Tag: Ephesians 4:23-24

Spiritual Warfare – Part 9

Introduction

The last few weeks have been filled with disturbing reports about the dismantling of the United States so that our country is no longer a superpower. These reports are not addressing an enemy that is outside of the U.S. They are speaking of an enemy that is here on U.S. soil. Reports indicate that thousands of Chinese military-aged males, Iranians, and Iranian-backed terrorists such as Hezbollah, have entered our country through its porous borders during the previous presidential administration. [1]

Following the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the U.S. military on June 22, 2025, there is a growing concern that terrorist sleeper cells here in the U.S. will seek revenge against Americans. [2]  Now with 4th of July celebrations coming up this week across the country, U.S. law enforcement is on high alert for Iranian retaliation. [3]

There are some analysts who believe that Islam is also seeking to cause America to collapse from within. We have over 2,700 mosques throughout the U.S. [4] What are these mosques teaching? Their sacred writing is called the Qur’an which they understand to be divine and unchanging. These mosques teach Jihad [5] and want there to be a movement towards Sharia Law [6] which is contrary to American Law.  

It is naïve for Americans to believe that Islam is a peaceful religion. It is not. The ultimate goal of Islam is to convert the world to its religion (Qur’an 8:39). Allah (the god of Islam) [7] instructs his followers to kill the infidels – those who refuse to convert to Islam (Qur’an 5:72-76; 9:5; 47:4). However, Allah instructs his followers to treat infidels peacefully and not involve them in war only when the infidels have more might and larger numbers (Qur’an 47:35), much like their prophet Mohammed said as when he was weak in Mecca. Then when Mohammed became strong, he went to war with them and took over the city of Mecca by the edge of the sword. [8]

When Muslims are outnumbered by non-Muslims (infidels), instead of overtaking them with violence, they seek to overtake them through non-violent means. Some examples written by a Christian Arab American years ago, include: [9] [brackets added]

1. Terminate America’s freedom of speech by replacing it with statewide and nationwide hate-crime bills.

2. Wage a war of words using black leaders like Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jesse Jackson and other visible religious personalities who promote Islam as the religion of African Americans while insisting Christianity is for whites only. What they fail to tell African Americans is that it was Arab Muslims who captured them and sold them as slaves. In fact, the Arabic word for black and slave is the same, “Abed.”

3. Engage the American public in dialogues, discussions, debates in colleges, universities, public libraries, radio, TV, churches and mosques on the virtues of Islam. Proclaim how it is historically another religion like Judaism and Christianity with the same monotheistic faith.

4. Nominate Muslim sympathizers to political office to bring about favorable legislation toward Islam and support potential sympathizers by block voting.

5. Take control of as much of Hollywood, the press, TV, radio and the Internet as possible by buying the related corporations or a controlling stock.

6. Yield to the fear of the imminent shut-off of the lifeblood of America – black gold. America’s economy depends on oil and 41 percent of it comes from the Middle East.

7. Yell “foul, out-of-context, personal interpretation, hate crime, Zionist, un- American, inaccurate interpretation of the Qur’an” anytime Islam is criticized, or the Qur’an is analyzed in the public arena.

8. Encourage Muslims to penetrate the White House, specifically with Islamists who can articulate a marvelous and peaceful picture of Islam [President Obama welcomed the Muslim Brotherhood to the White House during his administration. [10]]…

9. Accelerate Islamic demographic growth via:

• Massive immigration (100,000 annually since 1961).

• Use no birth control whatsoever – every baby of Muslim parents is automatically a Muslim and cannot choose another religion later.

• Muslim men must marry American women and Islamize them (10,000 annually). Then divorce them and remarry every five years – since one can’t legally marry four at one time. This is a legal solution in America.

• Convert angry, alienated black inmates and turn them into militants (so far 2,000 released inmates have joined al-Qaida worldwide). Only a few ”sleeper cells” have been captured in Afghanistan and on American soil.

10. Reading, writing, arithmetic and research through the American educational system, mosques and student centers (now 1,500) should be sprinkled with dislike of Jews, evangelical Christians and democracy…

When you read through this plan, every point has been unfolding since the time of its writing years ago. Its author wrote, “Will Americans continue to sleep through this invasion as they did when we were attacked on 9/11?“   

Here in the U.S., our largest city has a Muslim democratic mayoral candidate who recently defeated the former Democratic governor of New York in the primary elections. [11] This mayoral candidate states that Israel has no right to exist as a Jewish state. [12] I wonder how this will play out if Mamdani is elected mayor of New York City, especially among its Jewish and Christian residents there? 

What I am describing in this introduction is warfare that is up close, not “out there” somewhere in another country. We are facing a complex battle on our own soil. 

