The Armor of God-The Helmet of Salvation

July 31, 2023

The Armor of God-The Helmet of Salvation

What is the Armor of God?

Whether you want to believe it or not, we are fighting a spiritual battle against spiritual forces of evil daily! Regardless if you are a believer or a non-believer it doesn’t exempt you from the warfare. The Apostle Paul exposes exactly what kind of enemy we are facing when he states, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” Ephesians 6:12. We are fighting an opponent that we cannot see with the naked eye.

Our battle is against a very militant and highly organized demonic kingdom led by Satan himself. He is a very powerful adversary and in our own power we are no match for him. In the spiritual realm there are two kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. They are consistently at odds with each other but they both have the same goal in mind, to win your soul.

The Lord’s Kingdom promises us eternal life with Him in heaven and life on Earth in abundance, John 10:10. The kingdom of darkness promises us eternal damnation and in complete separation from God. The enemy will make you think that you don’t have to live your daily life fully surrendered to Christ. He wants you to think that it is okay to live for Jesus and live in sin. That is one of his ultimate schemes. His mission is to take as many people to hell with him as he can.

Our problem is that we don’t take the time to learn our adversary or understand his spiritual and physical attacks. Life is completely spiritual and the first step to understanding the spiritual realm is acknowledging that it exists in the first place. One of the greatest deceptions that the devil uses over and over again on Christians is making us think that he isn’t real. If you don’t know that you are fighting a real and potent enemy, you’ve already lost the battle.

That is why the Apostle Paul makes it clear on the importance of putting on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:13-17 lists all six pieces of armor when Paul states, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Even though Paul is describing physical armor he is referring to spiritual pieces of protective covering which are our spiritual weapons.

We can never forget that spiritual warfare is an everyday reality and we are fighting the schemes of the devil daily. Just like any warrior going into combat, they need special attire so that they can be fully protected from the fiery darts of the enemy. God is providing us with His Armor because He knows that it is the only way that we will be able to stand a chance against our adversary the devil.

Make no mistake about it, he is strong and powerful and within our own strength we are not resilient enough to overcome him. However, with the Lord’s Armor properly fitted without any cracks in it, Satan doesn’t stand a chance against us! The most important thing is to have a clear understanding of what every piece in the whole armor of God is and how to accurately put on and keep on each piece.

In this article I am going to go over the fifth piece of armor that Paul mentions in the book of Ephesians verse 6:17, the Helmet of Salvation.

The Helmet of Salvation

In combat, a soldier back in those days would wear a Roman helmet to protect their head from anything that could injure or damage it. The fact of the matter is that a wound to the head could be detrimental. The Apostle Paul is trying to paint the physical picture of a helmet to the children of God so that we can visualize the spiritual helmet that we will need for spiritual warfare.

Let’s take a look at what the Word of God says pertaining to the helmet of salvation. Ephesians 6:17 states, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Here we can see that the Apostle Paul is letting us know that we are to “take” this helmet which is the Greek word “dechomai” which means: to take with your hand. So in other words in order for this spiritual piece of armor to be activated it requires action on our part.

Another important word that we need to take a look at out of this passage of Scripture is the word “helmet.” The Greek word for helmet is “perikephalaia” which means the protection of the soul which consists in the hope of salvation.

When you have your helmet securely fastened it is going to be difficult for the enemy’s fiery arrows to penetrate. We can never forget the necessity of putting on the full armor of God so that we can be prepared to fight the spiritual forces of evil.

The final words out of this verse of Scripture that I want to highlight are the words “of salvation.” These words are the Greek word “sōtērios” which means the hope of future in salvation. In other words the Lord is conveying to us that it is vital that we stand on the free gift of eternal life through salvation because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. The enemy will try to make you question your salvation and that is why this piece of armor is so significant!

The battlefield has and always will be in your mind. The devil will use negative emotions as a way to infiltrate your thought process so that he can hinder your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. He will use thoughts of depression, suicide, anxiety, fear, unbelief, doubt, and so many others so that you will begin to lose hope in your salvation.

