A note from our Pastor:

”And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

Ephesians 6:17

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

In our study verse this week, the Apostle comes to the last two items of the armor of God. As stated in previous weeks, the Apostle was in confinement and had a first hand view of the armor and weapons of the Roman soldier. In observing these, he converted these weapons of war and destruction into metaphors for the protections given by God to his people.

The helmet of salvation is both salvation and the hope which is produced by a knowledge of salvation. The helmet of the Roman soldier was designed to protect his skull and therefore protect his brain. As the Roman empire developed and faced more difficult foes the design of the helmet changed and morphed as well. Thus, the importance of its functional nature was obvious.

In this metaphor, the comparison of salvation to the helmet is of great importance. A knowledge of both the efficiency and simplicity of the salvation of Christ is a great protection to the disciple. The truest test of the truth of God is the simplicity of the application. Christ chose a people before the foundation of the world, Christ died for those people, and all of those people will be in heaven for eternity. There is no monetary costs. There are no terms or stipulations to reach salvation. Any teaching which counters the efficiency of the salvation of God is dangerous to the child of God.

The last item in the list of tools of the child of God is the sword. The Apostle compares the sword to the word of God. In this context, the word of God is the scripture and the spoken word (preached or not) which aligns with the scripture. This is the only portion of the armor of the disciple which can be used on the offensive. Yet, even in this the Apostle clarifies where the power of the sword comes from — it is the sword of the Spirit.

Whether used to defend the disciple or to advance the truth of Christ it must be used in a way in which the Holy Spirit gives it power. Many have used the word of God for their own purposes and caused great destruction. When this happens these are actually examples of the wiles of the devil being disguised as the word of God. The word, used as the sword, spreads love, peace, and mercy not anger, judgement, and destruction.

May we seek each day to be fully equipped with the armor of God for the glory of his grace.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah