The Shield, Helmet, Sword, and Prayer

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Last week we looked at how we need to be strong in the Lord, what we struggle against, and why we need the armor of God on. Then we looked at the first three pieces of armor we are to take up. Such as the belt of truth which is living a life of integrity before the Lord and others, the breastplate of righteousness which is knowing that it is Christ’s righteousness that defines you, and the shoes of the gospel of peace, letting the News of Jesus and the salvation that He brings by His blood and resurrection dictate our life. We also learned that these help enable us to be free of a life stiffened by lies, it helps us stand up against the accusation of the devil, and it helps us to stand our ground on Satan’s battle field.

Scripture Reading ()

The Shield of Faith

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)

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

In New Testament times darts were often made with tow dipped in pitch and then set on fire, and the wooden shield needed to be covered with leather so as to quench them quickly.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 20:29). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

In New Testament times darts were often made with tow dipped in pitch and then set on fire, and the wooden shield needed to be covered with leather so as to quench them quickly.

Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, p. 181). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

So much like the roman shield, the shield of Faith will extinguish the devils flaming arrows! What happens when the soldier doesn’t have an adequate shield! It’s either to small or is just wood. It burns, it doesn’t catch all the arrows, the field of battle gets compromised or you get compromised when you get struck by one. Now what are these flaming darts? They are lies, they could be people’s arrow tongues, the shafts of impurity, selfishness, doubt, fear, disappointment, that are planned by the enemy to burn and destroy. Aka, the devil wants you to doubt your faith, its effectiveness, he also wants you to doubt the mightiness of God or what God will or will not do! So in order to fend against we must first know what the shield of Faith is! Its believing in our faith and casting out all doubts and believing in that which you sometimes don’t understand!

people’s arrow tongues, the shafts of impurity, selfishness, doubt, fear, disappointment, that are planned by the enemy to burn and destroy.

...for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ()

But Jesus says,

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ()

So in order to be one of unwavering faith, you must seek God’s Word and pray that He may increase your faith! This is essential, because the devil who is like a roaring lion will devour you if you don’t take up the shield of Faith!

The Helmet of Salvation

17 and take the helmet of salvation... (Ephesians 6:17)

The helmet of salvation in verse 17 is protection for the head, keeping viable a critical part of the body. We could say that our way of thinking needs preservation. The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has laid hold of the sure gospel hope of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine or give way to Satan’s temptations. The unsaved person has no hope of warding off the blows of false doctrine because he is without the helmet of salvation and his mind is incapable of discerning between spiritual truth and spiritual deception. (https://www.gotquestions.org/full-armor-of-God.html)

The Sword of the Spirit

17 and take… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ()

So what is the Sword of the Spirit? It’s the Word of God! How do you wield it? You learn it, you take it seriously and you take it to heart!

17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ()

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

All of the other pieces of armor are defensive, but this piece is meant for offense! In the temptation narrative Christ used scripture to ward off the temptations of the devil!

When the devil tried to get Christ to stray from His fasting...

“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

When the devil tried to get Jesus to test God...

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

And when the devil tempted Jesus with all the riches and kingdoms of the world, in order to try and get Christ to worship him.

Jesus said in response...

“Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

When the devil attacks you, especially when he distorts God’s Word and uses it against you like he had with Jesus, the only way to fight back is with God’s Word! Now God’s Word does more then just cut down God’s enemies, I would also say it should pierces your own heart as well. Such as when you truly take it for what its worth, its going to convict you of the sin that you fall to in life and if you allow its teaching to change you then it will kill your sin, killing who you used to be in your sin. This is good, as the devil is one to exploit us by our sin and weaknesses to lead us into more sin and if wielding the sword of the Spirit means that we become more impenetrable by cutting down our sins and the old person inside. But as it kills the old man or the old woman inside of you God doesn’t leave you dead for those of you who are saved, He creates a new heart and conforms you to the image of His Son! But yes the Sword of the Spirit is used in opposition to the enemy as well!

Supplication

Lastly, Paul talks about making supplication for all believers. Listen you must know that your aren’t the only one struggling against spiritual forces, there are others that are apart of the church that are as well! To become a better forces against Satan and his demons to advance the kingdom of God, then we must pray for each other. We must pray that the church is effective in their relationship with God, that it is unified, and winning souls to the kingdom by taking the gospel to the far reaches of this world in any situation, even if some of us, in the whole of the church, are like Paul who was an ambassador in chains! We have a mission and it can’t be fully accomplished unless we are suited up!

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