| The Christian Life | March 1941 |
The Christian Soldier and His Armor
“This charge I commit unto thee … Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare.” (I Tim. 1:18) “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (II Tim. 2:3,4) “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (I Tim. 6:12) “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” (Rom. 13:12) “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:11,12) “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (II Cor. 10:3-5) “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” (I Thess. 5:8) “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Eph. 6:13-15) “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”—Heb. 4:12
THE BIBLE is none the less true because it abounds with illustrations, parables, figures of speech, symbols, metaphors, similes; hyperboles and allegories. In the above quotations of Scripture we find the Christian likened to a soldier, armed and ready for battle.
The “good soldiers of Jesus Christ,” are all volunteers even as was indeed their Leader, Jesus Christ, who is called “the Captain of their salvation.” His was no conscripted service, but He “gave Himself a ransom for all.” His words were, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God.” Neither is Christ interested in conscripting anyone to serve under Him. His words were, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matt. 16:24) And on another occasion, in referring to one intending to build a tower, He said that such a person would “first sit down and count the cost.” (Luke 14:28) It is God who invites us through Christ: but He invites us to volunteer. St. Paul urged that we volunteer for service, in these words, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”—Rom. 12:1
While the human warrior, in many respects, is very different from the Christian warrior, nevertheless there are many correspondencies which may be drawn from the life of a soldier. Does not a good soldier love the cause for which he fights? Does he not love his country and have confidence in his Command? Certainly, too, it is true of, “the good soldier of Jesus Christ,” that he has thoroughly espoused and is wholeheartedly interested in God’s plans for humanity, and in His standards of truth and righteousness. How he rejoices in having been called, “out of darkness into His marvelous light”! The more we know of God and His plans and purposes the greater will be our confidence in Him.
Obedience is another important characteristic of a good soldier. Without discipline, no army can be effective. All those who have been outstanding Christian soldiers have excelled in this matter of obedience. Of our Captain, Jesus Himself, it is written that “He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” (Heb. 5:8) St. Paul, when shown what he should do, did not equivocate, but obeyed. Recounting the matter of his conversion to the truth concerning Christ, he declared, “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.” (Acts 26:13) Without obedience we cannot be true Christian soldiers.
Training, fearlessness, and intelligence, are also essentials of the good soldier. Training may take time and require application on our part. It is not enough that we have experiences, but that, having them we profit by them. The Bible is our Manual of Arms. It is our guide as to how we should fight and with what weapons. We are told, that “all Scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good work.”—II Tim. 3:16,17
If this has been our realization, then our love for, and our faith in God, should make us fearless. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” And although “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,” nevertheless they are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” It is our duty to know how to fight the good fight of faith. St. Paul was one who thus fought with skill and certainty; for, he writes, “So fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.” (I Cor. 9:26) Fearless? Yes, “for God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”—II Tim. 1:7
A good soldier should be able to endure hardness. And so should we, even as St. Paul counseled Timothy: “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” Hardihood to endure, is usually a quality of the seasoned soldier. The ability to endure hardness is very essential for the Christian. It is not enough that we fight well for a time. For the promise of reward is to them “who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality.” (Rom. 2:7) Again we are told, “he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”—Matt. 10:22
Endurance is demonstrated in long marches; in withstanding sieges, in continuous fighting without respite, and in keeping awake for long hours when on watch. Our fight as Christians against entrenched sin in our flesh, against the spirit of the world and the devil is not easily won. If we endure to the end, making use of the instructions of our “Manual of Arms” and all the helps which God has provided—having on the whole armor of God—we shall surely triumph by His grace. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” (I John 5:4) Let us never sleep when we should be on watch. As sentinels of God, we should ever be vigilant, alert. “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”—I Thess. 5:6
