The Armor of God: Isaiah is the Referent for Understanding Ephesians 6
To understand the “armor of God” passage requires that we see Isaiah as the referent.
Paul describes “armor” in Ephesians 6, and for many, Paul is said to be describing the uniform belonging to a Roman guard or soldier to whom he was chained.[1] The origin story of Paul’s use of armor is most likely not derived from a Roman soldier’s gear but from hope and peace found in Yahweh as described and illustrated by the prophet Isaiah. The author of Ephesians was steeped in the language and imagery of Isaiah. A believer reading this passage is likely to grasp that the resources applied as armor are all representative of those gifts and graces received from God through Christ. Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God are gifts to God’s people. These are not mere doctrinal ideas but God’s unconditional promises for the support of his people, especially during persecution.
The beauty of locating Isaiah as the backstory to the armor of God passage surrounds God’s promises with rich history and is a timeless reminder that he truly is the Almighty One who reigns. God as protector is an ever-present reality in the Old and New Testaments (Deut 31:6; Ps 5:11; Is 41:10; Jn 10:28-30; 2 Thes 3:3). The Testaments work together to corroborate that God delivers his people. The gospel of peace and the other divine blessings provide a historical and theological context when applied to the text of Ephesians that otherwise is absent.
If we believe that Paul’s sole use of the armor metaphor was born from his observations while chained to a Roman soldier then the meaning of the passage loses its point of reference. However, if the author has in mind his source and imagery from Isaiah, and builds from that, then the interpretation is in keeping with the narrative of God’s delivering power and the defeat of his enemies by his means. This offers two crucial outcomes. It places victory and peace in God’s Agency[2] and it unifies the scriptural narrative.
To be reconciled to God changes everything. It is reconciliation that I seek for the teens I minister to. Through Jesus, the New Covenant has been inaugurated and people have been created anew and become members of the kingdom of God. Therefore, when Paul speaks of the armor used by the people of God in their battle against the spiritual powers of darkness, he does not include worldly means of power but rather uses imagery found in Isaiah where God is described as wearing the armor (59:7). When we read about truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit’s illumination of the word of God, we are reminded just how other-worldly God’s resources and benefits are for the believer (6:12-20). Truly, the battle is the Lord’s. Believers depend on God’s Agency.
[1] Hoehner 2-61.
[2] For a treatment on the terms and my use of “God’s Agency” see Alan J. Roxburgh and Martin Robinson, Practices for the Refounding of Gods People, The Missional Challenge of the West (New York: Church Publishing, 2018) 1. Roxburgh states that God’s Agency was rejected by Enlightenment thinkers who believed humans could live well without the need for God. A dependence on God is to be dependent on his agency.