THE NIGHT IS ALMOST GONE: e nux proekopsen (3SAAI): (Song 2:17; 1Jn 2:8) (1Jn 2:8, Eph 5:8, 1Th 5:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

Night (3571) (nux) is that part of the day that lack light but metaphorically (as in this verse) it means a time of moral and spiritual darkness that enshrouds this present world and is strictly opposed the light of the gospel (2Co 4:4, 2Ti 1:10- note) and the Light of the world (John 8:12). Paul is referring here to this present evil age (Gal 1:4).

Notice how in the previous (Ro 13:11-note) and present passages,  Paul piles up time phrases (the time...already the hour...now salvation is nearer…the night is almost gone…and the day is at hand) which is structured so as to cause all believers to have a definite sense of urgency.  Tempus fugit, time flies, and so do the opportunities, specifically in context the opportunities to obey and live godly and holy lives (cp 1Ti 4:7, 8-note, 1Ti 4:9, 10, 11, 12-notes; 2Pe 3:11, 12-note; 2Pe 3:14-note). Apathy has no place to the life of a Christian for we are on mission and time is limited. The Lord's return is imminent which should motivate us to holy living.

Ray Stedman writes that...

If we look around us,...I think we can see that the long, dark night is beginning to lighten. This long, dark night of sin began at the fall of man, at the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, when man, through disobedience, passed from life unto death, and was plunged into the dark depravity of fallen human life. Thus he introduced the world into the darkness of night which has been running through the course of history from the very beginning. But now, the dawn of God's day of "peace on earth, good will to men," that was first announced by the angels when Jesus came to Bethlehem {cf, Lk 2:14}, is very near at hand. purposefully and intelligently, Wake up! (Read the full sermon The Demand of the Hour)

Calvin has an interesting comment regarding the meaning of "night" writing that...

"Ignorance of God is what he calls night; for all who are thus ignorant go astray and sleep as people do in the night. The unbelieving do indeed labor under these two evils, they are blind and they are insensible; but this insensibility he shortly after designated by sleep, which is, as one says, an image of death. By light he means the revelation of divine truth, by which Christ the sun of righteousness arises on us. (Mal 4:2) He mentions awake, by which he intimates that we are to be equipped and prepared to undertake the services which the Lord requires from us. The works of darkness are shameful and wicked works; for night, as some one says, is shameless." (Romans 13)

Is almost gone (4298) (prokopto from pro = before or forward + kopto = to cut, impel) literally means to cut before and then to cut forward in front, to cut forward a way, to advance, to go forward. It can mean to lengthen out by by hammering (as a smith in forging metals). To cut forward (as in a forest), to blaze a way, to go ahead, to make progress.

Prokopto conveys the idea of moving forward or making progress sometimes to an improved state (Jesus' wisdom and stature in Lk 2:52) or other times to an undesirable state (2Ti 2:16, 3:13). In 2Ti 3:13, prokopto is used similarly in the sense of accomplish or  to progress in an activity (speaking of the activity of the false teachers - as in 2Ti 3:6, 7, 8-notes).

Prokopto is used here by Paul in a metaphorical sense to describe advance of the night, that "whole period of man's alienation from God" as Vine characterizes it. The idea here is the night has moved forward to a final stage and thus is far gone or drawing to a close.

Wuest writes that prokopto means to

means “to blaze a way” through a forest, “to cut a pioneer path.”

Vincent writes prokopto...

The word originally means to beat forward or lengthen out by hammering. Hence to promote, and intransitively to go forward or proceed.

TDNT notes that

This word seems to be originally nautical for “to make headway,” “to forge ahead.”

NIDNTT notes that...

prokopto and prokope which both in Stoic philosophy and in Philo denote ethical advance.

Here are the 6 uses of prokopto in the NT...

Luke 2:52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Romans 13:12 The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Galatians 1:14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.

Comment: Paul's figure using prokopto is that of a runner in a race cutting ahead of others. Paul was way out in front, already a leader. Saul of Tarsus was so intent in his ambition to further the cause of Judaism that he did not hesitate to "cut down" all opposition and in this respect outstripped  (advanced beyond) his contemporaries.

2Timothy 2:16 (note) But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,

2Timothy 3:9 (note) But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, as also that of those two came to be.

2Timothy 3:13 (note) But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Since the next great event in God's redemptive plan is the Second coming of Jesus Christ, the night, no matter how long chronologically, is "nearly over." Paul is saying the end of the age, the last age, is near. It has been near all along because no one knew when the end would come, but it is certainly much, much nearer now than when Paul first wrote -- since we can look back across the span of two thousand years of human history.

Lawrence Richards states it this way...

History may roll on for centuries. But it is still true that "the night is nearly over." In Christ a great light dawns, showing us truth and righteousness and calling us to a faith that transforms us into righteous men and women. How impossible then that we should let ourselves sink back into a darkness corrupted by sinful acts. How overjoyed we should be to clothe ourselves with Christ and live His kind of life in our lost world.

Ray Stedman adds...

It is interesting that thoughtful men (not necessarily Christians) are becoming more and more aware of an approaching climax in human history. You can't read the newspapers without being aware that there is an air of sober experience on every side. You travel about, as I have been privileged to do this last summer, and you get the feeling, as you visit various nations, that things have gotten beyond men's control. We sort of stumbled onto a treadmill which is carrying us with frightening rapidity toward an event from which we cannot escape. Men no longer are in control of their own events. Governments are no longer able to govern by advice and consent; they are governed by crises, muddling through, doing the best they can as each crises develops, and they never know what is coming" (Read the full sermon - The Demand of the Hour)

THE NIGHT IS FAR SPENT

(play hymn)

by Thomas Kelly

The night is far spent, the day is at hand;
Already the dawn may be seen in the sky;
Rejoice then, ye saints, ’tis your Lord’s own command;
Rejoice, for the coming of Jesus draws nigh.

