“Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Ephesians 6.13
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature.” (NIV)
Colossians 3.5
In responding to some comments on a blog-post about demon-possession, I was struck by some paradoxes in the Spiritual Armor text in Ephesians 6. In thinking about this passage, some literary techniques employed by most of the inspired writers of the biblical texts came to mind: metaphor, hyperbole, euphemism, simile and symbol, among others. I began to wonder to what degree did Paul use metaphor in talking about Spiritual Armor.
Clearly, Paul based his comments on Isaiah 59.17: “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.” The question is, does God actually wear armor, or was Isaiah using a simile (comparing two dissimilar things in a phrase introduced with like or as) to say something important about the Lord? Earlier, Isaiah described his vision of the Lord in the Temple in part by saying, “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” Was the train of God’s robe (Does God “wear” a robe?) literally filling the Temple? Just as Isaiah was saying something about the power of the Lord in 59.17, he was declaring in 6.1 the reality of God’s presence in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Lord’s presence completely filled the Temple.
Now, Paul was a skillful writer. He used rabbinic methods of argument; he employed aspects of Greek rhetoric; and, he used metaphors, hyperbole and analogy. For instance, Colossians 3.5 is hyperbole: kill, or put to death. Can one actually put to death an emotion? How do we slay a sensual desire? If, though, Paul was simply over-stating his case, he in fact was saying do whatever is necessary to do away with destructive desires in one’s life. As for analogy, in Colossians 3.7, Paul said, “you used to walk in these ways.” Many times in Scripture, “to walk” is analogous to “living one’s life” (see Gen. 5.24; Eph. 2.2)
In deciding to what point, if any, Paul was using analogy in Ephesians 6.14-17, we must look first at some obvious paradoxes in that text. The first is, how do you put on the armor? A similar paradox is found in Colossians 3.8-10, Paul spoke twice of “taking off” (as a garment) the practices of the old self and “putting on” (as a garment) the new self. What are the dynamics of taking off and putting on? Nonetheless, we are to “wrap ourselves” with the armor of God and “clothe” ourselves with the new self.
The second paradox is in the actual parts of the armor. Of those, righteousness, faith and salvation are the most important concepts to consider. Here’s the paradox: if we can put something on, can we take it off? If you can “put on” the helmet of salvation, can you take that helmet off? The implication is stunning. If you can both put it on and take it off, then, one can both claim and disavow his salvation. Faith and righteousness are tied together. Paul told the Romans, “therefore, since we have been justified through faith.” (Rom. 5.1) To be justified is to be declared righteous. Paul made that point when he quoted Genesis 15.6, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Rom. 43). So, by faith, one is declared righteous. We must then ask, can one lay down the very faith through which righteousness was credited? Further, if one lays down his righteousness, he then takes back his sin, thus, nullifying the Cross. Considering what Paul said to the Colossians, if one does not put on the new man, does he remain “clothed” in the old self? If, though, as Paul told the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 5.17, “therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come,” can we undo what Christ has done?
We must not run the risk of over-literalizing the armor and new self metaphors. If we do, we are faced with the dilemma of “putting on” and “taking off.” Rather, we should look to the deeper truth Paul was declaring. Salvation, faith and righteousness are ours through what Christ did on the Cross. Since they are ours, granted to us by God, then we should take maximum advantage of these realities. To the Greeks, the head was the source of life. Christ, through his saving act, protects and preserves our lives. Righteousness is as a breastplate, protecting our hearts, the center of our being. In the depth of our being, we are sinless, having had all our sin forgiven. Faith extinguishes the fiery darts of the evil one, his lies. Is faith in our faith how the lies are extinguished. No. Our fundamental trust in God and the truth of his Word is now the lies are exposed for what they are.
No one has to “put on” their salvation every morning. Neither can we take it off. So, once the armor is on, we can never take it off. If you could take it off, say at the end of the day, what would happen to you when you were sleeping?
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