The following are the most interesting nuggets of information I gleaned from an inductive study of Ephesians 6:10-18. Getting into the meaning of many of the Greek words (via bible dictionaries and Logos software) really illuminates a lot of the meaning of the passage, much of which may have been lost or muddied in translation. Enjoy! I think there's some pretty great stuff here. I suggest reading the passage in question at least once before continuing.
Verse 10, "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power," serves as a heading under which the rest of the passage falls. The verses that follow are an explanation, more specifically, of how believers are to fulfill this exhortation.
The phrase "full armor" is the technical term (panoplia) for the complete armor set of a heavily armed infantryman. Paul (the author here), through his frequent imprisonment, had frequent run-ins with Roman soldiers. Some scholars suggest that he was chained to one or otherwise in rather close quarters while writing this passage (I don't think this is the case, but my faith would not be in shambles if it is). This means he is not necessarily referring to an ambiguous set of objects, but a specific set of things that his audience would have been familiar with.
The difference of a seemingly unimportant connective really illuminates the purpose of the armor. The phrase translated "stand against the devil's schemes" is most literally translated "stand toward the devil's schemes." This word is the same one used in 4:12, "equip... for works of service." This phrase does not denote a passive defense to the devil's schemes, but willful and overt opposition.
"Day of evil" does not refer the end times, any specific act of the devil's, or even any specific event at all. Notice in 5:16 that Paul says all "the days are evil;" the same word for "evil" is used in both cases. It more specifically has to do with work or toil, as the sort of "evil that causes toil." Paul is not talking about preparation for a future event but action to be taken right now in the evil days that the world has continually experienced since the first evil day, when man fell away from Him.
My previous understanding of "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" was, I confess, incorrect. "Spirit" here does definitely refer to the Holy Spirit, the Person, and the connective "of" denotes origin; so we are not talking about just any spiritual sword here, but a specific sword that has come from the Holy Spirit Himself. The second half of the phrase makes it clear what exactly the sword is- "word of God" here refers to that which God has literally spoken. It is, importantly, not the same word used in John 1 to refer to Jesus. Paul names the sword "the word of God," referring to the Scriptures, which were God-Breathed, indeed given to us by the Spirit Himself.
What follows is the most interesting thing that I personally learned. Paul didn't even make up the armor of God! He took them from Isaiah (11:5, 52:7, 59:17), which he would have known very thoroughly. In Isaiah, it is God Himself who is wearing this armor, which illuminates the phrase that titles this blog post. "The armor of God" refers to the armor that god wears, "God's armor." This makes more sense when you consider that many of the pieces of armor, like truth and righteousness, are God's attributes, with which he is eternally clothed. It seems that the whole armor passage is an extension of Paul's call in 5:1 to "follow God's example." When we "put on" the qualities and attributes of God that He has revealed, we become truly strong.
As I mentioned in my previous post, this study has as its ultimate aim an application to be applied to daily life. This is a very specific action to be taken by the perpetrator of the study- I suppose what I should be doing is using "big ideas" and "pedagogical ideas" to "teach" this passage to you, but I haven't gotten that far in the class :). Therefore, I'll just share what I got out of it for myself. Perhaps in your own study the Spirit will illuminate something that you can do in your own life in response to what He has taught you with this passage.
What stuck out to me was the passage's clear focus upon preparation, and prayer's essential role in such preparation. Even "putting on" any given piece of armor is not automatic, but something that happens only through prayer. This passage has illuminated the fact that I am often unprepared for the constant assaults of the devil and his forces as I live my earthly life. More specifically, I do not pray regularly, and when I do, I don't often pray for the kind of preparation this passage discusses as so essential.
If I were to live out the preparedness through prayer that Paul is urging upon the Ephesians, I would daily seek strength from the Lord to resist lethargy, temptation, and any other "flaming arrows." Over this month, I will pray every day, setting aside a specific time to do so. Each time I pray, I will read this passage and be sure to pray in the manner Paul urges. After each time I will write a small (one sentence) journal entry signifying that I have done so, providing a way to keep a record of preparedness.
Like I said above, this is specific to me. Perhaps you don't even need this, and you walk in prayer and preparation. If you are like me and want to choose to have the same response to the passage, tell me if you want to be kept additionally accountable. Consider making the decision I discussed in my previous post to actually, tangibly respond.
In any case, thank you very much for reading, and I pray the Spirit will use the word of God to bless you.
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this n mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.
Ephesians 6:18
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