The Full Armor
- Text --- Heb.6:10-19
- Christian Conduct: Eph. Chapter 5 & 6 = speaking about Christian conduct to; Husbands & Wives, Children & Parents, and Slaves & Masters…most of us fit into at least 1 category.
3. Finally…Spiritual Warfare (Eph. 6:10)
a. Conduct between People
b. Conduct in Spiritual Matters
c. Warfare vs. Weapons
“Weapons alone seldom determined the issue of battle, particularly when both sides were evenly matched. The skill with which strategy and tactics were deployed, the spirit of the commander in directing his troops, and the precision with which the troops handled their weapons were decisive factors in many of the battles mentioned in the Bible.” [1]
4. Put on the Full Armor (Eph. 6:11)
a. We must decide to put it on
b. Greek = πανοπλία (panoplia) Complete Armor---“all Weapons and Armor”
c. Defensive and Offensive
d. 1 Kings 22:34 (King Ahab)
5. The Fight (Eph. 6:12-13)
a. NOT against Flesh and Blood
b. Our Battle is spiritual not physical we must think of our Armor and Weapons as Spiritual.
c. ἀνθίστημι (anthistēmi) = resist, oppose, rebel, set one’s self against
d. Stand against the Tactics
e. God has a strategically placed us where we are based on our training and experience we need to carry-out His work
f. God is preparing us today for what we’ll need tomorrow
g. The purpose of the church is to encourage, equip, send-out God’s people to do His work through-out the community in the place He has strategically placed us to carry out our mission in spreading the good news to people He puts in our path, even people that wouldn’t be caught dead inside a church building.
h. We His people are the only ones commissioned to carry-out His good news.
6. Belt of Truth (Eph. 6:14)
a. Ancient times the abdomen was the center of your being
b. Girdle-A sign of Power
A golden girdle. The girdle is an Old Testament symbol of power, righteousness, truth (Isa. 22:21; Job 12:18; Isa. 11:5). Compare Eph. 6:14, where the girdle of the Christian panoply is truth, which binds together the whole array of graces as the girdle does the upper and lower parts of the armor. The girdle suits equally Christ’s kingly and priestly office. The girdle of the High-Priest was not golden, but only inwrought with gold. See Exod. 28:8: “curious girdle:” Rev., “cunningly woven band.” So Exod. 29:5. [2]
c. In basketball you watch the opponents belly-button because they fake with their head, eyes and arms but the go where the belly-button points.
7. Breast Plate of Righteousness (Eph. 6:15)
a. Protects the heart - Armor
b. Like Priests of old (Exodus 28:29)
i. Helps with Decisions
ii. Keeps our hearts focused on God
8. Feet (Eph. 6:15)
a. Beautiful are the feet
b. Many wars the soldiers feet and foot care was a major obstacle
i. Revolutionary war – Frostbite
ii. WWI & WWII – Trench foot
iii. Korea –Frostbite
iv. Vietnam – Jungle Rot
c. Shod for:
i. Preparation – Just as we put on shoes to get ready for activities of the day.
ii. Protection – Putting on proper footwear for activity
iii. Presentation – Bringing the Good News
9. Shield of Faith (Eph. 6:16)
a. Protection - Withstand the fiery darts
b. Proclamation - Statement of who you belong with/who you are
10. Helmet (Eph. 6:17a)
a. Protects the mind
b. Wear it as Hope of Salvation (1 Thess. 5:5-8)
11. Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17b)
a. Sword –Defensive/Offensive weapon
b. Sword – works inwardly (Heb. 4:12)
12 God’s word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.[3]
c. The Tongue as a sword – Spoken Word
i. Psa. 57:4
ii. Prov. 25:18
iii. Rev. 1:16
iv.
12.
Text Eph. 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his great power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. 12 Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. 13 That is why you need to put on God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. 14 So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist and the protection of right living on your chest. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready and never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.[4]
Text Eph. 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. r 11 Put on s the full armor t of God so that you can stand against the tactics u of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh v and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, w against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil x in the heavens. y 13 This is why you must take up the full armor z of God, so that you may be able to resist a in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, b therefore,
with truth c like a belt around your waist,
righteousness d like armor on your chest, e
15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. f
16 In every situation take the shield g of faith, h
and with it you will be able to extinguish
the flaming arrows of the evil one. i
17 Take the helmet j of salvation,
and the sword k of the Spirit, l which is God’s word.
