Colossians 2:16-17 also indicates that Christ is the new moon. The new moon signifies a new beginning with light in darkness. As such a new moon to us, Christ affords us a new beginning with light in this dark age. This is also what we experience and enjoy of Christ as our portion. In the process of our growth, again and again we need Christ to be our fresh start, our new beginning, which is signified by the new moon.
Colossians 2:16-17 also shows us that Christ is the real Sabbath. The Sabbath signifies completion and rest. After God completed His work of creation on the sixth day, He enjoyed rest on the seventh day. God blessed the seventh day and made it the Sabbath (Gen. 2:2-3). Therefore, after man was created, man did not work first; instead, man first enjoyed rest. To enjoy rest before work—this is the gospel. The significance of Christ's being our Sabbath is that we do not work but enter into what He has accomplished and rest in Him. Christ has accomplished all His work and is sitting on the right hand of God in the heavenlies. Now He is in our spirit to be our rest.
Feasts are yearly, new moons monthly, Sabbaths weekly, and eating and drinking daily. Daily we eat and drink Christ, weekly we have completion and rest in Him, monthly we experience a new beginning in Him, and throughout the year we experience Him as our joy and enjoyment. Therefore, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly Christ is to us the reality of every positive thing and is for our enjoyment and experience.
Christ is also our armor. Ephesians 6:11 says, "Put on the whole armor of God." To defeat God's enemy, the devil, the believers need to put on the whole armor of God. To fight the spiritual warfare, we need not only the power of the Lord but also the armor of God. Our weapons do not avail, but God's armor, even the whole armor of God, does avail. The whole armor of God is for the entire Body of Christ, the church. The church is a corporate warrior, and the believers are parts of this unique warrior. Only the corporate warrior, not an individual believer, can wear the whole armor of God. Hence, we must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body of Christ, not individually.
Ephesians 6:14-17 shows us six aspects of Christ as our armor: the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the firm foundation of the gospel of peace (the shoes), the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Of these six items of Christ as our armor, only the sword is for offensive warfare against the enemy; all the other items are for defense.
We must put on Christ as the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil (v. 11). These stratagems are the devil's evil plan. Not only does the devil have an evil will, but he also has subtle stratagems to work out his will. If we want to stand against these stratagems, we must put on Christ as our armor. To us the armor has six aspects:
Ephesians 6:14 says, "Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth." For us to gird our loins with truth is to strengthen our entire being. For the purpose of standing, our whole being needs to be strengthened with truth. Truth here refers to God in Christ as reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us as our living (John 14:6). This is actually Christ Himself lived out by us. Such truth, such reality, is the girdle that strengthens our whole being for spiritual warfare.