How bright it will be, when Jesus appears!
How welcome to those who have shared in His cross!
A crown incorruptible then will be theirs,
A rich compensation for suffering and loss.

Affliction is light compared to the day
Of glory that then will from Heaven be revealed!
“The Savior is coming,” His people may say,
“The Lord whom we look for, our Sun and our Shield.”

O pardon us, Lord, that love to Thy Name
Is faint, with so much our affections to move!
Our deadness shall fill us with grief and with shame,
So much to be loved and so little to love!

O kindle within us holy desire,
Like that which was found in Thy people of old!
Who felt all Thy love, and whose hearts were on fire,
While waiting in patience Thy face to behold!

AND THE DAY IS AT HAND: e de hemera eggiken (3SRAI):

CHRIST'S RETURN
AND
HOLY LIVING

The day - "What day?" would be the natural question. As discussed above, this day almost certainly refers to the day of the Lord's return (see Table comparing Rapture vs Second Coming).

As Denny in the Expositor's Greek Testament so rightly puts it...

The true day dawns only when Christ appears; at present it is night, though a night that has run much of its course.

The fact that the Lord's return is imminent (see imminency), should serve to motivate us to number our days that we might present to the Lord a heart of wisdom (Ps 90:12-Spurgeon's note). It should serve to cause us to seek to redeem the time for the days are evil (Ep 5:16-see note).

The apostle John alludes to the day of the Lord's return as the believer's great motivation for holy living...

Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1Jn 3:2,3)

Comment: As we contemplate the nearness of this day, this glorious truth should renew our minds and motivate us to be holy as He is holy (1Pe 1:14-note, 1Pe 1:15, 16-note, 1Pe 1:17-note, cp Mt 5:48-note, cp  Ex 6:7; 19:6, Lv 11:44,45, 20:7,26 ,19:2, Dt 7:6,14:2)

The anticipation of the Lord's return is also frequently mentioned elsewhere in the NT as an incentive for holy living, Paul writing to Titus that

the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing (teaching, disciplining) us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, (eagerly, continually) looking for (and motivated by) the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. (Titus 2:11-note, Titus 2:12-note, Titus 2:13-note).

The writer of Hebrews admonishes believers to

consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day (the day of Christ's return) drawing near (He 10:24, 25-note).

James calls on us to

Be patient, (aorist imperative = command to make this a top priority) therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen (both verbs are commands - aorist imperative) your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  (Jas 5:7, 8).

Peter warns his readers that

The end of all things is at hand (cp "the night is almost over"); therefore, be of sound judgment (aorist imperative = command speaking of an urgent need) and sober spirit (aorist imperative = command speaking of an urgent need)  for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1Pe 4:7, 8-note).

Paul reminds us that as believers there is a solemn day in eternity future when...

we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ (bema), that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (phaulos).” (2Co 5:10).

In light of the imminent return of our Lord, Peter gives us the following exhortation...

And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. (2Pe 1:19)

Is at hand (1448) (eggizo from eggús = near) means literally to move nearer to a reference point, to come near, to approach, to be at hand, draw near or be nigh.

Eggizo is in the perfect tense which depicts the truth that this day "has drawn nigh" and is still nigh. Paul is saying that Christ's glorious return could be at any moment. This is a vivid picture for day-break.

Eggizo is used 42 times in the NT - Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 21:1, 34; 26:45, 46; Mk. 1:15; 11:1; 14:42; Lk. 7:12; 10:9, 11; 12:33; 15:1, 25; 18:35, 40; 19:29, 37, 41; 21:8, 20, 28; 22:1, 47; 24:15, 28; Acts 7:17; 9:3; 10:9; 21:33; 22:6; 23:15; Rom. 13:12; Phil. 2:30; Heb. 7:19; 10:25; Jas. 4:8; 5:8; 1 Pet. 4:7

Newell comments that

It is good to know, in our wrestling with "the principalities and powers, the world-rulers of this darkness, " that the night is far spent, the day is at hand. The word translated at hand is from the verb to "draw nigh, " as in Mt 21:1. Paul uses it in Heb 10:25 (note): "So much the more as ye see the day approaching": and it is the same word in 1 Pe 4:7 (note): "The end of all things is at hand" (drawing nigh). No matter what others say about the second coming of Christ, the apostles and the early Church lived in the expectation of it! (Romans 13)

In light of the "lateness of the hour" take a moment, beloved, to ponder the profound words of Adoniram Judson who literally gave up his life and worldly fame and success to take the gospel light to the spiritual darkness of Burma ...

A life once spent is irrevocable. It will remain to be contemplated through eternity...the same may be said of each day. When it is once past, it is gone forever. All the marks which we put upon it, it will exhibit forever...each day will not only be a witness of our conduct, but will affect our everlasting destiny....How shall we then wish to see each day marked with usefulness...! It is too late to mend the days that are past. The future is in our power. Let us, then, each morning, resolve to send the day into eternity in such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever. And at night let us reflect that one more day is irrevocably gone, indelibly marked.

GET READY TO WELCOME THE KING!
(Play Hymn)

by Fannie K Allen

A servant of Jesus am I,
To you this message I bring:
The night is far spent, the day dawns at length;
Get ready to welcome the King!

Refrain
Get ready to welcome the King,
Get ready to welcome the King;
The night is far spent, the day dawns at length,
Get ready to welcome the King!