The apostle Paul reminds us that our battle is not against “flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12). Paul discusses four groupings of demonic spirits in this verse. You can read more details about these groupings in the third of these articles in this Spiritual Warfare series. But the main thing to understand is that our primary battle is not with people – not with Iranians, the Chinese, or Islamists. Our primary battle is with the Devil and his entire kingdom of darkness consisting of various demonic spirits under different levels of authority, all of which are under Satan, who is “the prince” (Eph. 2:2) of this kingdom, “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4), and “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; cf. Matt. 4:8-9).  

The Whole Armor of God

   

God wants every Christian to wear “the whole armor of God” so we may stand against the “wiles” or trickery of the Devil (Eph. 6:11). The first three pieces of armor we have with us all of the time [13] (“having girded… put on… shod…” – Eph. 6:14-15). [14] This is the state we are always in. But the last three pieces of armor we are called to take and use as needed [15] (“taking … take…” Eph. 6:16-17), [16] especially “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13b) when all hell breaks loose and seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10a).

Paul describes the armor that Roman infantrymen wore in the order they would put it on. The soldier first puts on his belt which represents the Christian’s belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a). Since Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), this first piece of armor is essential to protecting us from Satan’s deceptions and lies. We learned that truth is God’s viewpoint on a subject. It is the absolute standard by which reality is measured in its original form. [17]Truth points us in the direction that God wants to lead us.

After putting on his belt, the soldier then puts on his breastplate which protects his vital organs in his chest region. “The breastplate” (Eph. 6:14b) we are to put on is “righteousness” (dikaiosunē) which refers to the quality of “being right.” [18]God’s truth is the informational base that tells us the right thing to do. The truth points our heart in the direction of God’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is our response to God’s truth or viewpoint on a matter.

When God’s truth and righteousness are operative in our lives, it will lead to the next piece of armor which is feet shod with the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). We are often faced with a myriad of choices and decisions in life, but how do we know we have made the right choices or decisions? How do we know we are moving in the right direction? How do we know we have the right perspective on a matter? God’s peace will confirm it. The Lord will give us a deep-seated calm to move forward (“feet” suggest movement) with a decision even though hell may be breaking loose in our lives. 

As we experience God’s peace as a result of His truth and righteousness being operative in our lives, we can then see our faith in God renewed and strengthened. This leads to the fourth piece of armor which is “the shield of faith” (Eph. 6:16) which can protect us from the flaming arrows of the evil one that he uses to cause us to doubt our Christian faith. 

The next piece of armor we are to take up is the “helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17a). This powerful piece of spiritual armor protects and directs our thoughts, so our lives are filled with hope. Satan wants us to lose hope about our past salvation from the penalty of sin (Acts 16:31), our present salvation from the power of sin (Jas. 1:21-22), and our future salvation from the presence of sin (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; I John 3:2-3). 

Up to this point Paul has been focusing on our defensive armor. But the sixth piece of armor is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17b). This is the only offensive piece of spiritual armor God has given us. Why would God give us only one offensive piece of armor to use against the kingdom of darkness? Because this one piece of armor is sufficient to overcome our enemy. Notice that it is a “sword” that belongs to “the Spirit.” This is the tool the Spirit of God uses to address the spiritual attacks we are facing. 

Two Types of Swords

The New Testament uses two different Greek words for “sword.” One of those words (rhomphaia) refers to “a large and broad sword” [19] that was used for defending oneself from somewhat of a distance (cf. Luke 2:35; 21:24; Rev. 2:12, 16; 6:8). This word is used figuratively to describe the powerful word that proceeds from the mouth of King Jesus to decimate His enemies when He returns to earth at the end of the seven-year Tribulation (Rev. 19:15, 21). But this is not the word Paul uses in Ephesians 6:17b. 

The other Greek word used for “sword” (machaira) was used of a shorter and very sharp sword like a dagger. [20]It was approximately eighteen inches long. This is what Peter used to cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant in his attempt to protect Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (cf. Matt. 26:51; Mark 14:47; Luke 22:49-50; John 18:10-11). This sword was used in hand-to-hand combat when the enemy was up close and in your face. This is the word Paul uses in Ephesians 6:17b

“The sword of the Spirit” is the tool that the Holy Spirit uses in the spiritual realm. [21] The Spirit uses this sword when the enemy confronts you up close in “the evil day.” When Satan or his demonic spirits are attacking you up close and there is no escape because they have encompassed you, you must get to the enemy quickly, definitively, and decisively. This is the sword the Holy Spirit (not us) uses to stab the enemy and give him a death blow to his attempts to defeat us. 

