Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:17. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:17

“Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.”

We are told to take, or receive, the helmet of salvation. The helmet is obviously important to protect the head. A blow to the unprotected head can easily kill or render unconscious a soldier. This form of protection is vital.

salvation, in the sense of our redemption from sin by Christ’s death on the cross, is the first meaning of this phrase. To even get into the battle and to be spiritually alive, we need to first be saved. A person foolish enough to enter the battle without salvation will suffer a fate similar to that of the seven sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13-16).

The helmet of salvation protects our thought life after we are saved. Our thoughts are being constantly filled with ideas from outside. Some of these come from the Holy Spirit. Others come from human sources such as the media, entertainment, philosophy, politics, and so on. Still others come from demons seeking to undermine our determination to fight for the Lord.

When I first came to know Jesus, at the age of 18, I was excited to find out more about my relationship with God. I filled my mind with the Bible and with Christian books. The helmet of salvation protected my thought life from ideas opposed to God’s ways by filling my mind with His Word.

Over time we can tune out the Holy Spirit and allow other thoughts to enter our thinking. These might be thoughts about compromise, doubts, pleasure, or outright temptation to sin. If we allow these thoughts to take root in our mind, then our relationship with God can be destroyed.

To take the helmet of salvation means that we allow the Holy Spirit to direct our thinking. This might take self-discipline on our part as we learn to say “No” to thoughts that originated in the flesh or from demons.

If we allow our thinking to be corrupted by satan, it is every bit as fatal to our spirit as a blow to the head can be to the body. This helmet of salvation is vital.

Along with the helmet of salvation, we need to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

This connection between God’s Word and a sword is not unique to this passage. In Hebrews 4:12, we are told that “ the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” Revelation 1:16 describes Jesus as holding seven stars “ and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword.”

The word of God is a powerful tool that the Holy Spirit uses to bring discernment and judgement to the heart. Like the helmet of salvation, this sword brings our thinking into alignment with God’s purposes.

The word for “sword” used in Ephesians 6:17 is makaira, a razor sharp sword used in close combat. The sword is an offensive weapon not a defensive implement like a shield or helmet.

We need to remind ourselves that the fight is against powers, principalities, and demons. Too often the Bible has been used as a bludgeon to bash people into acquiescence. We can quote the Word of God to condemn, humiliate, or repel people we do not like.

The proper use of the Word in warfare is against the spirits, that is, in prayer. We pray the promises of God; we command demons to flee on the basis of Scripture; by faith we speak things into being.

When the Bible is used to bring the power of salvation then it is used effectively as the sword of the Spirit. The word of God, properly, passionately, and pastorally preached is a powerful weapon in evangelism.

The phrase “ the word of God” can also be used in regard to spoken words brought through the agency of the Holy Spirit – words of knowledge, wisdom, faith, and prophetic words are amongst these. We should not think that Paul is exclusively thinking of Scripture in this verse. In 1 Corinthians 14, he speaks of how prophecy and tongues should be used in christian gatherings in order to bring the unbeliever to a place of repentance.

Key points in this verse

• The helmet of salvation is essential protection in spiritual warfare
• The Holy Spirit protects our thinking in order to help us overcome the evil one
• The sword of the Spirit is the word of God
• We need to use the Bible as a sword against evil spirits, not as a weapon to condemn people
• The word of God includes not just the Scriptures but genuine words from the Holy Spirit spoken by individuals

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 6:16. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 6:16

“With all these things, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

Some translators take the phrase ”with all these things” to be “over all these things.” The Roman shield was a body length protection from arrows and other projectiles. The shield could be carried over head to protect from arrows fired from above. When enemies covered their arrows with cloth soaked in pitch and set on fire, the shields themselves were protected by leather soaked in water.

The shield was an all-purpose protection from weapons before they even made contact with the armour.

Again Paul reminds us of the war of the spirit in which Christians are engaged. The enemy is constantly assaulting us in all kinds of ways to probe for any fatal weakness.

The flaming arrows may take the form of temptations. We all have weaknesses that we easily fall prey to. In many ways, these are automatic in the sense that there are triggering events every day that exist just because of the fallen world in which we live. A person with a weakness for lust, or greed, or pride, will not need too many promptings from the evil one before their thoughts have been hijacked.

Emotions that undermine faith can also be arrows that can pull us down. Fear and anxiety are two such emotions. If I allow anxiety to dominate my feelings, then I am being disobedient to Christ who repeatedly commanded us not to be anxious about anything but to trust our heavenly Father (Matthew 6:25-34).

Accusations from other people can likewise be arrows that attack our faith, especially when they seem to be unfounded. We may be mocked for our faith, or our motives may be misunderstood. In these ways, satan turns our desire for approval by others into arrows that wound our relationship with God.

Like arrows, fiery or otherwise, the key features of these attacks is that they come upon us without warning. An arrow was launched from a distance away, possibly before the victim knew the assailant was even there, and it came silently.

We need to be constantly aware of the presence of the enemy, and ready to come under fire. We must prayerfully analyse our own weaknesses so that when we are tempted then we can stand firm in the lesser temptations as well as the greater ones.

It is faith that protects us from the fiery arrows of the evil one.

Faith understands that when our emotions are under attack, God is greater than our fears. Faith determines that God has promised to care for his children and that he is faithful. When anxiety or fear threaten to overwhelm us, faith looks to the Father, not to the circumstance.

Faith is the shield that protects from temptations. Since the Garden of Eden, satan has attempted to undermine the commands of God (“Did God really say?”), and the goodness of God (“God knows that you will be like Him”). All temptation comes down to denying either the word of God or the character of God. When we know God by faith, and trust him for who He is, the power of temptation is quenched.

To hold a shield in place under sustained attack requires strength and stamina. As we walk with the Lord and engage in battles over a lifetime, we discover that our strength to apply the shield, and hence quench those arrows, actually grows. Whereas some people become discouraged or accepting of their weaknesses, people of faith learn to hold firm their shields in ever increasing intensities of attack from the devil.

In doing this, we can have great victory in the ways of the Spirit.

Key points in this verse:

• The shield of faith protects every part of our spiritual being
• The enemy has many and varied ways of undermining our trust in the Lord
• The fiery arrows come silently and without warning
• Faith is the shield that quenches every attack from the enemy
• We must learn to apply faith in the midst of temptation and other attacks
• We should grow in our ability to withstand evil