Chapter 77 - Full Armor

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The Apostle Paul does not merely encourage the New Testament church to put on some of the armor of God. He commands the collective ecclesia gathered in small group community to “put on” and “take up” the armor of God in fullness. (Ephesians 6:11, 13)

As previously indicated, the armor of God is Jesus Christ. The individual components of the armor are descriptive of His life (zoe) indwelling the New Testament church and provide for faithful cooperation with His incomparable power.

Considered within the context of the New Testament as a whole, the protective armor of Jesus equipped the church with much more than just the armament of an ancient Roman soldier. His living (zoe) presence provided the church with the armor of life, faith, time, and community. Put on in fullness, the armor of Jesus Christ enables the New Testament church to “stand firm” against every scheme of the devil.

Armor of Life

The apostle commands the New Testament church to put on the “full” armor of Jesus Christ. Rather than part of His life (zoe), evidenced by a small number of attributes, it is descriptive of the life (zoe) of Christ in fullness.

As indicated, the first three pieces of armor do not provide an exhaustive description of divine life (zoe). It is very clear they do not provide and exhaustive description of the attributes of divine life (zoe). Such a description would not be possible in a vast library of books, let alone 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.

In harmony with the broader teaching of the New Testament, it is apparent the New Testament church is not only indwelt by three 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.” (Romans 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 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)

Manifesting the life (zoe) of God within the New Testament church, Jesus Christ serves as its animating life source. Concordant with apostolic command, the church is not only to know about Jesus as its animating life (zoe) source. It is to actively “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ, the full armor of God, and faithfully walk with Him and trust Him to fulfill its mission.

It should be obvious that the armor of divine life (zoe) cannot be adequately described through mere words. Nevertheless, the New Testament reveals that the indwelling life (zoe) of Christ is specifically characterized by the three attributes of truth, righteousness, and peace. The ecclesia is privileged to cooperate with the indwelling Christ 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) in Jesus Christ, the armor of God is the armor of life (zoe).

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Armor of Faith

The New Testament church is privileged to be clothed by the living (zoe) presence of Jesus Christ, the full armor of God. It occurred in the past at the moment of spiritual birth. (Galatians 3:27)

In the present, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ requires a consistent, faithful acknowledgment of His shared life, evidenced by His truth, righteousness, and peace. Privileged cooperation with the indwelling Christ 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. However, putting on the life (zoe) of Jesus Christ should not be taken lightly. It is not “put on” either little by little or by presumptive wishfulness but by the divine gift of grace through faith alone.

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Armor of Faith

The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace are descriptive of the indwelling life (zoe) of Jesus Christ. They are put on by faith in His person and work fulfilled in the past.

The shield of faith, the helmet of the hope of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit or the Spirit illuminated word of God, are instruments of cooperation with the indwelling life (zoe) of Jesus Christ. They are taken up by faith in His person and work in the immediate present.

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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.

New Testament church warfare only occurs in accord with the eternal plan of God and thus, His gracious, authoritative permission. As a result, 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,” even the occurrence of spiritual warfare in the "evil day."

Congruent with the eternal purpose of God, all the events that occur in the lifetime of the New Testament church work together to conform His children into the image of Jesus Christ, minute by minute, day by day, and year by year. 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 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 a divine instrument for church growth to maturity.

For conformation into the image of Christ, it is incumbent upon the New Testament church to approach difficulty and suffering through the active, faithful pursuit of God. He knew beforehand what He would accomplish by allowing the devil and his angels the freedom to influence 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 has the potential to “work together for good” by strengthening and maturing the church.

“Putting on” and “taking up” the full armor of God to combat the influential schemes of the devil was designed by God before the foundation of the world for the fundamental purpose of vindicating His nature. He alone knows the manner and amount of time necessary for His nature to be vindicated.

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. Consequently, it has become familiar with the importance of surrendering its time to God, resting in Him, waiting on Him, and trusting 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 was 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 designed to be an individual experience. The power of the victorious, living (zoe) Christ in the New Testament church is most effective when expressed within the context of community.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was written to an intimate, small group church community. Therefore, his instruction in chapter six was not written for an individual believer. Instead, it was written to exhort the collective, small group ecclesia in Ephesus to “stand firm” and “resist” the schemes of the devil as one church body.

The support provided by small group community is a forgotten instrument in spiritual battle. However, it is critical to victory. Therefore, it should be of no surprise to the New Testament church that its present-day loss of intimate community has been encouraged by the devil and his angels.

Small group community provides the New Testament church with an intimate, support network that is effective for “putting on” and “taking up” the full armor of God as one body. Fully armored together, it is equipped to “stand firm” and “resist” the schemes of the devil according to the incomparable power of Jesus Christ. As a result, the nature of God is progressively vindicated from satanic accusation.

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 armored "in Christ" and counting on His perfect victory, 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. Instead, recognizing that it is positioned “in Christ” at the right hand of the Father, it understands that it is eternally secure, seated in victory. By grace through faith alone, from its lofty position it is privileged to look down from above and witness the unconditional victory of Jesus Christ through the incomparable power of indwelling life (zoe).

© 2023 James Hiatt

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