Sunday, January 2, 2011

Introduction: Armor of Light/Armor of Darkness

Hello to you all!

Most of the readers of this blog (if there will be any) will have known me already for some time, or will at least have been acquainted with me at some point in my life. Therefore, an introduction may not be particularly necessary, but in the unlikely event that some new reader would happen to stumble upon this blog, I find it important to tell a little something about myself.  

I wish to keep this short, God willing, so here it goes: First, as with every introduction, a name is necessary. My name is David Christian Schultz. I am a young man, 21 years of age to be exact, and I grew up in the Midwest (St. Louis, Missouri). I come from a larger family: 4 sisters, 1 brother (all blood) and 2 brothers-in-law. I Love my family, and I am sure many posts about them will follow in the days to come. 
My Name
My Gift From God (I am upper, center-left)
A name defines a man and his purpose. To know me, I pray, you simply have to understand the meaning of my name. David means "Beloved";  Christian means "Christ Follower"; Schultz has less of a definite meaning than my first and middle names', yet it still has an interesting correlation to the purpose of this blog, and moreover, my eternal purpose; it means "Sheriff" in German. Combining the 3 meanings, a statement is created: Beloved Christian, Sheriff

With the understanding of a Sheriff's obligation in mind, I believe, the name can be understood as being a protector and enforcer of the Law. This can perhaps be seen on two different levels. First, that I myself have been given the task to protect the Gospel of Christ and His Law, or the Second, which I am more inclined to believe in, that Christ himself is seeking to protect the Gospel of His Word  in and through me, and He is fulfilling and protecting the Law that is written on my heart by His Spirit.

Armor of Light
Keeping that in mind, I now refer you to the title of the blog: Armor of Light. Taking from the deep, mysterious verse Paul wrote to the Romans: 

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12, KJV)

What could this verse possibly mean? It certainly is not referring to a physical manifestation of armor placed onto the human body, for the flesh itself is corrupt and does not seek after things that are of the Spirit:

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. (Galatians 5:17, KJV) 

Thus, we may conclude that this armor is spiritual. It is not of the flesh, but rather of the Spirit of God. The armor of light is the literal Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is referred to as light in many places in scripture, but one of the most prominent places is at the beginning of the Gospel of John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5, KJV)

There are many that may deny the trinity, but those with spiritual eyes can certainly see the trinitarian action at work here in the beginning of John's Gospel. The Word (Jesus) and God (The Father) are separate yet one, just as a Father and Son in a family relationship are separate yet one. The life that was found in the Word is the Holy Spirit himself. Without the Spirit, the Word has no life. Without life, the Word has no light. Only through life is one able to spread light. Light is an active product, it requires living energy to shine. Darkness is absent of light, it therefore requires no energy, which means that there is no possibility for life in this darkness. From Paul's commendation to put on the armor of light, we can thus say that Paul was urging us to put on the Holy Spirit. 

Armor of Darkness
Taking it a step further, Paul's admonishment implies a deeper meaning to the current state of man. If man must put on the armor of light (The Holy Spirit), he must be wearing a different garment, which I believe is the armor of darkness. There is only one thing opposite to light, and that is darkness. If the light is the Spirit, then what is the darkness? Paul declares that darkness is the works of the flesh. We wear that darkness. In fact, we are that darkness. The flesh itself is the armor of darkness. The works of the flesh are the opposite of the works of the Spirit. The Spirit of God is the life that lives through those who believe in the name of Jesus, and the light is the works that span from that very life. The life is the energy which is used to produce the light. 

Jesus=Life/ Life=Holy Spirt/ Holy Spirit=Light/ Light=Good Works. 

Oppositely, the works of darkness point to a singular source, which is a Spirit itself as well.

What is Sin?
I have always had a strange understanding of Sin, perhaps because the "church" has a convoluted way of looking at Evil itself nowadays, and consequently teaches it as being something which is only an effect, not a source, of Death. But in fact, it is just the opposite; the effect of Sin is Death: 

The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. (1 Corinthian 12:56, KJV) 
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. (Romans 7:17, NIV)

The source of Death is Sin, not the opposite way around. Sin, is a Spirit unto itself. If by putting on the armor of light, we are resultantly allowing the Holy Spirit (a living being) to live through us, then are we not, on the other side, letting another living being live through us by continuing in the wearing of the armor of darkness (the flesh), evidenced by the works of darkness? Paul continues to expound to the Romans the nature of Sin and its relation to the flesh:

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 18-20, KJV)

It would perhaps shock many to discover that there is an actual, living being inside of them, carrying out the works of darkness, controlling them like a puppeteer manipulates the movements and actions of a puppet. It would also strike fear into many mens hearts to learn of this demonic force that lurks in their bodies, if they actually came to the realization, by the power of Christ, that it most certainly is present. Yet, sadly, most men will never come to know this. The only way to discover it is by the light of the Spirit. The only way to fight against it and throw it off of you is by the life of the Spirit, through Christ and the Cross. In accordance with the Law of the Spirit of Life, the same is true in the opposite sense with the Law of the Spirit of Death. 

Sin=Death/ Death=Darkness/ Darkness=Works of Evil

Adam, it could be said, had the choice between two sources of existence. He could choose between the tree of Life, which is Jesus, the light of the world, or between the Tree of knowledge of good and evil (which could be a being itself, but we will not get into that right now). It could also be said that Adam had the choice between two armors: the armor of light, which is the Holy Spirit, who is the Life of God, or he could choose the armor of darkness, which is the flesh, the Life of Sin, which is death. He chose to put on the armor of darkness, and let Sin live through him, rather than becoming one with His creator and allowing Him to be his life. Adam chose death; he chose darkness. 

Christ's Response to Sin
The Law itself, that eternal good, is used against man by Sin in the flesh, because of Adam's rebellious act (which we were all present for, therefore we are all just as guilty as he). So we see that by the works of the Law, we ourselves are condemned by our own actions in the flesh (reference the entire epistle to the Galatians). Thankfully, Christ put on the armor of darkness, to condemn the Sin in the flesh. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4, NIV)

Jesus knew the source of Life, for he was one with it (The Holy Spirit). He was truly alive, and thus, he was truly able to strive and overcome the flesh, and destroy that evil force known as Sin, which dwells within all men, yet not in Christ. This is a mystery because it cannot be seen with the naked eye. Yet, Sin is real and living. In fact, it lives through us and the flesh empowers Sin daily. The armor of darkness must be thrown off though, and the armor of light must be put on in its stead! But once again, one who is in darkness cannot even know that he has treasonous armor that he must take off: 

But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. (Proverbs 4:19, NIV)

This deep darkness is the blinding effect of Sin and it leads to death. The works of darkness, which are the works of the flesh, find their life-source from Sin, which dwells underneath the armor. Christ had no Sin. He was the perfect spy. He wore the enemies clothes, their armor even! Yet he had an eternal purpose, which was to destroy the works of the Devil, and to put Sin to death. He accomplished this goal, this miraculous wonder under their very noses! Hallelujah! Jesus put on the armor of darkness to destroy it, that we may put on the armor of light ourselves. This was God's gift to the world: 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17, KJV)

Jesus, the light of the world, left his children a perfect gift when he ascended into heavenly glory: the Holy Spirit, who is the armor of light. 

Short Conclusion 
In conclusion to this post (which was simply supposed to be an introduction), I leave you with these last few words. The word Sheriff implies protector, and what does armor do but protect? The Holy Spirit is the Sheriff (the protector) of the Law of Spirit, Grace and Truth. He named me from the beginning and has protected me always, and for that tears stream down my face this very moment. At the beginning, I was Beloved (David), and throughout my walk of life I will be a Christ-Follower(Christian), and I know this because in the end I will be watched over by the Sheriff (Schultz), the Holy Spirit. He will keep me safe and fulfill the Law of Love in my life.

This blog, I pray, will be the fruit of the Spirit that dwells within me. It will confound many, and anger even more, but I pray that it is all done for the glory of God, to bring about his Will for those read it and are touched by it. If I am to wear the armor of light, I must expose the works of darkness. It must be remembered though, that

 the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1:1-5, KJV) 

Much of what is written on this blog will seem inconclusive, unfinished, paradoxical, or just down right nonsensical to those who do not know Christ and have His Spirit dwelling within them. My only prayer is that all those who read this blog would be touched by His Spirit nonetheless and that they would be blessed by He who Loves them unconditionally. 

Blessings in Jesus Christ.

1 comment:

  1. You David are a Wonderful,Beautiful person!

    Keep your focus, and keep moving. Remember the Lord
    will guide your Path.

    ReplyDelete