WEEK ELEVEN
SPIRITUAL WARFARE – PART 5
“The Helmet and the Sword”
Ephesians 6:17
It is very important for our Christian lives that we intelligently consider the process of putting on the whole armor of God. The reason why, of course, is that the armor of God describes Jesus Christ Himself and He is what the whole Christian life is all about. We must learn to put “Him on” in our lives if we’re to be effective Christians who are able to stand against the wiles of the evil one.
Keeping that in mind, it’s helpful for us to recognize that the first three pieces of the armor as listed in Ephesians 6 refer to a specific theme which is “me in Christ”. These pieces have to do with my identity and position as a believer. The second three pieces of the armor also refer to a specific theme which is “Christ in me” and how that specifically applies to my life. That’s interesting, isn’t it? “Me in Christ” equals my identity and “Christ in me” equals my sufficiency.
With that as background, we now arrive at the next piece of the whole armor of God, the “Helmet of Salvation”. Ephesians 6:17 says, “…and take the helmet of salvation.” Again, this is something I’m to “take up”, in the presenttense.
In a war, a helmet is a very valuable piece of equipment. It protects the head from injury and gives to the soldier the ability to do things he couldn’t do without one. Spiritually speaking, the “Helmet of Salvation” also protects the head. It protects the mind and intelligence. It preserves the Christian’s ability to think or reason and keeps the believer from mental confusion and darkness; it keeps the head clear. How important this is in a day when everyone seems so confused. Man having abandoned the Word of God as a solid basis for answers has plunged himself into a hopeless sea of perplexity as he seeks to live life without God or absolute truths. Even those individuals, who “seem” to have answers, end up admitting that they really have none. There are millions of answers to millions of problems and the great thinkers of our time are busying themselves contradicting each other! The problems of man are just too big – population control, the economy, the inner-city crime, world hunger, crumbling educational systems, etc. – there just aren’t any answers that man himself can come up with.
On top of all of this, there is the mental anguish we all feel when we stop to honestly evaluate life as it really is on this planet. The world itself is victimized and dominated by man’s fallen nature. How can we go on killing babies while we seek to save the sea otters? How can the television producers fail to see the connection between their immoral programming and the breakdown of the family in our country? And how helpless do we feel when we realize how little we really have to say about economic control over own lives? Obviously, there are so many more questions we could ask. And these could wipe us out if we didn’t have the “Helmet of Salvation” to give us clear heads in the midst of life’s insanity.
So, what kind of salvation is referred to by the “Helmet of Salvation”? Well first of all, it’s not referring to past tense salvation. That was the subject of an early part of Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8-9, “…for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Neither is the “Helmet of Salvation” referring to present tense salvation which is the present deliverance over sin and bondage to it.
What the “Helmet of Salvation” IS referring to is “future tense” salvation; a time of future deliverance and victory which all believers in Jesus Christ will be a part of! Here are some scriptures that back this up:
Romans 13:11, “…and do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time that we awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed” (future tense).
1 Thes. 5:8, “…but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”
Romans 8:20-25, “…for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. And not only they, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
When will the believer experience this type of salvation? Only when Jesus Christ Himself returns and restores all things; then we will experience the consummation of our redemption and come into that glorious liberty of the children of God. All of this tells us what the “Helmet of Salvation” is – it’s the hope of the return of Jesus Christ! This alone alters our perspective so that we can see clearly and still be effective in a dying world.
Of course, scripture is full of these truths. In the New Testament alone there are over 318 references to the return of Jesus Christ. He IS coming back. And history IS heading somewhere. God IS ordering world events to usher in the final consummation in Christ. The hearts of the kings are still in the hands of the Lord (Proverbs 21:1). God knows about the world scene – He knows all about inflation, all about an emerging one-world government, all about the suffering in the world. He hasn’t forgotten. He IS doing something about it. The prophetic picture He told us about is rapidly unraveling. Man, on his part, will ultimately put all of his hopes in the government of Antichrist thinking that mankind itself will be able to usher in a so-called “Age of Aquarius”. It might even seem to work for a short time but God’s solution in Jesus Christ is the only ultimate answer, when “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” (Rev. 11:15). MAN WILL NOT HAVE ANY PART TO PLAY IN THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION, IT IS ALL FROM GOD. And I must put my hope in Him. That’s what the “Helmet of Salvation” is.
