Eph 6:13 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.
Continuing our study of the WHOLE armor of GOD it is worth noting that this is the second time we are told to TAKE THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD. Why is it worth noting? Because obviously if we are being told something more than once it MUST be important. The WHOLE armor of GOD and our TAKING it is extremely important and yet this is something not very many in the grand scheme of things seem to think worth bothering about.
The spiritual realm.
I hope you believe it is a reality and as such that it is working around us all the time day and night affecting us constantly for good and bad.
Here in this verse it is mentioned that the reason for taking this WHOLE armor of GOD is so that we will be able to withstand in the EVIL DAY- having done ALL to stand.
The EVIL DAY.
What would you think if I told you this-- "Take your umbrella to protect you in the rainy day."
You'd most likely think that I want you to be prepared for a rainy day- any rainy day, right? This EVIL DAY spoken of is any day that is EVIL. We don't know when we will be attacked spiritually. We could be attacked daily, hourly, minutely, or maybe weekly, monthly, yearly. We just don't know when or where an attack will come from. Not only don't we know when or where, we don't know what sort of attack it will be- some are much more blatant than others. One thing we can know is when we are struggling with ANYTHING, we can be sure that there is an unseen battle going on around us.
No, I’m not using this as an excuse, no one can use it as an excuse because WE ultimately make the choices of how we handle the attacks. We can succumb to them and let them destroy us- many, many people do. We can overcome them but ONLY by the power of our SAVIOR, any other any sort of overcoming is false and oh so very deceptive.
There isn't a single struggle, not a single bit of strife that isn't egged on by the unseen spirits. We can ignore the unseen spirits working around us and most people do, but we aren't told to ignore them, are we? We are told to put on armor - in fact the WHOLE armor of GOD so that we can stand.
Now let me ask you a question, if we are told to put on armor so we can stand do you suppose it's to simple stand still, to be like one of those empty statue suits of armors that never, ever move? Is this armor a reality? Is it useful armor in being more than protective - which is a GREAT THING don't get me wrong. What exactly is this armor of God's we are to wear so that we are doing EVERYTHING within our own power to stand. I say our power because of this one action- CHOOSING to put on the armor- that's totally ON US, our CHOICE, all the rest of the power is in GOD'S armor and it is by HIS power alone the armor exists and works in our favor.
The ARMOR-
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness
Girt loins.
Breastplate.
Grecian armor-
'The Girdle; this went about the loins, and served to brace the armor tight to the body, and to support daggers, short swords, and such like weapons, which were frequently stuck in it. This kind of girdle is in general use among the Asiatic nations to the present day.' -- Clarke
'The Breast-Plate; this consisted of two parts, called pte???e? or wings: one covered the whole region of the thorax or breast, in which the principal viscera of life are contained; and the other covered the back, as far down as the front part extended.' -- Clarke
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
Footwear.
'Greaves or brazen boots, which covered the shin or front of the leg; a kind of solea was often used, which covered the sole, and laced about the instep, and prevented the foot from being wounded by rugged ways, thorns, stones, etc.' -- Clarke
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Shield.
'The clypeus or Shield; it was perfectly round, and sometimes made of wood, covered with bullocks’ hides; but often made of metal. The aspis or shield of Achilles, made by Vulcan, was composed of five plates, two of brass, two of tin, and one of gold; so Homer, Il. U. v. 270:' -- Clarke
'Of shields there were several sorts:
Ge????? or ?e??a, the gerron; a small square shield, used first by the Persians.
?a?s?????, Laiseion; a sort of oblong shield, covered with rough hides, or skins with the hair on.
?e?t?, the Pelta; a small light shield, nearly in the form of a demicrescent, with a small ornament, similar to the recurved leaves of a flower de luce, on the center of a diagonal edge or straight line; this was the Amazonian shield.
T??e??, the scutum or Oblong Shield; this was always made of wood, and covered with hides. It was exactly in the shape of the laiseion, but differed in size, being much larger, and being covered with hides from which the hair had been taken off. It was called ???e?? from ???a, a door, which it resembled in its oblong shape; but it was made curved, so as to embrace the whole forepart of the body. The aspis and the thureos were the shields principally in use; the former for light, the latter for heavy armed troops.' -- Clarke
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
Helmet.
Sword.
'The Helmet; this was the armor for the head, and was of various forms, and embossed with a great variety of figures. Connected with the helmet was the crest or ridge on the top of the helmet, adorned with several emblematic figures; some for ornament, some to strike terror. For crests on ancient helmets we often see the winged lion, the griffin, chimera, etc. St. Paul seems to refer to one which had an emblematical representation of hope.' -- Clarke
'The Sword; these were of various sizes, and in the beginning all of brass. The swords of Homer’s heroes are all of this metal.' --Clarke
Girt Loins.
Breastplate.
Footwear.
Shield.
Helmet.
Sword.
And Clarke also had this note-
'1. That the ancient Greeks and Romans went constantly armed;
2. That before they engaged they always ate together; and
3. That they commenced every attack with prayer to the gods for success.'
--Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
By the GRACE of our LORD-- more on this tomorrow! All in HIS LOVE.
We have to believe, we have to choose!
