Unit 7 rem early — armor as Christ; wrestling not against flesh
From what is written one may say that God's full armor is Christ, so "Put on the full armor of God" is the same as "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." If the belt is truth and the breastplate righteousness, and the Savior is truth and righteousness, then the Savior is clearly the belt and the breastplate. By the same measure he himself would be the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God, the living and active Word sharper than any two-edged sword.
What other full armor of God could the one who will stand against the devil's schemes even think to put on, except the virtue that is Christ? Clothed with him in all his aspects, one will be able to stand against every scheme of wickedness worked by the devil, its father. Girded with truth, he will not be pulled into assenting to persuasive, sophistic arguments for the false. Clothed with righteousness, he will stay unwounded by injustice's arrows; none of them will reach him or make the one wearing righteousness unjust.
The one who has put on the fine shoes of the gospel's readiness for peace—ready, with his works prepared for departure, and so become a person of peace—will neither do anything warlike or factious nor be condemned with the unprepared. Where the shield of faith is, unbelief hostile to the human race's salvation has no room. The one who wears the helmet of salvation keeps unbroken the head of the soul, where the divine and intelligible senses are. And as a noble soldier, holding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Lord's word, he will cut down and destroy every doctrine hostile to the truth.
"For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness, against the spiritual things of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). Wrestling against blood and flesh, I think, means what he calls human temptations, when flesh desiring against the spirit summons us to do its works. It is no longer a human temptation, nor wrestling against blood and flesh, when Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and fights to make us attend to him as an angel of light—or anything like the things that come with every power, lying signs and wonders, and every deceit of injustice.
If the enemy persuades someone to receive him as Lord speaking in him "Thus says the Lord," so that the person even imagines himself a prophet of the God of all, he works that not as blood and flesh or a mere human temptation against one who has guarded himself this far. Therefore give the devil no place at all.
Someone will say Paul speaks this way so we will not first suppose that sins thought to come from the flesh's mindset come from flesh and blood, but from certain powers working them. There are demons that work loves and love-charms, as the prophet shows: "They were led astray by a spirit of fornication." The same may be said of demons that implant wrath and anger; even the curious summon them and are said to make an anger-binding charm. When we hate, we do not hate apart from the demons that work hatred; the so-called hate-charms support that reading.
Because the apostle wants to teach that sinning does not come to us from the body's nature, he says our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, the authorities, and the rest. Asking which ancient writings, revealed and shown to him, helped Paul say this, we conjecture from stories of wars and single combat—David against Goliath, Israel's sons against the foreigners or the nations they fought and conquered. Each of those is likely a symbol of spiritual rulers defeated or prevailing. The wrestling—
Greek
ἀναγεγραμμένων ἔστιν εἰπεῖν παν οπλίαν εἶναι τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Χριστόν, ὥστε ταὐτὸν εἶναι τὸ ἐνδύσασθε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ ἐνδύ α θε τὸν Κύριον Ἰη οῦν Χρι τόν. <εἰ> γὰρ ζώνη μέν ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια θώραξ δὲ ἡ δικαιοσύνη, ὁ σωτὴρ δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ δικαιο ύνη, δῆλον ὅτι ὁ σωτήρ ἐστιν ἡ ζώνη καὶ ὁ θώραξ. ἀνάλογον δὲ τούτοις αὐτὸς ἂν εἴη ἡ ἑτοιμασία τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ ὁ τῆς πίστεως θυρεὸς καὶ ἡ τοῦ σωτηρίου περικεφαλαία καὶ ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος μάχαιρα, ὅπερ ἐστὶ ῥῆμα Θεοῦ ὁ ζῶν λόγο καὶ ἐνεργὴ καὶ τομώτερο ὑπὲρ πᾶ αν μάχαιραν δί τομον. ποίαν δὲ κἂν ἐπινοῆσαι ἄλλην ἔστιν λέγεσθαι πανοπλίαν Θεοῦ ἣν χρὴ ἐνδύσασθαι τὸν ἐνστησόμενον πρὸς τὰς μεθοδείας τοῦ διαβόλου ἢ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός; τοῦτον γὰρ κατὰ πάσας τὰς ἐπινοίας αὐτοῦ ἐνδυσάμενος ἱκανὸς ἔσται στῆναι πρὸς πάσας τὰς μεθοδείας τῆς κακίας ἐνεργουμένας ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸ αὐτῆ διαβόλου. καὶ καθὸ μὲν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔζωσταί τις, οὐκ ἐξελκυσθήσεται ἐπὶ τὸ συγ καταθέσθαι τοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ψεύδους πιθανοῖς καὶ σοφισματώδεσι λόγοις· καθὸ δὲ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἠμφίεσται, ἄτρωτος ἔσται ἀπὸ τῶν βελῶν τῆς ἀδικίας, οὐδενὸς αὐτῶν καθικνουμένου καὶ ἄδικον ποιοῦντος τὸν ἐνδεδυμένον τὴν δικαιο σύνην. καὶ ὁ ὑποδησάμενος δὲ καλὰ ὑποδήματα τῆς ἑτοιμασίας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης, ὡς ἕτοιμος καὶ ἑτοιμά α εἰ τὴν ἔξοδον τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰρήνης ἄνθρωπος γεγονώς, οὔτε πολεμικόν τι καὶ στασιῶδες ἐργάσεται οὔτε τοῖς ἀνετοίμοις συγκαταδικασθήσεται. χώραν τε οὐχ ἕξει ἡ ἐχθρὰ τῇ σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένους ἀπιστία, ἔνθα ὁ τῆς πίστεως ἐστὶ θυρεός· ἄθραυστός τε διαφυλαχθήσεται τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐν ᾗ ἐστι τὰ θεῖα καὶ νοητὰ αἰσθητήρια, ὁ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου περικείμενος. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς γενναῖος στρατιώτης πάντα τὰ πολέμια τῇ ἀληθείᾳ δόγματα κατακόψει καὶ ἀνελεῖ ὁ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ῥῆμα Κυρίου, κρατῶν. [vi 12] ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις. νομίζω πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα εἶναι <πάλην> τοὺς λεγομένους παρ' αὐτῷ ἀνθρωπίνου πειρα μού , ὅτε ἡ ὰρξ ἐπιθυμοῦ α κατὰ τοῦ πνεύματο προσ καλεῖται ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι τὰ ἔργα αὐτῆ . οὐκέτι δὲ ἀνθρώπινο πειρα μὸ οὐδὲ πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα ἡ πάλη, ὅτε ἤτοι ὁ Σατανᾶ μετα χηματιζόμενο εἰ ἄγγελον φωτὸ ἀγωνίζεται ἡμᾶς πεῖσαι προσέχειν αὐτῷ ὡς ἀγγέλῳ φωτός, ἤ τι τῶν παραπλησίων τούτοις, ἃ γίνεται ἐν πά ῃ δυνάμει καὶ ημείοι καὶ τέρα ι ψεύδου καὶ ἐν πά ῃ ἀπάτῃ ἀδικία . καὶ εἰ πείσαι δέ τινα ὁ ἐχθρὸς παραδέξασθαι αὐτὸν ὡς Κύριον ἐροῦντα ἐν αὐτῷ τάδε λέγει Κύριο , ὥστε καὶ ὑπολαβεῖν τινα ἑαυτὸν προφήτην γεγονέναι τοῦ τῶν ὅλων Θεοῦ, ταῦτ' ἂν ποιήσαι οὐχ ὡς αἷμα καὶ σὰρξ ἢ ἀνθρώπινο πειρα μὸ παλαίσας τῷ μέχρι τούτων ἑαυτὸν φρουρήσαντι· διόπερ οὐδαμῶς δοτέον <τόπον> τῷ διαβόλῳ. ἐρεῖ δέ τις τὸ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς λέγεσθαι ἵνα διδασκώμεθα μηδὲ τὰ νομιζόμενα ἀπὸ τοῦ φρονήματο ἔρχεσθαι τῆ αρκὸ ἡμῖν ἁμαρτήματα πρῶτον νομίζειν ἔρχεσθαι ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τοῦ αἵματος, ἀλλ' ἀπό τινων δυνάμεων ταῦτα ἐνεργουσῶν· εἰσὶ γάρ τινες δαίμονες ἐνεργοῦντες τοὺς ἔρωτας καὶ τὰ φίλτρα, ὡς δηλοῖ καὶ ὁ προφήτης λέγων πνεύματι πορνεία ἐπλανήθη αν. τὸ δ' ὅμοιον εἰπεῖν καὶ περὶ ἄλλων δαιμόνων θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν ἐμποιούντων, οὓς ἀνακαλοῦντες καὶ οἱ περίεργοι λέγονται θυμοκάτοχ<όν> τινα ποιεῖν. τὸ μισεῖν δὲ οὐ χωρὶς τῶν ἐνεργούντων ποιοῦμεν ὅτε μισοῦμεν δαιμόνων· καὶ τοῦτο δέ τις ἐκ τῶν λεγομένων μισήτρων οὐκ ἀτόπως κατασκευάσει. ἐπεὶ οὖν βούλεται, φησίν, ἡμᾶς ὁ ἀπόστολος διδάξαι οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως τοῦ σώματος ἔρχεσθαι ἡμῖν τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν, διὰ τοῦτο λέγει οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. ζητοῦντες δὲ ἀπὸ ποίων παλαιῶν ὠφελημένος γραφῶν ὁ Παῦλος ταῦτά φησιν ἀποκαλυφθεισῶν αὐτῷ καὶ φανερωθεισῶν, στοχαζόμεθα ὅτι ἐκ τῶν ἀναγεγραμμένων περὶ πολέμων καὶ μονομαχιῶν, οἷον τοῦ ∆αβὶδ πρὸς τὸν Γολιὰθ καὶ τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ πρὸς τοὺς ἀλλοφύλους ἢ τὰ ἔθνη οἷς ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι νενικήκασιν· εἰκὸς γὰρ ἕκαστον ἐκείνων σύμβολον εἶναι πνευματικῶν ἀρχῶν ἡττωμένων ἢ περιγινομένων. ἡ πάλη
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Fragmenta ex commentariis in epistulam ad Ephesios (Greek).
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 14 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.