Dark evil has long held its sway;
Its end is coming and near,
For Jesus, God’s Son, shall come to His throne,
The Savior to sinners so dear.
Refrain

All power to Jesus is giv’n,
Ascended to Heav’n again;
He humbled Himself to die on the cross,
But soon He is coming to reign.
Refrain

THEREFORE LAY ASIDE THE DEEDS OF DARKNESS: apothometha (1SAMS) oun ta erga tou skotous: : (Ep 5:8,11, 1Th 5:4, Jn 3:19) (Isaiah 2:20; 30:22; Ezekiel 18:31,32; Ep 4:22; Col 3:8,9; Jas 1:21; 1Peter 2:1)

Therefore (3767) (oun) means consequently, for that reason, because of that, etc (see term of conclusion). In other words because of the nearness of the day of Christ's return, lay aside those deeds associated with your former life lived in spiritual "darkness" even as as nightclothes are laid aside in the morning.

The Amplified version renders this graphically

Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness...

In Ephesians 5:8 Paul has a similar thought:

You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord. Walk as children of Light (See note Ephesians 5:8)

Paul is calling all saints to an attitude of watchfulness, with a view to holiness in all aspects of life, on the grounds that the day is at hand.

MacArthur writes that...

The imagery here pictures a soldier who has been engaged in a night orgy and drinking bout and, still clad in the garments of his sin, has fallen into a drunken sleep. But the dawn is approaching and the battle is at hand. It is time to wake up, throw off the clothes of night, and put on the battle gear.

Lay aside (659) (apotithemi from apo = away from, state of separation + tithemi  = to place) (click study of apotithemi) was used to describe the laying off of clothes by Olympic runners who then competed nearly nude.

Here are the 9 uses of apotithemi in the NT - Matt. 14:3; Acts 7:58; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 4:22, 25; Col. 3:8; Heb. 12:1; Jas. 1:21; 1 Pet. 2:1

In Acts 7:58 we find an interesting literal use of apotithemi Luke recording that

when they had driven (Stephen) out of the city, they began stoning him, and the witnesses laid aside (apotithemi) their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Most of the NT uses are figurative (see below) and are worth studying to glean insights into what Paul means by this reference to lay aside the "deeds of darkness". 
 

Lay aside is in the aorist tense which speaks of an effective, once for all action.

Wuest's translation nicely conveys the sense of the aorist tense here rendering it:

let us at once and once for all put off

The middle voice speaks of the subject initiating the action to lay aside and participating in the action. The middle voice conveys the "reflexive" sense, and so the idea is "you yourself lay aside". 

Picture yourself taking off a filthy, foul garment. Are you going to simply slip out of this garment and gently lay it down at your side? I doubt it! More likely you will rip it off and fling it as far away as possible so that you can put some distance between you and the stench! That's a picture of the "reflexive" action called for by use of the middle voice. This illustration also gives you a sense of the action associated with the prefix ("apo" = marker of dissociation implying  rupture from a former association) in apotithemi which pictures a state of separation of one thing from another by which the union or fellowship of the two is destroyed.  Compare the use of "apo" translated "far away" in (Lk 16:23). 

Lay aside here carries the idea of forsaking or renouncing and in this context obviously refers to repentance from the deeds of darkness, a general term that includes all sins in which a believer may indulge. David spoke of a man who "clothed himself with cursing as with his garment" (Psalms 109:18-). We sin by choice, voluntarily clothing ourselves with its evil. In the Spirit’s power we can reverse that decision and lay aside sin, disrobe ourselves of it.

Moule writes we are to lay these things aside...

as if they were a foul and entangling night-robe, the works of the darkness, the habits and acts of the moral night.

Deeds (2041)(ergon) means that which one undertakes to do or the result of such undertaking. (English > "ergonomics"). 

Ergon is used in several combinations in the NT ("works of God", "good works", "works of faith").

Darkness (4655) (skotos from skia = shadow  thrown by an object. Skia it can assume the meaning of skotos and indicate the sphere of darkness) is literally that sphere in which light is absent.

In this verse we understand that darkness is the natural habitat of evil, so that "deeds of darkness" are wicked works and as such are to be decisively (as indicated by Paul's use of the aorist tense) put off and away from the believer. Such "garments" are no part of the spiritual wardrobe for those who have presented themselves to God as living, holy sacrifices (Ro 12:1-note, Ro 12:2-note).

Here are the 32 uses of skotos in the NT (Note Jesus' first 3 uses) - Matt. 4:16; 6:23; 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 27:45; Mk. 15:33; Lk. 1:79; 11:35; 22:53; 23:44; Jn. 3:19; Acts 2:20; 13:11; 26:18; Rom. 2:19; 13:12; 1 Co. 4:5; 2 Co. 4:6; 6:14; Eph. 5:8, 11; 6:12; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 5:4, 5; Heb. 12:18; 1 Pet. 2:9; 2 Pet. 2:17; 1 Jn. 1:6; Jude 1:13

Skotos can refer to literal darkness as occurred on the day of Jesus' crucifixion (Mt 27:45) or darkness as opposed to light in the creation (2Cor 4:6).

"(Jesus declared) And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

"(the gospel would) to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.' (Acts 26:18)

PUT ON: kai endusometha (1PAMS): (Ro 13:14; 2Co 6:7; Ep 6:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18; Col 3:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17; 1Th 5:8)

Put on (1746) (enduo from en = in + dúo = to sink, go in or under, to put on) means to sink down into, then to put on or to clothe oneself

Enduo is used in the NT sometimes literally as in (Mt 27:31, Acts 12:21) but as in the present passage is also used figuratively (The following are also figurative uses - Lk 24:49, 1Co 15:53,54, 2Co 5:3, Gal 3:27, Eph 4:24, 6:11,14, Col 3:11,12, 1Th 5:8).

