While talking about the armor of God yesterday with a friend, something became very apparent to me. The armor of God isn't meant for just a personal level. It has been increasingly revealed to me over the past year that we were never meant to fight the battle that we face against the "world forces of this darkness" alone.
Ephesians 6:10-17 spells out what should be our response to an evil and fallen world. As the church in Ephesus was called to be proactive, so too should we be proactive in our preparation. As we see the evil in this world spelled out in these verses, we are given a clear picture of what a soldier of Christ looks like. We are to gird our loins with truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In addition to these we add the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
Brothers and sisters, we should make it of utmost importance to make sure every one of these pieces is kept in pristine condition. We have to start living like this world is a temporary stop in our spiritual journey. On this part of the journey, however, we contend with evil unseen. We are in the midst of the battle for the souls of men, and we, as Christians, are on God's font lines of that battle. Not only should we make sure that our armor, shields, and swords are fit for battle for ourselves, but make our own fit for our brothers and sisters as well. If we are on the front lines standing shoulder-to-shoulder, we should know that we can hold the forces of evil back as a solid unit. A brotherhood united with one purpose. It is just as important to guard each other from the evil one, as it is to guard ourselves. Our enemy is crafty, and we need to learn to work together in this fight.
Finally made it over here.... Been a little busy/distracted. :)
ReplyDeleteTwo things that have been pointed out to me recently about this passage are: The word for "struggle" in the Greek (v 12) means a one-on-one struggle, not an army. This is for your personal battle. And also that there is no armor to cover your back. God never intends for us to retreat.
Looking forward to your next entry! I'm linking you on my blog.
I'm not entirely sure it was meant to be taken that way. Yes, the word for "struggle" in the Greek is most closely translated in English to "wrestle." Our English definition for wrestle says it's a one-on-one combat, but I would like to study a little more (in other words, not when it's midnight). My first thoughts led me to who Paul was addressing. He uses the plural word translated as "we," "us," or "our." He uses the same word in two other instances in Ephesians 1:9 and 3:20. As much as I would love to say that all came from my head, I found a good site for translating, and breaking the Greek down using the paradigms. Check out www.preceptaustin.org. Definitely love the iron sharpening!
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