This is the only offensive weapon the Spirit uses in the spiritual realm. He uses the sword of the Spirit to address the spiritual conflict in the invisible world which is being manifested up close in our visible world. This is the piece of armor that the Spirit uses to deal with what is causing us distress in the world in which we live. If we don’t believe the source of our battle stems from the spiritual world, we won’t use this piece of armor. 

If we don’t use this spiritual weapon God has given us, we will be like Moses and Peter. When Moses tried to deliver Israel, he killed the Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew slave (Exod. 2:11-15). When Peter wanted to deliver Jesus in Gethsemane, he took out his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant (Matt. 26:51; John 18:10). Jesus, the God of the Old and New Testaments, told both of these men that He did not need their human methodologies or perspectives to fight a spiritual battle (Exod. 3:2-10; Matt. 26:52-54; John 18:11). 

Many of us may be losing our spiritual battle because our default response to spiritual attack is to turn to human approaches or perspectives instead of God’s approach and perspective. We may be quick to seek human wisdom instead of God’s wisdom. When we choose to use a man-made method for a spiritual battle, we will have no assistance from God in our war against the kingdom of darkness. 

For example, this is why God’s Word says, “For the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (Jas. 1:20b). My human anger will not produce the righteousness of God. When I get cut off in traffic during rush hour, it is easy for me to be quick to anger toward that inconsiderate driver. My thoughts and words at that time do not express the righteousness of God. But God says, “Let Me handle this, Jeff.” (Rom. 12:17-19). 

What is the Sword?

Paul informs us that “the sword of the Spirit” is “the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17b). There are three Greek words that are translated “word” in the New Testament. The first is graphē and it refers to the “writings or a piece of writing.” [22] Scripture is called the graphē (2 Tim. 3:16). The Bible you hold in your hand is the graphē. Those sixty-six books in written form are the graphē. But Paul is not talking about carrying your Bible around to defeat the devil on the evil day. Some people treat the Bible as a lucky charm and take it with them everywhere they go. That is not what Paul is talking about here.   

The second Greek word is logos.The apostle John referred to Jesus as the Logos (John 1:1). Logos refers to a “message.” [23] Jesus was God’s messenger to the world. He presented God to humanity (John 1:18). Logos is also the content of the Bible (graphē). For example, when you hear a sermon at church, you are hearing the logos or message of the Bible which brings clarity to your understanding so you can apply it more effectively to your Christian life. Logos is very powerful. But this is not the word Paul uses for the sword of the Spirit. 

The Greek word that Paul uses for “word” is the Greek word rhēma. This word means “utterance” or “words spoken and declared.” [24]Paul did not say, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the graphē of God.” Nor did he say, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the logos of God.” No, Paul says, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the rhēma of God.” 

Evans explains it like this: “The rhēma is the declaration of the logos that you got from the graphē… The sword that the Spirit uses is the rhēma of God. The graphē, the book, gives  you the logos, the message. But it is the rhēma that plunges in and draws blood. It is the rhēma that the Spirit uses. So many of us are not seeing the power of the Spirit because we have not graduated to the rhēma. We are either stuck at graphē… Others of us… come to understand the logos, the message.  We want to understand the sermon… the truth… We may be inspired by it or educated by it… But when it comes to spiritual warfare… you need more than graphē and logos. You need rhēma – the logos from the graphē uttered.” [25]

The Intrinsic Nature of the Logos [26]

Two swords clash together and the Word of God is victorious.

We want to utter or declare (rhēma) the logos (message) because of its intrinsic nature. Regarding the logos, the Bible says, “For the word (logos) of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12). When we get the message (logos) it is “living and powerful.” It has supernatural energy behind it. It is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” It can cut either way you swing it because on both sides of its blade it is razor sharp. 

How sharp is the logos of God? It is so sharp, it can pierce “to the division of soul and spirit.” The “word”(logos) that God uses is able to penetrate the invisible world (“soul and spirit”). The spiritual world consists of our “soul” (psyches) which is being saved from the power of sin (sanctification) as we hear and do what God says (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 1:21-22) and our “spirit” (pneumatos) which was saved forever from the penalty of sin (justification) when we believed in Jesus for His gift of salvation (cf. Ezek. 36:26; Acts 16:21; Eph. 4:23-24; Heb. 10:14).

The author of Hebrews is telling us that “the word” (logos) is so sharp it can slice into the spiritual realm and separate what is “spirit” and what is “soul” (Heb. 4:12). Why does God want to use the message or logos to separate our “soul and spirit”? Because our “soul” can get in the way of our “spirit.” Our “soul” has been distorted by sin and it can hinder us from expressing our “spirit” which is who we truly are in Christ. Our personality, how we were raised, educated, and the perspective we have can all get in the way of our “spirit” which is our true identity in Christ. 

