THE CHRISTIAN’S ARMOUR-EPHESIANS 6:11-18.
Vs.16-The Shield of Faith (Part 2).
As we consider more of this next piece of armour, we may ask ourselves, “Why does Paul begin vs.16 with the words, “In addition to all, taking up…” or “Above all, take up…?”
There are several explanations, but perhaps one of the best is as follows; “Among all the pieces of armour which we Christians are to wear for our defence, let us make this be the one we most earnestly desire to have; and having obtained it let us most carefully keep it.”
In the days when men fought with armoured protection they prized their shield above all other pieces. It was considered a great shame to lose one’s shield, and when they were fighting among horses, and fell, their shield may have been all that prevented them from being trampled to death. As a son was going off to war a mother’s charge was often, “Either bring your shield home with you or be brought home upon your shield.” She would prefer to see her son dead with his shield than alive without it.
Have you ever noticed that up to this point Paul has mentioned the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the feet shod with the gospel of peace, but he has not specified what each one of these pieces do? They cover certain parts of the body, but that is all. However, when he speaks of the shield of faith, he ascribes the whole victory to it. This quenches all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Are these graces of truth, righteousness, and peace useless? No, not at all, every grace has its vital part to play in our spiritual warfare. But their power and effectiveness must operate in conjunction with faith.
Can truth be effective without faith? Can we live righteously without faith, or have peace with God without faith? Just as all these pieces of armour work effectively when protected by the shield, so also our graces when faith is dominant. Of all the graces, faith is the most important. It has been said that “as the sun is among the planets, so is faith among the graces.”
“Hang on a minute,” you may say, “doesn’t Paul say in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “but now faith, hope, and love, abide these three, but the greatest of these is love?”” Yes, he does, but if we refer back to vs.10 of this chapter, Paul is referring to “when the perfect comes,” or, when we are fully redeemed in heaven. When we are glorified, our love will take precedent, but while we are down here fighting our earthly battles, faith must be at the forefront. As we live in a spiritually militant state on earth, love must always give way to faith in our warfare with the evil one. “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith,” 1 John 5:4.
Love has its place in our battles, but it moves under faith, its leader, “Faith working through love,” Galatians 5:6. Love is the grace which ultimately possesses our inheritance, but it is faith that gives the Christian the right to that inheritance. Without faith we could never enjoy it. Love is the grace which unites the glorified saints in heaven; but it is faith which unites us to Christ while we are in the world, “Christ dwells in our hearts through faith,” Ephesians 3:17.
Let us consider for a few moments as to why faith is so pre-eminent. One reason is that when Christ returns, one thing He desires is to find faith in His people. “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8. In John 9:13-41, the Lord gave sight to a blind man and afterwards, the Pharisees tried to disparage the man and then put him out of the Temple. After this, the Lord went to the man and commended him for his zeal by speaking up for Him and also confirms the man’s faith.
As we read through the Scriptures we find that, even when God allows hardship and affliction to come upon us, it is often sent to encourage or to strengthen our faith. “So that the proof (genuineness) of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:7. The Lord Jesus was often commending people for their faith, as the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:28, “Then Jesus said to her, ‘O woman your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.”
Notice also the focus God lays upon faith in Hebrews chapter 11; “by faith Abel offered to God…by faith Enoch was taken up…by faith Noah…by faith Abraham,” and so on through the chapter. Faith is the captain among the graces. Take, for example, the case of the centurion and his servant in Matthew 8:1-13. The centurion shows the grace of both devotion and humility among others, but for what did Jesus commend him? “Truly I say to you, I have not found such faith with anyone in Israel,” vs.10. “Listen my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? James 2:5.
Why does God say, “Rich in faith,” rather than rich in patience, rich in love, or any other grace? If we think about it we will realise that when a person asks for forgiveness from sin and the favour and mercy of God through repentance, it is not love or patience, but faith alone in the finished work of Christ which makes redemption a reality. This, of course, leads our thoughts to Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We are not justified by love, repentance, patience, or any other grace except faith. However, through faith, these other graces are freely given by our Lord Jesus Christ to enable us to live our Christian lives to His glory.
The link, or joining of faith and Christ, must never be severed. The Lord is our treasure, and our faith is the hand which receives Him. Or, another way of saying this could be, Christ’s righteousness is the robe, and faith is the hand which puts it on. The righteousness of the Lord Jesus is the robe that covers our nakedness and makes us beautiful in God’s sight; our faith has the honour of putting on the robe.
The level of our faith affects all our other graces. If our faith has grown cool, it is very easy for us to lose our peace, or assurance, or to get touchy and impatient, and to be less gracious than we should be. In this state we are very open to the fiery darts of the evil one, and he will not lose any opportunity to attack us. The disciples were one day challenged by Jesus on this very point. In Luke 17:1-4 the Lord was instructing on forgiveness, and in the third and fourth verses said, “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And, if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
You would think that after receiving this instruction, the disciples would have responded with, “Increase our love, or patience, or our ability to forgive.” But they didn’t. Instead, in Luke 17:5 we read, “The apostles said to the Lord, increase our faith!”
In concluding this blog, think of your faith as a reservoir from which flows the power and life to cause all your other graces to grow and flourish. We must always be using our faith as a barometer. When we feel a lack of love for the brethren, get impatient with each other, hold unkind thoughts, have a lack of inner joy or peace, or any other spiritual weakness, we must go to our spiritual barometer and check the level of our faith. If the level is not as it should be, the next step is to seek the Lord’s presence and allow the Holy Spirit to top up our reservoir of faith and to unblock any hindrance to the inner flow of our other graces. Our faith will then be our true shield against our enemy. An old saint once said, “Keep short accounts with God.” If things are not right deal with them quickly. A rusty unused shield is of no use against the devil.
God bless you,
John