But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
Truth to Learn
It is important for Christians to always be battle ready.
Behind the Words
“Be sober” is the translation of the Greek verb nēphō, which originally meant “to abstain from wine.” Later it was used to mean” to avoid abuse of wine or other alcoholic drinks.” Metaphorically it means “to be sober minded or watchful.”
The words “putting on” are from the verb enduō, which is made up of en, meaning “in” and duō, meaning “to sink” or “to go under.” It is a picture of a person getting under the inner garment of the day (like a dress) as it was being put on. Thus enduō means “to put on clothing.” It is expressed here as an aorist middle participle which means to have done something to yourself at a point in in time in the past. We could translate this as “having dressed yourself with” or “having put on.”
Thōrax is the word translated here as “breastplate.” This is the word from which we get our English thorax, referring to the upper part of the body, the chest area. It is also the name given to the piece of armor a soldier would put on to cover his chest.
The Greek word translated “helmet” is perikephalaia, which is made up of peri, meaning “around” and kephalē, meaning “the head.” Therefore, perikephalaia refers to that piece of armor that goes around (or covers) the head.
Meaning Explained
Paul has just contrasted Christians (children of light) with unbelievers (those who are in spiritual darkness). He now gives us instruction on how we are to prepare for the daily spiritual battles that we will face. In the English translation he starts off with our mental preparedness (be sober). The construction of the Greek grammar, however, indicates that the verb “having put on” occurs in time before the main verb (be sober).
A soldier knows that the most important aspect of his protection is his armor. He doesn’t dare go into battle without protection. Once he has put on his armor, he then prepares mentally for the conflict he is about to enter into. Likewise, Christians (those who are of the day) are in spiritual battles every day. We will be in battles against the enemies of God, so we need to be prepared for battle.
The first thing we need to do to prepare for the coming battles is to have our armor on. For another description of Christian armor see Ephesians 6:13-17. Once we have our armor on, we need to be mentally prepared by being sober minded.
You may also notice that Paul talks about our “hope of salvation” in today’s verse. We have talked before about the two different aspects of our salvation. When we first believed in Jesus Christ, we were recorded in God’s record book as being righteous, which sealed our salvation. At the rapture we will receive our eternal body and the complete salvation that God promises us when we accept Christ as Savior.
Application
Christians are in spiritual battles every day. We need to have our armor on and be clear minded so that we can effectively fight for the glory of God. Are you ready for battle?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2012 Will Krause. All rights reserved