Our “spirit” and “soul” can be so intertwined that we need the logos to separate the two so He can remove our soul-driven life and enable the “spirit” to express God’s presence in our lives. Remember, our “spirit” was created “according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24) and was “perfected forever” (Heb. 10:14) when we were born again through faith in Jesus. Our spirit “cannot sin because” it “has been born of God” (I John 3:9). When the soul is removed from our decision making, then our “spirit” can express the character of Jesus in our lives. But the only thing that can get our “soul” out of the way is the logos of God.  

For example, when you hear a sermon online or in person, the message (logos) of the Bible (graphē) is used by God to reveal that what you thought (“soul”) about a matter and what God thought (“spirit”) about it are not the same. The logos is revealing that the perspective your parents or peers or a politician or a professor or a post on social media taught you is not the same as what God is teaching you. You are realizing that what God thinks about that particular matter is not the same as what you thought. When that happens, you are getting sliced and diced by the word (logos).

But the “word” (logos) not only exposes what we do, but it also reveals what we think. It “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12b). The logos not only discerns our thoughts but the intentions behind them. The goal of logos is to expose. The logos is God’s MRI or Xray machine. 

When we come to church and read our Bibles, all we have done is open up graphē, the written word.But when the truth pierces our heart, we have encountered logos because the message is given. When we receive the message (logos) and accept it, we now have understanding and clarity about what God is saying. But in an up-close spiritual battle, the Spirit of God wants to use not just the graphē and the logos when you listen to Bible teaching on radio broadcasts or podcasts, He wants to use the rhēma of God, i.e., the spoken or declared word of God (Eph. 6:17b). 

The Rhēma of God [27]

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Gen. 1:3). God spoke, and it was so. The spoken word had the power within it to do what the spoken word declared would be done. God spoke it, and it happened exactly like He said it. Notice that there was no light until God spoke it into existence. God did not just think it into existence. He declared it and then there was light. There was power in the word spoken, not just in the word that is known. God used what He knew. The spoken word had the power within it to produce what the spoken word called for. 

 This is what the Spirit of God used to create light. How do we know this is what the Spirit used? The Bible tells us that when God was ready to create, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Gen. 1:2b). The Spirit of God was ready to move when He heard the spoken word of Jesus. But the word of God had to be spoken before the Spirit could use it.  

The same is true for us when we are in a spiritual battle. God’s Spirit wants to use the spoken word of God to defeat our enemy. It is not enough to know the Word. We must declare it to the enemy. This is what Jesus did when He was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. More on that after this next section. 

Satan’s Strategy [28]

Satan’s strategy is to knock the Sword of the Spirit out of our hands. Imagine you are a Roman soldier in a battle and an enemy soldier is coming at you. He is fully armed. He has his big rectangular shield that protects his entire body. All you can see is that big shield coming at you along with the top of his helmet … and … a … sword. If you are going to overcome this soldier, what is the first thing you will have to do? That’s right. You will have to knock the sword out of his hand. That is the only offensive weapon he has. If you go for his shield or even his helmet, he may stab you through with his sword. You have to get the sword out of his hand. 

The “wiles” of the devil seek to knock the sword of the Spirit out of our hands. The best way for Satan to overcome the Christian is to knock the sword out of his hand. And, according to Ephesians  6:17b, the sword is the spoken (rhēma) word of God. If the devil can knock the spoken word of God out of the hand of the Christian, he can easily defeat the unarmed soldier for Christ. So, let’s look more closely at the wiles or methods of deception that Satan uses.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, the devil cast doubt on the spoken word of God. He said, “Had God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1b). The enemy got Eve to begin to doubt God’s spoken word. [29] Here the serpent turns Eve’s eye away from the freedom she has (“of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” – Gen. 2:16) and onto the single prohibition (“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” – Gen. 2:17). Eve said to the serpent, “2 We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Gen. 3:2-3). This turns her into a legalist in that she forgot the word “every” (she limited her freedom) and added the words “nor shall you touch it” (she increased her limitation). She begins to doubt the love and goodness of God. 

 Next Satan denies God’s spoken word. “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’” (Gen. 3:4). This is an outright claim that God’s Word is not true; it cannot be trusted. 

Finally, Satan distorts God’s spoken word when he says to Eve, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:5). The serpent distorts the truth by claiming God limited Adam and Eve because He (God) did not want them to be like He was, knowing good from evil. Of course, when Eve and Adam ate of the fruit, they did learn the difference between good and evil, but not the way God knows the difference.   

