One of my long standing projects and, it seems like lifelong, goals is to explore the spiritual warfare passages from Ephesians. The first few times I read these verse they really stood out to me. Yet, the book only fully opened up for me as I prepared to teach a small study group on the section. One of the elders from my church had shared with me the greatest tool a teacher can use is anything that makes your points practical, concrete and real to the people you're trying to share your ideas with.

Before I could make Paul's writings real, I had to know what they were about to begin with. So, I began studying the book as a whole. What was its context? Where did it fit in the scope of other books? When was it written? What had Paul done prior to being in Ephesus? Why was he in prison? The list went on for quite some time. To be able to put ourselves in Paul's mind we had to be able to first get in the room he was in, in the place in history to peer into what deeper things God was revealing through these verses.

It was with this research that God began to reveal some interesting pieces of revelation about the passage more closely than I had known before. Ephesians is one of three epistles written during Paul's imprisonment. He was being guarded by a member of the Praetorian Guard at all times. This would be much like a member of our modern Secret Service or Central Security Service being with us twenty four, seven. These were the most esteemed and honored of warriors in the Roman Empire. So, Paul had a lot of time to familiarize himself with the Roman soldier.

In fact, I felt led to examine the nature and history of the Roman military to understand what Paul was writing more fully. The verses he penned probably were written in or near the presence of one of these soldiers. He had only to look up or walk outside of his house to see what a warrior looked like. Yet, in the context of his spiritual life, Paul himself understood warfare more so than even this most honored of warriors. Paul himself is not unlike a general writing to his soldiers in the letter. His commands, "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power", are unlike the words of an ordinary man. He had the ability to speak with supernatural authority. When he spoke, power filled his words and things happened. We often read lightly what he writes in these passages and consider his commands as meaningful writings worth considering when we feel strong and focused as Christians.

In the army orders from a general are not considered, they are obeyed. And, thinking of Paul as a spiritual general of the highest order, how can Christians dismiss what is being said...or more specifically, ordered...without failing to understand the importance of Paul's writings? He speaks not to suggest but rather to empower. As Jesus spoke and supernatural power changed lives, Paul's words are meant to fill the hearer (or reader) with a supernatural call to action. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." Read this and think, Paul had fought every kind of battle a spiritual soldier can fight and has been aided to victory by the Lord. He has been promoted and called by Christ himself. When he says, "Put on the full armor", we are to do it.

This kind of approach to reading this passage has been lost in translation due to generations forgetting the perspective and character of the man writing the letter. We are warriors and God is our shield. Surrounding ourselves with love and warring in that spirit for God's will and justice to be done can do some amazing things. But, remember, we have to be prepared. How many police officers wake up and go to work without Kevlar vests, badges and sidearms? None. How many Christians take the same precautions? Far more than I would care to admit. If we remember that we are in an eternal battle with an enemy whose sole purpose and ambition is to destroy us it's easy to keep focused. But, most people prefer to live in a demilitarized zone. It's just easier.

One particular passage that stood out to me was actually brought to me by Page. One day, while we still lived in Baton Rouge, I had been meditating on these verses. As always she was just being interested in something and grabbed a little blue book of one of our shelves and handed it to me. It was a Catholic book of saints. I thought, hmmm, that's interesting. At that moment, I became curious about whether the angels, Gabriel and Michael, were honored as saints. Sure enough they were. I read Michael's bio and thumbed through the book considering how odd it is that an angel, a created being but not a human, became a saint. What sort of strange theology what was...

Then, another thought occurred to me: in Latin the term for righteousness is virtue. At that moment, it clicked: one of the orders of angels mentioned by several early church fathers was the virtues. Since righteousness is a virtue, we are surrounded by angelic protection by the Lord. The breastplate of righteousness, as mentioned in the Ephesians passage, is, in reality, the presence of God's angelic guard. The language of Ephesians is symbolic, but the link to God's real guardianship is unmistakable. Paul was instructing his charges to daily put on righteousness, a character quality, in order to protect our hearts and our souls. Indeed, what does a breastplate protect most, the torso, but, more specifically, the heart.

As is said throughout scripture, man is wicked all the days of his life. But, through God's grace and mercy we may receive the opportunity to be surrounded by his righteousness. Through obedience to his word and faithfulness to his laws we grow closer to him. Daily putting on righteousness, daily choosing to honor God with everything we do will protect our hearts...for, we will not grow greedy or bitter. Humility and thanksgiving flow from a heart that is surrounded by righteousness. What a great protection Paul wrote of.

I still cannot understand how people light read this passage. Most of the emphasis is placed on the verses that talk about principalities and powers. In reality, the important part of the verses lie in what we are commanded to do. Daily war demands...survival to fulfill our missions demand on learning and adhering to Paul's orders. Find the true meaning of what each piece of armor means and you are ready for the true battles that confront your daily walk. Here's the list of items with the literal meanings:

Belt - truthfulness
Breastplate - righteousness
Shield - faith
Feet - readiness
Helmet - knowledge and certainty of salvation
Sword - Word of God

Those principles-truthfulness, righteousness, faith, readiness, certainty of salvation and strong grip on the Word-cannot be surpassed. Sitting there watching his guard, Paul was modeling his message on a real, tangible example of what excellence in warfare was all about, the Praetorian Guard. But, he was teaching, instructing, what it meant to do battle in love.