Here are all 27 uses of enduo in the NT - Mt 6:25; 22:11; 27:31; Mk 1:6; 6:9; 15:20; Lk. 8:27; 12:22; 15:22; 24:49; Acts 12:21; Ro 13:12, 14; 1Co 15:53, 54; Gal. 3:27; Ep 4:24; 6:11, 14; Col 3:10, 12; 1Th 5:8; Rev. 1:13; 15:6; 19:14

Put on is in the aorist tense which conveys the sense of "Do this now". The middle voice conveys a reflexive sense, indicating that each one needs to personally initiate this putting on, participating in the results thereof.

Wuest renders it

let us at once and once for all clothe ourselves

MacArthur writes:

Paul uses the imagery of a soldier who had dressed himself in party clothes and spent the night in reveling. As the day dawns, the commander orders him to wake up, take off his night clothes, and put on the armor he needs to fight the day’s battle. Armor is made for warfare, and its purpose is to protect the one who wears it. By the indwelling Spirit working through our new nature in Christ, we not only have every resource necessary to forsake the deeds of darkness but also every resource we need to put on the armor of light.

There are 88 uses of enduo in the Septuagint (LXX)  - Gen. 3:21; 27:15; 38:19; 41:42; Exod. 28:41; 29:5, 8, 30; 40:13f; Lev. 6:10, 11; 8:7, 13; 16:4, 23f, 32; 21:10; Num. 20:26, 28; Deut. 22:5, 11; 1 Sam. 17:5, 38; 2 Sam. 6:14; 14:2; 1 Ki. 22:30; 1 Chr. 12:18; 2 Chr. 5:12; 6:41; 18:9, 29; 24:20; 28:15; Est. 4:1, 17; 5:1; Job 8:22; 10:11; 29:14; 39:19; Ps. 35:13, 26; 65:13; 93:1; 104:1; 109:18, 29; 132:9, 16, 18; Prov. 23:21; 31:25; Cant. 5:3; Isa. 22:21; 49:18; 50:3; 51:9; 52:1; 59:17; 61:10; Jer. 10:9; 46:4; Ezek. 7:27; 9:2, 3, 11; 10:2, 6f; 16:10; 23:6, 12; 38:4; 42:14; 44:17, 19; Dan. 5:7, 16, 29; 6:3; 10:5; 12:6f; Jon. 3:5; Zeph. 1:8; Zech. 3:3, 4; 13:4

The Septuagint (LXX) translators used enduo figuratively to describe the coming of the Spirit upon several men in the OT, and so in a sense "clothing" them. E.g. see Gideon (Jdg 6:34).

So the Spirit of the LORD came upon (Hebrew = labash = clothed with; Lxx = enduo = put on like a garment) Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.

Even as Israel of old was called out of the world to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6) and even as the Levitical priests in order to function before a holy God, had to put on their linen robes (Leviticus 6:10 "put on" is translated with "enduo" in the LXX) so too believers as God's "royal priesthood" (1Pe 2:9-note) are called to put on Christ's garment of righteousness. 

When we are justified by faith (Past tense salvation), we are declared righteous (Ro 3:24-note), but  this privilege brings responsibility. And so believers are commanded to continually "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Php 2:12-note).  Enabled by His Spirit (Who puts the desire and power in our heart - Php 2:13-note) we then work out our salvation in the daily challenges we all face and our experience will be ever increasing fruit of righteousness (cf Phil 1:11-note, Ep 5:9, Heb 12:11-note, Jas 3:17,18) which is known as progressive sanctification ("Present tense salvation").  The bride of Christ who eagerly awaits her Bridegroom will be about the business of clothing herself with fine linen garments white and clean which represent her righteous acts (Rev 19:7, 8-note).

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT: ta hopla tou photos:

Armor (3696) (hoplon) originally any tool or implement for preparing a thing and then became specialized to refer to items such as a ship's tackling, a cable, a rope or a tool of any kind (blacksmith tools, sickle, staff) and then in the plural was used for "weapons of warfare. It is used once in the NT of actual weapons (Jn 18:3) and elsewhere, metaphorically to describe either the members of the body as instruments of unrighteousness (Ro 6:13-note) and as instruments of righteousness,   the "weapons" of righteousness (2Co 6:7) and finally the "weapons" of the Christian's warfare (2Co 10:4-note;).

Moule writes we are to be

arming ourselves, for defence, and for holy aggression on the realm of evil, with faith, love, and the heavenly hope.  So to the Thessalonians five years before (1Th 5:8-note), and to the Ephesians four years later (Ep 6:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17-see notes), he wrote of the holy Panoply, rapidly sketching it in the one place, giving the rich finished picture in the other; suggesting to the saints always the thought of a warfare first and mainly defensive, and then aggressive with the drawn sword, and indicating as their true armour not their reason, their emotions, or their will, taken in themselves, but the eternal facts of their revealed salvation in Christ, grasped and used by faith (Moule, H. The Epistle to the Romans)

Denny comments

the Christian's life is not a sleep but a battle.

Adam Clarke says

Here is an allusion to laying aside their night clothes, and putting on their day (light) clothes.

The metaphor of Christian armor is also found Paul's letter to the Thessalonians where he tells them in light of the truth that  "since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation." (1Th 5:8-note) Writing to the church at Ephesus Paul exhorts them in light of the fact that the believer's "struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" to "take up the full armor (panoplia from pás = all, every + hoplon = weapon) of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." (Eph 6:12,13-note cf 2Cor 6:7).

Armor (3696) (hoplon) originally referred to an "implement" and then was specialized to mean any tool or implement for preparing a thing, such as a ship's tackling, a cable, a rope, a tool of any kind (blacksmith tools, sickle, staff) and then when used in the plural it referred to weapons of warfare including "armor" as translated in the present passage.