God’s knowledge was intuitive; Eve’s knowledge was experiential. Adam and Eve tasted sin for the first time and felt its effects, the effects of the fall. They experienced sin. Up until this point, God has known about sin intuitively. Not until the cross will He know it experientially. He knows about sin the way a heart doctor knows about heart attacks. The man with the heart attack knows about heart attacks in a way the surgeon does not. This new knowledge doesn’t get Eve to first base in the realm of knowledge when compared to an omniscient Being. She got duped.  Nevertheless, the serpent has done his work: three blows to the mid-section of Eve. Now he hops out of the ring and tags his partner, the world. 

The world leaps into the ring in round two in order to knock Eve out. “So, when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Gen. 3:6). The world is made up of “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (I John 2:16). The fruit “was good for food” (lust of the flesh), “pleasant to the eyes” (lust of the eyes), “desirable to make one wise” (pride of life). The world scores an uppercut, a chop to the chin, and a haymaker to the temple. Down goes Eve, down goes Eve, down goes Eve. Her husband wasn’t far behind. 

Satan has been using these same simple boxing moves ever since. But notice, in round one the serpent is knocking the sword out of Eve’s hand (Gen. 3:1-5). The entire round is an attack on the spoken Word of God. Once the Word of God is no longer in the hand of the believer, he or she has lost the only offensive weapon they have. In leading Adam and Eve to sin, the serpent enjoys a two-round knockout. He is present only in round one. He uses the three punches mentioned above to undermine Eve’s faith in God’s Word. He tried to do the same thing with Jesus.

Using the word of God [30]

Remember when the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:1-11)? Satan tried to use the same three punches on Jesus that he used on Eve in the Garden of Eden. First, the devil uses the lust of the flesh when he says to Jesus, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matt. 4:3). The phrase, “If You are the Son of God” is a first-class condition in the Greek language which assumes the condition is true, [31] and would therefore be translated, “Since You are the Son of God…” Satan is so crafty. He had been watching Jesus go without food for ”forty days and forty nights,” and of course “afterward He was hungry” (Matt. 4:2). So, the devil attacks Jesus at the point of His vulnerability. 

And you know what? Satan and his demons are watching us and taking notes. They keep a scouting report on each of us. They know when we are vulnerable to temptation, and they act accordingly. [32]

So, Satan shows up at a specific time to address a legitimate need that Jesus has. He is telling Jesus, “Look, You are the Son of God. You can do whatever You want to do. So, You might as well command these stones to become bread.” “In this situation, Satan questioned the provision of God: Jesus was hungry. God hadn’t fed him. Why shouldn’t Jesus just make what was needed?” [33]

How does Jesus respond? He says, “It is written…” (Matt. 4:4a). Then Jesus quotes a verse from a chapter in the Old Testament, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Deut. 8:3). If the living Word (Jesus) needed to use the written Word to deal with the enemy of the Word, how much more must you and I who have written no word, need to use that same Word against the enemy of the Word?! Christ did not respond to the devil based on what He thought, and He had perfect thinking. 

Jesus says, “Let Me tell you what the graphē says.” Christ tells Satan what the graphē says based on the logos. Christ doesn’t quote just any verse. He goes back to the Old Testament to a passage that deals with what He is facing in the New Testament. Christ was hungry. So, what does He do? He goes to Deuteronomy 8 where Moses explained to Israel how they survived through the wilderness when they were hungry. They survived by God’s provision. They didn’t survive merely because of the manna, but because of the One Who provided it through supernatural means. Was Jesus hungry? Yes. But He was willing to trust His Father to provide for Him supernaturally instead of acting independently of Him. [34]

Jesus had a legitimate need (hunger), and Satan was offering to meet that need in an illegitimate way – by having Jesus act independently of God. But God was offering to meet Christ’s legitimate need His way. The issue is not whether your need is legitimate; the issue is who is giving you the advice to address it? God or Satan?  

Christ runs to Deuteronomy 8 and says to the devil, “Let Me tell You what God said about this situation.” “It is written: ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3). Man doesn’t live by bread alone, but by where it came from, “by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” When Satan heard what was written, he couldn’t handle that anymore, so he went to another subject.

Satan’s next temptation uses the pride of life. “ 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” (Matt. 4:5-6). Challenging Jesus to jump to His death doesn’t sound like much of a temptation. But notice that the devil supported his appeal by quoting God’s promise of angelic protection in Psalm 91:11-12. Jesus, then, had an opportunity to demonstrate that He was the promised Messiah for all of Jerusalem to see. The problem with Satan’s plan was it ignored God’s plan. If Jesus did what Satan advised Him to do, it would bypass the cross which was contrary to God’s will. [35]

Notice that Satan knows the Bible and he uses it. If the devil can’t convince you to act independently of God, he’ll work through your religion. But God doesn’t need Satan’s help to get you where He wants you to go.

