As I wrapped up my in depth study of the Book of Ephesians using the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible as a resource, I came across these two study questions:
(1) (Ephesians 6:10-17) What is the "armor of God" we need in order to resist the daily attacks by malevolent spirits? In Paul's inventory, what kinds of weapons do we have? How do the OT (Old Testament) books of Wisdom and Isaiah, to which Paul alludes, picture Yahweh? What does this OT background suggest for our reading of the passage?
(2) For application: (Ephesian 6:12-13) Do you believe in the reality of spiritual warfare? How have you experienced its reality in your own life? What is going on now that you might call spiritual warfare? If you do you believe that events - especially negative ones - reflect "warfare" of a spiritual nature, how would you explain what Paul is talking about?
The study bible makes reference to Wisdom 5:17-20 and Isaiah 59:17 which "depict Yahweh as a warrior suiting up for battle against the ungodly. The church joins him in this holy war as believers are enlisted among his troops and equipped with his divine armory. This background suggests that Paul's imagery is more closely linked with Yahweh's spiritual armor than with the military gear of a Roman soldier." I never learned these verses this way! I had always tried to figure out what individual weapon was supposed to mean (sword, breast plate, shield, helmet, and protective foot wear) by imagining them on a Roman soldier during combat. It is refreshing to know that the Lord is the one who is leading this battle. "The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor, and will arm all creation to repel his enemies;" (Wisdom 5:17). St. Jerome said it this way: "To put on the armor of God is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Called truth and righteousness, our Savior is our belt and our breast plate. Called the living Word of God, he is the sword who is sharp on both sides." Now that's simple to remember. Whenever I feel I am in a battle, I am reminded to put on Jesus - "Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might!" (Ephesians 6:10)
I do believe in the reality of spiritual warfare. The devil is real and I am learning more and more of his tricks which are often quite subtle. C.S. Lewis has written an insightful (but humorous) book about the subtle attacks of the Devil (The Screwtape Letters).
The last time I wrote about the armor of God was a birthday blog for my oldest daughter Joan 4 years ago. I just read it again and my prayer is that it is still relevant and helpful to her journey. You can read it here:
http://davidhcchan.blogspot.ca/2013/02/for-joans-birthday.html
