Ephesians 6:10-17 and Hebrews 11

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:10-17 and Hebrews 11)

Comment:

Certainly we can be said to “put on the whole armor of God” when we fully embrace our Oneness with God, so that our creative choices express that Oneness in our lives and in the world. What’s important here is that this is emphatically not a call to oppose other faiths and other believers, but rather “spiritual forces of evil.” This is not a power opposite to God, but rather the expression of ignorance—a failure to know or believe the Presence of God in each of us and the spiritual law according to which that Presence expresses through us. These energies have no reality in spiritual Truth—they dissipate once the ignorance is dissolved—but they can be very powerful and challenging to deal with in terms of our human experience. Like any ideas we hold in consciousness, thoughts based in ignorance can express in the tangible world. But they cannot become a unique and separate power that is not God. So, for example, there is no person who is purely evil. Even in those who seem totally lost in ignorance, God is present as the energy of Life and as the potential for Light and Love. And we are always to be centered in the understanding that is a “gospel of peace.”

Hebrews 11 is a very long chapter which I cannot cover completely in one brief response. It unfolds from the opening verses: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible” (Heb. 11:1-3). It then goes on to cite examples in Hebrew Scripture where God responded to faith, not to obedience to the Law. The overall purpose is to justify the message and ministry of Jesus Christ as a fulfillment of the Law and, at the same time, as a divine understanding that precedes the Law as given to Moses. The spiritual Truth of Jesus Christ can be traced back to, as the Gospel of John expresses it, “the beginning.” For us, too, “following Jesus” is not about obeying laws and rules, but about having faith in our innate Oneness with the Presence and Power of the divine.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed