Armor of God

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
— 1 Peter 3:8

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
— Romans 13:12

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
— Acts 26:18

For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
— Revelation 6:17

By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
— 2 Corinthians 6:7

The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.
— Habakkuk 3:19

Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
— 2 Corinthians 1:24

For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
— Isaiah 59:17

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
— Romans 12:12

The Whole Armor of God, by John Calvin. An exposition on Ephesians 6:10-18.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God,
— Ephesians 6:10-11a

When our weakness is considered, an exhortation like this would have no effect unless “the Lord” were present and stretched out His hand to render assistance, or rather, unless He supplied us with all the power. Paul therefore adds, “in the Lord,” as if he had said, “You have no right to reply that you have not the ability; for all that I require of you is ‘be strong in the Lord.’ ” To explain his meaning more fully, he adds, “in the power of his might,” which tends greatly to increase our confidence, particularly as it shows the remarkable assistance that God usually bestows upon believers. If the Lord aids us by His mighty power, we have no reason to shrink from the combat. But it will be asked, “What purpose did it serve to enjoin the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord’s mighty power, which they could not of themselves accomplish?” I answer, there are two clauses here that must be considered. He exhorts them to be courageous, but at the same time reminds them to ask God to supply what they lack and promises that, in answer to their prayers, the power of God will be displayed.

11. Put on the whole armor. God has furnished us with various defensive weapons, provided we do not indolently refuse what is offered. But we are almost all chargeable with carelessness and hesitation in using the offered grace; just as if a soldier, about to meet the enemy, should take his helmet and neglect his shield. To correct this security, or, we should rather say, this indolence, Paul borrows a comparison from the military art and bids us “put on the whole armour of God.” We ought to be prepared on all sides so that we lack nothing. The Lord offers to us arms for repelling every kind of attack. It remains for us to apply them to use and not leave them hanging on the wall. To quicken our vigilance, he reminds us that we must not only engage in open warfare, but that we have a crafty and insidious foe to encounter, who frequently lies in ambush; for such is the import of the apostle’s phrase, “the wiles of the devil.”

12. For we wrestle not. To impress them still more deeply with their danger, he points out the nature of the enemy, which he illustrates by a comparative statement: “Not against flesh and blood.” The meaning is that our difficulties are far greater than if we had to fight with men. There we resist human strength, sword is opposed to sword, man contends with man, force is met by force and skill by skill; but here the case is widely different. All amounts to this, that our enemies are such as no human power can withstand. By “flesh and blood,” the apostle denotes men, who are so denominated to contrast them with spiritual assailants. This is no bodily struggle.

Let us remember this when the injurious treatment of others provokes us to revenge. Our natural disposition would lead us to direct all our exertions against the men themselves; but this foolish desire will be restrained by the consideration that the men who annoy us are nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of Satan. While we are employed in destroying those darts, we lay ourselves open to being wounded on all sides. To “wrestle with flesh and blood” will not only be useless, but highly pernicious. We must go straight to the enemy, who attacks and wounds us from his concealment—who slays before he appears.

But to return to Paul. He describes our enemy as formidable, not to overwhelm us with fear, but to quicken our diligence and earnestness; for there is a middle course to be observed. When the enemy is neglected, he does his utmost to oppress us with sloth and afterwards disarms us by terror; so that, before the engagement has commenced, we are vanquished. By speaking of the power of the enemy, Paul labors to keep us more on the alert. He had already called him “the devil,” but now employs a variety of epithets to make the reader understand that this is not an enemy who may be safely despised.

“Against principalities, against powers.” Still, his object in producing alarm is not to fill us with dismay, but to excite us to caution. He calls them “princes of the world”; but he explains himself more fully by adding “of the darkness of this world.” The devil reigns in the world because the world is nothing else than darkness. Hence it follows that the corruption of the world gives way to the kingdom of the devil; for he could not reside in a pure and upright creature of God, but all arises from the sinfulness of men. By “darkness”—it is almost unnecessary to say—are meant unbelief and ignorance of God, with the consequences to which they lead. As the whole world is covered with darkness, the devil is called “the prince of this world” (Joh 14:30.)

By calling it wickedness, he denotes the malignity and cruelty of the devil and, at the same time, reminds us that the utmost caution is necessary to prevent him from gaining an advantage. For the same reason, the epithet spiritual is applied; for when the enemy is invisible, our danger is greater. There is emphasis, too, in the phrase “in heavenly places”; for the elevated station from which the attack is made gives us greater trouble and difficulty…

13. Wherefore take unto you. Though our enemy is so powerful, Paul does not infer that we must throw away our spears, but that we must prepare our minds for the battle. A promise of victory is, indeed, involved in the exhortation, “that ye may be able.” If we only “put on the whole armour of God,” and fight valiantly to the end, we shall certainly “stand.” On any other supposition, we would be discouraged by the number and variety of the contests; therefore he adds, “in the evil day.” By this expression, he rouses them from security, bids them prepare themselves for hard, painful, and dangerous conflicts, and, at the same time, animates them with the hope of victory; for amidst the greatest dangers, they will be safe. “And having done all.” They are thus directed to cherish confidence through the whole course of life. There will be no danger that may not be successfully met by the power of God; nor will any who fight against Satan with this assistance fail in the day of battle.

14. Stand therefore. Now follows a description of the arms that they were enjoined to wear. We must not, however, inquire very minutely into the meaning of each word; for an allusion to military customs is all that was intended. Nothing can be more idle than the extraordinary pains that some have taken to discover the reason why righteousness is made a “breastplate,” instead of a girdle. Paul’s design was to touch briefly on the most important points required in a Christian, and to adapt them to the comparison that he had already used.