Christ responds to Satan, by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” (Matt. 4:7). We are never to use disobedience to back God into a corner to force Him to fulfill His plan. [36]Satan was telling Jesus to test God. And Christ says to the devil, “God told Me in His Word not to test Him.” Notice that Satan does not argue with Jesus when He responds with the rhēma of God.     

Instead, the devil uses the lust of the eyes to tempt Jesus. “8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’” (Matt. 4:8-9). Did you catch that? “The devil took Him…” Sometimes God lets the devil take us to tempt us.  Ultimately Satan wanted Christ to worship him. So, he offers Jesus the entire kingdoms of the world and their glory if Jesus would take a knee before him. Satan wants our worship too. He will make incredible offers to us to get us to bow down to him.

How does Jesus respond? “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan!” (Matt. 4:10a). This command displays Jesus’ absolute authority over the devil. Then Christ quotes, Deuteronomy 6:13,  “For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” (Matt. 4:10b). Worship is reserved for the one true God and Him only. Too often we may come to worship God on Sunday and then serve lesser agendas and gods the rest of the week. But if Jesus is the ultimate authority in the universe, He deserves our exclusive worship and service. [37]

In responding to each of Satan’s temptations, Jesus did not just study the Bible and know what it said. He opened His mouth and uttered what it said. He said to the devil, “Let Me tell You what God just said about what you are telling Me.” And when Jesus told Satan what God said, “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” (Matt. 4:11). The devil failed to knock the sword of the Spirit out of Jesus’ hands. He could not handle hearing the rhēma of God three times, so he left Jesus alone. When the fallen angel left, the faithful angels came and ministered to Jesus. 

We may ask, “Why doesn’t the devil leave me alone?” Could it be because he knows we will never say, “It is written…”? He knows we will never bring that up. Instead, he knows we will talk about our families, our jobs, our education, our reading, our favorite sports, TV programs, and politicians, etc. He knows that we will never say, “It is written…” and if we do study the Word, he knows we are never going to use it and speak it to him. Thus, the devil does not fear us because we are not wielding “the sword of the Spirit, the word (rhēma) of God.” (Eph. 6:17b). 

A Personal Example of the Rhēma of God

During a short-term mission trip in the Philippines with an evangelistic association in the summer of 2013, I was scheduled to go with three other American men to a predominantly Muslim area in the southern Philippines to preach the gospel in public schools. Two nights before we were to go there, the Filipino director and other Filipino staff who lived in or near that province began to brief me about the mission there and the high risk of going. Two countries recently issued an alert not to go into this area due to militant Muslim activity. I was told we would have to keep a low profile and have military escorts at all times. We would stay in our hotel when we were not preaching in schools. 

The Filipinos then asked me a series of questions. They asked me, “What will you do if you are kidnapped?” “I would preach Jesus to them.” They asked, “But they will move you from militant camp to militant camp to make it difficult to find you. Then what?” “Then more Muslims will hear the gospel,” I said. They asked, “What about Pat and the girls if you are killed?” “God is their Father and He will take much better care of them than I ever could.” The staff then asked me, “What about how it would affect our evangelistic association if you were  kidnapped or killed?” To which I said, “Good question. I will consider the implications.” But I thought to myself, Christ will be magnified in life or death. I knew I was called to go. 

The pastors and I prayed and then I went to talk to the American founder and director of the association. He said no one should go if they are afraid because Muslims sense fear and try to bully those who are afraid. He said they don’t know how to handle fearless Christians. They can’t bully them. I told him I believed the Lord wanted me to go. I then went to tell the three other Americans of this new information to see if they were still led to go to the area. We talked and prayed a lot and the short of it is only two of us went.

I talked and prayed with Pat and the girls as well. They had obvious concerns, but I could not  deny that the Lord Jesus wanted me to go. I shared with them verses God was bringing to my attention. “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8). I asked, “Is there anywhere we can go where God has not already gone before us?” “No.” “Is there anywhere we can go where God will not be with us?” “No.” “Is there any place we can go where God will abandon us?” “No.” “Then what is there to fear?” “Nothing.” “Why be discouraged or dismayed?” “No reason.”  We claimed Psalm 31:14-15,  “But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in Your hand.’” My family was very concerned, but they knew the Lord was calling me to go. 

I also shared with Pat and the girls how God had been speaking to me all week long leading up to this trip. I was having my devotions in the Book of Acts, and I would fall asleep thinking about what I had read and then dream about it at night and how God delivered the apostles from opposition and plots to kill them. When Stephen was being stoned, he saw Jesus standing in heaven as if to applaud his sacrifice for the gospel. 

