“The Liquid Armor of
God”
Ephesians
6:10-20
August 23, 2009
This morning’s New
Testament passage provides a forceful conclusion to an epistle that is loaded with lively
ideas. A dynamic tone is set from the get-go:
“…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power” (6:10). What follows is a passage chock-full of synonyms
and symbols for strength, with the author urging us to draw upon the strength of the Lord
in all we face.
Please listen for how the
Spirit is speaking to us through God’s word found on page 184 of the New Testament
section of your pew Bibles from the letter to the church at Ephesus chapter six verses ten
through twenty…
10Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11Put on the whole armor
of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For
our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of
God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to
stand firm. 14Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist,
and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on
whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With all of
these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming
arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God. 18Pray in the Spirit at all times in every
prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for
all the saints.
19Pray also for me, so that when I
speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as
I must speak.
This
is God’s word to us…
Ever since the dawn of
civilization, military planners and engineers have tried to come up with a solution to
protect soldiers from injury and death through the use of body armor. From those clunky Knights of the Round Table to the
steel vests designed for soldiers in the American Civil War to the iconic “flak”
jackets of the Vietnam era, soldiers have contended with the uncomfortable, and often
ineffective, weight and bulk of body armor, which only adds to the misery of battle.
Take the current ballistic
vest worn by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example.
It weighs about 20 pounds and consists of layers of tightly woven ballistic
fibers such as Kevlar, which dissipates the impact of many conventional bullets and bomb
fragments—but not everything. Besides the
fact that such vests leave arms and legs unprotected; puncture weapons, for instance, like
knives, because they’re harder and thinner are able to separate the weave of
ballistic fibers leaving those who wear such vests vulnerable.
The search for a better way
of protecting soldiers and law-enforcement officers led researchers at the University of
Delaware and the Army Research Laboratory to begin work on a new kind of body armor. This new generation of protection would be strong
enough to blunt the impact of nearly all ballistic projectiles and flexible enough to
cover the whole body. Researchers based their
idea on fluid rather than fiber, developing something called “shear thickening fiber.”
When a projectile impacts a
certain point on this “liquid armor,” that section stiffens within milliseconds
to absorb the impact and then just as quickly returns to its liquid state after the impact
dissipates. Because there are no fibers to
separate, it’s also highly effective against puncture weapons. The flexibility of a liquid rather than a heavy,
fiber-based material means this armor can be worn like a wet-suit over the whole body. For the first time in history, soldiers and
law-enforcement officers will be able to truly “put on the whole armor.”
For a Roman soldier, on duty
in Biblical times, “putting on the whole armor” meant more than just strapping
on his helmet and belt. It also meant that he
was part of a unit; counting on his comrades to his right and left.
While a Roman soldier’s
individual armor and weaponry of sword and spear might protect him in a one-on-one fight,
it was designed to be most effective when employed within the context of a whole legion. The Celtic and Germanic tribes who faced the Romans
on the frontier would have been awed by the sight of a nearly impenetrable wall of shields
bristling with spears facing them across the battlefield.
When the apostle Paul was
searching for an apt metaphor to convey preparation and protection for a kind of spiritual
warfare, it’s little wonder he dialed up the image of “the whole armor of God.” The Roman array of weapons consisted of all the
items listed in Ephesians, most of which were worn only on campaign and not part of the
everyday uniform. So when a Roman legionnaire
buckled on his armor it meant that the enemy was close at hand.
Having given instructions to
the Ephesians on some practical aspects of living, reminding
them that they were “members of one another” (4:25), Paul now encourages them to withstand the
piercing attack of sin and temptation that threaten to destroy any who call on the name of
Christ, individually and collectively. If they
didn’t hang together, they would, as Benjamin Franklin noted some 1,700 years later,
hang separately. So then, how do we hang
together and put on “the whole armor” of God?
To answer that question, let’s consider each piece of body armor, one
at a time.
First, the belt of truth (6:14): the
belt worn by Roman soldiers was not used to hold up garments. Rather, it was a wide and thick strap of leather
meant to protect the stomach and lower abdomen preventing the soldiers who wore it from
being disemboweled on the battlefield.
