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The Apostle Paul does not merely encourage the real New Testament church to put on some of the armor of God. He commands the collective ecclesia to “put on” and “take up” the armor in fullness. (Ephesians 6:11, 13)
As previously indicated, the armor of God is Jesus Christ. The individual components of armor are not only descriptive of His life (zoe) indwelling the New Testament church but provide for cooperation with His incomparable power in the “evil day.” Within the greater context of the New Testament as a whole, it is clear that the protective armor of Jesus provides the church with much more than the mere armament of an ancient Roman soldier. It reveals that He is also the armor of life, faith, time, and community. Put on in fullness, the armor of Jesus Christ enables the real New Testament church to “stand firm” against every scheme of the devil. Armor of Life The apostle commands the ecclesia to put on the “full” armor of God. Rather than descriptive of a select number of attributes, it is evidential of the fullness of divine life (zoe). In Ephesians 6, Paul instructs the New Testament church to “put on” the “whole armor of God.” As indicated, the first three pieces of armor; truth, righteousness, and peace, are attributes of divine life (zoe). However, they do not provide an exhaustive description of divine life (zoe). It would not be possible to describe the attributes of divine life (zoe) in a vast library of books, let alone a single one. (cf. John 21:25) The life (zoe) of God indwelling and protecting His ecclesia defies definition by mere human words. Instead, the armor of God revealed in the New Testament provides a select sampling of the attributes of divine life (zoe). They are relevant to a specific topic of reference; the spiritual warfare of the New Testament church. The writing of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians reveals that the ecclesia shares three select attributes of the indwelling life (zoe) of the Lord Jesus; truth, righteousness, and peace. In harmony with the broader teaching of the New Testament, however, it is clear that the church is not merely indwelt by a few select attributes of divine life (zoe), but the fullness of divine life (zoe). Therefore, putting on the armor is not fulfilled by putting on a few select attributes of God. Instead, it is synonymous with putting on the fullness of divine life (zoe). In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul instructed the ecclesia to “put on the armor of light” (13:12). Immediately following, he commanded the Roman ecclesia to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (13:14) By context, it was clear to Paul that putting on the “armor of light,” an attribute of divine life (zoe), was descriptive of putting on the fullness of the indwelling Christ. As commanded by Paul, putting on the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ is not accomplished in a piecemeal fashion. In other words, the indwelling life (zoe) of God is not something to be “put on” little by little, attribute by attribute. Instead, the apostolic intent was for the ecclesia to faithfully “put on the full armor of God” or the fullness of the person and work of Jesus Christ. (cf. Romans 13:12, 14) The indwelling life (zoe) of God in Jesus Christ is the life of the New Testament church. By apostolic command, the New Testament church is to “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ, the full armor of God. Although the armor of divine life (zoe) cannot be adequately described through mere words, the New Testament reveals that it is specifically characterized by the living (zoe) attributes of truth, righteousness, and peace. The ecclesia is privileged to cooperate with the incomparable power of indwelling life (zoe), evidenced within by Christ’s truth, righteousness and peace, by “taking up” the divinely provided armor of faith, hope, and the Spirit illuminated Word of God. The full armor of God allows the ecclesia to stand firm against the schemes of the devil by incomparable power. Indicative of the protective presence of the fullness of divine life (zoe), the armor of God is the armor of life (zoe). |
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Armor of Faith
Putting on the full armor of God is accomplished by divine grace alone. Therefore, cooperation by the ecclesia occurs by faith alone. Jesus Christ is the full armor of God. The New Testament church was privileged to be clothed by His living (zoe) presence in the past at the moment of salvation. (Galatians 3:27) Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the full armor of God, does not mean to be clothed in Him again. Instead, it constitutes a consistent, faithful acknowledgment that His shared life (zoe) was “put on” once and for all in the past. Privileged cooperation with the indwelling Christ in the immediate present occurs by “taking up” faith, hope, and the Spirit illuminated word of God. The armor of life (zoe) allows the ecclesia to “stand firm” and “resist” the schemes of the devil by incomparable power. It is not “put on” piecemeal or by presumptive wishfulness but by grace through faith alone. |
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Armor of Time
