Ken Chumbley
There is an old English song that goes, “We are soldiers of the king, my lads, the king, my lads, the king, my lads. We’ll fight for England’s glory lads for we are soldiers of the king.” As Christians, we too are “soldiers of the king.” However, our king is King Jesus. As Christians, we do not engage in physical combat for our king, but we are engaged in combat: a spiritual combat (Eph. 5:12).
The New Testament often illustrates the Christian life in terms of a soldier in the army. When we became a Christian, we enlisted in the Lord’s army. No soldiers in the Lord’s army are conscripted or drafted but every Christian is a volunteer in the army of the Lord. We also need to realize that, as soldiers in the Lord’s army we are always “on active duty.” There is never a time when we are “on leave” or can take “a leave of absence.” The Christian’s warfare, as we have noted, is not a carnal warfare, but a spiritual warfare. The opposing army, Satan and his cohorts are ever active in their endeavors to defeat the Lord’s army. Thus, we need to be ever vigilant, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). The Christian is to be ever watchful, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). The apostle Paul describes the armor of the Christian and likens it to the armor worn by the Roman soldier (Eph. 6:10-19).
The brethren at Ephesus, to whom Paul wrote, were very familiar with the Roman soldier, as indeed all Christians in the first century would have been since the Roman Empire ruled over the known world. This armor provides all of the equipment that the Christian soldier needs both for defense and attack. The armor provides protection for the Christian soldier to enable him to withstand all of the darts that the devil and his angels may hurl while the Christian stands firm in the Lord. However, the Christian is expected to stand, to hold his ground, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth” (6:14). The Christian is not expected to turn tail and flee. Thus, we see no armor is provided for the rear. The Christian is to stand his ground against the devil.
We note that the Christian is provided with but one piece of offensive weaponry, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (6:17). This is the only weapon the child of God needs; all others are useless. However, the Word of God is “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword” (Heb. 4:12).
The Word of God is perfect for accomplishing the task that God has given to it. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Let us then take up the whole armor of God that we may participate in the battle. Let us take up the sword of the Spirit and never sheave it until we have “fought a good fight” (4:7). Let us “endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2:3) and never entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life (2:4).
