The spiritual attacks from our enemy are real and relentless, but God provides an abundance of resources to His church to stand firm in the fight. In our second week looking at the armor of God, Tyler highlights the belt of shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. These essential pieces of equipment prepare us for battle against our adversary the devil who seeks to disrupt our relationship with God and destroy us.

Tyler’s Main Points

• The shield of faith represents faith in God and his Word
• The helmet represents the hope of our salvation
• The sword of the spirit represents the Word of God

Key Takeaways

• War against the world, the flesh, and the devil is an ongoing endeavor for the Christian
• The faith required to extinguish the flaming darts of the enemy is not a past event. It is an ongoing, current believing in the truth of the gospel.
• It is the devils desire to confuse you about who you are, who God is, and what you should do in response to these realities.
• Too often, believers miss our on experiencing the fullness of our salvation because they only the justification they have received and do not meditate on all the other manifold realties of salvation, (IE election, adoption, regeneration, sanctification, preservation, and glorification.) 
• We put on the helmet of salvation by remembering the past, present, and future realities of our salvation.
• When Paul refers to the “Word of God” in Ephesians 6:17, he uses the word “rhema” as opposed to “logos”. This implies that Paul has in mind the usage of specific passages of scripture to combat the evil one.
• We as Christians take up the sword of the spirit by actively meditating on, and memorizing scripture.
• We use the sword of the spirit to combat two enemies primary
  • The external enemy: Satan, and his demons
  • The internal enemy: Our own fleshly remnant
• We use this sword to combat the world, the flesh, and the devil by recalling and reciting specific bible verses as fits the occasion
• We can be assured that all of these pieces of armor will be effective for us because of the finished work of Jesus.

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal application:

• Consider, what are you doing on a daily basis to put on the helmet of salvation, take up the shield of faith, and wield to sword of the spirit?

• How might meditating on the realities of Christian warfare change your regular life partners in the next few weeks?
  

Discuss with your community group:

• What is your next faithful step to grow in the knowledge of the Word of God? Do you have an active strategy for committing scripture to memory? If not, what strategy could you put in place?

• Tyler made clear that taking up the shield of faith involves an active believing in the character and promises of God. When taking an honest look at how you live your life, what gospel promises are you failing to believe?

Passages Referenced for Further Study
Ephesians 6:10-17; Hebrews 11:1; Hebrews 11:6; Ephesians 4:12-23; 2 Corinthians 11:14; James 1:5-8; Ephesians 2:1-2; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:1; Romans 6:1-14; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 5:1; Hebrews 4:16; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 8:31-34