Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 6:11
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
11. Put on ] For the word, cp. Rom 13:12; Rom 13:14 (a close parallel); 1Co 15:53-54; 2Co 5:3; Gal 3:27 (a parallel); above, Eph 4:24; below, 14; Col 3:10; Col 3:12; 1Th 5:8 (a close parallel). In 1 Thess. and Rom. (just quoted) we have, so to speak, the germs of the developed imagery of this later-written passage. In them, as here, the believer, already (from another point of view, that of covenant and possession) clothed and armed with his Lord, is exhorted so to realize and to use what he has that it shall be like a new clothing and arming.
the whole armour ] One word in the Gr., panoplia. It occurs in N.T. elsewhere only Luk 11:22 and here Eph 6:13. In the Apocrypha it is not infrequent. Cp. esp. Wis 5:17 &c., a very close parallel here as regards the picture: “He (the Lord) shall take His zeal as a panoply, and make the creature His weapon for the defeat of His enemies; He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, and shall make true judgment His helmet; He shall take sanctity as His invincible shield, and shall whet severe wrath as His sword, &c.” These words may very possibly have been in the Apostle’s memory. But far more certainly he had present there Isa 59:16-17, itself the probable ground of the imagery in Wisdom.
The word panoplia admits no doubt of a looser application in usage; it may mean armour, complete or not. But its strict meaning, “ whole armour,” is precisely in point here, where the stress of thought is on the one secret of spiritual strength; the need of Divine safeguard, and nothing less, for the whole emergency.
Cp. again 1 Thessalonians 5 and Romans 13 for parallels, or rather germs, of this passage. There, as here, the image of “putting on” is connected with that of “armour.” And in Rom. distinctly, and in 1 Thess. implicitly, the armour is seen to be reducible ultimately, as here, to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. St Jerome says here, “From what we read in the passage following, and from the things said in all the Scriptures concerning the Lord (our) Saviour, it most clearly results that by ‘all the arms of God’ the Saviour is to be understood.”
of God ] Supplied by Him, having been wrought by Him. For such a conflict nothing less will do than what is wholly His in origin and gift.
that ye may be able ] It is implied that thus, while only thus, the militant Christian shall be able. No inadequacy in his equipment is to be feared.
to stand ] The key-word of the passage. The present picture is not of a march, or of an assault, but of the holding of the fortress of the soul and of the Church for the heavenly King. Bunyan’s “Mr Standfast” is a portrait that may illustrate this page. So again below, Eph 6:13-14.
wiles ] Lit, “ methods ”; stratagems. The Gr. word occurs (in Scripture) only here and above, Eph 4:14 (where R.V. “ wiles ”). For the formidable fact of the deliberate and subtle plans of the great Enemy, carefully concealed but skilfully combined on weak points, cp. 2Co 2:11; 1Pe 2:11, (where render “ carry on a campaign against the soul”). In this respect, as in so many others, the Temptation of the Lord Himself is a picture of that of His followers; a series of veiled attacks, upon points thought weak, by the most subtle of created intellects. In 1Pe 5:8 the same Enemy appears acting, as he sometimes does, in another way; by violence and terror.
the devil ] See on Eph 2:2 for considerations on his personality as recognized by St Paul. This designation ( diabolos, accuser,) appears above, Eph 4:27, and elsewhere in St Paul, Act 13:10; 1Ti 3:6-7 , 2Ti 2:26; besides Heb 2:14. It is frequent with St Matthew, St Luke, and St John. In the LXX. it is the regular equivalent, though not the precise translation, of the Heb. Stn (the Adversary); e.g. Job 1-2; Zec 3:1-2. One of the terrible characteristics of the Adversary of the Son of God is the aim and effort to bring believing man into condemnation; hence his accusations of the saints. Cp. the Book of Job especially, and Rev 12:10 (where, however, another word than diabolos is used). Nor let it be forgotten that his first assault on man (Gen 3:5) was made by means of accusation against God, as grudging a good gift to man.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Put on the whole armor of God – The whole description here is derived from the weapons of an ancient soldier. The various parts of those weapons – constituting the whole panoply – are specified in Eph 6:14-17. The word rendered whole armor panoplian, panoply), means complete armor, offensive and defensive; see Luk 11:22; Rom 13:12 note; 2Co 6:7 note. The armor of God is not that which God wears, but that which he has provided for the Christian soldier. The meaning here is:
(1) That we are not to provide in our warfare such weapons as people employ in their contests, but such as God provides; that we are to renounce the weapons which are carnal, and put on such as God has directed for the achievement of the victory.
(2) We are to put on the whole armor. We are not to go armed partly with what God has appointed, and partly with such weapons as people use; nor are we to put on a part of the armor only, but the whole of it. A man needs all that armor if he is about to fight the battles of the Lord; and if he lacks one of the weapons which God has appointed, defeat may be the consequence.
That ye may be able to stand – The foes are so numerous and mighty, that unless clothed with the divine armor, victory will be impossible.
Against the wiles of the devil – The word rendered wiles ( methodeia), means properly that which is traced out with method; that which is methodized; and then that which is well laid – art, skill, cunning. It occurs in the New Testament only in Eph 4:14, and in this place. It is appropriately rendered here as wiles, meaning cunning devices, arts, attempts to delude and destroy us. The wiles of the devil are the various arts and stratagems which he employs to drag souls down to perdition. We can more easily encounter open force than we can cunning; and we need the weapons of Christian armor to meet the attempts to draw us into a snare, as much as to meet open force. The idea here is, that Satan does not carry on an open warfare. He does not meet the Christian soldier face to face. He advances covertly; makes his approaches in darkness; employs cunning rather than power, and seeks rather to delude and betray than to vanquish by mere force. Hence, the necessity of being constantly armed to meet him whenever the attack is made. A man who has to contend with a visible enemy, may feel safe if he only prepares to meet him in the open field. But far different is the case if the enemy is invisible; if he steals upon us slyly and stealthily; if he practices war only by ambushes and by surprises. Such is the foe that we have to contend with – and almost all the Christian struggle is a warfare against stratagems and wiles. Satan does not openly appear. He approaches us not in repulsive forms, but comes to recommend some plausible doctrine, to lay before us some temptation that shall not immediately repel us. He presents the world in an alluring aspect; invites us to pleasures that seem to be harmless, and leads us in indulgence until we have gone so far that we cannot retreat.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Eph 6:11
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Gods armoury
There stands on the banks of the Thames a grim old fortress, well known to all as the Tower of London. In that fortress, with its memories of Roman and Norman, of Plantagenet, Tudor, and Stuart, there is a wonderful collection of weapons and armour. As you look on those relies of bygone ages, you seem to be reading chapters from the History of England. One suit of mail recalls the rush of the Normans up the hill at Hastings, and the bloody fight at Senlac. Yonder mighty two-handed sword brings back the meeting of stern barons at Runnymead, and the signing of the great Charter. There are arms which tell of Crecy, and Poitiers, where men fled before the sable armour of the Black Prince. There, two, are weapons which remind us of the fatal wars of the Roses, the awful slaughter at Flodden, and the fight at Bosworth, where a crown was lost and won. There are gorgeous trappings which take us back to the field of the Cloth of Gold; and sturdy breastplates which bore the stroke of Cavalier sword, and Puritan pike, at Naseby and Marston Moor. But I would take you into a different armoury today, where the weapons and armour tell of yet fiercer battles, and yet more brilliant victories; where we may not only look on the armour of others, but may choose some for ourselves. This armoury is Gods, and it recalls the history of His Church militant here on earth, the battles and the triumphs of the soldiers of the Cross. O grand and glorious armoury of God! Let us enter there and choose our weapons. But, first, be sure that you have a battle to fight. There are too many of us who like the name of Christian without its responsibility. These desire to be soldiers of Christ, but not on active service. The battle may be fiercer sometimes than at others, but to the end we must be fighting. Never forget that the true service of Jesus in the world means hardness, means watchfulness, means self-denial, means, above all things, fighting.. Come then, today, into the armoury, and choose your weapons; ask Jesus to give you the whole armour of God. Cast away any untried, worthless armour, in which you have been trusting. Say with David, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. Are you trusting to your respectability? The keen arrows of temptation will pierce right through it, and wound your soul! then the good name in which you trusted will be dishonoured and disgraced. What breastplate are you wearing? Self-righteousness? You have never committed grievous sin, you say, you are not like some of your neighbours. There is the grievous sin at once, the belief that you are better than other people. The devil will strike through that breastplate as easily as through one of paper. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall. O man of the world, walking among the worldly wise, whose wisdom is not of God, gird on your armour. See that you have the breastplate of righteousness, of right dealing. Let the weapons of the false, and the knavish, and the unjust, strike there and be blunted. See that the girdle of truth is not loosened, and feel that you dare not tell a lie. O brothers and sisters, who are sorely tempted in one way or another, be among those who fight. When David was once going to battle he had no sword, and they showed him that with which he had smitten off the head of the giant. Then said David, There is none like that, give it me. You have such a sword, and you can trust to it. Do you remember that prayer with which you conquered that giant temptation, that impure thought, that angry passion, that wrong deed? Try it again. Say, There is none like that, give it me. And, finally, have on your right hand, as a gauntlet, a firm determination, a fixed resolution to hold fast to that which is right, and by Gods help to go on to the end. (H. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.)
The Christian armour
I. Explain the nature of the Christian armour.
1. It is armour for every part, except the back, which is provided with no defence, to show that the Christian is never to quit the field, but to face his enemies.
2. The armour is of every sort, offensive and defensive, both to protect the Christian, and to annoy his enemies.
3. It is armour that has been proved.
4. This armour is spiritual, and is intended only for spiritual purposes. It is called the armour of light, in allusion perhaps to the bright and glittering army of the Romans, and to show that it is for ornament as well as for defence. It is also armour of righteousness, designed only for righteous persons and righteous purposes; it cannot therefore be rendered subservient to acts of violence and oppression. It is provided by a righteous God, and His righteous word is the rule for using it (Rom 13:12; 2Co 6:7).
5. It is called the armour of God, to denote its transcendent excellency and usefulness, and that it is provided by His special grace.
II. Consider the necessity of putting on the whole armour of God.
1. We are in a state of warfare, exposed to innumerable enemies: and if not called to fight, we should not need to be armed.
2. We are naturally unprepared for this contest, having no means of defence, and therefore need to put on the armour of God. We must be equipped from Gods armoury, for no weapon of our own will be able to defend us.
3. Putting on this armour implies that we see our need of it, and that we use it for the purposes intended. Though we are not saved for our endeavours, yet neither can we be saved without them. We cannot exert ourselves too much in this warfare, nor depend upon our exertions too little.
4. The spiritual armour is not designed for show, like weapons that are hung up in some houses, but for use, and therefore it must be put on.
5. We must be careful to take to ourselves the whole armour of God, for a part of it will not avail. Such is the variety of Satans temptations and the worlds allurements that the whole of it is but sufficient for our defence; and should any part be left unguarded, a mortal wound might be inflicted. He is also mightier than we are, and we are no match for him, unless we put on the whole armour of God, and place our trust in His holy name. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
The Christian warfare
I. The danger to which we are exposed. As in other cases, so in this: our greatest danger lies in not feeling our danger, and so not being prepared to meet it.