18 With every prayer and request, pray m at all times in the Spirit, n and stay alert o in this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. [5]
10. Finally (τὸ λοιπόν). See on 2 Cor. 13:11. Omit my brethren.
Be strong (ἐνδυναμοῦσθε). Lit., be strengthened. Compare Rom. 4:20, and Philip. 4:13.
Power of His might. See on ch. 1:19.
11. Whole armor (πανοπλίαν). Panoply is a transcript of the Greek word. Only here, ver. 13, and Luke 11:22, see note. In classical Greek of the full armor of a heavy-armed soldier. The student may compare the description of the forging of Aeneas’ armor by Vulcan (Virgil, “Aeneid,” viii., 415–459), and of the armor itself as displayed to Aeneas by Venus (“Aeneid,” viii., 616–730). Also of the armor of Achilles (Homer, “Iliad,” xviii., 468–617).
Wiles (μεθοδείας). See on ch. 4:14. The armor is a defence against strategy as well as assault.
The devil (τοῦ διαβόλου). See on Matt. 4:1; John 6:70. In Job and Zechariah used as the equivalent of Satan (hater or accuser, see on Luke 10:18), of a single person, the enemy of mankind. In the other Old-Testament passages in which it occurs, it is used to translate either Satan or its equivalent in meaning, tsar (adversary, distresser), but without the same reference to that single person. See Sept., 1 Chron. 21:1; Esther 7:4; 8:1; Ps. 108:6; Numb. 22:32. The Septuagint usage implies enmity in general, without accusation either true or false. In the New Testament invariably as a proper name, except in the Pastoral Epistles, where it has its ordinary meaning slanderous. See 1 Tim. 3:11; 2 Tim. 3:3; Tit. 2:3. As a proper name it is used in the Septuagint sense as the equivalent of Satan, and meaning enemy.
12. We wrestle (ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη). Rev., more literally and correctly, our wrestling is. Πάλη wrestling, only here.
Flesh and blood. The Greek reverses the order.
Principalities and powers. See on Col. 1:16.
Rulers of the darkness of this world (κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου). Rev., more correctly, world-rulers of this darkness. World-rulers only here. Compare John 14:30; 16:11; 1 John 5:19; 2 Cor. 4:4.
Spiritual wickedness (τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας). Lit., the spiritual things of wickedness. Rev., spiritual hosts of wickedness. The phrase is collective, of the evil powers viewed as a body. Wickedness is active evil, mischief. Hence Satan is called ὁ πονηρός the wicked one. See on Luke 3:19; 7:21; 1 John 2:13.
In high places (ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις). Rev., more literally, in the heavenly places. Used in the general sense of the sky or air. See on ch. 2:2.
13. Wherefore. Because the fight is with such powers.
Take unto you (ἀναλάβετε). Lit., take up, as one takes up armor to put it on. So Rev.
The whole armor. An interesting parallel passage, evidently founded upon this, occurs in Ignatius’ Epistle to Polycarp, vi. “Please the captain under whom ye serve, from whom also ye shall receive your wages. Let no one of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism abide as your shield; your faith as your helmets; your love as your spear; your patience as your whole armor. Let your good works be your savings (τὰ δεπόσιτα deposita),* that you may receive what is justly to your credit.” Gibbon relates how the relaxation of discipline and the disuse of exercise rendered the soldiers less willing and less able to support the fatigues of the service. They complained of the weight of their armor, and successively obtained permission to lay aside their cuirasses and helmets (ch. 27).
Withstand. With has the sense of against, as appears in the older English withsay, to contradict; Anglo-Saxon, widstandan, to resist. Compare German, wider and Widerstand, resistance.
Having done all. Everything which the crisis demands.
14. Having your loins girt about (περιζωσάμενοι τὴν ὀσφὺν). The verb is middle, not passive. Rev., correctly, having girded. Compare Isa. 11:5. The principal terms in this description of the christian armor are taken from the Septuagint of Isaiah.
Truth (ἀληθείᾳ). The state of the heart answering to God’s truth; inward, practical acknowledgment of the truth as it is in Him: the agreement of our convictions with God’s revelation.
The loins encircled by the girdle form the central point of the physical system. Hence, in Scripture, the loins are described as the seat of power. “To smite through the loins” is to strike a fatal blow. “To lay affliction upon the loins” is to afflict heavily. Here was the point of junction for the main pieces of the body-armor, so that the girdle formed the common bond of the whole. Truth gives unity to the different virtues, and determinateness and consistency to character. All the virtues are exercised within the sphere of truth.