Continuing our study of the WHOLE armor of GOD it is worth noting that this is the second time we are told to TAKE THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD. Why is it worth noting? Because obviously if we are being told something more than once it MUST be important. The WHOLE armor of GOD and our TAKING it is extremely important and yet this is something not very many in the grand scheme of things seem to think worth bothering about.
The spiritual realm.
I hope you believe it is a reality and as such that it is working around us all the time day and night affecting us constantly for good and bad.
Here in this verse it is mentioned that the reason for taking this WHOLE armor of GOD is so that we will be able to withstand in the EVIL DAY- having done ALL to stand.
The EVIL DAY.
What would you think if I told you this-- "Take your umbrella to protect you in the rainy day."
You'd most likely think that I want you to be prepared for a rainy day- any rainy day, right? This EVIL DAY spoken of is any day that is EVIL. We don't know when we will be attacked spiritually. We could be attacked daily, hourly, minutely, or maybe weekly, monthly, yearly. We just don't know when or where an attack will come from. Not only don't we know when or where, we don't know what sort of attack it will be- some are much more blatant than others. One thing we can know is when we are struggling with ANYTHING, we can be sure that there is an unseen battle going on around us.
No, I’m not using this as an excuse, no one can use it as an excuse because WE ultimately make the choices of how we handle the attacks. We can succumb to them and let them destroy us- many, many people do. We can overcome them but ONLY by the power of our SAVIOR, any other any sort of overcoming is false and oh so very deceptive.
There isn't a single struggle, not a single bit of strife that isn't egged on by the unseen spirits. We can ignore the unseen spirits working around us and most people do, but we aren't told to ignore them, are we? We are told to put on armor - in fact the WHOLE armor of GOD so that we can stand.
Now let me ask you a question, if we are told to put on armor so we can stand do you suppose it's to simple stand still, to be like one of those empty statue suits of armors that never, ever move? Is this armor a reality? Is it useful armor in being more than protective - which is a GREAT THING don't get me wrong. What exactly is this armor of God's we are to wear so that we are doing EVERYTHING within our own power to stand. I say our power because of this one action- CHOOSING to put on the armor- that's totally ON US, our CHOICE, all the rest of the power is in GOD'S armor and it is by HIS power alone the armor exists and works in our favor.
The ARMOR-
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness
Girt loins.
Breastplate.
Grecian armor-
'The Girdle; this went about the loins, and served to brace the armor tight to the body, and to support daggers, short swords, and such like weapons, which were frequently stuck in it. This kind of girdle is in general use among the Asiatic nations to the present day.' -- Clarke
'The Breast-Plate; this consisted of two parts, called pte???e? or wings: one covered the whole region of the thorax or breast, in which the principal viscera of life are contained; and the other covered the back, as far down as the front part extended.' -- Clarke
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
Footwear.
'Greaves or brazen boots, which covered the shin or front of the leg; a kind of solea was often used, which covered the sole, and laced about the instep, and prevented the foot from being wounded by rugged ways, thorns, stones, etc.' -- Clarke
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Shield.
'The clypeus or Shield; it was perfectly round, and sometimes made of wood, covered with bullocks’ hides; but often made of metal. The aspis or shield of Achilles, made by Vulcan, was composed of five plates, two of brass, two of tin, and one of gold; so Homer, Il. U. v. 270:' -- Clarke
'Of shields there were several sorts:
Ge????? or ?e??a, the gerron; a small square shield, used first by the Persians.
?a?s?????, Laiseion; a sort of oblong shield, covered with rough hides, or skins with the hair on.
?e?t?, the Pelta; a small light shield, nearly in the form of a demicrescent, with a small ornament, similar to the recurved leaves of a flower de luce, on the center of a diagonal edge or straight line; this was the Amazonian shield.
T??e??, the scutum or Oblong Shield; this was always made of wood, and covered with hides. It was exactly in the shape of the laiseion, but differed in size, being much larger, and being covered with hides from which the hair had been taken off. It was called ???e?? from ???a, a door, which it resembled in its oblong shape; but it was made curved, so as to embrace the whole forepart of the body. The aspis and the thureos were the shields principally in use; the former for light, the latter for heavy armed troops.' -- Clarke
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
Helmet.
Sword.
'The Helmet; this was the armor for the head, and was of various forms, and embossed with a great variety of figures. Connected with the helmet was the crest or ridge on the top of the helmet, adorned with several emblematic figures; some for ornament, some to strike terror. For crests on ancient helmets we often see the winged lion, the griffin, chimera, etc. St. Paul seems to refer to one which had an emblematical representation of hope.' -- Clarke
'The Sword; these were of various sizes, and in the beginning all of brass. The swords of Homer’s heroes are all of this metal.' --Clarke
Girt Loins.
Breastplate.
Footwear.
Shield.
Helmet.
Sword.
And Clarke also had this note-
'1. That the ancient Greeks and Romans went constantly armed;
2. That before they engaged they always ate together; and
3. That they commenced every attack with prayer to the gods for success.'
--Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible
By the GRACE of our LORD-- more on this tomorrow! All in HIS LOVE.
We have to believe, we have to choose!
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