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So I have been struggling a little lately. Some of it has to do with RA exhaustion, and some of it is just learning to be the person Christ wants me to be. Someone wrote me asking about this passage in Eph. 6:14-18. This is long, but I need the review. Feel free to skip this post if you want.
I do believe that when we are moving forward and we can be under attack! I think I rarely believe the devil is behind things, but sometimes, our circumstances seem to just be too much to actually be random chance. I am dealing with it in a few ways. One is really believing that God is in control. Even when the devil IS attacking James 4:7 says:
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
So for me, keeping close to God, in prayer, reading the Bible and Christian meditation really helps. It also helps with anxiety, which comes when we worry about our circumstances.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil. 4:6.
I think it is very important not to rip this this Ephesians passage out of context. Ephesians is one of my favorite books, and we really need to go right back to Chapter 1 to understand the fullness of this passage.
Paul's prayer in Eph. 1:15-21 is that the eyes of the Ephesians may be opened or enlightened.
"8 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."
What do they need to be enlightened to? The rest of that passage says talks about the POWER of God for us who believe.
Also from Eph. 4:1, Paul urges the Ephesians to "live" worthily of the high calling they have received fro God. Five times Paul uses the key verb "peripateo" walk, live, to point to the new and distinctive lifestyle the readers are to adopt.
If we continue in Ephesians, we find in 4:24 that Paul says
"and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
So the putting on the armor of God relates back to this phrase where we find that "we are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. By detailing the armor to be worn, Paul is developing the idea of "putting on the new". Essentially, "Putting on the new self" is the same as donning the armor of God.
The full "armor" referred to "a complete set of instruments used in defensive or offensive warfare which was worn by the heavily armed foot soldier. In order to be fully protected in this spiritual warfare, Paul used the words "weapons" but the "whole armor" highlights the danger and seriousness of the threat facing the readers and therefore more strongly emphasizing the importance of total dependence on God's strength.
God supplies the armor, he provides the weaponry. These weapons, truth, righteousness and salvation, suggest that we put on God himself, or at least his character.
Eph 5:1 "Be imitators of God." The armor language is a way to talk about identification with God and his purposes
The goal for which the readers are clothed with the divine armor is so that "they may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Four times Paul uses the terms "standing, standing firm or withstanding" in verses 11, 13, and 14.
According to Eph. 4:27, Satan tries to gain a foothold and exert his influence over the lives of Christians through such things as uncontrolled anger (4:26), falsehood (4:25), and unwholesome talk (4:29). Any of that conduct is characteristic of the "old way of life". The evil one is committed to hindering the progress of the gospel and the fulfillment of the divine plan of summing up that all things in Christ (1:10). he will attempt this by his "insidious wiles" to turn believers aside from the cause of Christ, and achieving this goal.
By putting on the armor of God, Paul is urging is readers that they might prevail against the strategies of the enemy. He wants to see Christians strong, stable and robust (4:4-16) so they remain firm against the devil's wiles."
BUT the fundamental reason for the confidence that Satan can be defeated is never about ourselves, our how we put on this armor, but because the authority of the devil has been broken and the victory over the powers has been won by God in Christ (1:19-22).
We are actually not urged to win the battle, but rather to withstand the devil's insidious attacks and to stand firm. We live in the age of the overlap of ages, between the "already" and the "not yet." Christ is already seated in heavenly places far above every rule and authority. God has placed all things under his feet (1:21,22) and we have been raised and made to sit with him. (2:5,6)
In this context, it means putting on the armor of God and standing firm in the midst of battle. But this battle is NOT against human foes, but against evil spiritual powers of great authority. The word used for struggle in the Greek was the one commonly used for wrestling. This is not a word about war, but about the closeness of the struggle with the powers of evil.
Getting to the specific terms which Paul exhorts us to "put on" each piece of armor is identified with some divine virtue or gift. Paul used participles which imply imperative or command force. In other words, this is not optional.