1. View the enemy we have to contend with. He bears an inveterate hatred against us, and seeks nothing less than our destruction and eternal overthrow.
2. He is mightier than we are; and, unless we have help from above, we are no match for him.
3. An artful enemy.
4. Invisible.
5. Near us.
6. What is worse, he has a strong party within us.
7. On the issue of this warfare depend all our hopes.
II. The armour provided for us.
1. In general, this armour is the grace of the gospel.
2. A whole or perfect armour, sufficient to defend us in every part.
3. The use to be made of it is that we may be able to withstand and face the enemy.
III. The necessity of putting on this armour, or taking it to ourselves. Armour is of no avail, unless it be used.
IV. The inducement to do this. That we may withstand in the evil day, etc. (Theological Sketchbook.)
The means of standing sure
1.Christians are soldiers. Our life is a warfare. The Church here is militant. God has thus disposed our state on earth for weighty reasons.
(1) The more to manifest His pity, power, providence, and truth in keeping promise. The straits whereunto in this world we are brought, the promises which God has made to deliver us, and the many deliverances which we have, show that God pities us in our distresses, that He is provident and careful for our good, and wise in disposing evil to good; that He is able to deliver us, and faithful in doing it.
(2) To make proof of the gifts He bestows on His children. A soldiers valour is not known but in war.
(3) To wean them the better from this world.
2. The graces of Gods Spirit are for safeguard and defence.
(1) Those who want them must seek them.
(2) Those who have them must use them.
3. The Christians armour is the armour of God.
(1) It is made of God, even in heaven.
(2) It is prescribed of God, even in His Word.
(3) It is given of God, even by His Spirit.
(4) It is agreeable to God, even to His will.
4. It is spiritual armour; therefore suitable for defence against spiritual foes.
5. It is a complete armour, every way sufficient.
(1) Sufficient to defend us in every part.
(2) Sufficient to keep off and thrust back every assault and every dart of our spiritual enemies.
6. Christians ought to be well furnished always, and well prepared with the graces of Gods Spirit. They must ever have them in readiness at hand to use them, and make proof of them. As armour rusting by the wall side, as fire smothered with ashes, as money cankering in chests, so are the graces of Gods Spirit if they be not employed. Though in themselves they be never so excellent, yet to us and others they are fruitless and unprofitable, without a right use of them.
7. The power of every sanctifying grace must be manifest in the life of a Christian.
8. Gods assistance and mans endeavour are joined together. Without Gods mighty power man can do nothing; unless man put on the whole armour of God, God will do nothing. (William Gouge.)
The end and benefit of Christian armour
1.There is no hope, no possibility of remaining safe, without spiritual armour.
2. They who put on the armour of God, and use it as they ought, are safe and sure, and so may be secure.
3. Those who are without armour can have no hope to stand.
(1) Without this armour we are naked, and lie open to every dart and shot of our spiritual enemies; and are no more able to free ourselves from the power of the devil than a poor silly lamb or kid from a roaring lion or ravenous bear.
(2) By neglecting to use this armour provided of God, we provoke God to east us into the power of our enemies, and to give them power over us.
4. Those who use their armour are sure to stand. (William Gouge.)
The spiritual warfare
That such a war subsists, and is carrying on, is told us in the text, wherein the armour of God and the wiles of the devil are set in opposition the one to the other. Christ invades Satans kingdom, arming His servants; and Satan leaves no art untried to maintain his dominion, and restrain the progress of the conqueror.
I. Of the occasion of the war. This was partly the success of Satan upon our first parents; and partly Gods jealousy for His honour, and His pity for fallen man.
II. The designs of the one and the other. Satan has lost nothing of the pride, rage, and malice of an apostate spirit, therefore he cannot cease sinning. His revenge and rebellion against God are implacable; however much he trembles before the Son of God, yet he will not submit to Him; his proud malice is nothing abated; he roars against the government of God, seeking whom he may devour. Ceaselessly he labours to defeat the kingdom of the Redeemer, and to set up his own against it.
III. Where is the seat of action? In our hearts. There the devil has a natural right, and thence Christ would dispossess him. Satan, by the Fall, both ruined the original purity of mans nature, and also introduced a sad defilement into both the parts of us, soul and body; rendering the one proud, and the other carnal. To destroy this work of the devil, restoring to us the image of God, taking away our pride, and spiritualizing our affections, is Christs business.
IV. Let us consider the manner of the fight. The weapons of Satan are carnal; those of Christ, spiritual. Those of Satan are worldly things, whereby he endeavours to gratify pride, or to nurse indulgence. Jesus, on the other hand, comes with the word of truth, and the power of the Spirit.
V. The issue of this war, on the one part and the other. This will be the triumph of the Redeemer, and the confusion of the adversary. (S. Walker, B. A.)
Christ versus Satan
I. We are to consider the method of Christs assault upon the kingdom: of satan in the heart of a sinner, in order to gain him out of the enemys hand; and also the wiles which the devil uses to disappoint the Redeemers attempt and to keep the sinner in his service. While I am opening this point, it will be evidently seen how the devil wars at all disadvantage; that he must set up falsehood against truth, and temporal against eternal motives; that he cannot foretell the issue of one step he takes, while all his steps are plainly seen and foreseen, in all their consequences, by the Redeemer; that while Satan hath not the least power or strength to oppose one motion of His, He can easily turn all the counsels of Satan back upon himself; in a word, that in respect of Jesus, Satan is a poor, blind, weak, insignificant enemy. What, then, gives him so much success? It is neither his power, vigilance, nor cunning; what are these in respect of the might care, and wisdom of the Redeemer? No, sinners, it is your wilfulness; it is this alone gives him advantage. Now, that I may plainly set before you the method of Christs attack upon Satan in the heart of a sinner, and Satans devices to disappoint the success of it, you must be shown the state wherein Christ finds the sinner; His methods with him; and Satans counterplot to defeat them.
1. The state wherein Christ finds the sinner. In sin–committing sin, an enemy to God, godliness, and godly men.
2. The methods Christ uses with the heart of the sinner, in order to dispossess Satan of his dominion over it. The Spirit working by the Word, and impressing the various motives which the Word contains effectually upon the heart.
3. Satans wiles to disappoint the convictions which the Redeemer, by the Word and Spirit, has made upon the heart of a sinner.
(1) He may try to catch away the word of conviction by exciting presumption. If the constitution be warm, and a man is naturally bold and hardy (not as many others are, apt to fear in any great undertaking), when the Spirit hath begun to awaken the soul, by the terrors of the Lord, to a strong desire of fleeing from the wrath to come, the work of religion will, of course, seem not so difficult a thing as it is spoken of. Satan, then, will correspond with these views. The sinner shall seem to himself as if he had already overcome.
(2) Another sort of awakened sinners may be as continually fearful, as these we have been speaking of are bold and hardy. When such are awakened, the enemy, most likely, will be working with them to make them discouraged, and to harass them with fears, till they yield. With these he magnifies everything, and swells up mole hills to mountains in their apprehension.
(3) If the enemy cannot prevail by means of presumption or fear, he will endeavour, by the pleasures or cares of the world, to catch away the impression which Christ has made upon the sinners heart by the Word and Spirit. These are his subtle devices against the soul of a sinner. When there are some stirrings of infelt concern about the judgment and wrath to come, the devil knows how to make advantage of worldly pleasure and care, upon those whom he hath held in subjection by the love of the one or the other. He can plead that pleasure is harmless, and care is needful, till, by the entertainment of the one, and solicitude of the other, the gracious conviction is done away.
(4) The last wile of the devil to keep the awakened sinner for his service, is an attempt to detain him from the throne of grace.
II. I am now, in the second place, more directly with the design of the text, to describe to you the wiles of the devil against Christ in the persons of believers, whereby he endeavours to shake their constancy, and to render them disserviceable to the cause wherein they are engaged; and likewise the armour Christ hath prepared for their defence, as well as for making them fit to serve successfully under Him against the kingdom of darkness. Satan hath many wiles for those who believe, and are gone over to Jesus; if He cannot draw them back he will harass them, lay bars in their way, try to render them less fruitful, and less serviceable to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. In order to resist them we must put on–
1. Truth, or sincerity.
2. Righteousness; that is, the practice of all holiness.
3. The preparation of the gospel, or firmness, readiness, and constancy in all cases.
4. Faith, namely, in the promises of God in Christ. This must be put on above, or over all, because faith preserves all other graces.
5. The hope of salvation.
6. The Word of God.
7. Prayer.
8. Watchfulness.
9. Supplication for all saints.
Then the Christian is prepared for all the wiles of the devil. All these he must put on, not one excepted, because one and another of these things can only preserve us from this and that wile wherewith the devil will beset us. (S. Walker, B. A.)
The Christian armour
1. A call to arms. Religious life is sometimes called peace in believing. But let us not forget that there is nowhere in this world any peace which has not been wrought out in stubborn conflict, which is not now the achievement of valiant service for the truth. The soldiers of the cross do not enlist to go at once into the hospital, or sit around the door of a sutlers tent. It is to be feared that too much stress is laid upon the emotional and experimental part of piety in this easy day of ours. Too many young princes go off into dangerous Zulu-land for curious inquiry or mere love of adventure. There was (so we are told) once an English poet, who took position in a lofty tower that he might see a real battle. He seems to have had great prosperity, for the world has not yet done praising his versified description of the rushing onset, the tumult, and the carnage, by Iser rolling rapidly. Now, nobody need hope to become acquainted with the solemn realities of life by merely gazing out upon it from a protected belfry, as Campbell did on Hohenlinden field. We cannot make a poem out of it. There are awful certainties of exposure, and necessities of attack, which disdain figures and rhythms of mere music. And, moreover, we are combatants, not spectators; we are in the onset, and the shock is at hand. There is no discharge in that war.
2. It is best to avoid all confusion at once, and ascertain who are our adversaries; specially, who leads on the host. Here the apostle speaks clearly, if only people would listen: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Two kingdoms, said Ignatius Loyola, divide the world; the kingdom of Emmanuel, and the kingdom of Satan. This the whole Bible admits; but nowhere can there be found even so much as one text which intimates that Christ and the devil are on equal terms. Satan is a created being; he had a maker, and he now has a ruler. He wages at present only a permitted warfare for a limited season. His onsets are well called wiles, for he shuns open fields, and deals best in ambuscades and secret plots. There is awful force in the expression, the devil and his angels; for it shows us Satan is not alone in his work. He is the prince fiend of a fiendish clan. I have somewhere seen a picture on which was represented a human soul in its hour of conflict. It was as if the invisible world had for a moment been made visible by the rare skill of the artist. There, around the tried and anxious man, these emissaries of Satan were gathered. Dim, ethereal forms luridly shone out on every side. One might see the tempting offer of a crown over his head; but he would have to examine, quite closely before he could discover how each braided bar of gold in the diadem was twined in so as to conceal a lurking fiend in the folds. Then there was just visible a serpent with demoniac eyes coiled in the bottom of the goblet from which he was invited to drink. Foul whispers were plying either ear. There were baleful fires of lust in the glances of those who sought his companionship. A beautiful angel drew nigh; but a skeleton of death could be traced beneath the white robes he had stolen. I cannot say it was a welcome picture; but certainly there was a lesson in it. Among the noisy critics who gaily pronounced on its characteristics, I noticed there was one thoughtful man who turned aside and wept. Perhaps he knew what it meant.
