Day 611: The war of words - Ephesians 6 vs 14 - 17

14-15 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. 

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. Ephesians 6:14-17 (English Standard Version)

A Roman soldier in armour would've been as familiar a sight to those to whom the apostle Paul was writing as police in riot gear are to us today. So he used it to remind Christians of what they needed to put on in their lives to be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. What would you say is the common link between breastplate, shield and helmet?

They are essentially meant for protection and defence. Christians are not called to be aggressive people. Psalm 120 describes a man being confronted by false accusations and lies, and he cries out to God for help and says: “I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!” (Psalm 120:7) We see a similar picture in Psalm 57:4 where the writer says: “My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts - the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” The 'fiery darts' Paul speaks of in vs 16 will often be the false accusations and aggressive arguments hurled at us by unbelievers who are hostile to God's truth.

The war we are in is not a physical one where we trade blows with people trying to hurt our bodies. It's the ongoing struggle in the world between Satan's lies and God's truth. That's why in his letter to Christians at Corinth Paul wrote: “Yes we are human, but we don’t fight like humans.  Our weapons are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defences, that is, their arguments and their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paraphrased)

So Paul urges Christians to be covered with truth and righteousness. They must always be ready to tell sinful men and women how they can find peace with God. To do this will require faith in God and in His promises. Faith that is strong enough to stand firm when Satan uses people to accuse us of evil, imprison us, or even to put us to death.

While a soldier's armour was essentially for protection and defence, swords were also used to resist an attacking foe. Paul says the believer's sword is 'the word of God'. (vs 17) In what way would you say that's a good comparison.

I'd suggest that while righteousness and faith defend us from those attacking us, God's word takes the combat into their territory. As Paul said in Corinthians, we 'destroy their arguments.' Jesus never took up any physical weapons, but His words constantly left His accusers without an answer and made them withdraw. In Hebrews 4:12 we read: “The word of God is alive and powerful. It's sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

Believers should make every effort to store God's word up in their heart and mind! In doing so we will be confident of our salvation and of our peace with God. It's through God's word that we learn daily to put on righteousness, and by which our faith grows stronger. These are the things that will enable us to stand firm in the war between Satan's lies and God's truth. Paul says this must all be done with earnest prayer. God willing I'll pick up on that as we finish this letter in the next post on Ephesians. Meanwhile, as Paul said at the start of this section, “be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10)