Because there are many churches today who say nothing about the second coming of Christ, many people do not understand the world’s problems from a prophetic perspective. They say that the book of Revelation is a closed book when in fact the word “revelation” means unveiling. God means to unveil to us His plan and His Son. Two problems arise when a Christian fails to put on the “Helmet of Salvation” and live in the hope that it brings. Number one, Christianity becomes just a “social” gospel and much energy gets expended trying to find “human” solutions for our problems through science, government, technology, philosophy, psychology, religion, and other humanistic methods. Secondly, for those Christians who’ve abandoned hope in man, the result is despair. Where is it all heading? What will happen to me and my family? What about jobs in the next twenty years? How will we make it? The focus is then off the Lord and on ourselves.
But when Christians put the “helmet” on, there is renewed hope in Christ. Again, there is a proper orientation. This is what happens when we hear a “last days” message on prophecy and suddenly everything seems to come back into focus.
Obviously, Satan hates this doctrine because it represents his final deathblow. And being a robber, he’s not at all happy when we’re full of the joy of the hope of Christ. And what Satan has done to nullify this doctrine is to get Christians so divided over the particulars that many are just turning off and tuning out when anything at all is said about the return of the Lord. We must not allow him to succeed in this because it will hinder our walks with Jesus. We need to have the “helmet” on so that we’ll realize that as Christians we’re on the winning side and so we’ll be able to have insight into the evils of the world, war, cults, heresies, the suffering of the weak and innocent, etc. We’ll be able then to have compassion and offer hope to those who are victims of this fallen world instead of being so burdened down by the immensity of the problem.
As Christians with the “Helmet of Salvation” on we should not:
- Retreat into a protective capsule telling everyone they are going to hell saying, “I told you so!” Just kick back and wait it all out.
- Rise up and fight by joining all the anti and pro-organizations trying to solve the world’s problems.
- Ignore world events and refuse to vote, burying ourselves like an ostrich with its head in the sand, hoping it will all go away.
But we should:
- Learn to identify with people involved in all of the different causes on all the levels of life to be salt and light to them (Matthew 5:13-16).
- Be empathetic and listening and try to feel what people are feeling. We have hope and we should be ready to give an answer to all who ask us for the reason for the hope that is within us then we can tell them of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).
- Possibly even involve ourselves in some good causes if the Lord leads us, not so much for the cause itself, but for the people in those causes.
- Be ready to be rejected for our stand. When people find out about why we have hope they may or may not like it. They may even become hostile. But if we are rejected, we must make sure it’s because they’re rejecting Jesus not because we’ve been obnoxious or because we didn’t show love. Remember that Jesus was the friend of sinners. If people don’t want to continue with us because of Jesus, let’s make sure it’s their choice to do so, not ours. That may hurt us but we must be ready if it happens. (Matthew 5:10-12)
So let us take up the “Helmet of Salvation” and go on in our study to the last piece of the armor of God, “…taking the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
This is an extremely important piece of the armor because it speaks of Jesus Christ making Himself available to us through the sayings of His Word. It is by the Word of God, the Bible, that we can understand specifically what it means to know and follow Jesus Christ. Our experience of God must be based upon His revelation to us in His Word and not the other way around. We do not try to make the Word of God agree with our experience. It is by the whole counsel of God, as found in the Bible, that we can bring our lives into the perspective that God desires for us. And the sum total of the Bible’s message to us has to do with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:16 states this principle very well, “…let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Notice that it says “the Word of Christ”. That’s because the Bible presents the person of Jesus. Christ and Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, present the Bible. There is no separation of authority between either one. The Word of God is equal in authority to Jesus Christ, and of course, the reverse is also true. Problems arise in the life of the believer who attempts to exclude either Jesus or the Word. When one attempts to follow Christ without the Bible then there is no real focal point for that person in his/her walk and he/she could possibly become deceived, tripped up into an experience-oriented walk or not grow because of a lack of specific instruction. And when one attempts to follow the Bible without Christ, the Christian life becomes reduced to a bunch of principles and conformity to the letter of the law, to the neglect of a personal relationship with Jesus Himself. So we must maintain a balance in our lives and not separate the two.