The first piece of armor is the "belt of truth". For a Roman soldier, this probably refers to the leather apron which hung under the armor and protected the thighs, rather than the sword belt or protective girdle worn over the armor. The idea of fastening the clothing securely around one's waist signifies preparation for vigorous activity, and readiness for battle. This also is a reference to Isa. 11:4-5 "with righteousness shall he be girded around his waist and truth bound around his sides. This is a reference to the context of the rule of God's anointed one in the divine kingdom which will be characterized by righteousness and truth.
"Truth" is very important in Ephesians and refers to the "truth of God." (4:24, 5:9) which is revealed in the gospel, which has its outworking in the lives of believers who are members of the new humanity. As believers buckle on this piece of the Messiah's armor, they will be strengthened by God's truth revealed in the gospel, as a consequence they will display the characteristics of the Anointed One in their attitudes, language and behavior. In this way they resist the devil, giving him no opportunity to gain an advantage over him.
The "breastplate of righteousness" is necessary to stand against the forces of darkness. For the Roman soldier, this was "a piece of armor, covering the chest to protect it against blows and arrows. According to this, believers need to be armed with God's own righteousness if they are to be protected against the blows and arrows of their spiritual enemies. Once again, this righteousness relates to the putting on of the "new man' in Eph. 4:24, who is created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. As a soldier's breastplate protected him from enemy attacks, so sanctifying righteous living (Romans 6:13, 14:17) guards the believers' hearts against the assaults of the enemy.
The Christian also needs to be outfitted with the proper footwear in order to be ready for battle. Paul does not refer directly to believer's footwear here, instead he employs the unusual expression "having their feet fitted" with the "readiness of the gospel of peace". This has been borrowed from Isa. 52:7,
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who published peace." In the original context of Isa. 52, the picture is painted of a lone messenger whose beautiful feet are drumming across the mountain tops to bring good news to Jerusalem. As he comes within earshot of the city he shouts "peace, good tiding, and salvation. "Your God reigns."
The function of this sentence is that we must be ready and willing to share and announce the message of peace of the gospel. This is a message of hope and reconciliation.
The "shield of faith" is to be taken up, to be fully protected against every kind of assault rained forth upon them by the evil one. The shield is not a small round one, but a large shield, carried by Roman soldiers, which covered the whole body. In the Old Testament, the shield was used as an image of God's protection of his people. God is "a shield to those who take refuge in him." Prov. 30:5.
But the important thing for us to remember is that FAITH itself is the shield. It is for believer's to lay hold of the gift of faith which God has given us (Eph 2:8-9) By responding this way, believers "will be able to extinguish all
burning arrows of the evil one." The large shield of the Roman soldiers was specially designed to quench the dangerous missiles, particularly the arrows that were dipped in pitch and lit before being fired. This is a great metaphor that every kind of attack, from insidious wiles but also every kind of ungodly temptation, doubt, despair and external assaults such as persecution or false teaching can be stopped by the shield. These flaming arrows cannot harm those whose trust and confidence are "in the Lord and his mighty power." (verse 10).
The last two pieces of armor which need to be received are the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is identified as the Word of God. The helmet used by the Roman soldier was made of bronze and had cheek pieces so as to give protection to the head. Paul uses language from the Old Testament, from Isa. 59 where Yahweh, the victorious warrior wears the "helmet of salvation." as he saves his people and judges their enemies. Now, according to Ephesians, he gives this helmet to the believer for their protection. Believers are encouraged to lay hold of it as they engage in spiritual warfare. This emphasizes the present aspect of salvation. God has rescued us from death, wrath, and bondage and transferred us to a new dominion where Christ rules. As we appropriate salvation more fully and live in the light of our status in Christ, we have every reason to be confident of the outcome of the battle.
The final piece of equipment is to grasp the "Sword of the Spirit". We must not only withstand the fiery missiles, but we must take offensive against the powers of darkness. The term refers to a short sword, which was an important weapon in close combat. We need to remember that Hebrews 4:12 says,
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
The sword is to be used for both self defense and to "go on attack to make new conquests for God's cause". It is the faithful speaking forth of the gospel into the realm of darkness, so that men and women held by Satan might hear the liberating and life-giving word and be freed from the enemy's grasp.
