Fully Dressed for Battle

We have giants we need to face and battles we need to fight. In recent weeks, I have been writing about spiritual warfare from Ephesians 6:10-18. You will recall how this teaching begins with Paul, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…” (v. 11). You must be fully dressed for battle! Let’s continue with pieces of our armor that we must wear daily—

Shield of Faith (v. 16)
 
When Paul uses the word “faith”, he is talking about faith in God. The “shield” refers to a large shield, about 2 ft. in width and 4 ft. in length, which would allow the soldier to crouch behind it and it would cover his whole body and protect the person. The enemy would take arrows, wrap the tip in cloth, dip in pitch, set on fire, and shoot. If a flaming arrow penetrated a soldier, usually it meant he would die. The pain would cause him to rip out the arrow point causing more damage and the pitch would create an infection leading to death. The Roman soldier would kneel behind the shield. The arrows would hit the shield and be extinguished by the wooden shield overlaid with leather.

The devil shoots arrows of discouragement, temptations, doubts, guilt, despair, etc. We meet the flaming arrows of the enemy by raising up the shield of faith in God.

Learn to speak the language of faith in times of adversity. Rehearse the good things God has done. Recall the faithfulness of God. Recite the Word of God. Do this consistently and it will extinguish the fiery arrows shot at you by the enemy. Above all, know that you are not alone in doing this; we link together our shields to make us stronger. Together we are stronger!

Helmet of Salvation (v.17)
 
This protected the head. A soldier might battle without other pieces of the armor, but he would not go to battle without the helmet. (Goliath is the poster-child for this).

The helmet of salvation represents an absolute assurance of salvation. This protects the mind from anxiety, fear, doubt and uncertainty. This is the calm assurance that we will win in the end!

Sword of the Spirit (v. 17)
 
This is the only offensive weapon. It represents the Word of God and we must use it in our own spiritual warfare. In your personal battles, use it as Jesus did in Matthew 4. When the devil attacked the Son of God, Jesus quoted scripture. We must do the same. This is why we must become knowledgeable and familiar with all of scripture. The word of God is an awesome weapon in the hands of a devoted believer.

Finally, always remember that you are in a battle so prepare daily to do battle! Next week I will share with you how to get an edge in the battle…

Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron