The Shield of Faith

The Armour of God is described in Ephesians 6:14-17. The GOSPEL SHOES: "having shod your feet with the (shoes of) preparation (readiness) of the Gospel of Peace (another aspect of God's Word)” (v15). To be ready for battle, you need the right shoes to give you a firm footing, so you can stand your ground on God's Word and the completed victory of Christ. These are the shoes of the Gospel, which declares His finished work over sin and every enemy, thereby bringing us into peace with God (peace comes after victory). We put on the Shoes by knowing and embracing the Good News that He has won the victory and we stand firm in that truth, ready for action. We standing in His victory, rather than trying to get the victory. Then v16 says: “above (covering) all, taking (up) the SHIELD of (the) FAITH, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked one (God’s Word is powerful).” The Shield that protects us is not our faith, but God's Word (the Faith), we need to trust in God’s Word rather than our faith, but it is by faith that we take up the Shield and put it in front of us. The Word must not just wrapped around our heart, but lifted up in front of us, where it can cover every area of our life, by confessing His Word and thanking God for His promises and who He is to us (Heb 13:5-6). The roman shield was like a door covering the whole body, made of 6 layers of animal hide, anointed with oil (the Spirit) and drenched with water (Eph 5:26), able to protect even against fiery arrows filled with combustible liquid designed to explode on impact. Likewise, the anointed Word of God is empowered to protect us, even against the worst weapons of the enemy. These fiery arrows are words (thoughts) set on fire by hell (Jam 3:6), with spiritual power to penetrate our soul and set it on fire (with bitterness, anger, fear, discouragement etc) if our Shield is not up. But if we activate our Shield, by declaring: "The Lord is my Strength, Stronghold, Light, Peace, Provider Shield, Victory..." then the fiery darts will not be able to penetrate our heart and mind and emotions. Derek concludes by giving a classic example of how to put up the Shield of Faith as demonstrated by Paul in Romans 8:28-39, where he says we must not be passive in the face of the things (attacks) of life, but we must declare God's truths (Christ's love for us and His finished work) in response to these things. he asks: "what shall we say to these things?" (v31), and then tells us what we should say (v31-39). In this way, we activate our Shield of God's Word, which quench the evil thoughts (words), sent from the enemy to hurt and destroy us.