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The New Testament uses a number of military metaphors in discussing Christianity, especially in the Pauline epistles.
InPhilippians 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 BunyaninThe Pilgrim's Progress,[9] and by many other Christian writers.
Related imagery appears in hymns such as "Soldiers of Christ, Arise" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers".[10]
