As we start this new year, let us return to our series on the armor of God and explore what St. Paul was writing about when he urged the Ephesians to “put on the whole armor of God.”
While there are many similarities between Roman military armor and the divine armor, the image St. Paul utilizes is more likely “linked with Yahweh’s spiritual armor than with the military gear of a Roman soldier.”[1] In fact, the “weapon metaphors” hearken back to the armor of God featured in Isaiah 59:15-17, where it is written that
The Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice…then His own arm brought Him victory, and His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head; He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself in fury as a mantle.[2] (emphasis added)
At the same time, Paul is also alluding to Wisdom 5:17-20, where it is written:
The Lord will take His zeal as His whole armor, and will arm all creation to repel His enemies; He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice as a helmet; He will take holiness as an invincible shield, and sharpen stern wrath for a sword, and creation will join Him to fight against the madmen. (emphasis added)
As it can be seen, Paul is drawing heavily from these two passages and even directly quotes the words of Isaiah and Wisdom when he writes about the “breastplate of righteousness” and the “helmet of salvation.” In this light, the divine armor that a Christian must put on are not mere “human virtues but rather effects of God’s own might, which provides protection in the fight against the invisible powers that cause tribulations and temptations.”[3] This means that the armor is not something acquired by a Christian’s merits or force of the will, but is a gift from God Himself. It is an armor that God provides and an armor that God Himself wears when going into battle against the evil forces at work in the world. Taking up the “armor of God” makes the Christian ready to “do battle in God’s cosmic campaign to spread righteousness throughout the world.”[4]
In examining the list of divine armor, Saint Paul uses the previous mentioned lists in the Old Testament as a template, combines them and adds at least one piece of armor. The “only new element not previously encountered in the letter is the Spirit’s sword, ‘the word of God,’ which is most likely the gospel, not the Scriptures.”[5] Since the sword of the Spirit is the Gospel in particular rather than the scriptures of the Jewish people, Yahweh’s armor is put into a new context and is given specifically to Christians engaged in the fight to spread forth the Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed.
The armor is truly Christ’s armor and becomes necessary for those desiring to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Additionally, the weaponry mentioned is “both offensive (sword) and defensive (breastplate, shield, helmet, protective footwear), enabling us to ward off the powers of darkness and to guard ourselves from exposure to their tactics.”[6]
In the new year, let us all make a “New Year’s Resolution” to “put on the whole armor of God,” asking God to give us the armor and weapons necessary to ward off the numerous attacks of the Evil One. Let us remember, it is only through God’s strength that we will ever be able to win the daily battles of being a Christian.
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[1] Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, “Ephesians,” In The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The New Testament, (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010), 353.
[2] Nils Alstrup Dahl, “Ephesians,” In Harper’s Bible Commentary, edited by James L. Mays et al., (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), 1219.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Michael J.Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 527.
[5] Ibid, 528
[6] Hahn, 353.