The Armor of God

The Armor Of God

Ephesians 6:10-20

Verse 14. Stand therefore— Prepare yourselves for combat, having your loins girt about with truth. He had told them before to take the whole armor of God, <490613> Ephesians 6:13, and to put on this whole armor. Having got all the pieces of it together, and the defensive parts put on, they were then to gird them close to their bodies with the zwma or girdle, and instead of a fine ornamented belt, such as the ancient warriors used, they were to.1090 have truth. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth of God; unless this be known and conscientiously believed no man can enter the spiritual warfare with any advantage or prospect of success. By this alone we discover who our enemies are, and how they come on to attack us; and by this we know where our strength lies; and, as the truth is great, and must prevail, we are to gird ourselves with this against all false religion, and the various winds of doctrine by which cunning men and insidious devils lie in wait to deceive. Truth may be taken here for sincerity; for if a man be not conscious to himself that his heart is right before God, and that he makes no false pretences to religion, in vain does he enter the spiritual lists.

The breast-plate of righteousness— What the qwrax or breast-plate was, see before. The word righteousness, dikaisunh, we have often had occasion to note, is a word of very extensive import: it signifies the principle of righteousness; it signifies the practice of righteousness, or living a holy life; it signifies God’s method of justifying sinners; and it signifies justification itself. Here it may imply a consciousness of justification through the blood of the cross; the principle of righteousness or true holiness implanted in the heart; and a holy life, a life regulated according to the testimonies of God. As the breast-plate defends the heart and lungs, and all those vital functionaries that are contained in what is called the region of the thorax; so this righteousness, this life of God in the soul of man, defends every thing on which the man’s spiritual existence depends. While he possesses this principle, and acts from it, his spiritual and eternal life is secure.

Verse 15. Your feet shod— The knhmidev, or greaves, have been already described; they were deemed of essential importance in the ancient armor; if the feet or legs are materially wounded, a man can neither stand to resist his foe, pursue him if vanquished, nor flee from him should he have the worst of the fight..1091 That the apostle has obedience to the Gospel in general in view, there can be no doubt; but he appears to have more than this, a readiness to publish the Gospel: for, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth PEACE; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! <235207> Isaiah 52:7; <451015> Romans 10:15. The Israelites were commanded to eat the passover with their feet shod, to show that they were ready for their journey. And our Lord commands his disciples to be shod with sandals, that they might be ready to go and publish the Gospel, as the Israelites were to go to possess the promised land. Every Christian should consider himself on his journey from a strange land to his own country, and not only stand every moment prepared to proceed, but be every moment in actual progress towards his home.

The preparation of the Gospel— The word etoimasia which we translate preparation, is variously understood: some think it means an habitual readiness in walking in the way prescribed by the Gospel; others that firmness and solidity which the Gospel gives to them who conscientiously believe its doctrines; others, those virtues and graces which in the first planting of Christianity were indispensably necessary to those who published it. Should we take the word preparation in its common acceptation, it may imply that, by a conscientious belief of the Gospel, receiving the salvation provided by its author, and walking in the way of obedience which is pointed out by it, the soul is prepared for the kingdom of heaven. The Gospel is termed the Gospel of peace, because it establishes peace between God and man, and proclaims peace and good will to the universe. Contentions, strife, quarrels, and all wars, being as alien from its nature and design, as they are opposed to the nature of Him who is love and compassion to man.

Verse 16. Above all, (epi pasin, over all the rest of the armor,) taking the shield of faith— In the word qureov, thureos, the apostle alludes to the great oblong shield, or scutum, which covers the whole body. See its description before. And as faith is the grace by which all others are.1092 preserved and rendered active, so it is properly represented here under the notion of a shield, by which the whole body is covered and protected. Faith, in this place, must mean that evidence of things unseen which every genuine believer has, that God, for Christ’s sake, has blotted out his sins, and by which he is enabled to call God his Father, and feel him to be his portion. It is such an appropriating faith as this which can quench any dart of the devil.

The fiery darts of the wicked.— belov, a dart, signifies any kind of missile weapon; every thing that is projected to a distance by the hand, as a javelin, or short spear; or by a bow, as an arrow; or a stone by a sling. The fiery darts — ta belh ta pepurwmena. It is probable that the apostle alludes to the darts called falarica, which were headed with lead, in or about which some combustible stuff was placed that took fire in the passage of the arrow through the air, and often burnt up the enemy’s engines, ships, etc.; they were calculated also to stick in the shields and set

them on fire. Some think that poisoned arrows may be intended, which are called fiery from the burning heat produced in the bodies of those who were wounded by them. To quench or extinguish such fiery darts the shields were ordinarily covered with metal on the outside, and thus the fire was prevented from catching hold of the shield. When they stuck on a shield of another kind and set it on fire, the soldier was obliged to cast it away, and thus became defenceless. The fiery darts of the wicked, tou ponhrou, or devil, are evil thoughts, and strong injections, as they are termed, which in the unregenerate inflame the passions, and excite the soul to acts of transgression. While the faith is strong in Christ it acts as a shield to quench these. He who walks so as to feel the witness of God’s Spirit that he is his child, has all evil thoughts in abhorrence; and, though they pass through his mind, they never fix in hispassions. They are caught on this shield, blunted, and extinguished.

