What is it about?
The study explores how the items of military equipment listed in Ephesians 6 are principally drawn from Isaiah 59, where the virtues, represented by the armour worn by God, are said to be missing from society. This is why God puts on the armour to fight for his people. In Ephesians 6, God's people are called to put on God's armour to fight for what is good in a society which has gone badly wrong.
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Why is it important?
This study casts fresh light on the interpretation and significance of the items of armour listed in Ephesians 6, and it also constitutes 'a call to arms', for believers to be the people who make a difference in the world by embodying the qualities of truth, uprightness, peace, faithfulness, people who bring salvation and declare the prophetic word of God.
Perspectives
For a long time I have puzzled over the rationale behind the 'armour of God' in Ephesians 6, what the different terms mean and whether believers are supposed to be on the defensive or whether they carry the fight to the spiritual powers opposed to God. Discovering and exploring the links with Isaiah brought clarity and a degree of challenge about the impact this passage can have on how we live our lives.
Tim Carter
London School of Theology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Intertextual Links between Isaiah 59 and the Armour of God in Ephesians 6, Evangelical Quarterly An International Review of Bible and Theology, September 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/27725472-09303001.
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