3. Is there no defence against all this? Surely, every Christian remembers the armour which Paul catalogues in detail: Wherefore, take unto you, etc. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
An exhortation and an argument
The words contain an exhortation enforced by an argument.
I. The argument–That ye may, etc. In handling the argument we will consider–The devil is one who strikes through another by slander, or false accusation. Concerning this being, observe–
1. He is very miserable.
2. He was once happy.
3. Sin has made him miserable.
4. He is very powerful, malicious, and vigilant.
5. In his person and agency, generally, invisible.
6. He has many associates.
Wiles–the arts used by a commander to take advantage of his enemy. These consist–
1. In assuming false characters.
2. In suiting himself to the age, temper, connections, and circumstances of the tempted.
3. In choosing the proper instruments to effect his purposes.
4. In giving false names to good and evil. Zeal to persecution.
5. In causing divisions in the Church.
6. In hiding that from us what only can do us good. Ability to stand against them.
This implies–
1. Knowledge of them (2Co 2:11).
2. Power to oppose them.
II. The exhortation–Put on, etc.
Reflections:
I. A Christian soldier is a wonderful object. In relation to his enemies–and his defence.
II. How pleasing is our prevailing infidelity to Satan.
III. The experience of believers proves the truth of the text. (H. J. Foster.)
The Christian warfare
St. Paul was a born warrior. Most of us are what we are by ordination of circumstance. Here and there one is what he is by ordination of nature. It was Pauls genius to be belligerent, and his life would have been an epic, lived anywhere. Even in Eden he would have done what his great ancestor neglected to do, stood against the wiles of the devil. His life, Martineau says, was a battle, from which in intervals of the good fight his words arose as songs of victory. It was the supreme feat of the gospel to convert such a man. He is the superlative trophy of the Christian Church. Paul is the miracle of Christianity, one of those incontestible evidences of Christianity that leaves the mind satisfied. It was more to make Saul over into Paul than it was to make water over into wine. Power that could do the former would be at no less to do the latter. The martial quality of this old Napoleon of the cross betrays itself in what he does and in the way he does it, and in every bend and turn of life. The record of his moving hitherward and thitherward reads like the chronicles of an Alexander. He dared difficulties like Hannibal, and grasped details with the omniscience and omnipresence of the first emperor. His visits were invasions, his letters war dispatches, and his whole life campaign. It is noticeable how easily and habitually his thought drops into forms of the camp. He is the only man I know of, said Cassaubon, who wrote not with fingers, pen, and ink, but with his very heart, passion, and bare nerves. That is Paul, the Napoleon of the cross, the mailed and helmeted belligerent of the gospel of peace. And this martial impulse, I say, is everywhere in his letters incessantly declaring itself. It is in our text, Put on the whole armour of God. And the whole ensuing passage is in the same vein. Truth is to be the girdle, righteousness the breastplate, the preparation of the gospel of peace the sandals, faith the shield, salvation the helmet, and the Word of God the sword. There is no beauty in Pauls eye, but war is in his eye and everything he sees becomes the reflection of his eye, takes the colour of his thought. And now it is precisely this war spirit of Paul that helps to explain his eminence in the apostolic Church. When God chose Paul (He is a chosen vessel unto Me, said God)–when God chose Paul, He chose him with regard to the work to be done, and with regard to Pauls fitness to do it. He chose the Hebrews to be His people instead of the Chinese or East Indians, because there was something in the Hebrews that was apt to His purpose. His choice of Paul was an apt choice, because Paul was an apt man, and he went on in a way to adapt Paul, because Paul was already natively adaptable. And one element of his aptness was his combativeness. A fighting Church, a Church militant, belligerent, could be humanly championed by nothing less than a fighting apostle, an apostle militant, belligerent. St. John had visions of the Church triumphant, and was, in his temper and spirit, a kind of representation and prophecy of the Church triumphant. St. Paul stands for the Church of the present, the Church upon the field, the Church in armour, and the apostle of the armed spirit is fitly the historic champion of the Church in armour. And we shall gain in many ways by contemplating Christian service under Pauls aspect and imagery. Christianity is in its very nature and intent a crusade. Ours is a gospel of peace, but it is anything but a peaceful gospel, and the more scripturally it is put the more it betrays its animosity toward everything that in spirit contradicts the gospel; as the brighter the light, the more it differs from darkness, and the greater and swifter the inroad that it makes into darkness. Christianity is in its nature belligerent, and the peace of the gospel comes only as the fruitage of battle, and as the aftermath of victory. What communion hath light with darkness? asked Paul. Between sanctity and sin there is deadly enmity, which will disappear only with the extermination of one or the other of the belligerents. The moral tranquillization of the world is obtainable by no policy of compromise. Diplomacy has no role to play here. Put on the whole armour of God. The call is for soldiers, not diplomats, for regiments, not embassies. The victory is to be fought out, not negotiated. Of course there is courtesy in war as well as elsewhere. There is a consideration due to men as such, be they wicked or otherwise, but there is no consideration due to wickedness. Wickedness has to be handled without gloves, and designated without euphemisms. The act and the actor have to be discriminated. The two lie a little apart from each other in Gods thought. Said the Psalmist to Jehovah, Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Courtesy toward a wicked man is Christian; courtesy toward wickedness is poltroonery and perhaps diabolism. All such irresoluteness postpones victory, not wins it. Sooner or later the whole matter has got to be determined by the arbitrament of the sword. There are instances in which there is no evading Waterloo. The competition, of good and evil is such an instance. We may domesticate sin, and array it in terms of elegant Latinity, but sooner or later that same sin will have to be proscribed without mercy and hunted down as an outlaw. We will treat with all the beautiful tenderness of the gospel men and women that are knavish, yes, that are adulterous, but we must remember that honesty and dishonesty, purity and uncleanness, are in implacable feud, and that either righteousness or sin has got to go under before there can be peace on the earth. We want, then, the courage of our convictions to enable us to name things according to their true character, to state things as they are, to deal with things as they are, and heroically to refuse all quarter to everything that declines to be led captive into subjection to Christ. As soldiers of the Lord we want large bestowment of sanctified stubbornness. My friend, there are only two sides to this controversy, the side of Christ and the side of antichrist. You cannot be on both sides. No man can serve two masters, said Christ. On which one of the two sides are you? If you are not promoting godliness, you are hindering it. If you are not building up Christianity, you are breaking it down. He that is not with Me is against Me. (C. H. Parkhurst, D. D.)
Scope and function of a Christian life
This is a general view of the scope and function of a Christian life. You will observe that, as here represented, a Christian is not the inheritance of a quiet possession. We enter upon a campaign. You will take notice, also, that this is a conflict which is to be waged, not by physical arms. We wrestle not against flesh and blood–the meaning of which is, that it is not a physical quality–but against principalities, and spiritual wickedness in high places–the very highest places in human governments. We war not, therefore, by sword, or by spear, but we put on the armour of God–reason, conscience, purity, courage, and faith. And these qualities, not as they are developed under the inspiration of ordinary human life, but as they are derived from the Spirit of God itself–these are the weapons with which we enter into the war. And it is, as I understand it, the comprehensive teaching here–or the recognition, if not the special teaching–that when we become Christians, we enter upon that great, worldwide, time-long battle, in which the moral sentiments of the race are arrayed against the passions. And the question is, who shall control the vast machinery of this world? Shall it be controlled by appetites, by avarice, by selfishness in its varied forms? Or shall the vast machineries of the world be inspired and controlled by mens higher reason and their moral sentiments? That is the real battle in the most comprehensive statement of it. And we have entered into that conflict just as soon as we have entered into the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. This whole world is to be reorganized. It is the aim of Christianity to reorganize the globe, and to deduce laws, maxims, policies, and principles from the moral Sentiments. In other words, it will yet be shown that every element of human life, individual, social, and civil, can be better pursued by the inspiration of religious feeling than by the inspiration of sordid, secular feeling. Truth will be proved to be better than deceit, always, and in all circumstances. Honour will be proved to be better than infidelity to obligations, and always. The day is coming when God, the supernal good, who organized the world that it might serve Him in virtue and true piety, will make it appear to all the earth and to all the universe that He is on the side of rectitude, on the side of purity, and that providence and natural law, and, just as much national law, and social and commercial law, and industrial law, are on the side of the moral sentiments, and not on the side of the passions and the appetites. There is now a supreme incredulity in this. Though, practically, men do not, perhaps, reason upon it, there is an almost universal impression that, while men are in this world, and performing their duties, they must be as brick makers are–that they must work in dirt; and that, when they have got, through working in dirt, then they must clean up and go to church. Men think, As long as I am in the world and doing business, I must perform my business according to the way of the world; and then, when I have got through with the necessary sacrifice to the world, I must wash up and go to church, and be a Christian. The first step in the working plan of this great campaign into which we are called–namely, of regenerating, reforming, recasting the world–is the reformation of individual character, until the supreme forces of it shall be moral forces. Do you not see that half the evils in society come from physical conditions? Do you not see that if society were more honourable, more just in its organizations, a great deal of that which you call sin would disappear of itself, that it is but the friction caused by the working of the machinery? But the question comes back, How are you going to reorganize society? It is assumed, in the Word of God, that the indispensable condition of any reformation in the organization of society is to proceed upon the primary conversion of the individual heart. Therefore it is that the gospel, when it declares that the field is the world, and when it undertakes the conversion of the world, so that human society shall act upon the highest conceivable reason and moral sentiment in its operations, says, Preach the gospel to every creature. And it is for this simple reason that the force by which we are to organize society is to be the force of the regenerated individual. Our battle is not accomplished in our own salvation. We are Gods soldiers to transform this world. The mere technical spread of the gospel is itself a great gain, but it is only the beginning of the work. The gospel is spread, so far as its technical spread is concerned, into continents, but the gospel is to spread in another way. It is to go down into society, as well as to lie upon the surface of it. As a creed, it is to lie in the disposition, and transform the processes of it. And the very first step that a man takes when he becomes a Christian, after the regeneration of his heart, is to carry those regenerating forces straight along with him. Wherever he goes, that light is to shine; and it is to shine on business, to shine on love, on pleasure, on wealth, on honours, on everything. Wherever he goes, he is to carry the transforming power of the Spirit of God, so that he shall do his part as one of the soldiers of the Lords host.
1. Men are called by religion to a personal reformation, and then to the reformation of the whole world in which they live. You are to carry Christs spirit into every relation of life, and to become a witness, and a martyr, if need be, in it. A little child, beginning to love Christ, and desiring to witness for Christ, comes home to its unconverted parents, and to brothers and sisters that are wilful and wayward, and seeks there to carry out the law of love. Its temper, quite infirm, is often lost. Alas, that of all the things that we lose, nothing is found so certainly again as our temper! The little child comes home, and its temper is often disturbed, often stirred up; and still, it means to be a witness for Christ. And it says in its little heart, I do love Christ; and I mean that everything I do shall please Him. It has read, In honour preferring one another; and it attempts, in the household, to prefer the happiness of its brothers and sisters. It refuses to join in the little deceits that belong to them. It refuses to conceal, when questioned, their little peculations. It comes to spiteful grief in consequence. And the little child is not old enough to know anything about the great laws of society and the great laws of nature. Just converted, it is undertaking to live so that the best part of itself shall govern itself; and then it is undertaking so that, in its little companionships, the best part of it shall all the time rule in its conduct. Now, no child can undertake that without having the epitome of the experience of every Christian in the whole world.
