Paul Instructs the Ephesian Believers on Spiritual
Warfare Part 7: The Pieces of our Armor
Ephesians
6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. KJVWe see now the Apostle Paul declaring to these Ephesian believers and we believers today the most important piece of our armor telling them and us that “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” (Ephesians 6:16). The fact that Paul declares faith to be our shield and to be the most important piece of our armor tells us two (2) things: 1) We are not able to fight spiritual warfare against the devil and his demons successfully if we are always in a state of doubting the promises of God the Father to us “in Christ” and primarily whether or not Christ has truly redeemed us from all of our sins past, present, and future. 2) Our faith and trust in Christ is the rock and anchor point of us waging war in the spiritual battles against the enemy of our souls as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrew believers with these words, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Our faith in Christ must give us the confidence and assurance that despite our own personal failures and the accusations hurled against us by the enemy, that we are already seen by God the Father as His eternally glorified sons and daughters as put so strongly, surely, and soundly by these words written by this same Apostle Paul to the Roman believers when he said, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:30). When we fight against the enemy with these words written by Paul always brought to our remembrance, then we can fight to win. When we fight the spiritual battles with the enemy it is our shield of faith we must get behind to protect us from the devil’s fiery darts hurled at our minds in order to bring us into despair, desperation, and doubt.
The Roman soldiers Paul observed for the two (2) years they guarded him under house arrest in Rome carried with them at all times at ready for any battle a large oblong oval door-like shield that was four feet long by two and a half feet wide; this enabled the Roman soldier to place his whole body behind the shield to protect himself from the flaming arrows that many enemies would shoot at them in battle. In like manner, in the spiritual sense we are to at all times get behind our shield of faith in our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ so that we are protected from the fiery darts of accusatory assaults against our sins as he the devil does to God the Father about us night and day as the Apostle John declared it with these words, “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.’” (Revelation 12:10). It is our faith that conquers our enemy the evil one and we are to stand firm in our faith in Christ as the Apostle Peter declared with these words, “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” (1 Peter 5:9). The shield of faith is not of our own manufacturing, making, or manifesting, but instead it is the gift of God to us through and by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord for our sins. Christ being God is our shield as the Psalmist declared with these words, “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head.” (Psalm 3:3) and also the Psalmist words here, “For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:12) and lastly as the wisdom of Agur declares, “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.” (Proverbs 30:5).
As believers in Christ we are embraced and covered by His unchanging love and care for His sheep, His power, His truth, and His faithfulness as Paul describes our Lord Jesus’ faithfulness with these words written to Brother Timothy, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13). Christ and His Blood is our security and protection from all the accusations of the devil against us and from the wrath of God to come upon unbelievers as Paul wrote with these words to the Colossian believers, “God has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of His Son, whom He loves. His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven.” (Colossians 1:13-14). If we have done nothing to get this faith, but instead it has been given to us as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9) from God because of what Christ has done, then we must simply take up faith as our shield every day knowing that Christ Jesus our Lord gave it to us to use in the spiritual battles and remembering always these words written by Paul to the Hebrew believers, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).
“Faith, in this place, must mean that evidence of things unseen which every genuine believer has, that God, for Christ’s sake, has blotted out his sins, and by which he is enabled to call God his Father, and feel him to be his portion. It is such an appropriating faith as this which can quench any dart of the devil.” Adam Clarke
“And then Paul comes speaking of ‘the shield of faith.’ What has become of the other one? The answer is plain enough. My faith is nothing except for what it puts in front of me, and it is God who is truly my shield; my faith is only called a shield, because it brings me behind the bosses of the Almighty’s buckler, against which no man can run a tilt, or into which no man can strike his lance, nor any devil either. God is a defense; and my trust, which is nothing in itself, is everything because of that with which it brings me into connection. Faith is the condition, and the only condition, of God’s power flowing into me, and working in me. And when that power flows into me, and works in me, then I can laugh at the fiery darts, because ‘greater is He that is with us than all they that are with them.’” Alexander MacLaren
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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