Part Ten of Ten: Having and Taking

Today’s soldier is never without three things when he goes into battle. The truth supporting his cause for which he might have to sacrifice his life; his Kevlar vest to deflect the enemy’s ordnance’s, and his mental acuity, and always being prepared, expecting the unexpected. However, and above all, he takes his faith in numbers and the fact, he is not alone in the fight. They assure him that someone will have his back. The soldier takes his helmet to protect his brain, which is the life of man. He also takes his weapon which not only protects him defensively, but offensively. Although soldiers carry other things like communication, for all intent and purposes, this soldier is ready for battle.

The Christian is no different, as he daily leaves home, into the world, and war. The Christian must properly dress himself [1] for battle. This was Paul’s reason for the armor metaphor of Ephesians six [2].

v14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
v15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
v16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
v17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: [Ephesians 6:14-17]

As a writer, the first thing I noticed were verb changes. In the first three pieces of armor Paul uses the verb “having [3].” A derivative form of the verb “having,” is the verb, “to be,” and is a present progressive form of the verb. This means to always have on Christ’s truth [4] and Christ’s righteousness [5‎]. We are always to bind Christ’s peace around us and stand firm in the foundation of His peace in our lives [6].

In verse 16, Paul changes verbs from having to taking. We always wear the first three pieces of armor. However, the next three we only use as needed when the day of trouble comes. The enemy is relentless, and we need to prepare daily with our shield of faith [7], our helmet of salvation [8], and the Sword of the Spirit [9].

Please forgive me for not having my blog uploaded for you. This last month has been my days of evil. The enemy has attacked my heart and between all the doctor’s poking, prodding, and tests, I am prayerfully back on track. I go to the heart specialist the 11th of December to get the results of all my tests and Zio patch. The specialist will discuss a plan to help me live out what little time I have left. I consider this life as only a stopping off place en route to a spiritual world, known as God’s Kingdom, where I’ll sit at the feet of Jesus. Hallelujah! I thank you all for your patience and understanding. God bless each one of you.

This concludes this series of the Armor of God. I pray that it blessed you. The Lord a willing and the creek don’t rise, I’ll see you all Dec 3rd.
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[1] To save space and words, I will use the male pronouns to represent both male and female; he/she, him/her, himself/herself, etc.
[2] Ephesians 6:10-18
[3] Ephesians 6:14, 15
[4] Loin Belt of Truth
[5] Breastplate of Righteousness
[6] Gospel of Peace
[7] Shield of Faith
[8] Helmet of Salvation
[9] Sword of the Spirit