Satan’s attacks during the two nights before the trip were very intense. I felt an intense evil presence and intense fear gripped me. I had intrusive thoughts of being kidnapped, tortured, and dying a slow death. God led me to pull out the sword of the Spirit to confront the enemy. Two verses that especially ministered to me said,  “9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.’” (Acts 18:9-10). It wasn’t enough to read these verses (graphē) or understand their significance (logos). I needed to declare their message to the powers of darkness, “It is written: ‘9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.’” (Acts 18:9-10). The Holy Spirit calmed my heart and encouraged me, assuring me of His presence, His protection, and His people to watch out for us. By God’s grace, I was prepared to die but planning to return to my family.

When our team of Filipino pastors/translators and myself and another American arrived in the province we were to evangelize, we went to the Filipino military battalion to meet with them and share our intentions to preach the Gospel of peace in that area. Their commander was a very gracious and kind man who informed our Filipino staff that it was too dangerous for Americans to go alone, and they would provide 24/7 military escorts for us. Honestly, with Jesus with us I did not believe it was necessary to have military escorts, but God had a higher purpose than our own safety. 

We learned additional information about the criticalness of the area a day or two later. A month before our arrival, the Filipino military had captured the Militant Muslims’ commander and now the Militants were threatening to kill our military escorts (3 of the 4 were already believers and the 4th became a believer during the week with us) and kidnap a teacher since we were preaching in elementary and high schools. We had a choice to make at this point: Do we pull out or press on and preach the Gospel to these needy souls? 

We pressed on because God is much greater than the lies of Militant Muslims and their threats.  The Lord went before us and we preached the gospel of grace in eighty-five schools, two-thirds of which were 90% Muslim. Our military escorts had agents in the jungle giving them updates on the position of the Militants. I learned from our Filipino team leader that the militants had 60-70 men who could have overpowered our military escorts at any time, but God protected us from them. We also would be an easy target for a sniper as we preached outdoors at school assemblies, but the Lord was our rock and refuge. 

The most memorable experience for me was when we went to an elementary school composed of mostly Muslim students. When we arrived, we saw a crowd of adults meeting around a stage. Classes were cancelled due to a PTA meeting. The president of the PTA permitted us to interrupt their meeting so we could share the gospel with over 220 adults, most of whom were devoted Muslims as shown by the head garments they were wearing and their veils over the faces of the women.  

I began by saying, “The God who made this universe, the God of Abraham loves you very much.” My translator boldly and clearly translated for me which emboldened me even more. I then proceeded to talk about sin, death, and deserving to die forever in hell where the fire never stops burning to which all the Muslims and a few Catholics nodded in agreement when they heard these truths. I then asked, “How many of you want to live forever in hell?”, raise your hands. None of them did. 

Then God led me to say, “How many of you believe Jesus Christ was a prophet from God?” They all shook their heads “Yes.” Then I asked, “How many of you believe a prophet of God can lie?” They all shook their heads “No.” Then the Lord led me to say, “Jesus Christ said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. The only way to heaven, the only way to the God of Abraham is through Jesus Christ.” 

As I said this, the devoted Muslims began to form a circle with each other in front of the stage, looking at me with eyes of anger and/or curiosity. I silently asked God to increase my love for them and my boldness. God enabled me to look each one in the eye through the remainder of the presentation as I shared about Jesus, Who was fully God and fully man. He loved them so much that He took their punishment for all of their sins and rose from the dead so that He is not alive to offer everlasting life as a free gift and peace with God to all who believe or trust in Him alone for His gift of everlasting life. After explaining the gospel, I invited them to take Jesus at His Word when He said, “Whoever believes in Him should not perish [in hell], but have everlasting life [in heaven]” (John 3:16b).

After leading them in a prayer to tell God they were now trusting in His Son, Jesus, for a home in heaven, I asked them, “How many of you just trusted in Jesus to give you a home in heaven? Raise your hands.” My heart leaped for joy as all of the people raised their hands, including the devoted Muslims whose faces turned from hate and confusion to hope and peace. We had to leave quickly for security reasons, but I praise the Lord Jesus for His faithfulness to seek and to save the lost.

God truly went before us on this trip as nearly twenty-seven thousand people heard the gospel in five days, and over twenty-four thousand said they trusted in Jesus for His gift of salvation. According to my figures, 96% of the people I shared with all publicly indicated they trusted in Jesus for a home in heaven. For the Muslims, this was more of an act of discipleship to publicly identify with Jesus Christ.

God also had believers in almost every school and/or village to fellowship with and feed us. In fact, every evening we met in the home of our team leader’s mother-in-law to feast and fellowship. Our last night in this province, we had a celebration dinner there. Afterward, we spent time in worship of our Savior Who is mighty to save. 