For the church, the belt of truth prevents the community from
being eviscerated by untruths, and allows people to be strengthened by the truth of faith. Here Paul may be making a reference to his earlier
concerns about “putting away falsehood” and having conversation that leaves no
“room for the devil” (4:25,
27). Rumors and gossip can easily divide the church,
thus Paul begins by promoting protection of the community’s soft underbelly.
Next, the “breastplate
of righteousness” (v. 14) and the “helmet of salvation” (v. 17): these two items protected the heart and
head—the seat of emotions and the center of reason, both of which need constant
monitoring and protection. Paul’s
comments echo similar images in Isaiah 59:17 “He put on righteousness like a
breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head” reminding the community that
their safety is bound up in God’s mighty act of grace in Christ. Always keeping the love and grace of God foremost
in our thoughts protects us and enables us to think and do right things.
Then there is the Roman half
boot (v. 15): this standard military footwear enabled
not only solid footing on the battlefield but also allowed the legions to move quickly
over Roman roads so they could keep the peace. Paul’s
image of feet made “ready to proclaim the gospel of peace” indicates that the
community of faith, too, must be able to move quickly and broadly in order to deliver the
good news of Christ. The more we are moving
about sharing Christ, the less idleness and doubt can creep into our lives.
The shield of faith (v. 16): the shield is just as critical to people
of faith as it was to the Roman legions. One
of the standard battle tactics of the ancient world was to fire flaming arrows into the
ranks of the enemy, a move designed to get individual soldiers to drop their shields long
enough to put out the fire, exposing them to attack. Roman
shields were made of heavy wood with a leather covering that could be soaked in water
before battle to extinguish flaming projectiles.
Paul’s image of faith
being such a shield conveys again the idea of cohesion between members of the community in
the face of spiritual attack. When the flaming
arrows of the enemy hit the shield soaked in faith, the arrows sputter out. Having been drenched in the waters of baptism we
are made ready to extinguish the flames of temptation no matter from where they originate. Reminding one another of our baptism helps keep the
flame of sin from ravaging our relationships.
Finally the sword: the last image is of Scripture as a “sword”
(v. 17), a familiar New Testament metaphor. The Roman gladius or sword was 20-24 inches long
and was used for close-in fighting once the javelin had been deployed. After the battle was joined, a soldier had to know
how to best use this weapon to good effect. The
same is true when it comes to an assault by sin and temptation. Scripture and the revelation of God’s Spirit
within its words and within our spirits are vital weapons of defense.
Curiously enough, the sword is the only weapon in this arsenal
that can be considered an offensive weapon. So,
in Paul’s thinking, the only way we can get offensive is with the Word of God, the
good news of the gospel. And even though we
all know that there are lots of “offensive” Christians out there; the only
offense we are to employ is one that hits people not with condemnation and judgment but
with the good news of God’s grace and love found in Jesus Christ.
While tradition has taught
that this passage of scripture is for the individual, as any real soldier will tell you,
he or she is only as good as the rest of the unit. Whether
the armor is liquid, Kevlar or old-fashioned leather and iron, an individual is never more
effective on the battlefield than a cohesive unit. Maybe
that’s why the Army changed its advertising slogan a few years ago from “An Army
of One” to “Army Strong” reflecting the truth that we are stronger when we
are working together; whether on some far away battlefield or on the battlefield of life.
We are stronger together
when we remember we are siblings in faith when we differ on issues-of-the-day. We grow in community when we provide hospitality
and welcome to whoever walks through our door. We
are made into a more cohesive unit when we focus on the gospel by spending more time
reflecting on who all God loves rather than who is really a Christian.
We are better equipped to
meet the threats of sin and temptation by taking the time to join a small group; by
considering whether God might be calling us to become an officer of the church; and by
figuring out when the best time of day is for us to pray.
May we all learn how to put
on the flexible armor of God’s grace and love by taking the gospel to our neighbors
and the wider-world beyond these walls.
Amen.
SOURCES:
“Body armor fit for a superhero.” Business
Week Website, August 7, 2006.
Businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_32/b3996068.htm.
Keener, Craig S., and InterVarsity Press. “Ephesians 6:13.” The IVP Bible
Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers
Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993
