The Panoply of God (Part 1)

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During his lifetime, Charles Wesley penned over 5,000 hymns¹. Yet out of those 5,000 there is only one that I know of which has been sung multiple times in every congregation of which I have been a member. The song is so recognizable and distinct that even the phrase, “the panoply of God” may give away the song — Soldiers of Christ, Arise. A quick reading of the lyrics and you will discover that Charles Wesley had Ephesians 6:10-20 in mind. The very word “panoply” derives from the Greek word “panoplia” (πανοπλία) meaning “full armor.”

More than a great Children’s Bible Class or VBS idea, the charge given to these Ephesian brethren to put on the whole armor of God brings great encouragement and help. Consider these four:

Firstly, our strength comes from God. To attempt to fight the spiritual warfare with merely our own means, strength, and cleverness will fail. This is certainly true when we were separate from Christ (Eph. 2:12; cf. Rom. 3:23). It is in God that we can become strong and remain strong. We have not “done all, to stand firm” (Eph. 6:13c) unless we take up the whole armor of God.

Secondly, our enemy is identified. The devil uses all sorts of schemes, hidden in darkness, to commit all sorts of evil against us (Eph. 6:11-12). When evil days come, it is Satan who is behind it (Eph. 6:13); when there are flaming darts, they come from the evil one (Eph. 6:16). Earlier in this letter, the Holy Spirit through Paul commands the Ephesians to give no opportunity to the devil (Eph. 4:27). They are to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11). How much better off we are knowing who our true enemy is!

Thirdly, we are reminded that we are all in this together. Each “you” is plural (Eph. 6:11, 13, 16) and the “we” in verse 12 even identifies that Paul is with the Ephesian brethren in this battle. Throughout this letter, we are reminded of the idea of unity and oneness in Christ. Ephesians 1:10 speaks of God’s plan to unite all things in Christ. Chapter two emphasizes the one new man that Jesus has made (Eph. 2:15-16). Jew and Gentile have access to the Father in one Spirit (Eph. 2:18). We are “fellow citizens” all “members” of God’s house (Eph. 2:19). The whole structure is “joined together” and grows together (Eph. 2:20). In Christ, all of us are built together into a single dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph. 2:22). Paul continues this unity into chapter 3 speaking of Gentiles being “fellow heirs” and “members of the same body” (Eph. 3:6). All of this is before Paul’s great call of unity in Ephesians 4:1-6! Not only do we have a clear understanding of who our enemy is, we know who our allies are — each other.

Finally, the armor of God truly is God’s armor! This is what God provides, we merely wear it. We will consider this in greater detail in my next article.

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1 Cross, F. L., and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, editors. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev., Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 1739.

[Logan serves as Family & Evangelism Minister at the Graeber Road church in Rosenberg, Texas and we’re glad to have him as a contributor. —Weylan]