Gifts of Grace: A Man of Steel

Happy Fathers' Day!

Somewhere, in between The Sixth Sense and Signs, M. Night Shyamalan made what I believe is his best movie, Unbreakable, about a son who idolizes his father, and the all-too-human father who has trouble believing that he is, indeed, the hero his son yearns for him to be. In one scene, the father picks up his son at school after the son has been in a fight on the playground:

Son: It was Potter and another guy I play football with. They were messing with this Chinese girl. She's kind of fat. She doesn't talk to anybody. I tried to make them stop. They kept pushing me down and wouldn't let me get up ... I thought maybe cause you were my dad, I thought I might be like you ... I'm not like you.

Father: You are like me. We both can get hurt. I'm just an ordinary man ... I'm not what you think I am.

Son: Why do you keep saying that?

Fathers struggle to be the person that their children envision them to be. Later, as their children grow up, they fight to retain some dignity as their children begin to see them as frail, fallible, and full of flaws. Later, if they are lucky, they reach an accommodation with their children, as their children learn to see them, and treat them, as human beings deserving of grace. Mark Twain said it best:

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Fathers will always struggle with being the hero their children expect them to be, but what sort of a hero does God expect us to be?

Ephesians 6:10-18

Commentary

v11 This verse summarizes most of the important points of the passage. The armor is the full armor of God. Given all of the possible words for armor, and the various pieces of armor, this particular word is mentioned twice (v11, 13). The point of the armor is to permit us to stand, or withstand (v11, 13, 14), the devil’s attacks. The evil nature of our enemy is mentioned repeatedly as well (v11, 12, 16).

v12 An elaboration of the nature of the enemy. Even when opposition wears a human face, the real power, the real nature of our enemy is spiritual. Various worldly powers may appear to be evil, but they are just the shadow of a spiritual evil in the heavenly realms. Does the notion of evil in heavenly realms bother you? Martin Luther once said if one considers how much God and Satan converse in the Bible, one must conclude that, “The devil is God’s devil.” God is in control, but in the spiritual plane, good and evil are both very active!

v13 The full armor of God is called panoply. In English, panoply can mean either: a wide-ranging and impressive display; special dress or equipment; a protective covering; or a complete set of armor. Regardless of the particular meaning, the emphasis is always on the comprehensive nature of the item.

v17 The NKJV version is much better for showing the correct verb tenses for this passage, particularly which verbs are commands. We are commanded twice to put on the full armor of God (v11, 13); we are commanded to be strong (v10) and stand firm (14); and here we are commanded to receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Is it significant, do you think, that only these items we are ordered to take?

v18 Up to here, prayer has been the missing ingredient.

Application

I think most sermons preached on this passage have missed the point for two reasons.

First, many preachers have found great significance in various pieces of armor, often thereby missing the main point. John Calvin declares:

We must not, however, inquire very minutely into the meaning of each word; for an allusion to military customs is all that was intended. Nothing can be more idle than the extraordinary pains which some have taken [for example] to discover the reason why righteousness is made a breastplate, instead of a girdle. Paul's design was to touch briefly on the most important points required in a Christian, and to adapt them to the comparison which he had already used. (Commentaries on Galatians and Ephesians)

Instead, the emphasis of the passage is that we need complete armor. A Roman soldier would not go into battle without wearing all his armor any more than a football player would hit the field without a helmet, pads, or a cup. However, how often do we head out for work without prayer? How often do we grapple with conflicts without being committed to truth & righteousness? How often do we hit a wall and doubt our faith & salvation? Our spiritual conflicts require complete preparation, because the evil one hits us where we are least prepared.

Secondly, the conclusion most of us reach after reading this passage is that we are supposed to be invulnerable. “A spiritual hero of the faith should be invulnerable to the attack of the evil one,” we think. Armor is intended to protect, so holy armor should wholly protect us, right? Why would we ever have thought that?

We serve a God who was being to be vulnerable to the point of death. We believe in a Savior who reminded us, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). We remember that Paul described our spiritual life as “treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:7):

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Cor. 4:8-10)

God never asked us to be a spiritual Superman. [1] He has never expected us to be invulnerable. He has asked us to stand against the devil and to trust in God to restore us to wholeness … after we have prepared for spiritual conflict and have strived to stand in the Spirit and in the certainty of our salvation.

Points to Ponder

Your spiritual gear includes truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, the Spirit, and prayer. Where do you tend to slack off on your preparation?

Where have you tended to trust in yourself and failed to count on God’s power to restore you after you have done all you can do?

Be silly for a minute: What superhero might be a better model for us as a hero of faith?

Superman (It’s Not Easy)
by Five for Fighting

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me

I'm more than a bird, I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd, but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed, but won't you concede
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me

Up, up and away, away from me
It's all right, you can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy: or anything:

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me

It's not easy to be me.

End Notes

1 - One website lists 118 pop songs referring to Superman.