Spiritual PPE—Part Two

In the previous post, we looked at the first three amazing pieces of equipment God supplies us with so we can successfully fight the daily battles against our unseen enemy, the devil. Now we will look at the last three. At the end, I’ll include a bonus that will make all the difference in utilizing your spiritual PPE.

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (Ephesians 6:16)

We are told to “take up” the fourth piece of our armor, the shield of faith. In this verse, it means to pick it up “in order to carry or use it” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). The shield was not for show; it had a specific use. And, though it was another layer of protection, it was “in addition to” the other armor, not a replacement for any of it.

The shields were sheets of wood covered with metal or with leather that might be soaked in water or covered with oil before a battle. They came in different shapes and sizes. The Greek word in Ephesians 6:15 is thureos and means “a gate or door (or ‘door-shaped’); used of the large, oblong ancient Roman shield (which looked like a full door), large enough to provide full protection from attack” (HELPS Word-studies). Shields are found many places throughout the Bible, but this verse in Ephesians is the only reference to this huge door-shaped shield. Small round wimpy shields, or even larger partial defenses, are not suitable for our spiritual protection. God does not scrimp when it comes to our safekeeping.

The Greek word for “arrow” is belos. It means “a needle” and can be used for “a missile, dart, javelin” (Strong’s Concordance). Paul may have referred here to a falarica (Clarke’s Commentary), a javelin about six feet long, half of which was an iron head with a sharp, narrow tip. Warriors often secured combustible material to the metal and hurled the blazing missile, intending for it to stick in the opponent’s shield and set it on fire. If successful, the soldier would have to abandon his shield. However, the fiery weapon would bounce off the metal-covered shield or be extinguished by the water-soaked leather.

The flaming arrows that bombard us in life come from “the evil one.” The enemy never relents from hurling doubts at us. Is God who He says He is? Does He really have everything under control? Can He love me even when I do awful things? Does He hear me every time I pray? Is He there when I don’t feel His presence? The list is endless. The arrows fly from every direction and appear unexpectedly. They can pierce our soul and fill us with torment. But Paul tells us we have a defense against them, and it is faith.

Faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” It is believing what we can’t see. The Greek word is pistis and means “be persuaded, come to trust . . . In Scripture, faith is God’s warranty . . . the Lord guarantees that [the full revelation of Scripture] will come to pass” (HELPS Word-studies). We can trust what we can’t see because God guarantees His Word.

We can’t produce faith ourselves. Faith comes from God and is a gift. “Jesus [is] the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) and faith is “not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). This gift becomes available to us as we hear God’s Word. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The more time we spend actively listening to or reading God’s Word, the more completely we will trust in what He says.

When the enemy hurls his flaming arrows of doubt at us, it is faith that gives us confidence in what God has said. Doubts may pass through our mind, but they will not take hold. They will be extinguished on our shield of faith and lose their destructive power because we believe in God’s promises.

“Take the helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17)

The helmet is the fifth piece of armor. It encircled the head, protecting the warrior on all sides from blows.

The spiritual protection that encircles us is salvation. The Greek word sótérios is derived from the word for “Savior.” Salvation is deliverance from a life of sin by our Savior, Jesus (Matthew 1: 21), so that we are free to have a relationship with God. In Ephesians 6:17, “take” means “to receive in a welcoming (receptive) way” and “is used of people welcoming God (His offers), like receiving and sharing in His salvation” (HELPS Word-studies). Salvation is another gift from God and one that we are to receive with gladness, which shouldn’t be at all difficult for us when we understand how priceless it is.

Our gift of salvation is not just for now; it is eternal. A parallel verse refers to “the hope of salvation as a helmet” (I Thessalonians 5:8). With salvation, we also receive hope that we will always be with God. It’s like a fantastic sale where you buy A, and you get B free—only salvation and hope are both free.

The helmets of ancient Greek armor displayed various emblems. In his description of our spiritual armor, the apostle Paul possibly referred to the Christian warrior displaying an emblem of hope on his helmet (Clarke’s). Whoever wore the emblem would have confidence that God would bring him safely through the battle.

We can have that same confidence. The protection God gives us is the hope that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love (Romans 8: 38-39). In whatever daily battles we face, “we are more than conquerors” through Jesus (Romans 8:37). And beyond the present, we know that no matter what happens in this life, we have a future with God eternally.

The enemy wants us to doubt our salvation. He wants us to feel discouraged and defeated and hopeless. He knows if we face him full of hope, he doesn’t stand a chance. We can do that by reminding ourselves daily that we are safe in God’s care, now and eternally, and that God is always victorious.

“Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)

The last piece of armor Paul speaks of is the sword. It was “a slaughter-knife; a short sword or dagger mainly used for stabbing” (HELPS Word-studies) and usually two-edged. Although the ancient soldier had other weapons, he would not have considered himself to be well armed without a sword (Barnes’ Notes). Of the six pieces of armor, this is the only weapon of attack.

Our spiritual sword is the Word of God. The Greek word for “word” in this verse is rhéma. It is “a spoken word, made ‘by the living voice’ (J. Thayer) . . . commonly used in the New Testament for the Lord speaking His dynamic, living word in a believer to inbirth faith” (HELPS Word-studies). Our weapon is the Word (truth) spoken by God, which He has revealed to us through the Bible. In Part One, we learned that (the belt of) truth helps us recognize the lies of the enemy so we can reject them. Here we will see how God’s Word can also be used to attack the enemy’s work in our lives.

