By Roy E. Ciampa, Ph.D., S. Louis and Ann W. Armstrong
Professor of Religion, Samford University
We Stand Together in Spiritual Battle
Ephesians 6:10–20
The theme of imitating God was introduced in Ephesians 5:1 and reinforced when Paul said our lives should reflect love (5:2–7), light (5:8–14) and wisdom (5:15–6:9), all attributes of God (as is the oneness stressed in 4:2–6).
That theme also is found here: God is “the divine warrior” who puts on armor and goes to battle to defend or deliver His people from powerful enemies (see Joshua and Psalm 35:2). Success in our spiritual battles depends on standing together and holding fast to the commitments identified by Paul as God’s armor.
We are in a spiritual battle. (10–13)
Our spiritual battle can only be won in the power of God. We are often preoccupied with concern about people with opposing commitments or agendas. The Ephesians might have considered the Roman emperor or unbelieving Jews as their primary enemies. But those who consist of flesh and blood have little power compared to the spiritual powers who oppose Christ and His kingdom.
To defeat them and their agendas, we need an even greater power: God’s strength, symbolized in His armor. To remain standing, unvanquished, on “the evil day” we need divine help (see also Matt. 6:13).
The evil day is probably a reference to the climactic time of utmost trial and temptation experienced on an individual or community basis.
God equips us and protects us completely. (14–17)
Paul explains what he meant when he said we should put on God’s armor. Each piece of armor is identified with a virtue or reality associated with God or the gospel: The soldier’s belt is identified with truth, his breastplate with righteousness, his shoes with gospel readiness, his shield with faith, his helmet with salvation, his sword with the Spirit and/or God’s word. Spiritual warfare isn’t pursued by carrying out some magical practices but by a God-empowered radical commitment to truth; righteousness; eagerness to share the gospel of peace; faith; salvation; the Spirit; and God’s word.
Note that the virtues listed were all highlighted earlier in the letter: truth (1:13; 4:15, 21, 25; 5:9), righteousness (4:24; 5:9), peace (2:14–15, 17; 4:3), faith (1:15; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13), salvation (1:13; 2:5, 8; 5:23), the Spirit (1:13, 17; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3, 4, 30; 5:18) and God’s word (1:13; 5:26).
These verses are filled with allusions to Old Testament and early Jewish texts that talk about God’s armor. Isaiah 59:17 talks about God putting on righteousness like a breastplate and putting on a helmet of salvation.
Since God Himself put on His “helmet of salvation,” that isn’t about securing our own salvation (which God didn’t need to do). Rather it’s about bringing salvation to others, as God did for Israel and for us (for more on Paul’s imagery here, see Isaiah 11:5; 49:2).
What might the darts of the enemy look like? Since truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the word of God are proper weapons in the battle (God’s armor), they are also the very things that our spiritual enemies want to undermine. Our spiritual enemies promote dishonesty, immorality, conflict, disbelief, apostasy and false teaching (the antitheses to God’s armor) to accomplish our spiritual defeat and undermine God’s purposes for the Church.
We are to pray for one another as we stand in battle. (18–20)
Paul stresses the importance of prayer and supplication to win our spiritual battles, and he suggests prayer, the Word and the Spirit are closely related: The word of God is the sword of the Spirit, and it is in the Spirit that we are to pray. Paul realized that he needed prayer and supplication to fulfill his missionary calling. To fight and remain standing in the midst of our spiritual battles, we must support each other in prayer as we engage those battles each day.
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