Breastplate of righteousness (θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης). Compare Isa. 49:17. Righteousness is used here in the sense of moral rectitude. In 1 Thess. 5:8, the breastplate is described as of faith and love. Homer speaks of light-armed warriors armed with linen corselets; and these were worn to much later times by Asiatic soldiers, and were occasionally adopted by the Romans. Thus Suetonius says of Galba, that on the day on which he was slain by Otho’s soldiers, he put on a linen corselet, though aware that it would avail little against the enemy’s daggers (“Galba,” xix.). Horn was used for this purpose by some of the barbarous nations. It was cut into small pieces, which were fastened like scales upon linen shirts. Later, the corselet of metal scales fastened upon leather or linen, or of flexible bands of steel folding over each other, was introduced. They appear on Roman monuments of the times of the emperors. The Roman spearmen wore cuirasses of chain-mail. Virgil mentions those in which the linked rings were of gold (“Aeneid,” iii., 467). The stiff cuirass called στάδιος standing upright, because, when placed upon its lower edge it stood erect, consisted of two parts: the breastplate, made of hard leather, bronze, or iron, and a corresponding plate covering the back. They were connected by leathern straps or metal bands passing over the shoulders and fastened in front, and by hinges on the right side.
The breastplate covers the vital parts, as the heart.
15. Preparation (ἑτοιμασίᾳ). Only here in the New Testament. The Roman soldier substituted for the greaves of the Greek (metal plates covering the lower part of the leg) the caligae or sandals, bound by thongs over the instep and round the ankle, and having the soles thickly studded with nails. They were not worn by the superior officers, so that the common soldiers were distinguished as caligati. Ἑτοιμασία means readiness; but in Hellenistic Greek it was sometimes used in the sense of establishment or firm foundation, which would suit this passage: firm-footing. Compare Isa. 52:7.
16. Above all (ἐπὶ πᾶσιν). Ambiguous. It may mean over all, or in addition to all. The latter is correct. Rev., withal.
The shield of faith (τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως). Θυρεόν shield, is from θύρα door, because shaped like a door. Homer uses the word for that which is placed in front of the doorway. Thus of the stone placed by Polyphemus in front of his cave (“Odyssey,” ix., 240). The shield here described is that of the heavy infantry; a large, oblong shield, four by two and a half feet, and sometimes curved on the inner side. Sculptured representations may be seen on Trajan’s column. Compare “Compass him as with a shield,” Ps. 5:12. It was made of wood or of wicker-work, and held on the left arm by means of a handle. Xenophon describes troops, supposed to be Egyptians, with wooden shields reaching to their feet (“Anabasis,” i., 8, 9). Saving faith is meant.
Fiery darts (τὰ βέλη τὰ πεπυρωμένα). Lit., the darts, those which have been set on fire. Herodotus says that the Persians attacked the citadel of Athens “with arrows whereto pieces of lighted tow were attached, which they shot at the barricade” (8:52). Thucydides: “The Plataeans constructed a wooden frame, which they set up on the top of their own wall opposite the mound.… They also hung curtains of skins and hides in front: these were designed to protect the woodwork and the workers, and shield them against blazing arrows” (2:75). Livy tells of a huge dart used at the siege of Saguntum, which was impelled by twisted ropes. “There was used by the Saguntines a missile weapon called falarica, with the shaft of fir, and round in other parts, except toward the point, whence the iron projected. This part, which was square, they bound around with tow and besmeared with pitch. It had an iron head three feet in length, so that it could pierce through the body with the armor. But what caused the greatest fear was that this weapon, even though it stuck in the shield and did not penetrate into the body, when it was discharged with the middle part on fire, and bore along a much greater flame produced by the mere motion, obliged the armor to be thrown down, and exposed the soldier to succeeding blows” (21:8). Again, of the siege of Ambracia by the Romans: “Some advanced with burning torches, others carrying tow and pitch and fire-darts, their entire line being illuminated by the blaze” (38:6). Compare Ps. 7:13, where the correct rendering is, “His arrows He maketh fiery arrows.” Temptation is thus represented as impelled from a distance. Satan attacks by indirection — through good things from which no evil is suspected. There is a hint of its propagating power: one sin draws another in its track: the flame of the fire-tipped dart spreads. Temptation acts on susceptible material. Self-confidence is combustible. Faith, in doing away with dependence on self, takes away fuel for the dart. It creates sensitiveness to holy influences by which the power of temptation is neutralized. It enlists the direct aid of God. See 1 Cor. 10:13; Luke 22:32; Jas. 1:2; 1 Pet. 4:12; 2 Pet. 2:9.
