Deeper Reflection
PAUL POINTS TO THE REALITY OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN relation to Christ’s Second Coming. For the Thessalonian believers, it is to “put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation” (v.8). They were “armed with the fundamental Christian virtues”¹⁴: “work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope” (1 Thess 1:3). This is maturing in Christian character. For the Roman believers, it is to “put on the armour of light” (Rom 13:11), which is, “Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:14, NJB¹⁵). It is not “Christlikeness only that we are to assume, but Christ Himself, laying hold of Him, and living under Him as Lord”¹⁶.Paul’s use of the armour metaphor stems from the armour of the Divine Warrior in Isaiah 59:17. He uses the metaphor in identifying the various virtues that the specific pieces of the armour represent; and he “seems free to alter the metaphor; that is, one piece of armour does not consistently denote one and the same spiritual concept”¹⁷ (cf. Eph 6:13-17).The end times spiritual battleground is described as “the evil day” (Eph 6:13), when “some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim 4:1). It will be “difficult times”, and the difficulties are not ecological, geopolitical or economic in nature, but spiritual and moral (2 Tim 3:1-9). So, we must be properly armed for this end times spiritual warfare with Christian character that is developed out of a growing relationship and fellowship with God.

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¹⁴ Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Apollos, 2002), 240 ¹⁵ The New Jerusalem Bible ¹⁶ John R. W. Stott, The Message of Romans, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP, 1994), 353 ¹⁷ Gary S. Shogren, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Zondervan, 2012), 209