It’s All Greek To Me!

I’m not a Greek scholar; but, I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night. Naw! That’s not true either.  I do, however, know what a concordance and a Lexicon are.  And, I also find it fun and helpful to use them.  In doing today’s blog, I started by looking online to see what the definition of “whole” was according to Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster defines “whole” as:

         -Free of defect or impairment (intact)

         -Having all its proper parts or components (complete unmodified)        

         -All of the …..

         -Constituting an undivided unit (entire)

         -Total

         -Directed to one end (concentrated)

         -Very great in quantity, extent or scope.

I thought this very helpful when considering Paul’s instruction/command to the church of Ephesians:

“Put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11).

Then it dawned on me, I wonder what the Greek word for “whole" meant.  I went to my trusty, http://www.biblestudytools.com.

I found that there were multiple words for “whole” used in the New Testament.  Strangely, none of them were found in Ephesians 6:11.  In fact only a single word, “Panoplioa” was translated into the English for the phrase “whole armor”.  (If there are any Greek scholars reading this, I welcome your input at this point).  According to my lexicon this single word refers to a full, complete armor, a suit of armor, if you will.

Again, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, most of the known world was ruled by the Romans, at the time this letter was written.  For the average person reading this letter, they comprehended what this meant; yet, the Holy Spirit deemed it necessary to elaborate on what was included in this suit.  You think, maybe He knew that 2000 years later, the average person reading Ephesians 6:11, would not have the slightest image of what this meant.  I think that is very possible, as well as probable.  Plus,since the suit of armor had many components, He did not want us to forget to put them all on.  Unless they are all “put on”, the suit is not complete, sort-of-like a tux without a cummerbund, only much more important.

I, for one am glad that the translators saw fit to add the word “whole”.

I need all the extra instructions that I can use!  When we are young, our parents dressed us and as we got older we took more of the responsibility.   By the time we became teenagers, we knew it all.  As we become senior citizens, we realize that one of the reasons God gave us spouses, is so that they can help us, sort-of-like substitute parents. If we live long enough to end up in a nursing home, someone else dresses us.  I can’t give a complete scriptural basis to think that God’s armor works the same way; but I do know that little children have a special value to God and that their angels are ever in the presence of God.  Jesus said:

“Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:10

I know this definitely refers to little children in age physically; but I tend to believe that babes in Christ are special.  God, however, never intended us to stay babies.  That is why Paul sets the stage for Ephesians 6 in Ephesians 1.  He makes it clear that he is talking to mature Christians.  Part of maturing is putting on the “whole armor of God”. 

 Get up!  Get dressed! “Put on the whole armor of God”!

YOU”RE NOT A BABY ANYMORE!