Finally, Paul exhorts us to 'watch and pray" but that will have to be another post.
I do believe that when we are moving forward and we can be under attack! I think I rarely believe the devil is behind things, but sometimes, our circumstances seem to just be too much to actually be random chance. I am dealing with it in a few ways. One is really believing that God is in control. Even when the devil IS attacking James 4:7 says:
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
So for me, keeping close to God, in prayer, reading the Bible and Christian meditation really helps. It also helps with anxiety, which comes when we worry about our circumstances.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phil. 4:6.
I think it is very important not to rip this this Ephesians passage out of context. Ephesians is one of my favorite books, and we really need to go right back to Chapter 1 to understand the fullness of this passage.
Paul's prayer in Eph. 1:15-21 is that the eyes of the Ephesians may be opened or enlightened.
"8 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come."
What do they need to be enlightened to? The rest of that passage says talks about the POWER of God for us who believe.
Also from Eph. 4:1, Paul urges the Ephesians to "live" worthily of the high calling they have received fro God. Five times Paul uses the key verb "peripateo" walk, live, to point to the new and distinctive lifestyle the readers are to adopt.
If we continue in Ephesians, we find in 4:24 that Paul says
"and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
So the putting on the armor of God relates back to this phrase where we find that "we are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. By detailing the armor to be worn, Paul is developing the idea of "putting on the new". Essentially, "Putting on the new self" is the same as donning the armor of God.
The full "armor" referred to "a complete set of instruments used in defensive or offensive warfare which was worn by the heavily armed foot soldier. In order to be fully protected in this spiritual warfare, Paul used the words "weapons" but the "whole armor" highlights the danger and seriousness of the threat facing the readers and therefore more strongly emphasizing the importance of total dependence on God's strength.
God supplies the armor, he provides the weaponry. These weapons, truth, righteousness and salvation, suggest that we put on God himself, or at least his character.
Eph 5:1 "Be imitators of God." The armor language is a way to talk about identification with God and his purposes
The goal for which the readers are clothed with the divine armor is so that "they may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Four times Paul uses the terms "standing, standing firm or withstanding" in verses 11, 13, and 14.
According to Eph. 4:27, Satan tries to gain a foothold and exert his influence over the lives of Christians through such things as uncontrolled anger (4:26), falsehood (4:25), and unwholesome talk (4:29). Any of that conduct is characteristic of the "old way of life". The evil one is committed to hindering the progress of the gospel and the fulfillment of the divine plan of summing up that all things in Christ (1:10). he will attempt this by his "insidious wiles" to turn believers aside from the cause of Christ, and achieving this goal.
By putting on the armor of God, Paul is urging is readers that they might prevail against the strategies of the enemy. He wants to see Christians strong, stable and robust (4:4-16) so they remain firm against the devil's wiles."
BUT the fundamental reason for the confidence that Satan can be defeated is never about ourselves, our how we put on this armor, but because the authority of the devil has been broken and the victory over the powers has been won by God in Christ (1:19-22).
We are actually not urged to win the battle, but rather to withstand the devil's insidious attacks and to stand firm. We live in the age of the overlap of ages, between the "already" and the "not yet." Christ is already seated in heavenly places far above every rule and authority. God has placed all things under his feet (1:21,22) and we have been raised and made to sit with him. (2:5,6)
In this context, it means putting on the armor of God and standing firm in the midst of battle. But this battle is NOT against human foes, but against evil spiritual powers of great authority. The word used for struggle in the Greek was the one commonly used for wrestling. This is not a word about war, but about the closeness of the struggle with the powers of evil.
Getting to the specific terms which Paul exhorts us to "put on" each piece of armor is identified with some divine virtue or gift. Paul used participles which imply imperative or command force. In other words, this is not optional.
The first piece of armor is the "belt of truth". For a Roman soldier, this probably refers to the leather apron which hung under the armor and protected the thighs, rather than the sword belt or protective girdle worn over the armor. The idea of fastening the clothing securely around one's waist signifies preparation for vigorous activity, and readiness for battle. This also is a reference to Isa. 11:4-5 "with righteousness shall he be girded around his waist and truth bound around his sides. This is a reference to the context of the rule of God's anointed one in the divine kingdom which will be characterized by righteousness and truth.
