The Divine Panoply: its Necessity and Design
T. Croskery Ephesians 6:11, 12 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Christians have a spiritual warfare on earth (2 Timothy 4:7). They have to fight for God (1 Samuel 25:28), for truth (Jude 1:3), and for themselves (Revelation 3:11). I. THE DIVINE ARMOR. It is so called because God provides each individual part of it. It is amour for offence as well as defense - "forged on no earthly anvil and tempered by no human skill." The amour of Rome - celibacy, poverty, obedience, asceticism - is for flight, not for conflict. This Divine armor we are not required to provide, but merely to put on, and its efficacy depends entirely upon the power of him who made it. II. ITS PURPOSE. "That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." The grand enemy of the Church is the devil, a superhuman tempter older than man. This language implies (1) the personal existence of Satan; (2) his possession of immense resources of cunning and craft; (3) his power to inject evil into the minds of the saints; (4) his great end to destroy the souls of men and the whole moral order of the world; (5) the possibility of resisting his wiles in the strength of the Divine armor, III. ITS NECESSITY. This Divine equipment is indispensable in view of the serried ranks of evil which are leagued against us under the leadership of Satan. Our conflict is not with feeble man. It is with fallen spirits. The language of the apostle implies (1) that these spirits have a hierarchy of their own of different orders; (2) that their malignant activity is exercised in the world of men under a reign of darkness; (3) that their moral character is wickedness; (4) and that, as Satan is the prince of the power of the air, they seem to have their abode or the scene of their activity in the atmosphere that surrounds our earth. We need, therefore, to be strong and valiant in this warfare, (1) because we are fighting for our life; (2) because, though our enemies be strong, our Captain is stronger still; (3) because nothing but cowardice can lose the victory (James 4:7); (4) because, if we conquer, we shall ride triumphantly into heaven (2 Timothy 4:7, 8). - T.C. Parallel Verses KJV: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. WEB: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.