Verse 17. Take the helmet of salvation— Or, as it is expressed,

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Thessalonians 5:8, And for a helmet, the hope of salvation. It has already

been observed, in the description of the Grecian armor, that on the crest

and other parts of the helmet were a great variety of emblematical figures,

and that it is very likely the apostle refers to helmets which had on them

an emblematical representation of hope; viz. that the person should be safe.1093

who wore it, that he should be prosperous in all his engagements, and ever

escape safe from battle. So the hope of conquering every adversary and

surmounting every difficulty, through the blood of the Lamb, is as a

helmet that protects the head; an impenetrable one, that the blow of the

battle-axe cannot cleave. The hope of continual safety and protection, built

on the promises of God, to which the upright follower of Christ feels he

has a Divine right, protects the understanding from being darkened, and the

judgment from being confused by any temptations of Satan, or subtle

arguments of the sophistical ungodly. He who carries Christ in his heart

cannot be cheated out of the hope of his heaven,

The sword of the Spirit— See what is said before on xifov and macaira,

in the account of the Greek armor. The sword of which St. Paul speaks is,

as he explains it, the word of God; that is, the revelation which God has

given of himself, or what we call the Holy Scriptures. This is called the

sword of the Spirit, because it comes from the Holy Spirit, and receives its

fulfillment in the soul through the operation of the Holy Spirit. An ability

to quote this on proper occasions, and especially in times of temptation

and trial, has a wonderful tendency to cut in pieces the snares of the

adversary. In God’s word a genuine Christian may have unlimited

confidence, and to every purpose to which it is applicable it may be

brought with the greatest effect. The shield, faith, and the sword — the

word of God, or faith in God’s unchangeable word, are the principal armor

of the soul. He in whom the word of God dwells richly, and who has that

faith by which he knows that he has redemption, even the forgiveness of

sins, need not fear the power of any adversary. He stands fast in the

liberty wherewith Christ hath made him free. Some suppose that tou

pneumatov, of the Spirit, should be understood of our own spirit or soul;

the word of God being the proper sword of the soul, or that offensive

weapon the only one which the soul uses. But though it is true that every

Christian soul has this for its sword, yet the first meaning is the most

likely.

Verse 18. Praying always— The apostle does not put praying among the

armor; had he done so he would have referred it, as he has done all the rest,

to some of the Grecian armor; but as he does not do this, therefore we

conclude that his account of the armor is ended, and that now, having

equipped his spiritual soldier, he shows him the necessity of praying, that.1094

he may successfully resist those principalities, powers, the rulers of the

darkness of this world, and the spiritual wickednesses in heavenly places,

with whom he has to contend. The panoply, or whole armor of God,

consists in,

1. the girdle;

2. the breast-plate;

3. the greaves;

4. the shield;

5. the helmet; and

6. the sword.

He who had these was completely armed. And as it was the custom of the

Grecian armies, before they engaged, to offer prayers to the gods for their

success, the apostle shows that these spiritual warriors must depend on

the Captain of their salvation, and pray with all prayer, i.e. incessantly,

being always in the spirit of prayer, so that they should be ever ready for

public, private, mental, or ejaculatory prayer, always depending on HIM

who can alone save, and who alone can destroy.

When the apostle exhorts Christians to pray with all prayer, we may at

once see that he neither means spiritual nor formal prayer, in exclusion of

the other. Praying, proseucomenoi, refers to the state of the spirit as

well as to the act.

With all prayer— Refers to the different kinds of prayer that is performed

in public, in the family, in the closet, in business, on the way, in the heart

without a voice, and with the voice from the heart. All those are necessary

to the genuine Christian; and he whose heart is right with God will be

frequent in the whole. “Some there are,” says a very pious and learned

writer, who use only mental prayer or ejaculations, and think they are in a

state of grace, and use a way of worship far superior to any other; but

such only fancy themselves to be above what is really above them; it

requiring far more grace to be enabled to pour out a fervent and continued

prayer, than to offer up mental aspirations.” Rev. J. Wesley..1095

And supplication— There is a difference between proseuch, prayer, and

dehsiv, supplication. Some think the former means prayer for the

attainment of good; the latter, prayer for averting evil. Supplication

however seems to mean prayer continued in, strong and incessant

pleadings, till the evil is averted, or the good communicated. There are two

things that must be attended to in prayer.

1. That it be en panti kairw, in every time, season, or opportunity;

2. That it should be en pneumati, in or through the Spirit — that the

heart should be engaged in it, and that its infirmities should be helped

by the Holy Ghost,

Watching thereunto— Being always on your guard lest your enemies

should surprise you. Watch, not only against evil, but also for

opportunities to do good, and for opportunities to receive good. Without

watchfulness, prayer and all the spiritual armor will be ineffectual.

With all perseverance— Being always intent on your object, and never

losing sight of your danger, or of your interest. The word implies

stretching out the neck, and looking about, in order to discern an enemy at

a distance.