I. The Helmet & The Sword
A.The Helmet Of Salvation V. 17a
1.17aAnd take the helmet of salvation- dechomai- to receive. Different than verse 16.
2. Literally- The helmet which is salvation.
3. The salvation that Paul speaks of could mean many things, but part of what is called salvation is God’s redemption of His people, taking us to be with Him.
4. The helmet of salvation includes having a sober mind based upon the fact that God will judge evil reward those who have faith in His Son & receive His people unto Himself.
5. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope (expectation) of salvation.
6. Romans 13:11-14 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
7. When life on a local/national/international level goes bad, people grow desperate.
8. Panic can set in, hopeless, despair, desperation. People can become very self-focused.
9. Christians can be tempted to compromise during such times as these.
10. Satan tempts the Christian with despair, hopelessness, etc., during trying times of life.
11. The helmet of salvation reminds the Christian that…
a. Jesus will return for His own, or we go to be with Him through death.
b. John 14:1-6 1“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4And where I go you know, and the way you know.” 5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
c. 1 Peter 1:3-6, 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials…13Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…
d. Every wrongdoing will be judged, and perfect justice will prevail.
e. Our good deeds done in faith will be rewarded.
f. Satan and his demons will finally suffer their full and utter defeat.
g. God will create a new heaven and a new earth and will dwell with His people.
12. So what does this mean to us?
a. As we see the world progress in immorality & insanity, we are stabilized by the helmet of the hope of our salvation, that we will with God, & that God will judge.
i. We are reminded that Jesus said things would get increasingly worse.
ii. We are reminded to not be surprised at increasing evil & godlessness.
iii. We are reminded that our hope isn’t in politics, military power, or science.
iv. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, our hope of glory, who will return for His Church.
b. We are reminded that our hope is in Jesus, and that he would have us share that hope with others living in this world.
i. Those whose hope has been destroyed by the uncertainly of money.
ii. Those who are cynical because of the failures & inabilities of government.
iii. Those who have grown hopeless through failed attempts at self-reform.
iv. While many around us become hopeless, our helmet of the hope of salvation changes the way we live. We live above and beyond the insanity.
c. The Christian realizes the importance of “being in the world, but not of the world”.
d. The Christian doesn’t lose hope as the world goes astray but seeks to help people in the midst of a world going astray.
i. The Christian knows not to expect the efforts of man to usher in world peace, justice, righteousness, or a greedless society.
ii. Yet, as God leads us, we are involved on all levels and in all areas of society.
iii. We don’t hide in our churches and wait for Jesus’ return.
iv. We live as salt & light in our communities.
v. We seek to do good and share with others our hope of salvation– Jesus.
e. Gilbert M. Beeken– “Other men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.”
f. The Bible believing Christian has a great expectation for a glorious future: salvation.
B. The Sword Of the Spirit-God’s Word V. 17b
1. Not just the entire Word of God, but a specific portion needed for certain situations.
2. Hebrews 12:4 For the word of God is living & powerful, & sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
3. The Word of God is compared to a sword, which can be used defensively & offensively.
4. The word here is not logos, which applies to all the scripture, but rhema, which is God’s truth applied to a certain situation, time, and place.
5. Literally- the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God for this moment.
6. In this passage, Paul is not saying take up the Bible (which we generally should), but he is saying take the specific portion needed for this portion of the battle.
7. The Holy Spirit brings to the mind of the knowledgeable Christian that right portion of God Word which is needed for the moment. So important that we read God’s Word.
a. Corrie Ten Boom- “When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy”.
b. John Owen– “If the word does not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us”.
8. The Christian takes that word, & like a sword, that word cuts right to the truth of things
9. We see Jesus doing that in Matthew 4:1-11. He quoted only that which was needed.
10. But it was powerful to drive Satan away from Jesus and to safeguard Him from sinning.
11. As we wield the Sword of the Spirit, it not only cuts through to reveal truth, but it searches the hearts of everyone involved in any occasion.
12. Satan also quoted God’s Word, but out of context. We study the whole & use a portion.
13. We walk in the Spirit to rightly discern God’s Word, comparing scriptures with scriptures.