Once in the NT hoplon is used of actual weapons (Jn 18:3) but  elsewhere, metaphorically, referring to armor in Ro 13:14,  instruments either of unrighteousness or righteousness to God (Ro 6:13-note) and weapons in (2Co 6:7, 10:4-note). 

Here are the 6 uses of hoplon in the NT - Jn. 18:3; Ro 6:13; 13:12; 2 Co. 6:7; 10:4

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F B Meyer in Our Daily Walk writes the following devotional thought entitled "Beautiful Garments"...

PUT ON strength. We have not to purchase it, or generate it by prayers and resolutions, but simply to put it on. As we awake in the early morning hour, and have to pass out into the arena of life, which has so often witnessed failure and defeat, let us put on the strength and might of the living Christ. He waits to strengthen us with all power , according to the riches of His glory (Eph 3:16-note). Do not simply pray to be kept and helped, but put on the whole armour of God. "The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps 27:1-Spurgeon's note)

Put on beautiful garments. The emblem of the life of the Christian soul is that of the bridegroom or the bride (Rev 19:7) decked with jewels; or a garden filled with beautiful flowers (Isa 61:10,11). We are not only to do right things, but we must do them beautifully; not only to speak the truth, but to speak it in love (Eph 4:15-note); not only to give to those who need our help, but to do it graciously and joyously. We must cultivate the bloom of the soul, which is made up of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, generosity (Col 3:12-note). The beauty of the Lord our God must be upon us.

We cannot weave these beautiful robes, or fashion them out of our own nature, but they are all prepared for us in Christ, who is "made unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption." (1Cor 1:30) Let us wake up out of sleep (Eph 5:12-note), put off the works of darkness (Ro 13:13-note), and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the armour of Light. (Ro 13:14-note)

PRAYER - Lord of Power and Love! I come, trusting in Thine almighty strength, and Thine infinite goodness, to beg from Thee what is wanting in myself; even that grace which shall help me such to be, and such to do, as Thou wouldst have me. I will trust Thee, in Whom is everlasting strength. Be Thou my Helper, to carry me on beyond my own strength, and to make all that I think, and speak, and do, acceptable in Thy sight, through Jesus Christ. AMEN.

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Light And Darkness - Kathleen Matson and her family have moved to Tokyo for 3 years. Because less than 1 percent of the citizens of Japan believe in Jesus Christ, she said that the nation can be considered unreached with the gospel.

"As we make our home in Tokyo," she wrote, "I am especially challenged by Romans 13:12, 'The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.' I need to be a light in the midst of a great darkness. My life needs to be a shining example to those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Kathleen continued, "The task seems overwhelming. . . . How can I possibly do it? How can I 'owe no one anything except to love one another'? (Ro 13:8-note). I can't do it alone. It is only by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ (Ro 13:14-note) that I can meet this urgent need."

The darkness of unbelief is not only to be found in faraway places like Irian Jaya or Tokyo or Tibet. The streets of St. Louis or Miami or New York or Toronto are darkened by unbelief as well. Wherever we are, our witnessing becomes most effective when accompanied with godly living. May we be lights in the darkness--pointing our world to the Source of our light, the Lord Jesus Christ. --D C Egner  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Dim not, little candle,
Show Jesus through me!
Glow brightly till others
The Light clearly see!
--Adams

The smallest light is seen in the darkest night.

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Ray Stedman commenting on "put on the armor of light" asks...
 

"Now, what does it mean? Well, you remember the words of John in his Gospel about the Lord Jesus: "In him was life and the life was the light of men," {Jn 1:4}. His life is the armor of light that we are to put on. So, when he says here, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ," he is saying the same thing as when he said, "Put on the armor of light." That is, live in continual dependence upon the risen life within -- this is the only way to love. This is the only possibility of love for this kind of person. You read the four Gospels and all the way through is a manifestation of our Lord loving this kind of people. How did he do it? Well, he said himself, "The works that I do are not mine, the Father who dwelleth in me, He doeth the works," {cf, Jn 14:10 KJV}. It is the Father who loved, and, as Jesus sent us forth, he said, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you," {cf, Jn 20:21}. As the indwelling Father loved through the Son, so the indwelling Son loves through the Christian, through the believer. This is why we are taught that the secret of loving is not to struggle after it, not to work up some affection for somebody, but simply to put on the Lord Jesus Christ {see Col 3:10ff-see notes; Col 3:12, 14-}, make His life available to you, appropriate all that He is, and cast away the works of darkness -- then you begin to love. Do you see how this agrees with what we had in Romans 6? -- "yield not your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God ... as instruments of righteousness" {see Ro 6:13-note}.

And in Ephesians, "Put off the old man with his death and put on the new man which after Christ is created in true righteousness and holiness" {see Eph 4:22-24}. This is the same exhortation. In other words, you have Christ, now count on Him. Appropriate Him. Use Him! Don't sing, I need Thee, Oh, I need Thee. Every hour I need Thee. Sing, I have Thee, Oh, I have Thee. Every hour I have Thee. And love -- that is what He has come to do! As Paul points out, there is only one thing that is necessary to this -- the desire to break with the old life of lovelessness, selfishness, greed, ambition, and all the other things. It must be a clean-cut thing; there can be no mental reservations about this or any subtle subterfuge. You take Him in all the fullness of His overwhelming adequacy for all your utmost needs, but you are to make no provisions for the flesh to gratify its desires along with it."  (Read the full sermon - The Demand of the Hour)

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A sermon by Charles Simeon on Romans 13:12...

If you don't know who this great brother in Christ is, you need to take a moment and listen to the Mp3 Audio of John Piper's survey of Simeon's life entitled "Brothers, We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering" (to download to desktop or Ipod right click and select "Save Target As...") - you will be as riveted to your seat as I was when I first heard the powerful and convicting testimony of this saint of old. You can also read a summary but the audio is better - Transcript...

