Studies in Ephesians

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 17, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 24.

Read the full edition

Studies in Ephesians

The Whole Armor of God

Chapter 6, Verses 10-17, A.R.V.

Questioning the Text

1. What is one of the apostle’s final injunctions?

“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.” Verse 10. Note 1.

2. What are we to put on?

“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Verse 11. Note 2.

3. With whom is our warfare?

“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Verse 12. Note 3.

4. In view of this, what does he again enjoin them to do?

“Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” Verse 13. Note 4.

5. How are they to stand girded?

“Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” Verse 14. Note 5.

6. How is the Christian soldier to be shod?

“And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Verse 15. Note 6.

7. What is to be his shield?

“Withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.” Verse 16. Note 7.

8. What is the protection for the head, and the weapon of offense?

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Verse 17. Note 8.

Note and Comment

1. “Be strong.”—Literally, be made powerful. The Christian soldier’s strength is in his God. He may be as strong as Samson; but unless he obeys the Master, he will be made as weak as was Samson when he disobeyed. God not only exhorts to strength, He is willing to give it. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” Again: “Let him take hold of My strength, . . . and he shall make peace with Me.” “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you.” Men are made strong by feeding upon the Word, by exercising the strength which they obtain by prayer to God, keeping the channel of life open between themselves and the great Giver.

2. “The whole armor.”—We are not to leave off any part of it. The soldier must be clad with the armor of God—the apostle makes it emphatic—and only so can he stand against the wiles, not of humanity, but of the devil.

3. “Our wrestling is not.”—The men that fight in this world usually fight against their own flesh and blood. The pugilist in the ring knows something of the man that he is to meet, endeavors to do all that he can to learn his tricks, and to get all the tricks he can that the other man knows nothing about. So it is with the wrestler; so it is with the great armies that are put in the field. But it is not so with the Christian. His fighting is not with men like himself. He might in such case have equal part and chance in winning the victory, but his foes are greater than that. They are not flesh and blood, but they are the principalities, the mighty angels which fell. They are the powers, these that Satan has sent abroad into the world. They are the world-rulers of this darkness, Satan’s agents who are determining and molding and fashioning the world and worldly governments so as to make it the more difficult for the children of God. His spiritual hosts of wickedness profess to be in the heavenly places, and Satan himself is the “prince of the power of the air.” In every form, in every way, by every wile which the master of iniquity has used in all the ages, will he still seek to destroy the people of God, and the only way by which the subtle and powerful foe can be met is by the exceeding power of God clothed in His armor.

4. “Wherefore.”—Wherefore take the whole armor; take it that ye may be able to stand in the evil day. It may not be to-day, and may not be to-morrow; but it may be next day, and it may be this day. We do not know when the enemy will attack, we do not know when he will let us rest for a while; those who are prepared for the now, and for the hour, will be prepared for all his attacks. Consequently the armor is not to be laid aside. The soldier himself is to wear it day and night. Having done all on his part, then he may well stand.

5. “Stand . . . girded.”—If he is to stand, he must have on the various parts of the armor, and first of all the apostle places truth. That is the girdle of the loins. That it was which held all the armor in proper place, so as to enable the soldier to fight. Without truth, all the other parts of the armor may be false. All of them may be wrongly bound, and the girdle will break; and the soldier will be slain, or disabled, by his own weapons, unless he have truth for the girdle. “Breastplate.”—The breastplate covers the heart. Righteousness must be in the heart first of all. Only as it is in the heart is it worked out in the life.

6. “Having shod your feet.”—Not with shoes of war are the feet of the messengers of Christ shod. They do not come to bring war. He does not send them out into the world to carry with them war. Men may war against them, and war against the message which they bear, but they themselves must bear the message of peace. The gospel is the gospel of peace to sin-discouraged hearts; but that peace is based in righteousness, and it must be first of all with the throne of God, peace which the world does not give, and peace which the world can not take away. This is the message of peace which God’s soldier is to carry.

7. “Shield of faith.”—The shield was formed of metal, or tough rawhide, held on the arm of the soldier in front of him, which caught the darts or arrows hurled or shot by the enemy. The Christian has the shield of faith. Faith grasps Jesus Christ, his blessed Lord, and faith puts Christ and the invulnerable Word between him and the enemy which may meet him, but he can endure all his darts. It is Christ, in such case, that the enemy is to meet, and the soldier fights with his Master.

8. “The helmet.”—Salvation is placed in the helmet, and the helmet covers the head. In the modern religion of the day, salvation is generally placed in the heart, and is a matter of feeling. There are thousands who will tell you that they are saved, and they know they are saved, because of the feeling which they have in the heart. But next week they are downcast because they do not have the feeling there. Christ is the same, God’s salvation is the same, His terms are the same, but the feeling is changeable. What is indicated in placing salvation in the helmet, the helmet covering the head, the seat of the mind? It seems very clear to us that God would have His children understand that the hope of salvation is an intelligent hope, and the helmet of salvation indicates that the child of God knows that God will save, because he knows that he himself complies with the requirements of the Master, and he knows that the Master’s word can not fail. “The sword.”—This is the only weapon of offense which the Christian has. All these others are armors of defense. They clothe and cover the vulnerable parts from the enemy. But he may use the sword, which is the word of God,—the sword of the Spirit. He will find of necessity that many times it will have to be turned in his own heart, and slay the foes which are in the town of Mansoul, which may have yielded to Prince Diabolus. With this he will also meet the enemy when he comes from without. Even so our Lord met him, and when the devil’s temptations came to Him, they were met each time with “It is written.” “Thy word,” says the psalmist, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”