Imagine an ancient soldier preparing himself for battle. He is given a sword and a helmet. Will he choose one as superior? Or will he take both? Any soldier worth his salt will take both—he needs to be able to defend himself from enemy attacks while launching attacks of his own. Ephesians 6:17 presents us with two pieces of the armor of God: the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. The first is a protective piece of equipment while the second is a weapon with which the solider of Christ can attack.

 

The helmet of salvation likely draws from imagery found in Isaiah 59:17 (Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians, NICNT, 409). In this verse in Isaiah, God Himself is described as donning “a helmet of salvation” and equipping “righteousness as a breastplate.” We are putting on God’s own armor when we equip this helmet. The salvation that we receive in God is both a present reality and a future hope, and it is our heads that we use to reflect upon what God has done and look forward to what God will do. The image of the helmet, then, calls us to focus upon Christ and his kingdom in the midst of earthly trials.

 

The sword of the spirit is defined more fully in the verse itself as the “word of God.” We might immediately conclude that this description is a straightforward reference to Scripture. However, the Greek for “word” here is one that can have the meaning of a spoken word (Arnold, Ephesians, ZECNT, 461-63). The sword of the spirit may, then, refer to the proclamation of the Gospel. Such proclamation is not, of course, divorced from Scripture, but it highlights the offensive character of the metaphor in play-God’s kingdom is advanced as His word is proclaimed in preaching and witness. Demonic powers are not merely resisted but put to flight.

 

When we put these pieces of armor together, we find ourselves equipped to bring the fight to the enemy of our souls. We are protected from despair and empowered to proclaim the hope and promise of God. God gives us what we need to keep our focus on Him and “fight against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).

 

Topics: Christian Education, spiritual battle, Armor of God