10 Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes. 12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of
evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. 14 Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, 15
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
peace. 16 In addition to all
this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the
flaming arrows of the evil one. 17
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God. 18 And pray in the Spirit
on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I
speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery
of the gospel, 20 for which I am
an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
This week we come to
the 7th and final part of our sermon series on God's Blueprint for the Church.
Paul's method in Ephesians was to begin with the BIG picture and gradually work
his way down to where his audience lives. Now as he's finishing up, he returns
momentarily to the big picture. There's a war; a battle and struggle for hearts
minds and souls. But it's not a regional conflict, it's a cosmic conflict
(v12). Even so, it's a cosmic conflict that manifests itself at the personal
level--hence, he wants his converts to be fully aware of this. The battle is not against our Hindu neighbor, or
agnostic comedians like Bill Maher, or authors like the late Christopher
Hitchens; the battle is spiritual;
it's against the spiritual forces of evil.
There are several
fascinating aspects about this passage, not the least of which revolve around
Paul's use of Roman soldier attire as metaphor for spiritual-preparedness. As a
sidenote, it should be mentioned that 'religion' was a HUGE part of Roman
military life. This quote from an online article summarizes things well:
Religious observance was one crucial way of sustaining loyalty and power
through a shared 'pietas.' Shared religious observance was a means of
developing and strengthening a vital esprit
de corps - as was reverence shown to the standards which, although not
worshipped as such, were the embodiment of the spirit or "genius" of the unit, being kept
in an aedes, or chapel
alongside the image of the Emperor and other sacred objects, and always being
treated with due respect and reverence. In the uncertainty of battle,
reassurance from the haruspex ( literally "gut gazer") that the omens
were good or that Jupiter, suitably fed and watered, was watching over you ready
to hurl his thunderbolts at the enemy must have been particularly welcome news
to the troops ready for battle.
In
other words, whatever private gods the soldier may have personally trusted in
(the more the merrier), the unit as a whole relied on the system of Roman
state-religion from Jupiter Optimus Maximus on down, as mediated by the Emperor
(High Priest, pontificus maximus)
through the military units. Hence, preparing for battle and going to war was an intensely religious experience! For
that matter, the (expected & hoped-for) outcome of the battle was also
religious. The resulting pax or
peace... was the religious outcome to be expected when opponents to the
militaristic-state Roman religion were vanquished.
And
so, a Roman soldier preparing for battle would say his prayers; make his
sacrifices, which included vows for further sacrifice if victorious, and then
adorn himself in the 'vestments' of his sacred calling, as he prepared to enter
the battlefield and become the hands and feet of Jupiter against the foe.
And
so some thoughts....
v10:
Paul begins the passage by urging his readers to be strong in the Lord
and in the power of his might. In other words, the strength for what's up ahead
is there and available, but it is from outside of us. We must rely on a power
not our own.
v11: Put on the WHOLE armor. Paul stresses
that what we will face will have both offensive and defensive elements.
Grabbing a sword is insufficient; having a shield alone leaves one vulnerable.
And again, the point is not to think about jousting with the atheists in the
public square, but rather, to call to mind Jesus on the mount of temptation. In
his spiritual warfare with Satan, he used the Word both offensively and
defensively.
v12: The Roman soldier would've seen his struggle
both as one against flesh and blood AND in spiritual terms. Jupiter was doing
battle against the lesser deities of the Barbarian; slaying the Barbarian would
be the physical manifestation of Jupiter's conquest of the Barbarian's god(s).
Sadly, it seems to me that too often the Church loses sight of the fact that our
militaristic language is strictly
spiritual. But we do not defeat God's enemies by engaging in acts of hatred
and violence against other people. God's enemies are defeated when the Gospel
of Jesus Christ is lived and modeled for a pagan world to see and be drawn to.
v14-17: Paul now goes on to break the whole
battle-kit down in spiritual terms: The belt gathers in the outer tunic
allowing for better/faster range of movement. In addition, the belt is a
carrier for things like the sword. The breastplate protects the body's vital
organs; the Christian's breastplate is righteousness (the external
righteousness of Jesus, which inspires our desire to emulate him). Having our
feet 'fitted' (or shod, kjv) brings to mind Roman battle sandals that were
spiked for the purpose of maintaining one's footing in battle. The shield was
often equipped with an outer layer of leather; soaked in water before battle,
this would extinguish a common offensive weapon of the day, the fiery arrow.
The helmet protects the head, the seat of our intellect; the sword, aka
"Word of God," is both an offensive and defensive weapon.
v18: And pray ALWAYS. There is no
"before" and "after" the battle because the battle is
always raging. And pray not in a selfish personal sense, but for the good of
the whole.
v19: And pray especially for the furtherance
of the Gospel, for the conquest of the Gospel is what brings ultimate peace.
Cheers,
TM
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