13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Much of this echoes verse eleven, reasserting its directive to take the whole armor of God in order to both stand and withstand. But here it is added not only to take all the armor, but also to do all. We must follow all of God's word if we hope to defeat our adversaries.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The transition here expects us to stand in light of having the aforementioned armor available to us; how can we not do as God expects if we take advantage of all of His provisions? Each of the pieces of armor is associated with a spiritual virtue: truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, and faith. Truth is needed to gird what is sensitive and vulnerable – it wraps and holds together to avoid injury. Righteousness protects a large and obvious target – the center of our spiritual heart and breath. Feet allow movement – the gospel animates an otherwise dead man, and we are to take it to others (see Romans 10:15). Faith – the shield which can be moved for dynamic defense as needed – is to be wielded "above all!” It could be argued that this is simply the outermost layer, and thus above all, but I would suggest that the phrase refers to its importance. See Romans 3:28, Hebrews 11:6, and Ephesians 2:8-9. This is also the only piece of armor that the Holy Spirit notes specifically what it protects against.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
This completes the spiritual armor, protecting the head (the mind and it thoughts) with the truth of salvation (see Philippians 4:7 and Romans 12: 2) and providing the offensive weapon – the very word of God (see Hebrews 4:12). But merely donning the armor is insufficient in itself, as a soldier (II Timothy 2:3-4) is expected to take action. We are told to be 1) praying and 2) watching. In what manner? With all prayer and supplication, with perseverance. For whom? All saints, and Paul himself. It is encouraging that even the Apostle Paul needed a ration of boldness from the Lord.
The debate over the accuracy and authority of the sword is the defining mark of the battle waged by the enemy throughout human history, and defines the battle of these last days – sadly, it is most marked among those who claim faith in Christ. But no solider would fail to carry his weapon confidently just because an enemy questioned it! And a Bible-believer must treat his Bible as a solider treats his weapon: he has a "relationship" with his weapon, treating it as a living thing (for a blessing, read “The Rifleman’s Creed” and consider how much of what it says about a solider and his rifle compares with a Christian with a Bible).
Verses 13-20 as a whole also present us with an interesting Old Testament parallel for devotional application. Both the Old Testament priesthood and the New Testament soldier are given particular directions regarding their dress. The two uniforms are different in form and function, so the order of dress does not match, but the items themselves seem to emphasize what the Lord deems crucial for effective service. For our purposes here, we will simply work from head to toe.
The Old Testament priest and the New Testament solider are both given a covering for the head: a mitre and crown, and a helmet, respectively. The former has “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” inscribed upon it, while the latter is said to be the “helmet of salvation.” Both give instruction on what is to protect and preserve our minds – the primary thing upon which we must meditate. Both the priest and the solider are also given breastplates. A breastplate covers and protects the heart (consider Proverbs 4:23). Interestingly, the priest’s is a breastplate of judgment, while the soldier’s is a breastplate of righteousness; under the law, salvation was a system of works by which righteousness was obtained, whereas for the New Testament saint, righteousness is provided when our faith is placed in the finished work of Christ. For the priest, the girdle is not given any particular significance, but for the solider the belt is truth. Both the girdle and the belt are what hold the uniform together. Likewise, the overall protective covering for the priest is the ephod and tunic, whereas for the soldier it is the shield of faith. While the priest is barefoot, as he was ministering in the very presence of God, the soldier’s feet are shod with the gospel of peace. The soldier’s orders regarding the enemy is to stand, but regarding a lost and dying world we are told to go. The shoes are designed for both commands. The priest has no weapons, but has the urim and thummim for the purpose of discerning God’s directions and will. The solider is armed with the sword of the spirit (see Hebrews 4:12 and Revelation 19:15), which is not only the completed revelation of God, but His very words, by which He accomplishes all things (Ephesians 3:9). Finally, both are equipped with a means of communication: the priest has the incense, symbolic of prayer, and the solider has prayer itself.
While we are not the High Priest (that office belongs to Christ alone now – see Hebrews 4:15-15), nor priests in any formal sense whatsoever, we are in Him, seated with Him, and do all things through Him. The function of the priest is a liason or ambassador between God and man. For more comparisons between the Old and New Testament priesthoods, see Exodus 19:6, I Peter 2:5, I Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 5:10, and Revelation 20:6. That can then be compared with the New Testament use of “ambassadors” here in Ephesians 6:20 along with II Corinthians 5:20.
We could also consider the similarities between the preparation of Aaron and his sons for service: the washing (which occurs prior to dressing) in Exodus 29:4 and the anointing with oil in Exodus 29:7; these would compare to the Christian’s “washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26) and the close connection in Scripture between anointing with oil and the Holy Spirit empowering for service. That leads us to the sacrifice of a bullock (ox) and a ram for the priest in Exodus 29:10-30; as Dr. Ruckman notes in his Reference Bible, “Notice the sudden change. A lamb is offered for every sinner (see Exodus 12) under the same condition that a minister needs an ox. See the application in the New Testament under I Corinthians 9:9-11. The minster needs an ox because he is about to be yoked up to be worked” (151). All this adds up to our role as servants, as expressed in Romans 12:1 (and many other places). These parallels between the different priesthoods in Scripture probably amount to little more than a spiritual application, what rewarding application it is!
Comentários