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. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16-17)
When we made a commitment to Jesus Christ, we enlisted in God's army. Some may have thought they were only making their eternal destiny secure. Others may have thought that they were simply dealing with their sins. Still others may have thought that they were just subscribing to a higher moral code. But there is more than escaping hell, forsaking sin, and living righteously.
We have joined forces with God and with one another in a spiritual conflict. The cause to which we have committed ourselves is a cause which is being attacked at every front. We have sworn our allegiance to a new kingdom. And that kingdom is a threat to the kingdoms of the god of this world. As citizens of that new kingdom we are being attacked by the enemy. By virtue of the fierceness of this attack, all citizens must become citizens/soldiers. We can do without no one. We must all combine our efforts if we are to win the battle.
We must put on the spiritual armor of God. And we must not go forth into battle half-dressed. We have already looked at three essential items of armor. It is necessary for every soldier to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the boots of peace. As we tie our lives together in truth, walk in the righteousness of Christ, and enter into the security of the peace of God, we will be protected, to a large degree, against the attack of the enemy. But if we stop with these three items of armor, we will still leave ourselves somewhat exposed. And, in addition, we will have no weapon with which to fight back. We must put on the “full armor” of God.
There are three more pieces of equipment which are essential to our fight. Two are defensive: the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. One is offensive: the sword of the Spirit.
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. (6:16)
Beginning with the shield of faith, we find three pieces of equipment which must be taken up again and again. The first three pieces of equipment, the belt, breastplate, and boots were never taken off on the battlefield. On the other hand, the shield, helmet, and sword were only taken up when the actual fighting was about to begin.
The shield for a Roman soldier was a valuable piece of equipment. The kind of shield which is spoken of here was a large shield approximately two and one-half feet wide and four and one-half feet high. It was made of a solid piece of wood and covered with metal or leather. The soldiers used these shields to stand behind. Often they would stand side-by-side with their shields together, forming a long protective wall against the barrage of enemy arrows.
Many of these arrows were wrapped in pieces of cloth and soaked in pitch. The tips would be set ablaze and the arrow shot at the enemy. Such flaming missiles could inflict serious damage on unprotected troops. Well equipped troops, however, with leather-coated shields soaked in water, had a good defense. When the arrows would strike such shields, the wet leather would extinguish them.
Our shield is a shield of faith. This faith is a simple trust in God. In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet makes a declaration that is the basis for our walk with God. He says, “The righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Three times is this statement quoted in the New Testament. Paul quotes it in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11, and the writer of Hebrews quotes it in Hebrews 10:38.
It is by faith that we enter the Christian life. It is by faith that we receive salvation and continued blessings from God. It is not simply faith in general, it is faith in particular. It is faith in Jesus Christ. And just as the air, though unseen, enables the air plane to achieve flight, so faith enables the believer to transcend the natural realm and enter the spiritual realm.
By faith we are enabled to see the unseen. We are told we are to walk by faith, not by sight. Faith liberates us from trusting in what appears to be true and frees us to trust in what God says is true. Faith is not a step in the dark, as some like to say. It is a step based on childlike trust in what God has said. It means we choose to believe Him.
This faith acts as a shield enabling us to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. These flaming missiles may refer to the temptations that are shot at us by Satan. Perhaps it is the temptation to doubt God. Perhaps it is the temptation to disobey God. Whatever the temptation, the shield of faith will stand between us and it.
This shield must be deliberately taken up. We must intentionally stand behind what we believe, if what we believe is able to act as a shield. If we truly believe God, then the flaming arrows of the evil one will be smothered. Like Paul, we will be able to say, “I know whom I have believed.”
And take the helmet of salvation . . . (6:17a)
No Roman soldier would consider going into battle without his helmet. A blow to the head could easily be fatal. With his helmet, however, the Roman solider could fight with a certain amount of confidence. And this is what the helmet does for us. It gives us confidence.
It is the helmet of salvation. When it speaks of salvation, there are several aspects of salvation in view. Salvation includes justification, sanctification, and glorification. We are justified by faith in the finished work of Christ. This means we are forgiven and made right with God. We are sanctified or set apart for God's purposes by the ongoing work of the Spirit. This work continues for our entire Christian life. We are glorified when Jesus returns to receive us to Himself. Thus, our salvation becomes complete. In this passage the primary focus is the assurance of salvation in all of its dimensions.
The assurance of salvation gives us confidence in God. We will need this confidence in the midst of the satanic attack. And this attack comes primarily to our minds. Because of that, we see the significance of having a helmet of salvation.
Our enemy seeks to strike us with the double-edged sword of discouragement and doubt. He points out all of our failures and faults, and anything else which seems negative. He wants us to doubt our salvation, to doubt God's goodness, to doubt God's Word, and to be just generally depressed. Throughout history almost all of God's choice servants have suffered times of discouragement and depression.
Often, this discouragement will come after great success. We see Elijah winning the battle against Baal on Mt. Carmel and immediately thereafter running for his life from Queen Jezebel. He wanted to die, but God would not let him die. And there may be a time in your life when you feel like that. It is then that you need the helmet of salvation. Satan will try by every means at his disposal to discourage and defeat us. But it will be the helmet of salvation which will give us our assurance in Christ. It was that assurance which caused Job, after he had been ravaged by every conceivable calamity, to say of God, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15). The helmet which Job wore deflected every blow.
Jesus died on the Cross in order to give us this helmet of salvation. When He died there between those two thieves, He made the greatest statement about His love for us and about His desire to save us that could ever be made. If you want assurance, look to the Cross. It is an indisputable historical fact that Jesus died on that Cross. He died there for you.
The helmet of salvation gives you the confidence you need to face the enemy. You can withstand the attack because you know that if God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him for you, He will surely stand by you, even in your darkest hour.
. . . and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (6:17b)
The Roman soldier carried a short sword strapped to his side. It was the most common weapon used in hand-to-hand combat. It was used both offensively and defensively.
Our sword is of the Spirit. It is a spiritual sword which can be used to defend ourselves against the blows of the enemy and to strike a blow ourselves. This sword of the Spirit is our Bible, the word of God.
Hebrews 4:12 describes the Scriptures this way: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” It is abundantly clear that the Word of God is “divinely powerful to the pulling down of strongholds.” It is a spiritual weapon. We must learn to use it effectively to defeat the enemy.
Jesus used this spiritual weapon against Satan in the wilderness. You recall how He was tempted by Satan after His baptism. Satan was attempting to get Jesus to doubt God. He was attempting to undermine Jesus' confidence in who He was. “If you are really the Son of God . . .” was the method of attack. In each instance Jesus blocked the blow with the Word of God. In every encounter He went on the offensive using the Word of God. He wielded the sword of the Spirit to effectively destroy the arguments of the enemy. There is no greater weapon in our arsenal then the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
A sword stored away in a closet does you no good when you are under attack. In order to use this sword, it must be available to you. It becomes available when you begin to become familiar with it. Only as you read, study, and meditate upon the Word of God, will you ever keep this sword in hand.
By becoming familiar with the word of God, you are storing away spiritual weapons for the Spirit to use. He will bring to your mind those passages which apply to the situation you are facing. Your mind will be trained to think like God thinks. You will be able to pierce through the lies and deceptions of the enemy. The word of God is a powerful sword indeed.
Faith, salvation, and the Word go together. They speak of our trust in God. Together with truth, righteousness, and peace, they make up the essential basic armor for the Christian.
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