Ephesians 6:17-18, “And take the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”
When Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, while he was sitting in a Roman prison during 60 – 62 AD, the political and cultural climate had several similarities to ours in 2020. In my research, I found it interesting to discover that the city of Ephesus and Santa Clarita Valley were comparable in size. Many lived in affluent homes with magnificent architecture and split-level construction. The houses were often more extensive than 10,000 square feet. In addition to having a large Jewish population, Greeks, Romans, and a mixture of the entire Mediterranean world settled in Ephesus. Therefore, there was a wide-ranging social acceptance in the name of tolerance (sound familiar, doesn’t it?) and moral depravity, agnostics, and even goddess inspired feminism due to this melting pot of people, again, much like 2020 in our world. Paul ended his letter with admonitions and exhortations on living Christ-like behavior in standing fast and persevering securely in a fallen world.
Paul associated the helmet of Salvation with our head, which holds our mind and all of our thoughts. A soldier would never go into battle without wearing a helmet, which was an essential part of his armor in protecting his head. The enemy tries to disorient our way of thinking pure, right, truthful thoughts within our mind. Receiving Salvation gives us redemption and future eternal benefits. It also restores, protects, and shields us daily from Satan’s attacks to cripple our thinking with discouragement and negative and unhealthy patterns of imagination. Putting on the helmet of Salvation is knowing your identity is found in Christ, and not in your job, your talents, your family, or financial status. That is God’s provision and protection to us in being our shepherd.
In reference to the Sword of the Spirit, which pierces the heart, Jon Courson in his New Testament Application Commentary states: “Machaira, the Greek word translated “sword,” refers not to a big battle sword, but to a small dagger for use in hand-to-hand combat. Rhema, the Greek word translated, “word,” refers not to the Bible, but to an exact, spoken word. Therefore, the idea here is that you’ll have just the right word for the right person at the right time. As you study and meditate upon the full counsel of the written Word of God – the rhema word – the precise word – will come to you the moment you need to do exacting “surgery” regarding any specific situation.” That is our offensive weapon, the “sword of the Spirit”. The word of God is our sword because it is the word of God. Like the shield of faith and the helmet of Salvation, the sword of the Spirit is always to be ready to be taken up and used at the beginning of every battle. How I need to remember that – at the beginning!
Prayer activates all the spiritual armor we need to put on every day. Prayer in the Spirit is a form of worship and results in close intimacy with our Lord. I may not be able, especially right now, to visit my family that live in the Midwest, but I can speak exacting words to the Lord in prayer on their behalf, using long-range artillery of prayer, and pray for abundance of blessing upon them in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not have restrictions in interstate travel as we currently do (California and states on the East Coast), with COVID. That is a comforting visualization of truth to me, especially now, as tears role down my face in regards to my dad’s current failing health and life.
The MSG version states Ephesians 6:16-18 this way, “Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and Salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” Praying in the Spirit provides provision and protection and praise God He will never have any interstate traveling restrictions!
Listen to Alive & Breathing by Matt Maher