Armor Bearer in Modern Times: What is it? p1

Saul loved him very much and David became one of his armor bearers. –1 Samuel 16:22b

In biblical days, a shield bearer was someone who actually carried their leader’s shield and armor when he went into battle, often acting as his personal attendant. For example, King Saul was assigned several armor bearers.1 In our modern day, I don’t see anyone walking around fully dressed in the classical armor of the early centuries.

However, in the spiritual realm, we still need our armor. The writer of Ephesians commands us to put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the wiles of the devil.2 Like our turn-of-the-century counterparts, we in the ministry of service must put on the Spirit and wear the armor of God’s leaders in the battle of faith.

The term squire it was originally translated from the Hebrew word nasa, which figuratively or literally means to lift, support, or simply help.3 Bible translators have sometimes translated the word “help” from the Hebrew word nasa. In light of these defining terms, we can see that a squire is one who aids or supports an assigned leader’s weapons during times of battle.

A modern armor bearer is someone called by God to serve and assist his or her assigned leader in life, ministry, and especially in the fight of faith.4 In essence, a armor bearer is called to serve, minister, care, help, be of use, assist, benefit, promote, support, facilitate, nurture, and encourage their leader.

Furthermore, God calls others to walk in the spirit of bearing arms. They may not be specifically assigned to a leader, but they do possess the mindset and attitude of a squire. The attitude of a squire is one of service. The mindset of a shieldbearer, as well as those who operate with one’s spirit, is to do whatever it takes to serve and support their leadership.5 Operating with the spirit of shieldbearing can also be described as operating with the principles or dominant qualities of a squire. The qualities that top the list are service, commitment, care, support, help, loyalty and fidelity.

Wearing armor in an attitude of service is not just the performance of humble tasks, but an effort to serve Christ in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said: “The servant of all is the greatest of all.” Among my favorite examples are the great men of the Old Testament scriptures, many of whom were faithful armor bearers before their public ministry. King David, King David’s mighty men, Elisha and Joshua exemplified the quintessential armorial spirit. Even Elisha’s assistant Gehazi offers us an example of what we don’t want to do as armor bearers.6

It is not necessary to think that our Father God only called squires or helpers to help in the old battles. Look at the Joseph of Cyprus of the New Testament, nicknamed “Barnabas” or “Son of consolation”. The most popular opinion is that Joseph of Cyprus got these names because he constantly encouraged those to whom he and Paul ministered. Recently, I have considered another thought as to why he was called “Son of Consolation”. Perhaps it was because he persevered at Paul’s side through shipwrecks, stonings, and much rejection.

Don’t overlook Stephen and Philip among the seven appointed to wait tables in the early church’s feeding program for the apostles. The leaders assigned them to help while their apostles gave greater focus to prayer and the ministry of the Word. Throughout the Bible and today, God continues to call helpers and armor bearers to lift up the arms of our Church leadership.

To operate with the spirit of bearing arms is to fulfill a ministry of help, vigilance and intercession in favor of our leadership. I believe that God has issued a new call to serve and support our leaders in this way. Only He knows the spiritual effort and hard work it will take to achieve the Church’s vision of him.

The Apostle Paul encouraged us to excel in the gifts that build up the Church. As we in ministry of helps excel in the gift of service and support our leaders, we will come to unity of faith like never before. When each of us takes our place and shares in the load, our men and women in leadership will experience less weariness and exhaustion, providing an opportunity for greater refreshing from the Lord.