2. Religion must not be selfish–not even if it be the selfishness of the highest quality. We have no right to be Christians simply on the ground that we shall save our souls. We shall save our souls; but to come into religion as a mere soul insurance is selfishness. We have no right to go into religion merely because we should thus gain joy. The man that enters into religion must follow God. And what thought He, when He took the crown, every beam of which was brighter than the shining of a thousand suns, and laid it by? What thought He when, disrobing Himself of power, taste, and faculty, He bowed His head, and, trailing through the sky, became a man, and as a man humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross? The most odious and reputation-blasting death that mans ingenuity had developed–all this had combined at the centre point of the cross, as the sign and symbol of degradation; and that was the death that He chose, that He might identify Himself with men, and not be ashamed to call them brethren. I am going to follow the meek and lowly Jesus by cutting my acquaintance with the vulgar cares of the dirty world. I am going to be a select Christian, and seclude myself from these things. Can you, and be a follower of Christ? Religion means work. Religion means work in a dirty world. Religion means peril–blows given, but blows taken as well. Religion means transformation. The world is to be cleaned by somebody; and you are not called of God if you are ashamed to scour and scrub. I believe that the day is yet to come when all the machineries of society will be controlled by truth, by purity, by sublime duty. I call you to be soldiers in that great warfare that is to bring to pass this victory. (H. W. Beecher.)
Satan and his warfare
I. The character of the great adversary. St. Paul here calls him the devil. He is also spoken of in other parts of the Bible as Abaddon, Beelzebub, Belial, the Dragon, the Evil One, the Angel of the Bottomless Pit, the Prince of this World, the Prince of the Power of the Air, Satan, Apollyon, and the God of this World. Although fallen beings, they, like the Angels of Light, still excel in strength (Psa 103:20), and are far greater in power and might (2Pe 2:11) than any of the sons of men.
II. The nature of his devices. Having once been pure and holy, the lost Archangel realizes the greatness of his fall; and grief, anger, and revenge, all combine to render him the bitter enemy of everything good. Hence, all his arts are directed to one end, viz., to draw us away from God, and to accomplish our ruin. And very wonderful and successful is the mode of his warfare. Acting upon the rule of expediency, he never begins his assaults by a direct contradiction of the truth, but by a qualified admission of its claims, he seems to agree with his victim, while he is only making ready to come down upon him in an unguarded quarter. It might reasonably be supposed that one who ventured to make war in heaven is a skilful and experienced leader, whose craft and boldness would render him a dangerous enemy upon earth. The wiles of the Devil are marked by all those characteristics which prove him to be a most treacherous and deadly foe. His forces are scattered over the world, busy in executing his commands, and all our weaknesses are spied out, and the corresponding enticements presented. Naturalists report that when the chameleon stretches itself on the grass to catch flies and grasshoppers, it assumes a green colour to prevent detection; and that the polypus changes himself into the sombre hue of the rock, under which he lurks, that the fish may come within his reach without suspicion of danger. And thus the devil, in spreading his net for unwary Christians, turns himself into the shape which they least suspect, and allures them with temptations most agreeable to their natures.
III. The means by which his dangerous wiles may be withstood. Our strength is perfect weakness; but the good and gracious Lord is ready to open His armoury (Jer 1:25) and equip those who acknowledge their helplessness and seek for His sustaining grace. This armour is given for use, and if we expect any benefit from it we must not delay to put it on. (J. N. Norton, D. D.)
The Christians impedimenta
The Romans were accustomed to call the baggage with which their army was encumbered impedimenta, hindrances, because the transportation of this baggage retarded their progress; so although the Evil One cannot destroy the soldier of the army of salvation, he can annoy, him, and cast about him so many discouragements as greatly to cripple his energies and impede his upward progress. These toils of the devil are the impedimenta of the spiritual hosts, by which the believer is led to halt, to turn aside from his onward course, to slumber at his post, and give way to discouragements, until he is far from accomplishing the high attainments which were within his reach, and at last is called away from the scene of his warfare with many of his glorious aspirations unfulfilled, with sad regrets over so much of the work of life to be left undone. Alas! the wiles of the devil! (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
That sin is more crafty than violent
But think ye for awhile what the ungodly mans life is! I can only compare it to that famous diabolical invention of the Inquisition of ancient times. They had as a fatal punishment for heretics, what they called the Virgins Kiss. There stood in a long corridor the image of the Virgin. She outstretched her arms to receive her heretic child; she looked fair, and her dress was adorned with gold and tinsel, but as soon as the poor victim came into her arms the machinery within began to work, and the arms closed and pressed the wretch closer and closer to her bosom, which was set with knives, and daggers, and lancets, and razors, and everything that could cut and tear him, till he was ground to pieces in the horrible embrace; and such is the ungodly mans life. It standeth like a fair virgin, and with witching smile it seems to say, Come to my bosom, no place so warm and blissful as this; and then anon it begins to fold its arms of habit about the sinner, and he sins again and again, brings misery into his body, perhaps, if he fall into some form of sin, stings his soul, makes his thoughts a case of knives to torture him, and grinds him to powder beneath the force of his own iniquities. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Successful wrestling
Imitate yon ancient wrestler, who, laying aside his robes and ornaments, and all the bravery of his attire, steps naked into the arena–limbs and body shining with slippery oil; closing with an antagonist, whose hands, slipping on the unctuous limbs, catch no firm hold, he heaves him up to hurl in the dust, and bear off the palm–honour won, less by his power than by his wise precaution. If prevention is better than cure, precaution is better than power; therefore ought a good man ever to watch and pray that he enter not in temptation; his prayer, that which our Lord has taught us, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
Resistance ensures victory
You know how John Bunyan represents poor Feeble-mind in the cave of Giant Slaygood. The giant had picked him up on the road, and taken him home to devour him at his leisure; but poor Feeble-mind said he had one comfort, for he had heard that the giant could never pick the bones of any man who was brought there against his will. Ah! and so it is. If there be a man who has fallen into sin, but still his heart crieth out against the sin; if he be saying, Lord, I am in captivity to it; I am under bondage to it; O that I could be free from it! then sin has not dominion over him, nor shall it destroy him, but he shall be set free ere long. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The wiles of the devil
Colonel Stewart, with Gordon, was for months besieged in Khartoum–then taking ten vessels from that place he bombarded Berber and dispersed all the rebels. Nine of the vessels had returned in safety; Stewart, having remained behind to inspect, was returning in the tenth, with some forty men on board, when the vessel ran on a rock. Some of the enemy, under the guise of friendship, then offered to conduct them safely across the desert. Stewart was deceived, and trusted himself to them; but as soon as they landed the whole party was massacred to a man.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. Put on the whole armour of God] . The apostle considers every Christian as having a warfare to maintain against numerous, powerful, and subtle foes; and that therefore they would need much strength, much courage, complete armour, and skill to use it. The panoply which is mentioned here refers to the armour of the heavy troops among the Greeks; those who were to sustain the rudest attacks, who were to sap the foundations of walls, storm cities, c. Their ordinary armour was the shield, the helmet, the sword, and the greaves or brazen boots. To all these the apostle refers below. See Clarke on Eph 6:13.
The wiles of the devil.] The methods of the devil the different means, plans, schemes, and machinations which he uses to deceive, entrap, enslave, and ruin the souls of men. A man’s method of sinning is Satan’s method of ruining his soul. See Clarke on Eph 4:14.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Put on the whole armour; get yourselves furnished with every grace, that none be wanting in you, no part naked and exposed to your enemies.
Of God; i.e. not carnal, but spiritual, and given by God: see 2Co 10:3,4; 1Th 5:8.
That ye may be able to stand; either to fight, or rather to overcome. He that loses the victory is said to fall; he that gains it, to stand: see Psa 89:43.
Against the wiles of the devil: the devil useth arts and stratagems, as well as force and violence, and therefore, if any part of your spiritual armour be wanting, he will assault you where he finds you weakest.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. the whole armourthe armorof light (Ro 13:12); on theright hand and left (2Co 6:7).The panoply offensive and defensive. An image readily suggested bythe Roman armory, Paul being now in Rome. Repeated emphatically, Eph6:13. In Ro 13:14 it is,”Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ“; in putting onHim, and the new man in Him, we put on “the whole armor of God.”No opening at the head, the feet, the heart, the belly, the eye, theear, or the tongue, is to be given to Satan. Believers have once forall overcome him; but on the ground of this fundamental victorygained over him, they are ever again to fight against and overcomehim, even as they who once die with Christ have continually tomortify their members upon earth (Rom 6:2-14;Col 3:3; Col 3:5).
of Godfurnished byGod; not our own, else it would not stand (Ps35:1-3). Spiritual, therefore, and mighty through God, not carnal(2Co 10:4).
wilesliterally,”schemes sought out” for deceiving (compare 2Co11:14).
the devilthe rulingchief of the foes (Eph 6:12)organized into a kingdom of darkness (Mt12:26), opposed to the kingdom of light.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Put on the whole armour of God,…. Not that which God himself is sometimes clothed with, and uses against his enemies; but what he has provided for his people, and furnishes them with; the particulars of which are after mentioned: and it is called “the armour of God”, because it is prepared by him for his people, and is bestowed on them by him; and because it is in its own nature divine and spiritual, and not carnal; and because it is provided for fighting the Lord’s battles, and is used in them; and because the efficacy of it is from him, and the execution it does is owing to him: and it is whole, complete, and perfect; and all of it is useful, and no part to be neglected, but all to be taken and “put on”; which is not to make and provide this armour, but to take it, as in Eph 6:13; as being ready made and provided, and to expect and prepare for battle, and make use of it; and this supposes saints to be in a warfare state, and that they are in the character of soldiers, and have enemies to fight with, and therefore should be accoutred with proper and suitable armour, to meet them:
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; who is the grand enemy of Christ and his people, and a very powerful and cunning one he is; so that the whole armour of God should be put on, which is proof against all his might and craft, in order to stand against him, oppose him, and fight, and get the victory over him, which in the issue is always obtained by believers; for they not only stand their ground in the strength of Christ, and by the use of their armour confound his schemes, and baffle all his arts and stratagems, but are more than conquerors through him that has loved them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Put on (). Like 3:12. See also 4:24.
The whole armour ( ). Old word from (wholly armed, from , ). In N.T. only Luke 11:22; Eph 6:11; Eph 6:13. Complete armour in this period included “shield, sword, lance, helmet, greaves, and breastplate” (Thayer). Our “panoply.” Polybius gives this list of Thayer. Paul omits the lance (spear). Our museums preserve specimens of this armour as well as the medieval coat-of-mail. Paul adds girdle and shoes to the list of Polybius, not armour but necessary for the soldier. Certainly Paul could claim knowledge of the Roman soldier’s armour, being chained to one for some three years.
