The Vulnerable Soldier, 01 – The Whole Armor of God (Eph. 6:10-13)

Posted on 2022-10-24 by thelittleman

Over the past several months, I’ve been walking through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians with the Youth Group at church. When we came to this familiar passage, I could tell they “knew” it already. They could see the Sunday School pictures of a Roman soldier (real or cartoony) in their minds. They could name the pieces of armor and what each represented. They could even give me a textbook description of “the enemy.”

Throughout our discussions, though, it became obvious that little in this passage was personal. It remained for them mere information. A great metaphor for Christian stuff, sure, but nothing new. Nothing pertinent.

Something popped into my head as I was teaching, though, and I thank the Lord’s Spirit for guiding me, because what might have been a boring discussion of “What is this piece of armor?” etc. quickly turned into a fairly deep discussion of “What if this piece of armor weren’t present?” Thus began our study of what I’m calling “The Vulnerable Soldier.”

To get there, though, we need a running start, so this first installment to the study will look at three elements of Ephesians 6:10-13, The Enemy, The Fight, and The Whole Armor of God.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (ESV)

The Enemy

It’s pretty common for Christians to think of unbelievers as the enemies of God and His Church. For example, there are the God-haters, the God-deniers, the false religions, the cults, the Occult, the Satanists. Beyond this, there’s the pedophiles, the abortionists, the predators grooming your children to believe in the fluidity of gender and sexuality.

But the people just described are NOT the enemy! These are human beings created in the image of God. They are ships lost in a violent sea of darkness in search of harbor. They are souls cursed by sin (as we all once were), destined for a real and terrible eternity in Hell. I repeat: they are NOT the enemy.

Paul describes the enemy in this passage in several ways:

  • The devil (11)
  • Not flesh and blood (12)
  • The rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this present darkness (12)
  • The spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (12)

As wicked as humanity seems, people (“flesh and blood”) are not God’s enemy. Peruse social media. Dip your toes into TikTok if you dare. Get a taste of the wickedness that’s beginning to define our culture—and then remind yourself that the people fronting that culture are but human pawns. Tools. Empty and godless souls—sinful and damned in their own right, of course, and needing redemption, yet—flung about like puppets on a string by a very real spiritual enemy.

Satan is “the god of this world [who] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2Cor 4:4). He is the enemy, and those fallen angels we now call “demons” are his army, infiltrating cultures, possessing societies, and influencing the movements that continue to destroy our world. They are responsible for “this present darkness.” They are the enemy.

The Fight

What are believers called to do then? How are we to wage war against an enemy like this? Are we meant to gather our forces and attack? Are we called to strategize an offensive that will “take back our culture”?

Notice the words Paul uses to describe the posture of the Lord’s soldier and how each of these has a defensive bent:

  • “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (10) – This is a charge to be not do. “Be strong” not “do strong things.” It calls for strength that comes not from within but from without. It’s dependence on the Lord and his strength that makes it possible for the soldier to be strong at all. Because this is the first challenge in the passage, it’s also foundational for the rest. Every forthcoming stand or battle depends upon the strength derived from the Lord and his strength.
  • “Put on the whole armor of God” (11) – While “Put on” is an action verb, it’s the act of putting on defensive gear.
  • “Stand against the schemes of the devil” (11) – To stand against something clearly is an act of defense.
  • “Wrestle against [all the enemies named above]” (12) – While wrestling can be an offensive ploy, there is nothing yet in the passage that implies an offensive attack. Instead, the implication is that of being attacked. Thus, I still see this wrestling as a defensive action against an attack by the devil and schemes.
  • “Take up the whole armor of God” (13) – This is but a repetition of “put on” in verse 13.
  • “Withstand in the evil day” (13) – This similarly is a repetition of “stand against” and “wrestle against”, only this implies the end result: non-defeat (if not victory). “The evil day” incidentally seems to mean every day.
  • “Stand firm” (13) – “Stand against,” “withstand,” “stand firm” are all terms of defense.

Why does the posture of Christ’s soldier matter? As the Israelites of the Old Testament only found victory against their physical enemies when they trusted the Lord (see 1Sam 17:47; Ps 44:6-7), so too does today’s believer only find victory in the strength that God gives.

Knowing that our purpose as Christ’s Church is to “proclaim his Gospel as a testimony to the nations” (Matt. 24:14), we have but one offensive task: to “go and make disciples of all nations” under the authority of Christ. Satan is on the attack against Christ’s church, and clearly “the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

We do not need to go looking for a battle, because it comes to our doorstep every day. Our role in this battle is like that of the Field Medic, protecting ourselves as we step into the fray to rescue the perishing (Prov. 24:11).

The Whole Armor of God

Finally, I want to point out Paul’s emphatic charge that believers must “put on the whole armor of God” (11) and “take up the whole armor of God” (13), “having done all to stand firm.” (13) That’s quite a list of superlatives (if that’s the grammatical term for them): whole, whole, all.

We know the armor. We’re familiar with their applications. We try to put them on each day. We’re good Christians, after all. But what if we drop a piece? What if we wear every bit of armor, except _____?

The answer to these questions is the purpose of the following study, “The Vulnerable Soldier.” There’s much that can be gleaned from a what-if approach to a passage like this, so I hope you’ll join me in the coming weeks to decipher what occurs when a soldier fails to put on the whole armor of God.

©2022 E.T.

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