VIGILANCE PRESCRIBED
by Charles Simeon

Ro 13:12 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 armour of light.

IT is the distinguished privilege of man that he is able to bring to his recollection things that are past, and to anticipate future events, so as to give them a kind of present existence in his mind. This power is of infinite use to him in the concerns of his soul. By means of it he can ascertain his state before God: he has only to compare the records of conscience with the declarations of God’s word, and he can foresee the issue of the final judgment; and derive to himself the strongest arguments for vigilance and zeal. In this view the exhortation before us deserves our deepest attention: and to impress it on our minds, we shall,

I. Confirm the truth of the Apostle’s assertion—

Our Lord, in reference to the season afforded him for accomplishing his Father’s work, calls this present life, day, and the future, night. (eg Lk 17:34) The Apostle here uses the same metaphors, only reversing the application of them: the present life he designates by the name of “night;” and the future, by the appellation of “day”

The present life is called “night,” because it is a state of intellectual and moral darkness. The ungodly “world are altogether lying in wickedness,” (1Jn 5:19) and ignorant of all that it concerns them most to know. The regenerate themselves “see but as in a glass darkly;” (1Co 13:12) and, though they be light as day (Eph 5:8-note, 1Th 5:5-note) in comparison of carnal men (cp Col 1:13-note, Acts 26:18), yet have they but, as it were, the twinkling of the stars, just sufficient to direct their course, or at most but as the early dawn, in comparison of the meridian light which they will hereafter enjoy. Much of sin also yet remains within them: much they do, which they would not; and leave undone, which they would do: by means of which they too often walk in darkness, instead of enjoying the light of God’s countenance.

Our future state of existence is called “day,” because all, whether godly or ungodly, will behold every thing in its true light; and because the empire of sin will be eternally destroyed.

Now this “night is far spent, and the day is at hand.” Considering how short the time is that is allotted us on earth, this may be spoken in reference to those who are even in the bloom of life. Twenty or thirty years cut off from the short span of life, may well be thought a great portion of it: and if those years be doubled, we must say indeed, “The night is far spent.” But whatever be our age, we are equally liable to be called away, and to have our time of probation cut short by death. We ourselves may recollect many, who but a year or two since, appeared as strong and healthy as ourselves, who are now no more. And though we know not whose summons may arrive next, we are sure that, in a year or two more, many (perhaps one in twenty) of us will be fixed in our eternal state.

But this truth being so clear, we may proceed to,

II. Enforce the exhortation grounded upon it—

The idea which the Apostle’s language first suggests to the mind, is, that we are attacked in our camp, and summoned instantly to arise and fight.

The generality are at ease, involved in “works of darkness;” in works that proceed from the prince of darkness; in works that affect concealment; in works that lead to everlasting darkness and despair. From this state they have no desire to come forth. Even the godly have their “sins which most easily beset them,” and in which they are but too apt to indulge security. The wise virgins, as well as the foolish, were defective in vigilance. But, whatever be the works of darkness with which we are encompassed, we should “cast them off,” with a determination never more to sleep upon the post of danger.

In opposition to these, we are required to clothe ourselves with righteousness, which, as “light,” is heaven-born, and approves its own excellence to all who behold it. This, as “armour” to the soul, protects it from the fiery darts of Satan, and aids it in all its conquests. In this we are to be ever clad, that we may be ready for the battle, and not have to look for our armour, when the enemy is at the door. Thus only shall we be “good soldiers of Jesus Christ;” but thus armed, we shall be “more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

Now the urgency of this duty appears strongly as it is connected with the foregoing assertion. For what is the work we have to do? it is no less than “putting off the works of darkness, and putting on the armour of light;” a work which none can perform, except he be strengthened by almighty power. Besides, much of the time allotted for the performing of it, is spent already; and that which remains must be short, and may be terminated in an hour. Is it not “high time then that we should awake out of sleep?” Should we not begin without an hour’s delay, and “work with all our might?” Yes; let us all “gird on our armour, and fight the good fight of faith.”

Application—

Have we neglected our spiritual concerns? What have we gained that can compensate for the loss of our precious time? And who is there amongst us that, if his day were now come, would not wish that he had watched and laboured for the good of his soul? Ah! remember that present things, however pleasing, will soon have passed away “as a dream when one awaketh,” and nothing remain to you but the painful recollection, that you have lost the time which you should have improved for eternity.

Are we, on the contrary, attending to our spiritual concerns? Let us expect the present state to be a “night” of trial and affliction: but let us remember that the longest night has an end; and that “if sorrow endureth for a night, joy cometh in the morning.”

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A sermon by Alexander Maclaren

The Soldier’s Morning-Call
by Alexander Maclaren

‘Let us put on the armour of light.’—Romans 13:12.

IT is interesting to notice that the metaphor of the Christian armour occurs in Paul’s letters throughout his whole course. It first appears, in a very rudimentary form, in the earliest of the Epistles, that to the Thessalonians. It appears here in a letter which belongs to the middle of his career, and it appears finally in the Epistle to the Ephesians, in its fully developed and drawn-out shape, at almost the end of his work. So we may fairly suppose that it was one of his familiar thoughts. Here it has a very picturesque addition, for the picture that is floating before his vivid imagination is that of a company of soldiers, roused by the morning bugle, casting off their night-gear because the day is beginning to dawn, and bracing on the armour that sparkles in the light of the rising sun. ‘That,’ says Paul, ‘is what you Christian people ought to be. Can you not hear the notes of the reveille? The night is far spent; the day is at hand; therefore let us put off the works of darkness—the night-gear that was fit for those hours of slumber. Toss it away, and put on the armour that belongs to the day.’