Getting back to Ephesians 6:17, we need to take note of the word, for “word”, as it appears in the Greek. It isn’t the word “logos” which refers to the complete utterance of what God has said. But rather it is the word “rhema” which refers to a specific saying of God. This word emphasizes an experiential use of the Word of God, a time when the Word of God comes flashing into the mind by the Holy Spirit. It can be a whole passage, a truth which is alluded to in the Bible, or merely a quotation form a portion of a verse. But it is for use in specific situations in our lives as we follow the Lord.
This “rhema” can come to us in many varying and different ways. It can come while sitting and reading the Bible, a sudden powerful truth just seems to jump off the page to meet a specific need in our lives. It can come while listening to a teaching or to a word of prophecy. One thing that is said will stick out to us so obviously, hitting a need right on the head. Or it could come during a time of temptation or a time of doubting. The “rhema” could come during a season of seeking God’s direction or just doing normal activities, like mowing the lawn or fixing the car. Or we could be sharing the gospel with someone when things start popping into our mind to say which we’d not ever even thought about. God can use His Word “to speak” to us in many ways. He is not limited at all in His variety. And we have each had our own unique experiences of how God speaks to us as individuals.
Of course, the true values of the “rhema” of God, or “word of the Spirit”, is when we take it up and use it, when we respond in obedience to those verses which come to us or when we use it to be effective in other’s lives. The beautiful thing about all of this is that it is the Spirit of God who is using the word in these ways. As we look to the Spirit, He will do His work of making the Word of God practical in all of life’s circumstances. So, the burden is off of us to make the Bible relevant. That is the Holy Spirit’s job. And He will surely do it.
The “Sword of the Spirit” then, has value for me as it defends, protects, convicts, and convinces me. And it also has value for others as it pierces their hearts, removing demonic deception or veils they may be hiding behind. This is why I read and study the Bible not because I have to, but because I need to. I need to study in order that the Spirit might recall it to my mind whenever I may need it.
The Bible is always being attacked for these reasons. Either its authority or its significance is constantly called into question. This leads many not to take the Bible seriously. Or to ignore how it might specifically apply to life itself. But we can’t just ignore it. It’s the Word of God and ignoring scripture is equal to ignoring God Himself. So we must use the “Sword of the Spirit”, the “rhema” of God as it comes to us. We need to obey it, be familiar with it, and take it seriously. As the song says, we need to “trust and obey – for there’s no other way – to be happy in Jesus – than to trust and obey”.
REMEMBER:
The Bible presents Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit, presents the Word of God.
GROWTH OPPORTUNITY QUESTIONS
WEEK ELEVEN
Spiritual Warfare: Part 5
- As a result of the teaching on the “Helmet and the Sword”, be prepared to discuss:
- What is the “helmet of salvation” and what does it mean?
- What specific effect does that have on my way of thinking/on my priorities/on my concerns?
- What are the two problems for the Christian who fails to put on the “helmet of salvation”?
How have these problems affected me?
- How specifically might having on the “helmet of salvation” affect me as far as being the salt of the earth and the light of the world? (See 5:13-16)
- List some specific way in which the “rhema” of God has come to me or does come to me.
- How should I respond to the “sword of the Spirit”? Are there any specific current examples of this in my life?
- How does the teaching on the “sword” affect my personal approach to the Bible?
Master Plan of Evangelism
Chapter 8
- What was the “test” of Jesus’ ministry?
- If that is the case, what does it say to me about those I will choose to invest my time and energy?
- The Great Commission:
- Is not –
- But to –
- What is the test of any work of evangelism?
List the substitutes for the Master Plan talked about on pgs 104-105.
- What do they lack?
- Consequently, what do I see must happen in my own life in order to avoid becoming like that?