That ye may be able to stand ( ). Purpose clause with and the infinitive () with the accusative of general reference () and the second aorist active infinitive (from ) dependent on . Against (). Facing. Another instance of meaning “against” (Col 2:23).
The wiles of the devil ( ). See already 4:14 for this word. He is a crafty foe and knows the weak spots in the Christian’s armour.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Whole armor [] . Panoply is a transcript of the Greek word. Only here, ver. 13, and Luk 11:22, see note. In classical Greek of the full armor of a heavy – armed soldier. The student may compare the description of the forging of Aeneas’ armor by Vulcan (Virgil, “Aeneid,” 8, 415 – 459), and of the armor itself as displayed to Aeneas by Venus (” Aeneid, “8, 616 – 730). Also of the armor of Achilles (Homer,” Iliad, ” 18, 468 – 617).
Wiles [] . See on ch. Eph 4:14. The armor is a defense against strategy as well as assault.
The devil [ ] . See on Mt 4:1; Joh 6:70. In Job and Zechariah used as the equivalent of Satan (hater or accuser, see on Luk 10:18), of a single person, the enemy of mankind. In the other Old – Testament passages in which it occurs, it is used to translate either Satan or its equivalent in meaning, tsar (adversary, distresser), but without the same reference to that single person. See Sept., 1Ch 21:1; Est 7:4; Est 8:1; Psa 108:6; Num 22:32. The Septuagint usage implies enmity in general, without accusation either true or false. In the New Testament invariably as a proper name, except in the Pastoral Epistles, where it has its ordinary meaning slanderous. See 1Ti 3:11; 2Ti 3:3; Tit 2:3. As a proper name it is used in the Septuagint sense as the equivalent of Satan, and meaning enemy.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
B) The Warrior’s Equipment
1) “Put on the whole armor of God” (endusasthe ten panoplian tou theou) “Put, ye on the Penelope (whole armor suit) of God.” It is as if Paul were negatively saying, “Don’t go out undressed for warfare or to war.” The armor is God’s…not man’s. Man is to dress up in it voluntarily to have (1) security, (2) comfort, and (3) victory in spiritual warfare. God’s armor of warfare equipment is available, sufficient and offers all that is needed for every soldier of the cross, light, and truth. Armor unused is like clothes unworn, 1Th 5:8.
2) “That ye may be able to stand” (pros to dunasthai humas stenai) “So that ye are (all) able to stand,” like battle-ready soldiers, especially like a sentry guard, one who is prepared-not so much to march, but as to defend the fortress of the Christian life and the church against the crafty assaults and malicious strategies of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, Rom 13:12; 2Co 6:4; 2Co 6:7.
3) “Against the wiles of the devil” (pros tas methodias tou diabolou) “Against the craftiness, deceitful methods of the devil;” 2Co 2:11 teaches that Satan may get or take advantage of the Christian soldier who does not put on the armor God provides for him, 1Th 2:18; 2Th 2:9; 1Pe 5:8. The devil uses base, crafty, sneaky stratagems to entrap soldiers of Christ and to assault and destroy the influence of His church.
THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
It is reported by the poets of Achilles, ‘ the Grecian captain, that his mother, being warned by the oracle, dipped him — being a child — in the river Lethe, to prevent any danger that might ensue by reason of the Trojan war; but Paris, his inveterate enemy, understanding also by the oracle that he was impenetrable all over his body, except the heel or small part of his leg, which his mother held him by when she dipped him, took his advantage, shot him in the heel, and killed him. Thus every man is, or ought to be, armed cap-a’-pie” with the panoply — the whole armor of God. For the devil will be sure to hit the least part that he finds unarmed; if it be the eye, he will dart in at that casement by the presentation of one lewd object or other; if it be the ear, he will force that door open by bad counsel; if the tongue, that shall be made a world of mischief; if the feet they shall be swift to shed blood.
–Spencer
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
11. Put on the whole armor. God has furnished us with various defensive weapons, provided we do not indolently refuse what is offered. But we are almost all chargeable with carelessness and hesitation in using the offered grace; just as if a soldier, about to meet the enemy, should take his helmet, and neglect his shield. To correct this security, or, we should rather say, this indolence, Paul borrows a comparison from the military art, and bids us put on the whole armor of God. We ought to be prepared on all sides, so as to want nothing. The Lord offers to us arms for repelling every kind of attack. It remains for us to apply them to use, and not leave them hanging on the wall. To quicken our vigilance, he reminds us that we must not only engage in open warfare, but that we have a crafty and insidious foe to encounter, who frequently lies in ambush; for such is the import of the apostle’s phrase, THE WILES (170) ( τὰς μεθοδείας) of the devil
(170) “Plutarch tells us, (Symp. l. 2., page 638,) that wrestling was the most artful and subtle of all the ancient games, and that the name of it ( πάλη) was derived from a word, which signifies to throw a man down by deceit and craft. And it is certain that persons who understand this exercise have many fetches, and turns, and changes of posture, which they make use of to supplant and trip up their adversaries. And it is with great justice, that a state of persecution is compared with it; since many are the arts, arising from the terrors of worldly evil on the one hand, and the natural love which men have to life, liberty, plenty, and the pleasures of life, on the other, that the devil makes use of to circumvent and foil them.” — Chandler.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) Put on the whole armour.The special emphasis in this verse is on the whole armour, or panoply (a word only used here and in Luk. 11:22); not mainly on its strength or its brightness, as armour of light (comp. Rom. 13:12), but on its completeness, providing against all the wiles and all the fiery darts of the Evil One, leaving no one point unguarded by a carelessness which may be fatal on all. In this it accords well with the general completeness and harmony of idea so characteristic of this Epistle.
To put on the armour of Godgiven us, that is, by Godis declared (by comparison of Rom. 13:12; Rom. 13:14) to be to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence its completeness corresponds to the divine perfection of His true humanity. We are to grow up unto Him in all things (Eph. 4:15), to put on His image in all the harmony of truth and righteousness, of peace and faith, to receive and use His salvation and wield the spiritual energy of His Word.
The wiles of the devil.The word wiles (used only here and in Eph. 4:14) is an almost technical word for the stratagems of a skilful leader. It is notable that these wiles are ascribed to the devil, the prince of the evil spirits directing his hosts against the army of Christ; the actual wrestling of hand-to-hand struggle is with these evil spirits themselves. The word wrestling is, of course, not used technically, otherwise the counsel must have been (as in Heb. 12:1) to divest oneself of all encumbrance. It is the personal grapple with the foe. Still it is possible that there may be some allusion to the wrestling with the angel of Gen. 32:24-29, though with a wholly diverse application.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Whole armour Our word panoply is the same with the beautiful Greek word , the sum total of a soldier’s offensive and defensive equipment. In this great battle, of which the stake is eternal life, every armour piece must be put on.
Of God Not of earthly nor of metal make, but of celestial temper, from the divine armory, furnished for us by God himself.
Wiles Stratagems, ambushes, and treacheries of a faith l ess old foe, who disregards honourable warfare.
The devil Prince of the kingdom of evil, and general of its armies.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.’
The armour does not fall on us, we have to put it on. We cannot defeat the enemy by our own efforts but we can put on the armour, the armour of truth, of righteousness, of faith, of His word, and of assurance of salvation. And we need that armour, for we have to deal with a wily enemy who will attack at every point in all manner of ways. He will come as a roaring lion (1Pe 5:8), he will come as an angel of light (2Co 11:14). He will try to frighten us into betrayal of Christ as he frightened Peter; he will try to lure us into false teaching through deceptive teachers; and into false ideas as he did the Master Himself, appearing to offer a quick and easy way to all we desire. He will try to make the bad look good, and the good appear not worth the effort. He will seek to undermine our faith, and to persuade us to compromise the best for the good. And sometimes he will appear to have succeeded.
Satan desired to have Peter so that he could sift him as wheat (Luk 22:31), and Peter, terrified, denied his Lord. But he had behind him the strength of the Lord, and he was restored and overcame. We too may stumble, but if we put on the armour of God we too will finally prevail.
‘That you may be able to stand.’ This does not refer to fleshly temptations. From those we have to flee (1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 2:22). (Do not attempt to fight them, your hope lies in flight. You must avoid them and keep away from them). But this refers to the frontal assaults of the Evil One, his attempts to mislead and misdirect, his attempts to weaken our faith or attack us head on, or to put insidious thoughts into our minds. Against these we have to stand in the armour of God.
‘The wiles of the Devil.’ We are against a tricky foe and he knows every dirty move. He is a liar and the father of lies (Joh 8:44). He is the perpetrator of false teaching (Eph 4:14). He uses the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things to choke the word that comes to us (Mar 4:19). He is the arch Deceiver (Rev 12:9). We have no hope on our own. Sometimes he will attack with fiery darts, inflicting wounds of doubt and fear, even with the unwitting help of our loved ones and friends and those we trust the most. Only Jesus is totally reliable. Then we will need the shield of faith. At others he will seek to whisper in our minds, insidious thoughts, evil thoughts, disturbing thoughts, even using self-satisfaction and overmuch holiness to bring about our downfall, and we will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. At others he will tempt us openly with all that is most desirable, and our only hope will be a strategic retreat. But attack us he will, and his attack will be subtle and clever, tailored to our strengths and weaknesses.
‘For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.’ These are our enemies, the evil hosts of wickedness under their evil master. And our wrestling is in heavenly places, demonstrating our present access to that sphere. It is the spiritual world into which we enter with Christ when we become His. And there we will have our major battles. And there we will need the protection of God’s armour.
‘Our wrestling.’ The battle will often be very personal, individual and hand to hand. But the wrestling in mind is that of the soldier as he grapples, fully armed, with his opponent, not that of the wrestler in a sporting contest. This is no sport, this is war.
‘Not against flesh and blood.’ What we may see may be human beings who are against us, and we may be very conscious of them. But our fight is not really with them. They are only the tools. The real battle is with spiritual forces of wickedness.
‘The principalities, the powers.’ They were originally His creation (Col 1:16) until they rebelled. And now they are defeated foes and fighting a violent rearguard action (Col 2:15). They are unable to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:38), and as they fight they are filled with amazement at what God is doing for His people (Eph 3:10). But they still fight on for there is nothing left for them but final doom.
‘The world-rulers of this darkness.’ Kosmokratores – used of world-rulers such as Nebuchadnezzar and one of the adulatory titles for the Roman Emperor. But here it refers to the powers that lie behind them and work through them. Those who run the world in darkness and keep it in darkness, by blinding men’s minds, rendering them bereft of the light that shines out from God (2Co 4:4).
‘The spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.’ While we were under the power of darkness (Colossian1:13) we were left untroubled, except to be drawn in into his schemes (Eph 2:2), but now we have entered the heavenly places with Christ, the spiritual realm, and live in the light, we are subject to the attacks of spiritual forces of wickedness under the Prince of the power of the air (the prince of a kingdom not of this world and yet with no right in the heavenly sphere).
