G353 ἀναλαμβάνω (analambánō)

Take up (353) (analambano from ana = up + lambano = take) means literally to take up, to assume. Depending on the context analambano can mean to cause to go up, to lift up and carry away as in the Ascension of Christ (Acts 1:2, 11, 22), to take up in order to carry (Acts 7:43, Eph 6:13, 16), to pick up (someone to take along on a journey - 2Ti 4:11-note), to take aboard a ship (Acts 20:13, 14). Paul like a military general to his troops commands the believers to take up their armor. The aorist imperative conveys a sense of urgency and demands that one take decisive action. Do this now! Don't delay! So when the battle is the most fierce, the soldier of Christ may still be able to hold his or her position even against the most determined attacks. Wuest adds that analambano means to... “to take up” in order to use, “to take to one’s self,” thus, “take up” as one takes up armor to put it on. The verb is aorist imperative, which construction issues a command given with military snap and curtness, a command to be obeyed at once and once for all. Thus, the Christian is to take up and put on all the armor of God as a once-for-all act and keep that armor on during the entire course of his life, not relaxing the discipline necessary for the constant use of such protection. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans) Analambano is used 69 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Gen. 24:61; 45:19, 27; 46:5f; 48:1; 50:13; Exod. 4:20; 10:13, 19; 12:32, 34; 19:4; 28:12; Num. 14:1; 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 20f, 23; Deut. 1:41; 32:11; 2 Ki. 2:9ff; 2 Chr. 25:28; Est. 5:1; Job 13:14; 17:9; 21:12; 22:22; 27:21; 36:3; 40:10; Ps. 50:16; 72:3; 78:70; 139:9; 146:9; 147:6; Isa. 40:24; 46:4; 63:9; Jer. 4:6; 7:29; 13:20; 46:3; Lam. 3:41; 5:13; Ezek. 2:2; 3:12, 14; 8:3; 10:19; 11:1, 24; 12:6f; 16:61; 43:5; Dan. 2:5; 4:34; Hos. 11:3; Amos 5:26; 7:15; Zech. 5:9) TDNT notes that analambano in the LXX has such senses as “to load,” “to set on the feet,” “to raise” (a song), “to lift up” (in prayer), “to receive” (instruction), and “to keep upright.” It can also become a term for rapture. (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) Analambano is used 13 times in the NT... Mark 16:19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. Acts 1:2 until the day when He was taken up, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen....11 and they also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."...22 beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us-- one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection." Acts 7:43 'You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rompha, the images which you made to worship them. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.' Acts 10:16 And this happened three times; and immediately the object was taken up into the sky. Acts 20:13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for thus he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. Acts 23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. 1 Timothy 3:16 And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. 2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. Ray Stedman illustrates the importance of full armor in warfare... BRITISH ADMIRAL LORD DAVID BEATTY commanded a flotilla at the Battle of Jutland during World War I. As the battle began, British and German ships engaged each other in a long-range artillery battle. It quickly became apparent that there was a major flaw in the British ships. First, a heavy cruiser, the Lion, was hit by an artillery barrage and quickly sunk. Next the Indefatigable was hit in the powder magazine, and was blown to pieces. Then the Queen Mary was sunk, taking a crew of 1,200 sailors straight to the bottom. Watching this destruction among the proud ships of his fleet, Admiral Beatty turned to his bridge officer and said with characteristic British restraint, "There seems to be something wrong with our ships today, Chatfield." Though the British ships eventually turned back the German fleet, it was later discovered that there was a fatal flaw in the design of the British ships. Though they had heavily armored hulls, their wooden decks offered almost no protection against enemy long-range artillery shells that dropped almost straight down out of the sky. Only after the British began to armor their ships on top as well as on the sides did they stop losing ships to German long-range artillery. Effective armor is a crucial element of victory in any war including spiritual warfare...If you leave anything unprotected, the enemy will find a way to exploit that chink in your armor and he will destroy you. In Ephesians 6, Paul calls us to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." How do we do this? How do we become strong in the Lord as Paul exhorts us to? By putting on "the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." And note that word full. We cannot merely put on this or that piece of God's armor in some random or incomplete fashion. We cannot leave any part of ourselves uncovered and unprotected. We cannot give our enemy any little opening, or he will exploit that opening to his advantage. (Ray Stedman. Spiritual Warfare - Available online and highly recommended!) (Bolding added) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_613.htm#take