Another one of the devil’s schemes is to bring about confusion in your mind. His goal is to confuse you about whether or not you are truly a child of God, whether or not you have authority over him, the assurance of your salvation, and whether or not you can actually stand on God’s Word. When you wear your helmet of salvation what that does is guards your mind from your emotions getting in the way of what is fact and truth which is only found in the Word of God.

Living in the assurance of salvation requires:

Believing wholeheartedly in the Word of God
Believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ

What is salvation?

The fact remains that we were all born sinners in need of a Savior. The Lord God gave His only Son Jesus Christ to come and die on our behalf so that we would have the ability to be saved from our sins. The Word of God tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” A sinless and perfect sacrifice had to be made in order to pay our sin debt. Jesus Christ was that perfect sacrifice.

The fact that He died on the cross at Calvary meant that we are made upright in the eyes of God allowing us to have the gift of salvation and eternal life with Him in heaven. The thing is that in order for us to receive that free gift we have to truly believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is who He says He is and that He died for our sins. Confession of this fact with no meaning behind it is not going to get us anywhere. The Lord looks at the condition of our heart.

Let’s take a look at some Scriptures pertaining to salvation to give us more of an understanding.

Romans 10:9-10

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Here we can see that the Apostle Paul through the leading of the Holy Spirit is making it plain for us. We need to confess with our mouths that Jesus is who He says He is but also believe it in our heart. The enemy will try to make you think otherwise by shooting his fiery arrows at your mind and that is why having your helmet of the hope of salvation securely fastened is so crucial.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Diving into these verses of scripture we can determine that the Lord is telling us that salvation is one of the many precious gifts that we are afforded through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We cannot obtain salvation by anything that we do within our own power and what that does is prevent us from attempting to take the credit away from the Lord.

One of the things that we need to understand is the impact that the Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross had. Colossians 2:15 specifies, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” When the Lord died and rose again it deactivated the level of dominance that the devil had over us. We now have the power to overcome the wiles and schemes of the enemy because we have the tools that we need to make sure that sin no longer has control over our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:8

“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”

Here we can see another reference being made for the helmet of salvation that is used in Ephesians 6:17. The word “hope” used in this verse of Scripture is the Greek word “elpis” which means joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation. We can conclude that hope is a significant part of you securely fastening your helmet of salvation. What hope really means is an expectation of good based on what the Word of God says. It has to do with you taking Scripture at face value with no doubt in your heart and mind.

With that being said, how does someone secure their helmet of salvation? Satan is going to come after your mind; it is one of the main ways that he likes to slither his way in. The bible tells us that it is our obligation to renew our minds, Romans 12:2. The way that we do that is by making it a daily occurrence to stay in the Word of God ensuring that we are applying it to everything that we do.

We need to guard our thoughts, imaginations, and even our dreams making certain that we are extinguishing anything that is contrary to the Lord’s Word. God instructs us on exactly what do in 2 Corinthians 12:5 when He says, “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

We are to hold those adverse thoughts captive right then and there because if we don’t they will take root and the repercussions can be catastrophic. Remember, the battlefield is in your mind and your helmet is one of the pieces of armor that you need to fasten tightly to ensure that it remains untouchable.

Conclusion

One of the main reasons why a lot of Christians do not live a life of victory is because they lack knowledge. Many Christians do not get into their Word and study it, digest it, and apply it to their daily lives. We say we believe that the devil exists and that there is a spiritual world that we fight daily, but do we truly believe it? One of the greatest deceptions of the devil is to make us believe that he doesn’t exist. That is a lie from the pit of hell!

He does exist and is a very powerful adversary that we cannot defeat within our own power. Fortunately, the Lord has given us His spiritual armor to use against the schemes of the devil. God would not be so adamant about us taking on and keeping on the armor that He provided us with if we did not need it. The more that we gain an understanding of what each piece is and how to activate it, the more successful we will be against the enemy’s devices.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

The Armor of God-The Shield of Faith

The Armor of God-The Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

The Armor of God-The Belt of Truth

The Armor of God-The Breastplate of Righteousness

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1