So what we are to face is frightening. But God has provided the means by which we can go forward without fear, the armour of God. As we go forward in His mighty strength, His mighty armour will provide all the protection that we need.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eph 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, The word in the original is , panoply, which includes all sorts of armour, whether offensive or defensive. This the Apostle applies to the exercise of all those Christian graces with which we are furnished by God, to be made use of in his strength, as well to annoy the enemy, as to defend ourselves; and it appears by the particular description which the Apostle here proceeds to give of it, to be a suit of armour, every way complete, and properly adapted to the defence of every part; with this exception, that none is provided for the back; to hint to us, as some have observed, that we must always face the enemy, or we shall soon lie open to his attacks, and have no defence from dangers. The reader will find, in Gurnall’s “Christian in complete Armour,” a very large and practical improvement of this portion of Sacred Scripture.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eph 6:11 . What they are to do in order to become thus strong, in connection with which the figurative discourse represents the readers as warriors (comp. 2Co 10:4 ; 1Th 5:8 ; Rom 6:13 ; Rom 6:23 ; Rom 13:12 ; 1Ti 1:18 ; 1Ti 6:12 ; 2Ti 4:7 ). The more familiar, however, this figure was to the apostle, the more freely and independently is it here carried out, although (comp. on , Eph 6:17 ) a reminiscence of Isa 59:17 (comp. Wis 5:17 ff., and thereon Grimm, Handb . p. 119 f.) underlies it. [297]
] . has the emphasis. In the very fact that not merely single pieces of the armour (Luther: harness ), but the whole armour of God is put on (“ne quid nobis desit,” Calvin), resides the capacity of resistance to the devil. If had the emphasis (Harless), there must have been a contrast to other spiritual weapons (for that no material, actual weapons were meant, was self-evident). Rightly, therefore, have most expositors kept by the literal meaning of , complete suit of armour of the heavy-armed soldier, (see Herod, i. 60; Plato, Legg. vii. p. 796 B; Bos, Exercitt . p. 192; Ottii Spicileg . p. 409); and the assertion (recently by Harless) that it here is equivalent generally to armatura (Vulgate, which was justly censured by Beza), is arbitrary and contrary to linguistic usage; even in Jdt 14:3 , 2Ma 3:25 , the notion of the complete equipment is to be adhered to. [298] According to Polybius, vi. 23. 2 ff., there belong to the Roman shield, sword, greaves, spear, breastplate, helmet. But the circumstance that in the detailed carrying out of the figure, Eph 6:13 ff., not all these parts are mentioned (the spear is wanting), and withal some portions are brought in (girdle, military sandals) which did not belong exclusively to the equipment of the heavy-armed soldier, but to military equipment in general, can, least of all in the case of Paul, occasion surprise or betray a special set purpose. Whether, we may add, the apostle thought of a Jewish or a Roman warrior is, doubtless, substantially in itself a matter of indifference, since the kinds of armour in the two cases were in general the same (see Keil, Arch . 158); but the latter supposition is the most natural, inasmuch as the Roman soldiery wielded the power in all the provinces, Paul himself was surrounded by Roman soldiery, and for most Gentile readers in a non-Jewish province the term could not but call up the thought of the Roman soldier. Even though Paul had, as we must suppose, the recollection of Isa 59:17 when he was employing such figurative language, this did not prevent his transferring the prophetic reminiscence to the conception of a Roman warrior (in opposition to Harless).
] genitivus auctoris : the , which comes from God , which God furnishes. Sense without the figure: “ appropriate to yourselves all the means of defence and offence which God bestows, in order to be in a position to withstand the machinations of the devil .”
] stand one’s ground against ; a military expression in keeping with the figure. See Kypke, II. p. 301. Comp. Thucyd. v. 104, and Poppo’s note thereon. The same thing is implied by , with the dative, Hom. Il. xxi. 600. Comp. , Jas 4:7 .
.] See on Eph 4:14 . The plural denotes the concrete manifestations, Khner, ad Xen. Mem. i. 1. 11. Luther aptly renders: the wily assaults.
] “principis hostium, qui Eph 6:12 ostenduntur,” Bengel.
[297] According to de Wette, we have here “a playful imitation in detail of 1Th 5:8 , in which use is made of Isa 59:17 (perhaps also of Wis 5:17 ff.).” An unwarranted judgment, inasmuch as Paul himself could here carry out more comprehensively his figure elsewhere thrown out in only a few outlines, and this he has done worthily and without attempt at play. An imitator , on the other hand, would here have assigned no other signification to the pieces of armour mentioned 1Th 5:3 than they bear in that place.
[298] Of the manner in which Paul himself wore and wielded the , his whole labours and each one of his Epistles afford the most brilliant evidence; the latter especially in such outbursts as Rom 8:31 ff.; 2Co 4:4 ff., 2Co 4:11 ; 2Co 4:13 ff. Comp. also 2Co 10:4 f.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2126
THE MEANS OF WITHSTANDING SATANS WILES
Eph 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
TO be possessed of courage is not the only requisite for a good soldier; he must be skilled in the use of arms; he must be acquainted with those stratagems which his adversaries will use for his destruction; he must know how to repel an assault, and how in his turn to assault his enemy: in short, he must be trained to war. Nor will his knowledge avail him any thing, unless he stand armed for the combat. Hence the Apostle, having encouraged the Christian soldier, and inspired him with confidence in the Captain of his salvation, now calls him to put on his armour, and by a skilful use of it, to prepare for the day of battle.
To open fully the direction before us, we must shew you, first, the wiles of the devil; and next, the means of defeating them.
I.
We shall endeavour to lay before you the wiles of the devil
Satan is the great adversary of God and man; and labours to the uttermost to destroy the interests of both. In prosecuting his purpose, he has two grand objects in view, namely, to lead men into sin, and to keep them from God. We must consider these distinctly; and point out the stratagems he uses for the attainment of his ends.
1.
To lead men into sin
To effect this, he presents to them such temptations as are best suited to their natural dispositions. As a skilful general will not attempt to storm a fort on the side that it is impregnable, but will rather direct his efforts against the weaker parts, where he has a better prospect of success; so Satan considers the weak part of every man, and directs his artillery where he may most easily make a breach. He well knew the covetous dispositions of Judas, and of Ananias and Sapphira: when therefore he wanted the one to betray his Master, and the others to bring discredit on the Christian name, he wrought upon their natural propensities, and instigated them with ease to the execution of his will [Note: Joh 13:2; Joh 13:27. Act 5:3.]. Thus he stimulates the proud or passionate, the lewd or covetous, the timid or melancholy, to such acts as are most congenial with their feelings, to the intent that his agency may be least discovered, and his purposes most effectually secured.
Much craft is also discoverable in the seasons which he chooses for making his assaults. If a general knew that his adversaries were harassed with fatigue, or revelling and intoxicated amidst the spoils of victory, or separated from the main body of their army, so that they could have no succour, he would not fail to take advantage of such circumstances, rather than attack them when they were in full force, and in a state of readiness for the combat. Such a general is Satan. If he finds us in a stale of great trouble and perplexity, when the spirits are exhausted, the mind clouded, the strength enervated, then he will seek to draw us to murmuring or despair. Thus he acted towards Christ himself when he had been fasting forty days and forty nights; and again, on the eve of his crucifixion. The former of these occasions afforded him a favourable opportunity for tempting our blessed Lord to despondency [Note: Mat 4:2-3.], to presumption [Note: Mat 4:6.], to a total alienation of his heart from God [Note: Mat 4:8-9.]: the latter inspired him with a hope of drawing our Lord to some act unworthy of his high character, and subversive of the ends for which he came into the world [Note: Joh 14:30. Luk 22:44; Luk 22:53.]. Again, if we have been elevated with peculiar joy, he well knows how apt we are to relax our vigilance, and to indulge a carnal security. Hence, immediately on Pauls descent from the third heavens, the paradise of God, Satan strove to puff him up with pride [Note: 2Co 12:7.], that so he might bring him into the condemnation of the devil [Note: 1Ti 3:6-7.]. And with more success did he assault Peter immediately after the most exalted honour had been conferred upon him; whereby he brought upon the unguarded saint that just rebuke, Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men [Note: Mat 16:16-19; Mat 16:22-23.]. Above all, Satan is sure to embrace an opportunity when we are alone, withdrawn from those whose eye would intimidate, or whose counsel would restrain, us. He could not prevail on Lot, when in the midst of Sodom, to violate the rights of hospitality; but when he was in a retired cave, he too successfully tempted him to repeated acts of drunkenness and incest. And who amongst us has not found that seasons of privacy, or, at least, of seclusion from those who knew us, have been seasons of more than ordinary temptation?
The means which Satan uses in order to accomplish his purpose, will afford us a yet further insight into his wiles. Whom will a general so soon employ to betray the enemy into his hands, as one who by his power can command them, or by his professions can deceive them! And is it not thus with Satan? If he want to draw down the judgments of God upon the whole nation of the Jews, he will stir up David, in spite of all the expostulations of his courtiers, to number the people [Note: Num 21:1-4.]. If he would destroy Ahab, he becomes a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahabs prophets, to persuade him, and by him to lead Jehoshaphat also and the combined armies into the most imminent peril [Note: 1Ki 22:21-22. See the instance also of Elymas the sorcerer, who on account of his efforts is called a child of the devil. Act 13:10.]. Would he have Job to curse his God? no fitter person to employ on this service than Jobs own wife, whom he taught to give this counsel, Curse God, and die [Note: Job 2:9.]. Would he prevail on Jesus to lay aside the thoughts of suffering for the sins of men? his friend Peter must offer him this advice, Master, spare thyself [Note: Mat 16:16-19; Mat 16:22-23.]. Thus in leading us to the commission of sin, he will use sometimes the authority of magistrates, of masters, or of parents, and sometimes the influence of our dearest friends or relatives. No instruments so fit for him, as those of a mans own household [Note: Mat 10:36.].
There is also something further observable in the manner in which Satan tempts the soul. An able general will study to conceal the main object of his attack, and by feints to deceive his enemy [Note: Jos 8:5-6; Jos 8:15; Jos 8:21]. Thus does Satan form his attack with all imaginable cunning. His mode of beguiling Eve will serve as a specimen of his artifices in every age. He first only inquired whether any prohibition had been given her and her husband respecting the eating of the fruit of a particular tree; insinuating at the same time, that it was very improbable that God should impose upon them such an unnecessary restraint. Then, on being informed that the tasting of that fruit was forbidden and that the penalty of death was to be inflicted on them in the event of their disobedience, he intimated, that such a consequence could never follow: that, on the contrary, the benefits which should arise to them from eating of that fruit, were incalculable. In this manner he led her on, from parleying with him, to give him credit; and, from believing him, to comply with his solicitations [Note: Gen 3:1-6.]. And thus it is that he acts towards us: he for a time conceals his full purpose: he pleads at first for nothing more than the gratification of the eye, the ear, the imagination; but is no sooner master of one fort, or station, than he plants his artillery there, and renews his assaults, till the whole soul has surrendered to his dominion.
2.
The other grand device of Satan is, to keep men from God. If, after having yielded to his suggestions, the soul were to return to God with penitence and contrition, all Satans wiles, how successful soever they had before been, would be frustrated at once. The next labour therefore of our great adversary is, to secure his captive, that he may not escape out of his hands. The wiles he makes use of to accomplish this, come next under our consideration.
