Battle Ready Part 5

Okay so far we have talked about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and shoes for our feet of the gospel of peace. Remember we are to be mission focused, ready for battle each and everyday. Putting on the Armor of God every single day. The next piece of Armor we are going to look at is the shield of faith. The shield is another defensive tool used in battle to protect the solider from not only sword or spear strikes, but also arrows. So let dive in and see what God has for us today.

Ephesians 6:13–16 ESV

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Paul starts out with in “all circumstances”, he again reiterates the importance of the Armor at all times. By this we know the Armor is not just for the hard times, or the bad times, but all circumstances, good or bad we should have our shield of faith. The Roman solider had two shields they would use, a smaller one roughly 2” in diameter which was used in hand to hand combat. Then they had a much larger one roughly 2 1/2’ wide and 4 1/2’ tall they could hide their entire body behind this shield, they could also stand together and protect each other in a line against the archers of the enemy.

Here is a picture of the type of shield we are talking about it is called a thureos.

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

So in every circumstance we are to take up the shield of faith. The type of faith Paul is referring to here is a basic trust in God, it is the faith in Christ that appropriates salvation and continues to bring strength and blessings to the believer as they trust in God. The substance of Christianity is believing that God exists and that He rewards those who seek Him, putting total trust in His Son as the crucified, buried, risen, ascended Savior, obeying His Word, because it is infallible and authoritative, looking forward to His coming again.

Habakkuk 2:4 (LEB)

4 Look! His spirit within him is puffed up; it is not upright. But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.

This claim is also reiterated by Paul twice(Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11), and the author of Hebrews (10:38). We all live by some form of faith each and everyday. You have faith that a bridge will support you when you drive over it. I put faith in this railing that it will support my weight. But faith in God is immeasurably more reliable and important than our everyday faith. Our faith is not just faith in something. Our faith is powerful and effective because the object of our faith is Christ. Christian faith never fails because the One in whom our faith is placed never fails.

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Why do we need the shield of faith, well its to extinguish the flaming darts of satan. Why would Paul say extinguish, the Roman soldiers shield was made of wood usually covered with metal or heavy leather that would be soaked in water. In battle the archers would wrap their arrow tips with cloth and then light them on fire, this shield would not only block them but it would extinguish them as well. What flaming arrows do we need protection from, well primarily it would be temptations. We are constantly bombarded with temptations to immorality, hatred, envy, anger, pride, doubt, fear, despair, distrust, and every other sin. The first flaming dart was in the garden, when he asked Eve did God really say. He even used doubt during the temptation of Jesus, “if you are really”. Every temptation, directly or indirectly, is the temptation to doubt and distrust God. This is Satan's purpose to cause us to distrust God. Doubting God is to disbelieve God.

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

There is only one way to extinguish the flaming darts of temptation to doubt God is to believe in God and take up the shield of faith. Remember it is the object of our Faith, Christ. We must put our faith and trust in Him because He is the only one worthy, He is the only one who has remained faithful to us. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We must maintain our faith in Christ’s work and His power. Remember standing the strength of His might not our own.

Proverbs 30:5–6 ESV

5 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

God’s word is true and it has been proven to be true time and time again. He is the one who is truly faithful.

Psalm 18:30 LEB

30 This God—his way is blameless. The word of Yahweh is flawless. He is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

We see from these two OT verses that God’s word and His way are true, perfect, and blameless. He is a shied for those of us who put our faith in Him. Remember the foundation of our faith is Christ, it starts with our relationship with Him. He equips us with everything that we need.

1 John 5:4 ESV

4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

We must be born again, “born of God”, in order to be able to stand, and overcome the temptations of satan.

Ephesians 6:16 (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Jesus has dealt the death dealing blow to satan he is a defeated foe. This should help us to stand firm in our faith in Christ. Paul does not say the shield of faith might extinguish satan’s temptations, it say it can. We can be victorious in the battle because Christ already won the war.