Other essentials of a soldier are good eyes, good hearing and good teeth. Sight and hearing are particularly important. “Blessed,” said Jesus to His disciples, “are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” (Matt. 13:16; Luke 10:23) Spiritual good health certainly cannot be enjoyed when there is a lack of spiritual understanding. It is the eye of faith which looks, “not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen [with the natural eye] are eternal.” (II Cor. 4:18) What spiritual. blessings, indeed, may be those of the Christian whose vision (eye) of faith is keen, and whose hearing of faith is attuned to the voice of God speaking through His Word. “Behold,” says Jesus through His Revelation to John and the church, “I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”—Rev. 3:20
A good soldier should have the ability to work well with others. Team work will often succeed where individual effort would fail. Still, team work is, in a way, but the pooling of individual effort in a united endeavor. Team work may be destroyed by jealousies and animosities. Jealousy is out of place in the Christian warfare. Not only did St. Paul possess a great deal of zeal, but by his letters and by his words he encouraged others to the exercise of zeal in themselves by the full use of such talents and abilities as they possessed. A case in point are his letters to Timothy urging him to activity and leadership, and “that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.” (II Tim. 1:6) In all of his activities, the Christian’s motivating principle should be love, for “love seeketh not her own.” Therefore his motto of love should be, “All for one, and one for all.” Soldiers at odds and fighting among themselves would be an easy prey to their foes.
A good soldier needs certain knowledge and training—he must be well informed in military tactics to fight to the best advantage. The fear occasioned by a lack of knowledge is well illustrated by an incident in the first World War. A new contingent of soldiers was manning the front line trenches. The zero hour was approaching. They had never been over the top. They were nervous. The thunder of artillery fire had reached its crescendo. Out in front bursting shells were forming a veritable wall of fire. A recruit asked the sergeant, “How can anyone go over the top and get through there alive?”—The sergeant replied, “that wall of fire is our own barrage destroying the enemies resistance. It will move on in front of us as we advance. It is for our own protection!” And why, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ should we look with fear on the crumbling thrones of earth? This crumbling and shaking of all things should strengthen our faith and confidence that God’s purposes are being accomplished, that only those things which cannot be shaken might remain.
THE CHRISTIAN’S PANOPLY
The Grecian armor consisted of two sorts—offensive and defensive. From these St. Paul selects those which he calls the panoply, or complete armor of God for an effective campaign against the forces of evil in “the evil day.”
The first item he mentions is the girdle, or military belt, used to brace the armor tight to the body, and to cover the two parts of the breastplate where they joined, and to support the daggers, short swords, etc. St. Paul likens this girdle to the truth. His words are, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.” How well the girdle represents consecration to service, to God and to His truth. The Christian armor is not of a material character, but of the spirit. St. Peter refers to the girding up of the loins of our minds. (I Pet. 1:13) Surely it is only on the basis of the truth that anyone could serve the “God of all truth,” acceptably. What a protection, indeed, to have the loins of our minds girt about with truth—in other words, to be in the truth and to have the truth in us! Paul’s prayer for the brethren at Colosse was that they might be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.—Col. 1:9,10
The second item of the “armor of God” mentioned by St. Paul is the breastplate which consisted of two parts—one, reaching from the neck to the navel, and the other, hanging from thence to the knees. St. Paul urges that we put on the whole armor of God in order to be able to withstand in the evil day with its wiles of the devil, and other opposing forces, powers and principalities. He calls this second item of the Christian’s protective equipment, “the breastplate of righteousness.” (Eph. 6:14) Our righteousness, or justification, is provided by God through faith in His provision for us in Jesus Christ. The merit of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us is, indeed, a protective covering—a breastplate. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1) We have noted that the Grecian breastplate was of two parts. We think, perhaps, St. Paul had this in mind when, in writing to the Thessalonians, he urges the “putting on” of “the breastplate of faith and love.” (I Thess. 5:8) Certain it is that the righteousness represented by this breastplate is that which is imputed of Christ and which we have in Him, our own righteousness being but “filthy rags,” as the prophet puts it. (Isa. 64:6) Therefore let us all continue the age-long struggle, equipped in the “armor of light.”—Rom. 13:12