He will begin with misrepresenting to his captives their own character. One while he will insinuate that, though they may have transgressed in some smaller matters, yet they have never committed any great sin, and therefore have no need to disquiet themselves with apprehensions of Gods wrath. If he cannot compose their minds in that way, he will suggest, that their iniquities have been so numerous, and so heinous, as to preclude all hope of forgiveness. He will endeavour to make them believe that they have been guilty of the unpardonable sin, or that their day of grace is passed; so that they may as well take their fill of present delights, since all attempts to secure eternal happiness will be fruitless. To such artifices as these our Lord refers, when he tells us, that the strong man armed keepeth his palace and his goods in peace [Note: Luk 11:21; Luk 11:26.].
Next he will misrepresent to his captives the character of God. He will impress them with the idea that God is too merciful to punish any one eternally for such trifling faults as theirs. Or, if that fail to lull them asleep, he will intimate, that the insulted Majesty of heaven demands vengeance: that the justice and holiness of the Deity would be dishonoured, if pardon were vouchsafed to such offenders as they. Probably too, he will suggest that God has not elected them; and that therefore they must perish, since they cannot alter his decrees, or save themselves without his aid. He will, as in his assaults upon our blessed Lord [Note: Mat 4:6.], bring the Scriptures themselves to countenance his lies; and, by a misapplication of difficult and detached passages, endeavour to hide from us the perfections of our God, as harmonizing and glorified in our redemption [Note: 2Co 4:4.]. It was in this manner that he strove to discourage Joshua [Note: Zec 4:1-2.], and to detain David in his bonds [Note: Psa 77:7-9.]: such advantage too he sought to take of the incestuous Corinthian [Note: 2Co 2:7; 2Co 2:11.]: and, if this stratagem be not defeated, he will prevail over us to our eternal ruin.
But there is another stratagem which, for the subtilty of its texture, the frequency of its use, and its successfulness in destroying souls, deserves more especial notice. When effectual resistance has been made to the foregoing temptations, and in spite of all these misrepresentations, the sinner has attained a just view both of his own character, and of Gods, then Satan has recourse to another wile, that promises indeed to the believer a speedy growth in the divine life, but is intended really to divert him from all proper thoughts both of himself and of God. He will transform himself into an angel of light, and make use of some popular minister, or some talkative professor, as his agent in this business. He will by means of his emissaries draw the young convert to matters of doubtful disputation: he will perplex his mind with some intricate questions respecting matters of doctrine, or of discipline in the Church. He will either controvert, and explode acknowledged truths, or carry them to an extreme, turning spirituality to mysticism, or liberty to licentiousness. Having entangled him in this snare, he will puff him up with a conceit of his own superior attainments, and speedily turn him from the simplicity that is in Christ. Little do his agents, who appear to be ministers of righteousness, imagine that they are really ministers of the devil; and little do they who are inveigled by them, consider in what a snare they are taken; but God himself, who sees all these secret transactions, and discerns their fatal tendency, has given us this very account, and thereby guarded us against this dangerous device [Note: 2Co 11:3; 2Co 11:13-15.].
Thus have we seen the temptations by which Satan leads men into sin, together with the seasons, the means, and the manner, of his assaults. We have seen also how he keeps them from God, even by misrepresenting to them their own character, and Gods, or by diverting them from a due attention either to themselves or God.
II.
Let us now proceed in the second place to point out the means by which these wiles may be defeated
This part of our subject will come again into discussion, both generally, in the next discourse, and particularly, when we treat of the various pieces of armour provided for us. Nevertheless we must distinctly, though briefly, shew in this place, What we are to understand by the whole armour of God; and, How we are to put it on; and, In what way it will enable us to withstand the devils wiles.
Armour is of two kinds, defensive and offensive: the one to protect ourselves, the other to assail our enemy. Now God has provided for us every thing that is necessary for a successful maintenance of the Christian warfare. Is our head exposed to the assaults of Satan? there is a helmet to guard it. Is our heart liable to be pierced? there is a breastplate to defend it. Are our feet subject to such wounds as may cause us to fall? there are shoes, or greaves, for their protection. Is our armour likely to be loosened? there is a girdle to keep it fast. Are there apertures, by which a well-aimed dart may find admission? there is a shield, which may be moved for the defence of every part, as occasion may require. Lastly, the Christian soldier is furnished with a sword also, by the skilful use of which he may inflict deadly wounds on his adversary.
But here it will be asked, How shall we get this armour? and, how shall we put it on? To obtain it, we must go to the armoury of heaven, and receive it from the hands of the Captain of our salvation. No creature in the universe can give it us. He, and he only, who formed it, can impart it to us. As, when God had decreed the destruction of Babylon, we are told, that the Lord opened his armoury, and brought forth the weapons of his indignation [Note: Jer 50:25.]; so, when he has commissioned us to go forth against sin and Satan, he must supply us with the arms, whereby alone we can execute his will: and we must be daily going to him in prayer, that he would furnish us from head to foot, or rather, that he himself would be our shield and buckler, our almighty protector and deliverer [Note: Psa 84:11; Psa 18:2.].
When we have received our armour, then we are to put it on. It is not given us to look at, but to use: not to wear for amusement, but to gird on for actual service. We must examine it, to see that it is indeed of celestial temper, and that none is wanting. We must adjust it carefully in all its parts, that it may not be cumbersome and useless in the hour of need: and when we have clothed ourselves with it, then we must put forth our strength, and use it for the purposes for which it is designed.
Our more particular directions must be reserved, till we consider the use of each distinct part of this armour. We shall only add at present, that, if we thus go forth to the combat, we shall surely vanquish our subtle enemy. We say not, that he shall never wound us; for the most watchful of us are sometimes off our guard; and the most experienced of us sometimes deceived. But we can assure the whole army of Christians, that Satan shall never finally prevail against them [Note: Mat 16:18.]. Their head shall be preserved from error [Note: Isa 35:8]; their heart, from iniquity [Note: Rom 6:14.]; their feet, from falling [Note: 1Sa 2:9. 2Pe 1:10.].
What remains then but that we call on all of you to put on this armour? Let not any imagine that they can stand without it: for, if Adam was vanquished even in Paradise, how much more shall we be overpowered? If the perfect armour with which he was clad by nature, proved insufficient for the combat, how shall we stand, who are altogether stripped of every defence! If Satan, while yet a novice in the art of tempting, beguiled our first parents by his subtilty, how much more will he beguile and ruin us, after so many thousand years of additional experience! Arise then, all of you, and gird yourselves for the combat. Ye careless ones, know that ye are already led captive by the devil at his will [Note: 2Ti 2:26.]; and the more you think yourselves secure, the more you shew that you are the dupes of Satans wiles. Ye weak and timid, be strong, fear not; hath not God commanded you? Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you, whithersoever ye go [Note: Jos 1:6; Jos 1:9.]. Only go forth in dependence upon God, and no weapon that is formed against you shall ever prosper [Note: Isa 54:17.]. But take care that you have on the whole armour of God. In vain will be the use of any, if the whole be not used. One part left unprotected will prove as fatal, as if you were exposed in every part. But if you follow this counsel, you may defy all the hosts of hell: for the weakest of you shall be as David, and the house of David shall be as God [Note: Zec 12:8.].
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ver. 11. Put on the whole armour ] Or else never think to do the afore mentioned duties; we have a busy adversary to deal with. The Turks bear no weapons but in travel; then some of them seem like a walking armoury; so must a Christian be. Coriolanus had so used his weapons of a child-little, that they seemed as if they had been born with him, or grown into his hands. a Seneca reports of Caesar that he quickly sheathed his sword, but never laid it off. No more must we.
The wiles of the devil ] Gr. The methods or way-layings of that old subtile serpent, who like Dan’s adder in the path, biteth the heels of passengers, and thereby transfuseth his venom to the head and heart,Gen 49:17Gen 49:17 . Julian by his craft drew more from the faith than all his persecuting predecessors could do by their cruelty. So doth Satan more harm in his sheepskin than by roaring like a lion.
a . Plutarch.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eph 6:11 . : put on the whole armour of God . Further explanation of what has to be done in order to become strong enough to meet all enemies, even the devil. is the gen. of origin or source , = the panoply which comes from God or is provided by Him. To put the emphasis on the (Harl.) is to miss the point and to suppose a contrast which there is nothing here to suggest, viz. , with some other kind of panoply. The emphatic thing, as most exegetes notice, is the , the idea being that we need not only a Divine equipment, but that equipment in its completeness , without the lack of any single part. The fact that, in order to meet our spiritual foe, we need to take to ourselves all that God provides for living and for overcoming, is expressed in a telling figure drawn from the world of soldiery. The figure of the Christian as a warrior with his arms, wages , etc. ( , , etc.), occurs repeatedly in the Pauline writings (Rom 6:13 ; Rom 6:23 ; Rom 13:12 ; 2Co 10:4 ; 1Th 5:8 ; 1Ti 1:18 ; 1Ti 6:12 ; 2Ti 4:7 ). In briefer form the figure of the armour appears in 1Th 5:8 , and in its rudiments also in Isa 59:17 ; cf. also Wis 5:17 , etc. is not armour simply (Vulg. armatura , Harl., etc.), but whole armour , the complete equipment of the Roman or “man of arms,” consisting of shield, helmet, breastplate, greaves, sword and lance; cf. Thuc., iii., 14; Isocr., 352 D; Herod., i., 60; Plato, Laws , vii., p. 796 B; and especially Polybius, vi., 23, 2, etc. The word occurs only once again in the NT (Luk 11:22 ). No doubt the Roman soldier is particularly in view. Paul, the Roman citizen, would think of him, and it was the Roman military power that filled the eye where Paul laboured and wrote. : that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil . Statement of the object of the putting on of this panoply. The general sense of direction conveyed by the flexible prep. when followed by the acc. takes a wide variety of applications. In this short sentence it expresses mental direction, aim or object , and local direction, against . The phrase belongs to the soldier’s language, being used for standing one’s ground , in opposition to taking to flight (Thuc., v., 104, and cf. Raphel., Annot. , ii., p. 493). In Jas 4:7 we have with the dat. For TWH prefer . On this rare term, found neither in profane Greek nor in the OT, and in the NT only in the two occurrences in this Epistle, see on chap. Eph 4:14 above. The plural denotes the various forms which the , the craftiness , takes, and is fitly rendered either stratagems (which brings out the fundamental idea of method or plan in the deceit) or wiles . The Rhem. gives deceits ; Tynd., Cov., Cran., Gen., Bish., assaults or crafty assaults . The Devil , , is mentioned here as the author and practiser of all subtle, malicious scheming. The malign powers of which he is the prince are noticed next.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Put on. See Eph 4:24. whole armour = panoply. Greek. panoplia; only here, Eph 6:13, and Luk 11:22. Frequently in Apocrypha.
that, against. The same Greek. word, pros. App-104.
