Ephesians 6:10-11; We stand firm when we put on the new self and its virtuous heart.

Tuesday March 22, 2022

The verb “put on” is used in reference to the Holy Spirit (Luk 24:49); armor of light (Rom 13:12); Christ (Rom 13:14; Gal 3:27); new self (Eph 4:24; Col 3:10); virtuous heart (Col 3:12); breastplate of faith and love and helmet of salvation (1Th 5:8).

In Rom 13, the plea from Paul is that the coming of the Lord is near (nearer) and since the day is coming (and in other passages, we are of the day) let us live as children of light. The day is a reference to the world under the kingdom of God that is coming after Christ removes the present darkness.

Rom 13:8-14

Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled [perfect indicative] the law. 9 For this, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

11 And this do, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on [command] the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

“salvation is nearer” – the redemption of the body in passage to heaven (Rom 8:23). The day of light is coming, therefore how should we behave?

The return of Christ, second coming, is the making of light in the world through the very real and physical establishment of His kingdom Israel in fulfillment of His covenants to Abraham, David, and the prophets. The reality of this future is to clothe us as Christ clothes us. If we put on Him then we have upon us, draping over all our conscious thought, all that comes with Christ. We look at the future and imagine tomorrow or maybe something farther, but farther still is the glorious kingdom of God that Christ has made us fit for. How could He clothe us with Himself if we were not perfectly righteous?

Putting on Christ – draping your soul with all He is (virtue, purpose, love, joy, peace, etc.). Our self-conscious thoughts through a veneer of Christ.

You think of yourself a lot during your waking day. That’s self-consciousness. It is a self-projection of you that you return to many times throughout the day. What we are aiming for is not so much the loss of that self, but that every time we think of it, it is covered with an veneer of Jesus Christ. The end goal, the maturity we seek is to so often see Christ upon ourselves that we forget about our old self and see the new self in Christ and thus think like Him, seeing others are more important than ourselves.

Putting on Christ conveys an image within each of us. We instinctively form a mental image if we are interested enough. It is meant to, as is all the imagery in the Bible, which is much and varied. If Christ covered your inner self (soul, heart, spirit, mind) what would the contents of that self look like? It would have to look like Him. It would have to be the fruit of the Holy Spirit; the heavenly virtue and goodness of Christ.

Without this covering we will not be able to stand firm against the schemes of God’s enemy.

“Putting on” is an imagery that is meant to give you a mental picture that is yours alone. This is true of all biblical imagery. Even if someone described to you in as much detail as they could their mental image as suggested by biblical imagery, you couldn’t duplicate it exactly. Imagery in parables, poetry, and the writings are meant for each of us to form a mental picture that helps us to understand the truths of the Bible and to recall them easily for application to life.

2Pe 3:11

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.

The current earth and universe being destroyed by God with fire is another image, and a drastic one. Since it is a future reality, what sort of people should we be?

Unlike Gal 3:27 where “put on Christ” is an indicative which is the reality of all those who are baptized into Christ, in Rom 13:14, “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” is a commandment.

Rom 13:12-14

The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on [command] the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

“Put on TLJC” is contrasted with an immoral life and associated with making no provision (literally “before thought”) for the flesh.

We must not get caught up in the game of thinking what’s first, meaning do we put on Christ and then we won’t give in to the flesh. Read plainly. Paul is not giving a formula. There is no procedure that makes this easier for those who adopt it. Plainly read, these are done at the same time. It is one decision to walk in light, walk by the Spirit and to lay aside the deeds of darkness. It is one decision to do the opposite.

Putting on the armor of God is putting on God, or at least His characteristics (truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, word, salvation).

The idea is close to Eph 5:1 “Be imitators of God.” Only be taking the characteristics of God can we be strong. If you remember, strength comes by faithfulness, faith, and obedience. When you have one you have the other.

Keeping track of all of these is going to greatly help our understanding of putting on the full armor of God.

We have put on Christ. We have put on the Holy Spirit (He indwells us). From this very advantageous position we put on the armor of light and we put on the Lord Jesus Christ while putting aside the deeds of darkness and making no provision for the flesh.

Only those who have put on Christ and the Holy Spirit (don’t get confused because the Scripture says that they are also in us) can put on the armor of light, the virtue of Christ, while laying aside the old self (no provision for the flesh). If we don’t use our graciously given position to dress our souls in light and Christ and virtue and faith and love, then we won’t be able to stand and our life experience will be one in which we are tossed about like a ship at sea in a fierce storm.

Joh 14:23-24

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words;”

In Paul’s epistle to the Colossians we find a detailed description of keeping Christ’s word.

Col 3:1-4

If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

It is not a life hidden from you but is not yet as visible as it will be at the return of Christ. For now the spiritual life is within. Christ clothes our hearts. From within we stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Sometimes the inner spiritual life will be manifested to others, but other times they won’t see it.