Hebrews 4:12 speaks of the connection between the Word of God and a sword. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The Greek word for “double-edged” is distomos and means “double-mouthed, two-edged” (Strong’s). Having two edges enabled the warrior’s sword to penetrate easily. In the same way, God’s truth pierces the heart, exposing the enemy’s work by revealing such things as motives, self-deception, and insincerity.

The picture of a sword with two mouths is fitting because it devours the works of the enemy. Another piece of the definition of sword is “(figuratively) an instrument for exacting retribution” (HELPS Word-studies). When we wield the Word of God, God can inflict punishment on our enemy for the evil he does in our lives. The truth exposes his lies so he loses his secrecy. The tables are turned on the one who seeks to devour us (I Peter 5:8); he becomes the devoured.

In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus shows us how to use our sword. He had fasted in the desert for 40 days. Afterward, the devil tempted Him three times to sin against God. In one attack, knowing Jesus was hungry, he said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (v.3). Jesus is the Son of God, and He could have feasted on bread He made from the desert stones, but Satan was tempting Him to distrust His Father’s goodness and care. The enemy takes advantage of our circumstances, and it often seems as if he is urging us to do what is good and right. But remember that he is the deceiver.

Jesus knew that getting something to eat, regardless of how hungry he was, was not as important as trusting and obeying His Father. And here is where He displayed His shining sword. He replied, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ ” (v.4). Those words are written in Deuteronomy 8:3, scripture Jesus would have learned as a young boy. God speaks only truth, but only lies come from the enemy’s mouth. Unlike the hand game of rock paper scissors where each item has an opportunity to win, truth will always beat lies and nothing will ever beat truth. So truth always defeats the enemy.

There is one more important aspect concerning the sword. When Paul refers to it as “the sword of the Spirit,” he means the Holy Spirit reveals the Word of God to us. It is only through the Spirit that God’s Word can become “living and active” in our lives. “The Spirit of truth . . . will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). We need the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us because “no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (I Corinthians 2:11).

The Holy Spirit brings the spoken Word of God alive in us. That Word then becomes the weapon that exposes and destroys the deceptive work of the enemy, both in our hearts and in our outward battles.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests . . .” (Ephesians 6:18)

This is the bonus I promised you. Paul immediately follows the list of armor with a directive to pray. The privilege of being able to converse with God is another priceless gift. But how is it connected with our spiritual armor?

Before engaging in battle, Greek soldiers prayed to their gods for success. Likewise, “spiritual warriors must depend on the Captain of their salvation” (Clarke’s). The idea of dependence kept coming up as I read commentaries on this verse. When we pray, we are expressing our complete dependence on and trust in God, knowing “that we can do nothing, and that He is all” (Darby’s Bible Synopsis). All of this armor will do us little good without the “hidden spring of power . . . the expression of weakness . . . in dependence on God” (Kelly’s Commentary).

Barnes wrote, “No matter how complete the armor; no matter how skilled we may be in the science of war; no matter how courageous we may be, we may be certain that without prayer we shall be defeated. God alone can give the victory” (Barnes’ Notes). Like all soldiers in a battle, we need to be in constant communication with our Leader so we know what He wants us to do. We can’t enter the arena without orders, without a plan, or without knowing who our enemy is, and expect to be victorious.

The Greek word used for “pray” in Ephesians 6:18 is proseuchomai. It comes from prós meaning “towards, exchange” and euxomai meaning “to wish, pray.” Literally, it means “to interact with the Lord by switching human wishes (ideas) for His wishes as He imparts faith (‘divine persuasion’)” (HELPS Word-studies). That is why prayer is indispensable to the Christian soldier. We must go into battle fighting for what God wants, not for what we think God wants or for our own desires. Through our interaction with God, He can exchange His wishes for ours by His “divine persuasion.”

This is our spiritual PPE: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God—all accompanied by prayer. It is all free, and available to every believer. It will never be defective or in short supply. But we must receive it and use it in order to experience God’s protection.

• When we are secure in knowing God’s truth, we will not be manipulated by the “right-sounding” lies of the enemy.
• When we walk in righteousness by making daily choices based on what God approves of, we can resist temptations from the enemy.
• When we experience God’s peace by being properly joined with Him, we will be confident in battling the enemy because we know God is in control.
• When we have faith in God, trusting in all He tells us in His word, the doubts the enemy hurls at us will lose their destructive power.
• When we have the hope of salvation, we will be victorious in every battle because we are assured that nothing can separate us from our Savior.
• When we speak the Word of God as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, it destroys the works of the enemy, both in our inner battles and outward situations.
• When we express our complete dependence on God through constant prayer, God can exchange His wishes for our wishes so we have the proper focus in battle.

God does not want us to struggle in our battles. He has given us all of these free gifts so we can enjoy a beautiful relationship with Him. If we put on our armor every day, we will be successful in fighting our enemy, the devil, and we will experience the victorious life God has prepared for us.

[NOTE: Greek definitions and commentary notes are from Bible Hub. See Resources.]