The spiritual warfare of the New Testament church can be prolonged in nature and appear overwhelming at times. Regardless of its length and intensity, however, it does not happen randomly. It occurs only in accordance with the eternal plan of God and thus, His gracious, authoritative permission. Utterly defeated, the devil and his angels cannot accomplish their schemes against the New Testament church, individually or collectively, without permission from the sovereign God. Thus, the Apostle Paul could say, “…we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30) With foreknowledge, from calling to glorification, God is intimately familiar with everything that takes place in the lives of those whom He “predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” Minute by minute, day by day, year by year, all of the events that occur in the lifetime of the New Testament church work together to conform the children of God into the image of Jesus Christ. It is congruent with the eternal purpose of God. Therefore, much to Satan’s chagrin, his schemes are designed by the sovereign God to benefit His beloved children. Utterly defeated and devoid of authority, he can do nothing without divine permission. God uses various means to strengthen and mature His children, including the deceptive schemes of the devil. In harmony with His selfless love, however, they are always serve the best interest of the believer. Every member of the New Testament church is valuable to God. The length of time He allows the devil and his angels to cause suffering and difficulty in the lives of His children is not designed to be punitive. Instead, regardless of how uncomfortable or painful, it is an instrument for growth in maturity. For the purpose of conformation into the image of Christ, it is incumbent upon the New Testament church to approach difficulty and suffering caused by the spiritual forces of wickedness through the active, faithful pursuit of God. He knew beforehand what He would accomplish by allowing the devil and his angels the freedom to afflict His children. Therefore, it is not a time for the New Testament church to turn from God in despair but to actively draw close. Difficult though it might be, it is possible to view significant attention by the devil and his angels as a blessing. As designed by God, their effort against the church has the potential to “work together for good” by the strengthening and maturing of the ecclesia of God. “Putting on” and “taking up” the full armor of God to combat the schemes of the devil was designed by God before the foundation of the world for the fundamental purpose of vindicating His nature. Therefore, it is only finished in His perfect time. The young ecclesia is often prone to believe that it possesses the means to fight spiritual battles. As a result, it frequently hurries into battle without consulting God. Conversely, the spiritually mature, battle-tested ecclesia has learned the value of time. Therefore, it is more familiar with how to surrender its time to God, rest in Him, wait on Him, and trust Him to fight the battle. |
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Armor of Community
The New Testament was written in the context of intimate, small group community. It constituted the primary setting in which the Apostle Paul envisioned the manifestation of divine power on earth. Concordant with the context in which the New Testament was written, the manifestation of divine power within the ecclesia was not first and foremost designed to be an individual experience. The power of the victorious, living (zoe) Christ in His body on earth is most effective when expressed within the context of community. According to the context of the New Testament, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was written to an intimate, small group church community. Therefore, his instruction in chapter six was not first and foremost written for an individual believer. Instead, it was to exhort the collective, small group ecclesia in Ephesus to “stand firm” and “resist” the schemes of the devil together. The support provided by small group communities is a largely forgotten instrument in spiritual battle. It is critical for victory. Therefore, it is no surprise that the present-day loss of intimate community has been encouraged by the devil and his angels. Small group community provides the New Testament church a supportive environment in which to “put on” and “take up” the full armor of God to “resist” and “stand firm” together against the schemes of the devil. It permits the members of the ecclesia to approach warfare in an intimate, cooperative environment that is both facilitative and supportive of the manifestation of the incomparable power of indwelling life (zoe). Supportive of the unity of shared life among a diverse group of individuals, intimate, small group community is dangerous to the devil and his angels. It is inviting, flexible, mobile, cross-cultural, inexpensive, capable of surviving persecution, effective for the reproduction of eternal life (zoe) worldwide, and, most importantly, demonstrative of the attributes of the divine nature. Small group community furnishes the New Testament church with the support network to stand firm together against the schemes of the devil and his angels. As the ecclesia stands firm together in the victory of Jesus Christ, it provides for the vindication of the nature of God from satanic challenge and accusation. Fully armored, battle-tested through time, and arrayed in small group community, the ecclesia does not need to fight to gain victory. In Christ at the right hand of the Father, it is eternally secure, seated in a position of perfect victory. From its lofty position, it is privileged to look down from above and witness the unconditional victory of the incomparable power of indwelling life (zoe) by grace through faith alone. © 2022 James Hiatt |
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