17. Take the helmet of salvation (τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου δέξασθε). Compare Isa. 59:17; 1 Thess. 5:8. Take is a different word from that used in vv. 13, 16. It is receive as from God. The meaning is the helmet which is salvation. The protection for the head. The helmet was originally of skin, strengthened with bronze or other metal, and surmounted with a figure adorned with a horsehair crest. It was furnished with a visor to protect the face.
Sword of the Spirit (μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος). See on Apoc. 6:4. The word of God serves both for attack and to parry the thrusts of the enemy. Thus Christ used it in His temptation. It is the sword of the Spirit, because the Spirit of God gives it and inspires it. The Spirit’s aid is needed for its interpretation. Compare John 14:10; Heb. 4:12, in which latter passage the image is sacrificial.
Word of God (ῥῆμα θεοῦ). See on Luke 1:37. See Luke 3:2; 4:4; Rom. 10:17; Heb. 6:5; 11:3.
18. Always (ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ). Incorrect. It means on every occasion. Rev., at all seasons. Compare Luke 21:36.
With all prayer and supplication (διὰ πάσης προσευχῆς). Prayer is general, supplication special. Διά with is literally through; that is, through the medium of. All, lit., every. Prayer is of various kinds, formal, silent, vocal, secret, public, petitionary, ejaculatory — shot upward like a dart (jaculum) on a sudden emergency. Compare Ps. 5:1, 2.
Watching thereunto (εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες). Compare Col. 4:2. For watching, see on Mark 13:33, 35. Thereunto, unto prayer, for occasions of prayer, and to maintain the spirit of prayer. One must watch before prayer, in prayer, after prayer.
Perseverance (προσκαρτερήσει). Only here. The kindred verb προσκαρτερέω to continue, occurs often. See on Acts 1:14.
19. Boldly. Connect with to make known, as Rev.; not with open my mouth, as A. V.
Mystery. See on Rom. 11:25; Col. 1:26. [6]
----
[1]Elwell, Walter A. ; Comfort, Philip Wesley: Tyndale Bible Dictionary. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2001 (Tyndale Reference Library), S. 111
Rev. Revised Version of the New Testament.
[2]Vincent, Marvin Richardson: Word Studies in the New Testament. Bellingham, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2002, S. 2:427
[3] The Everyday Bible : New Century Version. Nashville, TN. : Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005, S. Heb 4:12
[4] The Everyday Bible : New Century Version. Nashville, TN. : Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005, S. Eph 6:10
r 6:10 Ac 4:33
s 6:11 Pr 31:25
t 6:11 Eph 6:11-17
u 6:11 Or schemes, or tricks
v 6:12 Php 3:3
w 6:12 1Pt 3:22
x 6:12 Mt 6:13; Jn 17:15
y 6:12 Eph 1:3, 20; 2:6; 3:10; Php 2:10
z 6:13 1Th 5:8
a 6:13 2Tm 4:15; 1Pt 5:9
b 6:14 Pr 24:16; Php 1:27
c 6:14 Jn 14:6; 1Jn 5:20
d 6:14 Mt 6:33; Rm 1:17; 2Pt 1:1
e 6:14 1Th 5:8
f 6:15 Ready to go tell others about the gospel
g 6:16 Gn 15:1
h 6:16 Mt 8:10; Ac 3:16; Rm 1:8; 1Co 2:5; Gl 2:16; 1Tm 1:2; Heb 4:2
i 6:16 2Th 3:3
j 6:17 1Th 5:8
k 6:17 Mk 14:47
l 6:17 Ps 51:11; Jn 1:33; Ac 2:4; Rm 8:9; Gl 5:25; Ti 3:5; Rv 3:22
m 6:18 Mt 5:44; Ac 12:12
n 6:18 Jd 20
o 6:18 Pr 6:4
[5] The Holy Bible : Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville : Holman Bible Publishers, 2003, S. Eph 6:10
Lit. Literally.
Sept. Septuagint Version of the Old Testament.
Rev. Revised Version of the New Testament.
* When a bounty was given to soldiers, only one-half was paid at a time, the rest being placed in a savings-bank and managed by a special officer. This, with prize-money, etc., voluntarily deposited, was paid over to the soldier at his discharge. Deserters or discharged soldiers forfeited their accumulations.
A. V. Authorized Version.
[6]Vincent, Marvin Richardson: Word Studies in the New Testament. Bellingham, WA : Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2002, S. 3:405