Truth, which means sincerity of mind, is compared to a “girdle.” Now, a girdle was, in ancient times, one of the most important parts of military armor. Our attention is thus directed to the fountain of sincerity; for the purity of the gospel ought to remove all guile from our minds and all hypocrisy from our hearts. Secondly, he recommends “righteousness,” and desires that it should be a “breastplate” for protecting the breast. Some imagine that this refers to a freely bestowed righteousness, or the imputation of righteousness, by which pardon of sin is obtained. But such matters ought not, I think, to have been mentioned on the present occasion; for the subject now under discussion is a blameless life. He enjoins us to be adorned, first, with integrity and next with a devout and holy life.

15. And your feet shod. The allusion, if I am not mistaken, is to the military “greaves”; for they were always reckoned a part of the armor and were even used for domestic purposes. As soldiers covered their legs and feet to protect them against cold and other injuries, so we must be shod “with the gospel,” if we would pass unhurt through the world. It is “the gospel of peace,” and it is so called, as every reader must perceive, from its effects; for it is the message of our reconciliation to God, and nothing else gives peace to the conscience. But what is the meaning of the word preparation? Some explain it as an injunction to be prepared for the gospel; but it is the effect of the gospel that I consider to be likewise expressed by this term. We are enjoined to lay aside every hinderance, and to be prepared both for journey and for war. By nature, we dislike exertion and want agility. A rough road and many other obstacles retard our progress, and we are discouraged by the smallest annoyance. On these accounts, Paul holds out the gospel as the fittest means for undertaking and performing the expedition. Erasmus proposes a circumlocution, “that ye may be prepared”; but this does not appear to convey the true meaning.

16. Taking the shield of faith. Though “faith” and “the word of God” are one, yet Paul assigns to them two distinct offices. I call them one because the Word is the object of faith and cannot be applied to our use but by faith; as faith again is nothing and can do nothing without the Word. But Paul, neglecting so subtle a distinction, allowed himself to expatiate at large on the military armor. In the first epistle to the Thessalonians, he gives both to faith and to love the name of a “breastplate”—“putting on the breastplate of faith and love” (1Th 5:8.) All that was intended, therefore, was obviously this: “He who possesses the excellencies of character that are here described is protected on every hand.”

And yet it is not without reason that the most necessary instruments of warfare—a sword and a shield—are compared to faith and to the Word of God. In spiritual combat, these two hold the highest rank. By faith, we repel all the attacks of the devil; and by the Word of God, the enemy himself is slain. If the Word of God shall have its efficacy upon us through faith, we shall be more than sufficiently armed both for opposing the enemy and for putting him to flight. And what shall we say of those who take from a Christian people the Word of God? Do they not rob them of the necessary armor and leave them to perish without a struggle? There is no man of any rank who is not bound to be a soldier of Christ. But if we enter the field unarmed, if we lack our sword, how shall we sustain that character?

“Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the…darts.” But quench appears not to be the proper word. Why did he not use, instead of it, “ward off” or “shake off,” or some such word? Quench is far more expressive, for it is adapted to the epithet applied to darts. “The darts” of Satan are not only sharp and penetrating, but—what makes them more destructive—they are fiery. Faith will be found capable, not only of blunting their edge, but of quenching their heat. “This,” says John, “is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1Jo 5:4).

17. And take the helmet of salvation. In a passage already quoted (1Th 5:8), “the hope of salvation” is said to be a “helmet,” which I consider to be in the same sense as this passage. The head is protected by the best helmet, when, elevated by hope, we look up towards heaven to the salvation that is promised. It is only therefore by becoming the object of hope that “salvation” is a “helmet.”

18. Praying always with all prayer. Having instructed the Ephesians to put on their armor, he now enjoins them to fight by prayer. This is the true method. To call upon God is the chief exercise of faith and hope; and it is in this way that we obtain from God every blessing. Prayer and supplication are not greatly different from each other, except that supplication is only one branch of prayer.

“With all perseverance.” We are exhorted to persevere in prayer. Every tendency to weariness must be counteracted by a cheerful performance of the duty. With unabated ardor, we must continue our prayers, though we do not immediately obtain what we desire. If, instead of “with all perseverance,” some would render it, “with all earnestness,” I would have no objection to the change.

But what is the meaning of “always”? Having already spoken of continued application, does he twice repeat the same thing? I think not. When everything flows on prosperously—when we are easy and cheerful, we seldom feel any strong excitement to prayer—or rather, we never flee to God, but when we are driven by some kind of distress. Paul therefore desires us to allow no opportunity to pass—on no occasion to neglect prayer; so that “praying always” is the same thing with praying both in prosperity and in adversity.

“For all saints.” There is not a moment of our life at which the duty of prayer may not be urged by our own needs. But unremitting prayer may likewise be enforced by the consideration that the necessities of our brethren ought to move our sympathy. And when is it that some members of the church are not suffering distress and needing our assistance? If, at any time, we are colder or more indifferent about prayer than we ought to be, because we do not feel the pressure of immediate necessity, let us instantly reflect on how many of our brethren are worn out by varied and heavy afflictions—are weighed down by sore perplexity, or are reduced to the lowest distress. If reflections like these do not rouse us from our lethargy, we must have hearts of stone. But are we to pray for believers only? Though the apostle states the claims of the godly, he does not exclude others. And yet in prayer, as in all other duties of love, our first care unquestionably is due to the saints.

https://takeupcross.com
takeupcross