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                    The Spiritual Armor of God

              

          The Apostle Paul developed the concept of 'armor' for the Christian in addressing his Roman and Greek followers because this was a metaphor based on the armor and battle dress of the first-century Roman soldier. Clearly, the military metaphor was useful for that purpose, and as well Paul was demonstratively showing the Christian audience that we are actively engaged in a battle, a spiritual war. While all spiritual warfare is predicated on the basis of the accomplished victory of the Cross, it is only victorious on the basis of appropriating in the mind the victorious provision of the Cross and Christ's Blood. Paul insists in his writing in Ephesians that it is vital that the Christian '...withstand  in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.'  The Greek word Paul uses here for 'withstand'  is anthistemi  which suggests vigorously opposing, bravely resisting, standing face-to-face against an adversary, standing your ground in a battle. By using this Greek word, Paul is telling us that with the authority of Christ and the spiritual weapons granted to us we can withstand all evil forces.

                                                     

~Helmet of Salvation~  The Greek word for 'salvation' in this Scripture is soterion  which connotes the experience of deliverance granted by God to those who accept His Son, Jesus Christ, and repent and follow Him; further, it means the extension of peace and harmony to one so accepting, and the God-imparted wisdom through this hope.

~Belt of Truth~  Here, Paul uses the Greek word for truth, alethinos which implies truth in the sense of real, ideal, genuine, indeed a sincerity from the heart; further, to speak truthfully from faith with everyone.

~Breastplate of Righteousness~  One of Paul's most important words, righteousness, which here he uses the Greek word, dikaiosune to mean the gracious gift of God to men who believe in Lord Jesus Christ whereby they are brought into a right relationship with God, a union with God that imputes His power making man fuller, stronger more than he could ever be by himself.

~Shoes of Gospel of Peace~ Paul makes a strong point here, using the Greek word, euangelion for the 'gospel of peace'; we have the English word, evangelize, directly from this Greek word. Paul further uses the Greek word, hupodema, for having our feet 'shod', which literally means to bind together under us. He makes the strong point that the 'good news' of salvation through Christ, to be received by faith, should be preached as a part of our being; indeed to preach without regard to its reception.

~Sword of the Spirit~ The sword of the spirit is the word of God in this context, and importantly, Paul does not use the Greek word, logos, for 'word', but he uses rhema which is significant: the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to individual Scripture that is stored in our hearts and minds for use in time of need. The emphasis is on the prerequisite storing of Scripture which the Holy Spirit then brings to our remembrance in distress.

~Shield of Faith~ There are two aspects to this particular piece of God's Armor:  First, for 'shield', Paul uses the Greek word, thureos, which originally in Greece meant 'a stone for closing, sealing the entrance to a cave'; in latter Greece, it came to mean a huge, oblong shield that protected every inch of a soldier; hence, taken together we can deduce that Paul's message is that this 'shield' is seal us, protect us completely from all outside influences. Second, for 'faith', Paul uses the Greek word, pisteuo, which imparts a meaning of firm conviction, full assurance of God's revelations and truths, fully persuaded.

 

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