A Shield, a Helmet, and a two-edged Sword (Ephesians 6:16-17)

All this week I have been emphasizing the reality of the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged. We are not given a choice about this. When we obeyed the gospel, we were enlisted in the army of Christ and immediately sent to the frontlines. The good news is that if we properly arm ourselves for the battle against Satan and the evil forces of darkness, we will be victorious. To do that we must be strong in the Lord, know who our true enemies are, do all we can to stand, and, above everything else, make sure we put on the whole armor of God. In our last post, we looked at a belt, a breastplate, and a pair of shoes. In this last blog of the week, we want to discuss a shield, a helmet, and a two-edged sword.

The shield that Paul referred to was a large, door-shaped shield that gave total protection to the body. The stronger the shield was, the greater chance the soldier would have to survive in battle. Some shields even had a layer of leather attached to the front to better absorb the arrows shot by the enemy. Our shield is faith, and it does the same for us. It protects our soul from anything the devil hurls at us. The stronger our faith, the more adversity and trials we can absorb without wavering. We must do everything we can to have unshakable faith, including a healthy intake of the word of God. Remember, faith comes by hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17). The fact that you are reading this blog says a lot about your love for the word of God. Keep it up. Study as often as you can. It will build up your faith, and that faith will shield you from the fiery darts of Satan.

The protection that a helmet gives a soldier is obvious. It protects the biblical heart, that is, the mind. Our minds are not only the most important part of us physically, it is the most important part of us spiritually as well. Our minds must be protected from the assaults of the devil at all cost. If he can get into our minds and influence our thinking, he will defeat us. He knows this. As he tries to destroy us, he is going to attack our minds first. But, with the helmet of salvation on, he will not be able to penetrate our minds. He will not be able to influence our thinking. His attempts to fill us with unspiritual and demonic attitudes like bitterness, envy, and lust (James 3:14-16), will fail. You see, to put on the helmet of salvation is to fill our minds with thoughts of heaven and spiritual things. It is to set our affections on things above (Colossians 3:1-2). It is to avoid allowing ungodly and immoral things to penetrate our thinking. Let’s make a practice of thinking on the proper things (Philippians 4:8).

Finally, we must make sure that we are equipped with the sword of the Spirit. In combat, the sword is essential because without it, not only is the soldier’s life in great peril, but he has no way of defeating the enemy. You see, while the sword is a good defensive weapon, it is first and foremostt an offensive weapon. Our spiritual sword is the same. It is, Paul says, the word of God, and we should use it, not only to defend ourselves against Satan, but to go on the attack ourselves. The devil wants us to be passive. We are no threat to him when all we ever do is counterpunch. The church at Ephesus attacked. They tested those who claimed to be apostles but were not (Revelation 2:2). Paul attacked. He told the saints at Corinth that he was coming to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5). The word for take captive is an active voice verb. Paul was going to Corinth to take action. Jude taught us to attack by contending for the faith. We must let the devil know that we are not sitting around waiting to be attacked, but that we will attack. We will expose all false ways and religious error with the sword of the Spirit. Do you want to be victorious? Then put on the armor of God and start fighting. As you wind down for the night, think on these things.