Now, I am not going to ask or try to answer the question of how far this Apostolic exhortation is based upon the Apostle’s expectation that the world was drawing near its end. That does not matter at all for us at present, for the fact which he expresses as the foundation of this exhortation is true about us all, and about our position in the midst of these fleeting shadows round us. We are hastening to the dawning of the true day. And so let me try to emphasise the exhortation here, old and threadbare and commonplace as it is, because we all need it, at whatever point of life’s journey we have arrived.

Now, the first thing that strikes me is that the garb for the man expectant of the day is armour.

We might have anticipated something very different in accordance with the thoughts that Paul’s imagery here suggests, about the difference between the night which is so swiftly passing, and is full of enemies and dangers, and the day which is going to dawn, and is full of light and peace and joy. We might have expected that he would have said, ‘Let us put on the festal robes.’ But no! ‘The night is far spent; the day is at hand.’ But the dress that befits the expectant of the day is not yet the robe of the feast, but it is ‘the armour’ which, put into plain words, means just this, that there is fighting, always fighting, to be done. If you are ever to belong to the day, you have to equip yourselves now with armour and weapons. I do not need to dwell upon that, but I do wish to insist upon this fact, that after all that may be truly said about growth in grace, and the peaceful approximation towards perfection in the Christian character, we cannot dispense with the other element in progress, and that is fighting. We have to struggle for every step. Growth is not enough to define completely the process by which men become conformed to the image of the Father, and are ‘made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.’ Growth does express part of it, but only a part. Conflict is needed to come in, before you have the whole aspect of Christian progress before your minds. For there will always be antagonism without and traitors within. There will always be recalcitrant horses that need to be whipped up, and jibbing horses that need to be dragged forward, and shying ones that need to be violently coerced and kept in the traces. Conflict is the law, because of the enemies, and because of the conspiracy between the weakness within and the things without that appeal to it.

We hear a great deal to-day about being ‘sanctified by faith.’ I believe that as much as any man, but the office of faith is to bring us the power that cleanses, and the application of that power requires our work, and it requires our fighting. So it is not enough to say,’ Trust for your sanctifying as you have trusted for your justifying and acceptance,’ but you have to work out what you get by your faith, and you will never work it out unless you fight against your unworthy self, and the temptations of the world. The garb of the candidate for the day is armour.

And there is another side to that same thought, and that is, the more vivid our expectations of that blessed dawn the more complete should be our bracing on of the armour. The anticipation of that future, in very many instances, in the Christian Church, has led to precisely the opposite state of mind. It has induced people to drop into mere fantastic sentiment, or to ignore this contemptible present, and think that they have nothing to do with it, and are only ‘waiting for the coming of the Lord,’ and the like. Paul says, ‘Just because, on your eastern horizon, you can see the pink flush that tells that the night is gone, and the day is coming, therefore do not be a sentimentalist, do not be idle, do not be negligent or contemptuous of the daily tasks; but because you see it, put on the armour of light, and whether the time between the rising of the whole orb of the sun on the horizon be long or short, fill the hours with triumphant conflict. Put on the whole armour of light.’

Again, note here what the armour is. Of course that phrase, ‘the armour of light,’ may be nothing more than a little bit of colour put in by a picturesque imagination, and may suggest simply how the burnished steel would shine and glitter when the sunbeams smote it, and the glistening armour, like that of Spenser’s Red Cross Knight, would make a kind of light in the dark cave, into which he went. Or it may mean ‘the armour that befits the light’; as is perhaps suggested by the antithesis ‘the works of darkness,’ which are to be ‘put off.’ These are works that match the darkness, and similarly the armour is to be the armour that befits the light, and that can flash back its beams. But I think there is more than that in the expression. I would rather take the phrase to be parallel to another of this Apostle’s, who speaks in 2 Corinthians of the ‘armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.’ ‘Light’ makes the armour, ‘righteousness’ makes the armour. The two phrases say the same thing, the one in plain English, the other in figure, which being brought down to daily life is just this, that the true armour and weapon of a Christian man is Christian character. ‘Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report,’ these are the pieces of armour, and these are the weapons which we are to wield. A Christian man fights against evil in himself by putting on good. The true way to empty the heart of sin is to fill the heart with righteousness. The lances of the light, according to the significant old Greek myth, slew pythons. The armour is ‘righteousness on the right hand and on the left.’ Stick to plain, simple, homely duties, and you will find that they will defend your heart against many a temptation. A flask that is full of rich wine may be plunged into the saltest ocean, and not a drop will find its way in. Fill your heart with righteousness; your lives—let them glisten in the light, and the light will be your armour. God is light, wherefore God cannot be tempted with evil. ‘Walk in the light, as He is in the light’ ? and ‘the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.’

But there is another side to that thought, for if you will look, at your leisure, to the closing words of the chapter, you will find the Apostle’s own exposition of what putting on the armour of light means. ‘Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ ’—that is his explanation of putting on ‘the armour of light.’ For ‘once ye were darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord,’ and it is in the measure in which we are united to Him, by the faith which binds us to Him, and by the love which works obedience and conformity, that we wear the invulnerable armour of light. Christ Himself is, and He supplies to all, the separate graces which Christian men can wear. We may say that He is’ the panoply of God,’ as Paul calls it in Ephesians, and when we wear Him, and only in the measure in which we do wear Him, in that measure are we clothed with it. And so the last thing that I would point out here is that the obedience to these commands requires continual effort.