Another item of the panoply, or armor of the Grecian soldier was called the greaves, which were made of gold, silver, brass or iron, and designed to protect the front of the legs and feet. Protection for what may seem to be less important parts of the body was not overlooked in the Apostle’s naming of the pieces of the panoply of the Christian soldier. His words are, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Protection for all parts of the body is therefore necessary. And all the members of the body of Christ, the less esteemed as well as those held in high esteem, require this protective covering and we can all help to provide it if we have the proper interest in and concern for each other.—I Cor. 12:12,18-31
Important, indeed, is that peace of mind and heart, and that walk in life represented by the “sandals of peace.” Not only is the Christian at peace with God; but he has been given the peace of God—the kind which God possesses. The “very God of peace” has given us, His children, of His peace, and we are referred to as being, “led by His spirit,” which, among other things, is the spirit of peace. (I Thess. 5:23) To walk worthily of the calling wherewith he has been called, the Christian will need to have on the sandals of peace to assist him over the rough, difficult places. Our Gospel is a “gospel of peace” through reconciliation by Jesus Christ, and, therefore, reference is made to having our “feet shod with the preparation of the gospel [good tidings] of peace.”—Eph. 6:15
Another item necessary for the Christian’s protection in his warfare, is the “helmet.” The Greek warrior’s helmet was made of various metals and used to protect the head. “The helmet of salvation,” therefore, represents the intellectual, or philosophical appreciation or understanding of the divine plan. However, the helmet is more than a mere intellectual satisfaction and general hope that God will sometime bring us some kind of salvation. Rather, the helmet would represent both the head knowledge and heart appreciation of God’s plan for the recovery of the human race, and particularly the hope of “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”; namely, the call of the church to “glory, honor and immortality.” This thought of an intellectual understanding of the truth is given us in another symbol by the Revelator when he refers to the servants of God as being, “sealed in their foreheads.” (Rev. 7:3) How indispensable to the Christian, particularly at the present time, is the helmet!
Still another item of armor is the shield—sometimes round, sometimes square—made of thick leather, or of wood, covered with brass or iron. “Above all [or beside all], taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Eph. 6:16) These fiery darts of the adversary and his agents which are quenched when they come against our shield of faith are skepticism, higher criticism, evolution, spiritism, and all the other forms of evil and intimidation—in fact, anything which would tend to injure us as Christians. A proper living faith built upon knowledge and accompanied by works is, by God’s grace, our only defense. “This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith.”—Heb. 11:6; I John 5:4
The last item of the Christian’s warring equipment mentioned is the sword—a weapon consisting of a long, sharp blade fixed in a hilt, or handle. “And take … the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Eph. 6:17) The sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon of the soldier of Christ. It may, however, be used defensively as well as offensively, in parrying blows as well as delivering them. In the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, He used the sword of God as “a sword of the Spirit,” in His encounter with Satan, when to his every temptation He replied, “It is written.” It may, equally, well be used in all our battles not only against Satan, but against the world and the flesh as well. Some, misled by the spirit of the adversary, have mistakenly fought for the Lord with carnal weapons; but the true soldier of the Lord is to use but this one weapon, the sword of the Spirit—a thus, “it is written.”
If others use the darts of Satan, anger, malice, envy, strife, “bitter words,” or worldly wisdom and human philosophy in their attack—we are not to answer railing with railing or kind with kind, nor try to overcome evil with evil. Rather, we should overcome evil with good and human philosophy with sanctified reason and a “thus saith the Lord.” For, indeed, are we not told that “the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12) Let us battle to overcome hate, with love; impatience, with patience; doubt, with faith; and murmuring and fretfulness, with thankfulness and trust. Having put on “the whole armor of God” and standing in His strength, we cannot fail.