The Fight (Spiritual Battle) Part 16
In our discussion on spiritual battle we have been looking at the armor of God. Today we are going to look at the shield of faith and the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:16 (NIV)
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
What are the flaming arrows?
The flaming arrows of the enemy are designed to divide the body of Christ. This ties in to the historical events we have been following that caused this spiritual battle. Remember the original role of the lesser elohim was to be over the nations. What Paul says in Ephesians is that Jesus is now exalted above all other principalities and authorities. He’s the chief one.
Ephesians 1:20-23 (NIV)
20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
One of the main themes in Ephesians is all about the creation of a new humanity out of all nations. Out of all nations, God raised up one human who is God become human.
Ephesians 4:4-6 (NIV)
4 There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called– 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
So what the new humanity needs is to have its unity protected. Ephesians goes on in the rest of letter to talk about how keeping that unity is going to be really hard. The ethical exhortations in Ephesians are mostly about maintaining that unity. The shield of faith helps us to stand against that division.
The Shield of Faith
The apostle Paul gives us some great insight into the components of our shield of faith in Hebrews 11:6:
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 (MSG)
6 It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
In this passage we see that God exists, God cares and God responds. Knowing and believing these things helps us in this spiritual battle we are engaged in. We are aware of the schemes and tricks and traps of our enemy, including his flaming arrows of division, and we can stand up against them because our faith is in Christ.
We will take a deeper look into how the shield of faith serves as both an offensive and defensive weapon in the spiritual battle this weekend at Keys Vineyard. If you can’t make it in person, please be sure to watch our live stream at your convenience.
Steve Lawes is a church encourager and the lead pastor of Keys Vineyard Church.