldier.  In the book of 1 Samuel there is a story of how King Saul gave a boy, David, his armor to fight in.  The armor must have been good, because it belonged to the King.  But David didn't want to fight in this armor, even though it was one of the best sets of armor in the kingdom.  David explained that he didn't want to use the king's armor because he had not tested it.  (1 Samuel 17:29)  He faced the giant Goliath in armor - spiritual armor - that he had tested.
I Samuel 17:  34-36
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,
35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.
36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”

David had trusted God to protect him and to give him courage and to give him skill in battle.  That trust was part of David’s tested and proven armor.  The armor God gives you won't be effective until you use it and become used to using it.  The more you use it, the more effective it will be.
   Are you prepared to fight alone if you are forced into battle on the spur of the moment?  The Roman soldier knew that to turn his back on an enemy was almost always sure death.  Will you stand your ground or turn tail and run from the fight?
   Are you prepared to stand united with your church brethren (and, of course, sisteren,) in battle?  Do you pray defensive prayers to protect your church leaders’ heads from the sudden blow that strikes from the blind side?  Or perhaps from the blow that seeks to undermine his footing and get him off his feet?  Do you pray for their strength and protection daily?  A soldier on a battlefield has to be prepared to fight at anytime.  You don’t just fight the devil on Sundays, you’re on duty seven days a week.

Stephen Cram                     March 11, 2012                   Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8