"Truth" is very important in Ephesians and refers to the "truth of God." (4:24, 5:9) which is revealed in the gospel, which has its outworking in the lives of believers who are members of the new humanity. As believers buckle on this piece of the Messiah's armor, they will be strengthened by God's truth revealed in the gospel, as a consequence they will display the characteristics of the Anointed One in their attitudes, language and behavior. In this way they resist the devil, giving him no opportunity to gain an advantage over him.
The "breastplate of righteousness" is necessary to stand against the forces of darkness. For the Roman soldier, this was "a piece of armor, covering the chest to protect it against blows and arrows. According to this, believers need to be armed with God's own righteousness if they are to be protected against the blows and arrows of their spiritual enemies. Once again, this righteousness relates to the putting on of the "new man' in Eph. 4:24, who is created to be like God in righteousness and holiness. As a soldier's breastplate protected him from enemy attacks, so sanctifying righteous living (Romans 6:13, 14:17) guards the believers' hearts against the assaults of the enemy.
The Christian also needs to be outfitted with the proper footwear in order to be ready for battle. Paul does not refer directly to believer's footwear here, instead he employs the unusual expression "having their feet fitted" with the "readiness of the gospel of peace". This has been borrowed from Isa. 52:7,
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who published peace." In the original context of Isa. 52, the picture is painted of a lone messenger whose beautiful feet are drumming across the mountain tops to bring good news to Jerusalem. As he comes within earshot of the city he shouts "peace, good tiding, and salvation. "Your God reigns."
The function of this sentence is that we must be ready and willing to share and announce the message of peace of the gospel. This is a message of hope and reconciliation.
The "shield of faith" is to be taken up, to be fully protected against every kind of assault rained forth upon them by the evil one. The shield is not a small round one, but a large shield, carried by Roman soldiers, which covered the whole body. In the Old Testament, the shield was used as an image of God's protection of his people. God is "a shield to those who take refuge in him." Prov. 30:5.
But the important thing for us to remember is that FAITH itself is the shield. It is for believer's to lay hold of the gift of faith which God has given us (Eph 2:8-9) By responding this way, believers "will be able to extinguish all
burning arrows of the evil one." The large shield of the Roman soldiers was specially designed to quench the dangerous missiles, particularly the arrows that were dipped in pitch and lit before being fired. This is a great metaphor that every kind of attack, from insidious wiles but also every kind of ungodly temptation, doubt, despair and external assaults such as persecution or false teaching can be stopped by the shield. These flaming arrows cannot harm those whose trust and confidence are "in the Lord and his mighty power." (verse 10).
The last two pieces of armor which need to be received are the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is identified as the Word of God. The helmet used by the Roman soldier was made of bronze and had cheek pieces so as to give protection to the head. Paul uses language from the Old Testament, from Isa. 59 where Yahweh, the victorious warrior wears the "helmet of salvation." as he saves his people and judges their enemies. Now, according to Ephesians, he gives this helmet to the believer for their protection. Believers are encouraged to lay hold of it as they engage in spiritual warfare. This emphasizes the present aspect of salvation. God has rescued us from death, wrath, and bondage and transferred us to a new dominion where Christ rules. As we appropriate salvation more fully and live in the light of our status in Christ, we have every reason to be confident of the outcome of the battle.
The final piece of equipment is to grasp the "Sword of the Spirit". We must not only withstand the fiery missiles, but we must take offensive against the powers of darkness. The term refers to a short sword, which was an important weapon in close combat. We need to remember that Hebrews 4:12 says,
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
The sword is to be used for both self defense and to "go on attack to make new conquests for God's cause". It is the faithful speaking forth of the gospel into the realm of darkness, so that men and women held by Satan might hear the liberating and life-giving word and be freed from the enemy's grasp.
Finally, Paul exhorts us to 'watch and pray" but that will have to be another post.
And be aware that anything that gets through our shield of faith is allowed through by God for our correction and training in righteousness and God will work it together with the other things in our lives for good.