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"Let not sin, therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts
thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments (weapons, armour) of
unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments (weapons, armour) of righteousness unto God"
(Rom. 6: 12, 13).
These references provide conclusive evidence as to what the Apostle intended by the
word `armour'.
Eph. 6: is the last occurrence of the word, which is therefore
adequately explained by its earlier usage.
Another important fact, parallel to that concerning the `armour', is the way in which
the figure of the soldier and the fight merges into that of the athlete and the race,
strengthening our conclusion that the fight is concerned with the prize, and is not so much
a question of a campaign or conquest of enemies.
In II Tim. 2: 4, 5 the transition is most clear. "Strive for masteries" (A.V.) becomes,
`contend in the games' in the R.V.; the verb athleo giving us the word athlete and
athletics. The soldier is mentioned in connection with `endurance'; the figure is then
set aside for that of the athlete and the crown. Again, in II Tim. 4: 7, 8 we have the
fight and the crown, as we have already seen; the word `fight' is agon, which is
translated `race' in Heb. 12: 1. It is impossible to translate II Tim. 4: 7, `I have fought
a good race'. Perhaps the best rendering is: "I have contested a good contest." This
keeps the figure within the bounds of athletics, its true setting.
We can now come to some definite conclusions:
(1)
The Apostle's use of the word `armour' must be our guide as to its meaning, and not
our own ideas drawn from military figures.
(2)
His use of the word `armour' is consistent . . . . . it concerns the putting on of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and so makes Eph. 6: echo Eph. 4: where we `put on the new man'.
(3)
The figure of the athlete striving for the crown involves the keeping under of the flesh.
The flesh, as Eph. 2: 2, 3 has already made plain, is acted upon by the prince of the
power of the air, and so brings the believer into conflict with `spiritual wickednesses'
who are the `rulers of the darkness of this world'.
(4)
The attack of these spiritual foes is not directed against our salvation, our membership
of the church or our standing, for these are outside all possible attack. The attack is
against the believer's chance of winning a prize, a crown, or a reward.
With these things made clear from the Word itself, we can now return to Eph. 6: to
obtain further light upon its teaching. The `high places' of Eph. 6: 12, as the margin
tells us, are, more correctly, `heavenly places'. Now the earlier references to `heavenly
places' leave no doubt about the fact that they are at the right hand of God. Are these
`spiritual wickednesses in heavenly places', then, at the right hand of God? It is
imperative that we seek a Scriptural answer to this question, for we must remember that
Satan's authority is limited to the air and that Christ and His church are `far above all
principality' and therefore far above the realm of Satan himself. In a footnote to an
article written years ago by the present writer in Things to Come, Dr. Bullinger drew
attention to the true disposition of the verse.