A very symbolic passage from Ephesians

St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians

For a brief time at the end of his second missionary journey, and then for more than two years on his third missionary journey, Paul ministered to the church at Ephesus (Acts 18:18–21; 19:1–41). Ephesus was a city in what is now modern-day Turkey. During his time in this city that housed the famous temple to the Greek goddess Artemis, Paul saw many converted to faith in Jesus Christ and many others who opposed his preaching in the synagogues and homes.

Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians, the tenth book in the New Testament, sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon. It was during this time that Paul sat in Rome undergoing his first Roman imprisonment (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1), making Ephesians one of the four epistles commonly known as the Prison Epistles. The others are Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

There is some debate around whether Paul himself wrote Ephesians, or whether it was written in his name by a disciple. The authenticity and content of the letter are not in question.

Ephesians deals with topics at the very core of what it means to be a Christian, both in faith and in practice. While Paul was not responding to a particular theological or moral problem, he wanted to protect against future problems by encouraging the Ephesians to mature in their faith. So, after laying out profound theological truths in the first half of the book, Paul made his purpose clear: he expected that this community of faith would walk in accordance with its heavenly calling (Ephesians 4:1).

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6 encourages obedience: “1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” and “4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” as well as encouraging slaves and masters to treat each other with respect, “8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.”

Verses 10 – 18 (or parts as on the medallion) are commonly known as “The Armor of God”. They read:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

It is very evocative, and also very challenging:

• Have integrity (belt of truth)
• Be pure (breastplate of righteousness)
• Be tranquil (feet fitted with the Gospel of peace)
• Be certain in your belief (shield of faith)
• Be sane and assured (helmet of salvation)
• Know the Word of God (sword of the Spirit)

Obverse

Being so evocative, the theme of “Armor of God” is one of the most commonly used on bible-themed medallions I can find. Some around round, but shields like this one are also a popular shape for these. The image of a Knight Templar in full armour is shown on the obverse. Knights Templar DID wear chainmail like this. The helmet is also similar to what would have been worn. Here is another site with information on Knights Templar and dress.

The medallion quotes Ephesians 6:13-17. Reading above, passages 10-12 is more an introduction to why the armor is needed than descriptive. Verse 18 is an instruction to pray – skipped on this piece, but some show a knight kneeling in prayer.

Reverse

The reverse breaks down the armor into the parts listed in scripture. Helmet, belt, breastplate, sword and shoes are all pictured with the names of each piece in the corners. Interestingly the style of armour, helmet and belt particularly, is more Roman Centurion than 12th century knight as on the other side.

While evocative, it is important not to be distracted by the imagery and lose sight of the message. Another way of reminding us how we should live, comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans (13:14): “Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”. Or even more simply: “What Would Jesus Do?“