wiles. See Eph 4:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eph 6:11. , the whole armour) Eph 6:13.-, to stand) A word taken from the arena and the camp; comp. note on Mat 12:25. The power of the Lord is ours.-, the wiles) which he frames both by force and by craft. , a way opposite to the direct [straight] way, a circuitous road, which they take who lie in wait, 2Ma 13:18; whence , 2 Samuel 19 :(27) 28, LXX. Esth. . , concerning Haman: , with manifold deceits of wiles [plans]. Chrysostom has used in a good sense in Homil. 4, de penit.: We ought to be thankful to God, who through much discipline ( ) cures and saves our souls,- , through the alternations of prosperity and adversity.- , the devil) the chief of the enemies, who are pointed out at Eph 6:12. [The same who is called, Eph 6:16, , the wicked one.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 6:11
Eph 6:11
Put on the whole armor of God,-God does not clothe Christians with this strength and power without earnest effort on their part, and without their making just such efforts and doing just what he commands. The spiritual or inner man becomes strong only by experience. God has prepared and furnished armor to be used by the Christian soldier. It is composed of weapons both defensive and offensive, those which ward off the blows of the enemy and with which they are to strike offensive blows to conquer others. [We are thus taught from the outset that as the strength which we need is not from ourselves, so neither are the means of offense and defense. Nor are they means of mans devising. This is a truth which has been overlooked by many professed Christians in all ages of the church, to the injury of those who profess to be children of God. Instead of relying on the arms which God has provided, men have always been disposed to trust to that which they have provided for themselves or which have been prescribed by others.]
that ye may be able to stand-The Christian soldier ought to be prepared on all sides, so as to want nothing. The Lord has provided arms for repelling every attack. It remains for him to apply them to use. [To quicken our vigilance, he reminds us that we must not only engage in open warfare, but that we have a crafty and insidious foe to encounter, who frequently lies in ambush.]
against the wiles of the devil.-[These are the devils treacherous methods of warfare and his subtle plans of battle. Wiles are acts or means of cunning deception; something as a ruse or stratagem, by which he is enabled to trick or deceive. The idea here is that the devil does not carry on an open warfare. He does not meet the Christian soldier face to face. Hence the necessity of being constantly armed to meet him whenever the attack is made. He presents the world in an alluring aspect; invites to pleasures that seem to be harmless, and leads in indulgence until we have gone so far that we cannot retreat]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Put: Eph 4:24, Rom 13:14, Col 3:10
the whole: Eph 6:13, Rom 13:12, 2Co 6:7, 2Co 10:4, 1Th 5:8
able: Eph 6:13, Luk 14:29-31, 1Co 10:13, Heb 7:25, Jud 1:24
the wiles: Eph 4:14,*Gr: Mar 13:22, 2Co 2:11, 2Co 4:4, 2Co 11:3, 2Co 11:13-15, 2Th 2:9-11, 1Pe 5:8, 2Pe 2:1-3, Rev 2:24, Rev 12:9, Rev 13:11-15, Rev 19:20, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3, Rev 20:7, Rev 20:8
Reciprocal: Deu 20:3 – let not Jos 4:13 – prepared for war Jdg 3:2 – might know 1Sa 4:9 – Be strong 1Sa 25:28 – fighteth Neh 4:13 – in the lower places Neh 4:17 – with one Neh 6:5 – with an open letter Psa 144:1 – teacheth Jer 43:12 – putteth Mat 11:12 – from Mat 13:39 – enemy Joh 18:11 – Put Act 5:3 – why Rom 7:21 – a law Rom 8:38 – nor 1Co 14:8 – General Eph 4:27 – General Phi 1:30 – the same 2Ti 2:3 – a good Jam 4:7 – Resist 1Pe 5:9 – resist
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 6:11.) -Put on the panoply of God. Stier regards the rest of this clause and that of the preceding verse as identical in inner meaning. The sense cannot indeed be very different, though the image before us is distinct-first, strength or courage, and then preparation in that strength to meet the enemy. is complete armour, as the name implies. Luk 11:22. It is also found in the Septuagint (2Sa 2:21; Job 39:20), and in 2Ma 3:25; Jdt 14:3. It denotes full armour, and not simply, as some erroneously suppose, the equipment of God. The specification of the pieces of armour proves that Paul meant panoply in its literal sense. In fact, as Meyer remarks, on this word lies the emphasis, and not on , as Harless erroneously supposes. Did the emphasis lie on , it might imply that other armour than this might be used in the combat. But the strength of the charge is-Do not enter into battle with such adversaries naked and defenceless, but take to you armour. Do not cover one portion and leave another exposed; do not assume the cuirass and neglect the helmet; but put on the whole armour. Do not resort to any arsenal of your own, for its armour is weak and useless; but put on the whole armour of God. And furthermore, we must neuer leaue these armours as long as we be in thys worlde, for we shall alwayis haue batayle. Taverner’s Postils, p. 495; ed. Oxford, 1841. The genitive, , is that of origination: God provides the armour. Winer, 30. It cannot mean, as Anselm dreams, such armour as God uses. Each of its pieces-its girdle, breastplate, boots, shield, helmet, and sword-is furnished by Him. It is armour forged on no earthly anvil, and tempered by no human skill. See Winer’s Realwrt.; Kitto’s Cyclopedia; Smi th’s Dictionary, sub voce.
-in order that ye may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil. The reading has good authority, A, B, D1, E, G, K, L. Winer, 5, 4. The first indicates purpose. Winer, 49, h. But is, in military phrase, to stand in front of, with the view of opposing. Kypke (2.301) illustrates the phrase from Polybius, 4.61, and Antoninus, lib. vi. 41. Loesner, Observat. p. 347. Xenophon makes this contrast- , . De Expeditione Cyri, 1.10, 1. The plural seems to denote instances of the abstract singular-Ausdruck mannichfaltiger Arten und Flle-of which usage Bernhardy gives examples, p. 62. has been explained under Eph 4:14, and has been considered under Eph 4:27. The great enemy of man, a veteran fierce and malignant, has a method of warfare peculiar to himself, for it consists of wiles. His battles are the rush of a sudden ambuscade. He fights not on a pitched field, but by sudden assault and secret and cunning onslaught. Vigilance, self-possession, and promptitude are therefore indispensable to meet him: and as his aim is to throw his opponents off their guard and then to surprise them, so there is need to be ever clothed in this complete armour of God. His wiles are seen in unsettling the mind of Eve by representing God as jealous of the first man and woman; in stirring up the warlike aspirations of David to take a military census and force a conscription as the basis of a standing army; in inflaming the avaricious and sordid spirit of Judas; and in his assaults on our Lord by an appeal to appetite, piety, and ambition.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 6:11. A few verses are devoted to general remarks about warfare, after which Paul will specify the parts of equipment that make up the armor and fighting implements for the conflict. It is necessary to put on the whole armor, not merely the parts that may be the most agreeable to wear. Wiles is from a Greek word that Thayer defines, “cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery.” The devil (from DIABOLOS) uses all sorts of tricks in his warfare against Christians, hence it is necessary to have on the whole armor, for there is no way of knowing just which piece will be needed most.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 6:11. Put on the whole armour, lit, panoply, a term then applied to the entire equipment, offensive and defensive (comp. Eph 6:17), of heavy armed infantry, the choice troops of those days. The several parts are spoken of in Eph 6:14-17. As Paul was bound by a chain to a soldier thus equipped (comp. Eph 6:20), the figure was literally at hand.
Of God. Supplied by God, altogether of a Divine kind, in contrast to the arms of the opponent (Braune).
That ye may he able to stud; to stand ones ground against foes, a military phrase, the opposite of fleeing.
Against the wiles of the devil; in contrast with the whole armor of God. Wiles, or, stratagems, usually in a bad sense; the plural marking the variety of the attacks. Luther: against the crafty assaults of the devil. He is the real enemy against whom we contend (Eph 6:12), and without the Divine equipment he will be too powerful for us. The existence of a personal devil (not demon here) is assumed.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
We might set the stage of the conditions in Ephesus when Paul was there earlier. Act 19:13-20 “Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. 14 And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all [men]: and they counted the price of them, and found [it] fifty thousand [pieces] of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
“Put on the whole armour of God” is not a daily item of business, it is a one time act. This ought to confuse some of those spiritual warfare folks that tell us to get ready for battle daily – nope, get ready for battle once and that is it. AND it is also a command, so not an option folks.
“That ye may be able to stand” – notice this is not a battle, this is a standing against the Devil. We aren’t told to go to war and whip his hide, we are told to stand against his wiles.
The “whole armour” is the Greek word that we gain panoply from which also means whole armor. Note it is the armour of God and not our own.
“Wiles” are not something ethereal, they simply relate to methods of the Devil, which by their nature are cunning and sneaky. The Greek term here is the one we gain “method” from which originally meant to subtly arrange things.
We are to protect ourselves so we can stand up to the Devil’s ways and methods toward us. That seems to indicate to me that we aren’t to sin, we aren’t to fall into his temptations. It is our responsibility to stand and not fall.
I watched a movie once that declared that the glory of man was that he would fail God. Now, I don’t know how long that premise took to conger up, but it must have been one of Satan’s prized followers that dreamed it up. It is in no way glorious for man to sin, nor is it glorious that we all do. It is our failing, not our gain.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
To be strong in the Lord (Eph 6:10) the Christian must "put on" (cf. 1Th 5:8) the full armor that is God’s. He supplies it for the believer (cf. Isa 11:5; Isa 59:17).
"Both commands are conspicuous examples of the balanced teaching of Scripture. Some Christians are so self-confident that they think they can manage by themselves without the Lord’s strength and armour. Others are so self-distrustful that they imagine they have nothing to contribute to their victory in spiritual warfare. Both are mistaken. Paul expresses the proper combination of divine ennabling [sic] and human co-operation." [Note: Stott, p. 266.]
The purpose of accepting the equipment that God provides for waging spiritual warfare is essentially to withstand all of Satan’s attacks. In the context of this epistle the aim of Satan in view primarily has been the disunity of the body of Christ. However what Paul said here doubtless applies to all of Satan’s aims and attacks. These offensives come to us from a very intelligent and experienced strategist, and they are frequently deceptive (cf. Eph 4:14).
From other Scripture we know that Satan is behind many of our temptations, having received permission to assail us from God (e.g., Job 1-2). He uses the world system and our flesh (sinful nature) as his tools. He also attacks us directly himself and through his angelic emissaries. God has given us specific instruction in Scripture about how to combat these attacks. We are to resist the devil (1Pe 5:8-9), flee the temptations of the world system (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; 1Jn 2:15-17; 1Ti 6:11; 2Ti 2:22), and deny the flesh (Rom 6:12-13; Rom 7:18-24; Rom 8:13). How do we know the source of a given temptation so we can respond to it appropriately?
Satan has consistently aimed his personal attacks at getting people to doubt, to deny, to disregard, and to disobey the revealed will of God (cf. Genesis 3; Matthew 4). The world system seeks to get people to believe that they do not need God but can get along very well without Him (1 John 2). The flesh tempts us to think that we can find satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment on the physical, material level of life alone (Romans 7). [Note: See J. Dwight Pentecost, Your Adversary the Devil, and C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, for further insight into the devil’s strategies.]
"A thorough knowledge of the enemy and a healthy respect for his prowess are a necessary preliminary to victory in war. Similarly, if we underestimate our spiritual enemy, we shall see no need for God’s armour, we shall go out to the battle unarmed, with no weapons but our own puny strength, and we shall be quickly and ignominiously defeated." [Note: Stott, p. 263.]