New Testament military metaphors

The New Testament uses a number of military metaphors in discussing Christianity, especially in the Pauline epistles.

In Philippians 2:25[1] and Philemon 1:2,[2] Paul describes fellow Christians as "fellow soldiers" (in Greek, συστρατιώτῃ, sustratiōtē).

[3] The image of a soldier is also used in 2 Timothy 2:3–4[4] as a metaphor for courage, loyalty and dedication;[5] this is followed by the metaphor of an athlete, emphasising hard work.

In 1 Corinthians 9:7,[6] this image is used in a discussion of church workers receiving payment, with a metaphorical reference to a soldier's rations and expenses.

[7] Ephesians 6:10–18[8] discusses faith, righteousness, and other elements of Christianity as the armour of God, and this imagery is replicated by John Bunyan in The Pilgrim's Progress,[9] and by many other Christian writers.