"Put on the full armor of God that you may stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11)
The third word that needs to be examined is the word "full." In the King James version, the word "whole" is used. Searching an exhaustive concordance though, there are no references to the word "whole." So when in doubt, go to the original language, Greek. In the Greek, the word is (pan-op-lia) meaning full armor. This is probably the most important word in this verse, yet are that could be most overlooked.
Paul tells the Ephesians and to future disciples of Christ to "put on the full armor of God." He didn't tell them to put on just some of the armament, but all. Christians just can't prepare for battle with the principalities of darkness with selected pieces of armor of God provides. Christians must wear "all" of the armament to be effective.
Each of the pieces cover a different part of a Christian's body with the last, the sword being our source of weakening the enemy. The breastplate of righteousness protects a Christian's major organs that of faith, hope, and love. The helmet helps to protect the head. The helmet of faith protects the Christian from thoughts that can keep God's work of sanctification from being completed. And last, is the shield of faith. This is used to protect the Christian soldier by deflecting the full impact of the enemy's blow either from land, or by the air. The deadliest blow can be deflected. The shield of faith is trusting who God is and what He is doing when battling a mighty enemy such as Satan. Even though Satan is defeated, a Christian can never leave any part of himself open to be wounded by the enemy. For a wounded soldier is of little use to further the kingdom of God.
The third word that needs to be examined is the word "full." In the King James version, the word "whole" is used. Searching an exhaustive concordance though, there are no references to the word "whole." So when in doubt, go to the original language, Greek. In the Greek, the word is (pan-op-lia) meaning full armor. This is probably the most important word in this verse, yet are that could be most overlooked.
Paul tells the Ephesians and to future disciples of Christ to "put on the full armor of God." He didn't tell them to put on just some of the armament, but all. Christians just can't prepare for battle with the principalities of darkness with selected pieces of armor of God provides. Christians must wear "all" of the armament to be effective.
Each of the pieces cover a different part of a Christian's body with the last, the sword being our source of weakening the enemy. The breastplate of righteousness protects a Christian's major organs that of faith, hope, and love. The helmet helps to protect the head. The helmet of faith protects the Christian from thoughts that can keep God's work of sanctification from being completed. And last, is the shield of faith. This is used to protect the Christian soldier by deflecting the full impact of the enemy's blow either from land, or by the air. The deadliest blow can be deflected. The shield of faith is trusting who God is and what He is doing when battling a mighty enemy such as Satan. Even though Satan is defeated, a Christian can never leave any part of himself open to be wounded by the enemy. For a wounded soldier is of little use to further the kingdom of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment