Armor

panoplian

Considering again Ephesians 6:11—“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”—the words whole armor are one word in the Greek, panoplian (3833), from which, of course, we get our English word panoply, a full suit of armor. The prefix pas (3956) means “all or whole” and hoplon (3696) means “weapon.” Literally, then, the word means “all the weapons” and pictures the full armor, both offensive and defensive, of the heavily armed Roman soldier. We have all seen pictures or movies depicting the Roman soldier, and that is the graphic and dramatic picture Paul paints here.

Additionally, the verb put on is in the aorist tense, showing a once-for-all act of putting on the armor and never taking it off. It’s also in the imperative mood, showing a command with a military snap, as in the term “saddle up” in the modern military, that is, get all your gear together and move out. Finally, the verb is also in the middle voice, which means that the subject participates in the results of the action or shares in the benefits of the action. So, putting on the armor of God is greatly to our benefit.

Putting all of this together, God’s military command is that we put on all the armor and never take it off, so that we can not only survive, but be victorious in battle. It’s not enough for a soldier to go into battle with the attitude that he just wants to survive. General Douglas MacArthur truly said, “In war there can be no substitute for victory.” The spiritual application is vivid: We are not fighting to survive, but to win! Our objective is not just to come out unscathed but to inflict casualties on the enemy, Satan and his servants. General George Patton said it well: “No [one] ever won a war by dying for his country; he won it by making the other poor [soul] die for his country.”

While such sentiment might appear repugnant, it must be the attitude of the Christian in the spiritual war. The only way we can be victorious is to put on all the weapons and leave them on for the duration of the conflict, a conflict that will continue until we go home to be the Lord.

Scriptures for Study: Read the following occurrences of hoplon, noting that the Christian life is a war: Romans 6:13 (“instrument”); 13:12; 2 Corinthians 6:7; 10:4.

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