The Christians in Rome, to whom Paul was writing, were no novices in the Christian life. Long ago many of them had been brought to Him. But the oldest Christian amongst them needed the exhortation as much as the rawest recruit in the ranks. Continual renewal day by day is what we need, and it will not be secured without a great deal of work. Seeing that there is a ‘putting off’ to go along with the ‘putting on,’ the process is a very long one. “Tis a lifelong task till the lump be leavened.’ It is a lifelong task till we strip off all the rags of this old self; and ‘being clothed,’ are not ‘found naked.’ It takes a lifetime to fathom Jesus; it takes a lifetime to appropriate Jesus, it takes a lifetime to be clothed with Jesus. And the question comes to each of us, have we ‘put off the old man with his deeds’? Are we daily, as sure as we put on our clothes in the morning, putting on Christ the Lord?

For notice with what solemnity the Apostle gives the master His full, official, formal title here, ‘put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Do we put Him on as Lord; bowing our whole wills to Him, and accepting Him, His commandments, promises, providences, with glad submission? Do we put on Jesus, recognising in His manhood as our Brother not only the pattern of our lives, but the pledge that the pattern, by His help and love, is capable of reproduction in ourselves? Do we put Him on as ‘the Lord Jesus Christ,’ who was anointed with the Divine Spirit, that from the head it might flow, even to the skirts of the garments, and every one of us might partake of that unction and be made pure and clean thereby? ‘Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,’ and do it day by day, and then you have ‘put on the whole armour of God.’

And when the day that is dawning has risen to its full, then, not till then, may we put off the armour and put on the white robe, lay aside the helmet, and have our brows wreathed with the laurel, sheathe the sword, and grasp the palm, being ‘more than conquerors through Him who loved us,’ and fights in us, as well as for us.

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Torrey's Topic
Warfare of the Saints

Is not after the flesh -2 Corinthians 10:3
Is a good warfare -1 Timothy 1:18,19
Called the good fight of faith -1 Timothy 6:12

IS AGAINST
The devil -Ge 3:15; 2Co 2:11; Ep 6:12; Jas 4:7; 1Pe 5:8; Re 12:17
The flesh -Ro 7:23; 1Co 9:25-27; 2Co 12:7; Ga 5:17; 1Pe 2:11
Enemies -Psalms 38:19; 56:2; 59:3
The world -John 16:33; 1 John 5:4,5
Death -1 Corinthians 15:26; Hebrews 2:14,15

Often arises from the opposition of friends or relatives -Mic 7:6; Mt 10:35,36

TO BE CARRIED ON
Under Christ, as our captain -Hebrews 2:10
Under the Lord’s banner Psalms 60:4
With faith -1 Timothy 1:18,19
With a good conscience -1 Timothy 1:18,19
With steadfastness in the faith -1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Peter 5:9; He 10:23
With earnestness -Jude 1:3
With watchfulness -1 Corinthians 16:13; 1 Peter 5:8
With sobriety -1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:8
With endurance or hardness -2 Timothy 2:3,10
With self-denial -1 Corinthians 9:25-27
With confidence in God -Psalms 27:1-3
With prayer -Psalms 35:1-3; Ephesians 6:18
Without earthly entanglements -2 Timothy 2:4

Mere professors do not maintain -Jeremiah 9:3

SAINTS
Are all engaged in -Philippians 1:30
Must stand firm in -Ephesians 6:13,14
Exhorted to diligence -1 Timothy 6:12; Jude 1:3
Encouraged in -Isaiah 41:11,12; 51:12; Micah 7:8; 1 John 4:4
Helped by God in -Psalms 118:13; Isaiah 41:13,14
Protected by God in -Psalms 140:7
Comforted by God in -2 Corinthians 7:5,6
Strengthened by God in -Psalms 20:2; 27:14; Isaiah 41:10
Strengthened by Christ in -2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Timothy 4:17
Delivered by Christ in -2 Timothy 4:18
Thank God for victory in -Romans 7:25; 1 Corinthians 15:57

ARMOUR FOR
Girdle of truth -Ephesians 6:14
Breastplate of righteousness -Ephesians 6:14
Preparation of the gospel -Ephesians 6:15
Shield of faith -Ephesians 6:16
Helmet of salvation -Ephesians 6:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:8
Sword of the Spirit -Ephesians 6:17
Called armour of God -Ephesians 6:11
Called armour of righteousness -2 Corinthians 6:7
Called armour of light -Romans 13:12
Not carnal -2 Corinthians 10:4
Mighty through God -2 Corinthians 10:4,5
The whole, is required -Ephesians 6:13
Must be put on -Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:11
To be on right hand and left -2 Corinthians 6:7

VICTORY IN, IS
From God -1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 2:14
Through Christ -Romans 7:25; 1Co 15:27; 2Co 12:9; Re 12:11
By faith -Hebrews 11:33-37; 1 John 5:4,5
Over the devil -Romans 16:20; 1 John 2:14
Over the flesh -Romans 7:24,25; Galatians 5:24
Over the world -1 John 5:4,5
Over all that exalts itself -2 Corinthians 10:5
Over death and the grave -Isa 25:8; 26:19; Ho 13:14; 1Co 15:54,55
Triumphant -Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 10:5

THEY WHO OVERCOME IN, SHALL
Eat of the hidden manna -Revelation 2:17
Eat of the tree of life -Revelation 2:7
Be clothed in white raiment -Revelation 3:5
Be pillars in the temple of God -Revelation 3:12
Sit with Christ in his throne -Revelation 3:21
Have a white stone, and, in it a new name written -Revelation 2:17
Have power over the nations -Revelation 2:26
Have the name of God written upon them by Christ -Revelation 3:12
Have God as their God -Revelation 21:7
Have the morning-star -Revelation 2:28
Inherit all things -Revelation 21:7
Be confessed by Christ before God the Father -Revelation 3:5
Be sons of God -Revelation 21:7
Not be hurt by the second death -Revelation 2:11
Not have their names blotted out of the book of life -Revelation 3:5

Illustrated -Isaiah 9:5; Zechariah 10:5