Then each person shared a highlight from the trip, including the four soldiers who were with us 24/7. One of them said this, “Until the very last drop of our blood, we will protect you.”This was so humbling to hear. These soldiers were willing to take a bullet for us as were our translators. Their courage rubbed off on us. I experienced more peace in the militant area than I have experienced anywhere else. When I returned to the States, I learned that two Australian missionaries were shot and killed in the areas where we were either the week before we arrived or the week after.

As with all the pieces of armor, we take up the sword of the Spirit through prayer (Eph. 6:18-19). 

Prayer: Gracious heavenly Father, thank You so much for the sword of the Spirit, the spoken word of God which has the power in Itself to do what it declares. It is with great joy that I lift the sword of Spirit and choose to abide in its truth and power. Holy Spirit, please open my eyes to see wonderful things in Your Word! Please enable me to use Your Word to defend myself from Satan, and also to wield the sword well on the battlefield when the Devil attacks me, so his lies and deceptions are exposed, and he is pushed back and defeated. I pray the power of the Holy Spirit is ignited in my life, so that Jesus may live His victorious life through me today and every day. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen. 

FOOTNOTES: 

[1] Colonel Rob Maness Live with David Pyne, President of the Task Force on National & Homeland  Security on June 23, 2025, “The U.S. Enters War with Iran – More War Monday,” at www.worldviewtube.com; Brannon Howse Live with Shahram Hadian on June 20, 2025 –  “Iran-Backed Terror Threats Inside the U.S. as FBI Increases Efforts to Monitor Them” at www.worldviewtube.com; Sophia Compton’s June 19, 2025, Fox News article entitled, “Border Patrol agents shut down massive drug smuggling tunnel between Tijuana and San Diego,” at www.foxnews.com.

[2] Madison Colombo’s June 25, 2025, article entitled, “Obama’s former DHS secretary sounds alarm on Iranian sleeper cells, calls it concern of ‘highest magnitude’” at www.foxnews.com.  Brannon Howse, June 24, 2025, “Rising Threat of Terror Cells in US,” at www.worldviewtube.com;  Adam Goldman and Devlin Barrett’s June 23, 2025, article entitled, “F.B.I. Warns of Possible Retaliation by Iran After Bombing of Nuclear Sites,” atwww.nytimes.com; Tara Suter’s June 22, 2025, article entitled, “Threat of sleeper cells in US has ‘never been higher’: CBP,” at www.thehill.com.

[3] Bill Hutchinson’s June 25, 2025, article entitled, “With July 4 just days away, US law enforcement on high alert for Iran retaliation,” at www.abcnews.go.com; Brooke Shafer’s article, entitled, “US cities ramp up security ahead of Fourth of July celebrations,” at www.newsnationnow.com. 

[4] See March 12, 2024, article entitled, “Mosques: A fixture of America’s cultural landscape,” 

at www.archive-share.america.gov.

[5] Jihad refers to a holy war. In the Bible, people were killed because of their sin in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ was killed for the sin of the world. But in Islam, Mohammed was commanded by Allah to kill the Christians and the Jews for not accepting Islam (Qur’an 9:29). According to the Qur’an, anyone who believes in Jesus is an infidel (Qur’an 5:72-76). Mohammed was killing Christians not because of their sins but because they believed in Christ. See Usama Dakdok’s article entitled, “Jihad,” at www.thestraightway.org.

[6] Shariah Law is Islamic Law and encompasses the words of Allah in the Qur’an and the words of Mohammed in the Hadith. For example, the Qur’an commands that Jews and Christians be decapitated (Qur’an 47:4). It also commands Muslims to kill the idolater which is anyone who worships any god but Allah (Qur’an 9:5). Men can beat their wives if they merely suspect rebellion (Qur’an 4:34). The Hadith (Abu Dawud 38:4447) teaches that the punishment for homosexuality is execution. This is what is practiced in Islamic countries. Muslims who come to America do not want to acclimate to our Constitution and laws. They want to establish Shariah Law which cannot coexist with American Law. See Anita Kuta’s article entitled “Sharia (Islamic Law),” at www.thestraightway.org.

[7] The god of Islam (Allah), is Satan for he is said to be the lord of the world in Qur’an 1:1-2, which when compared to the Bible, Satan is the ruler of the world, John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4. Allah is also known as the best deceiver as we read in Qur’an 3:54 and 8:30, when compared to the Bible, Satan is the deceiver, Gen. 3:1-6; 2 Cor. 11:3; Rev. 12:9. Allah also leads people astray as we read in Qur’an 35:8 which is a description of Satan in the Bible, Gen. 3:1-6; Rev. 12:9. He also desires to fill hell with people as we read in Qur’an 38:85, 11:119, and 32:13, but the Bible teaches that God desires all people to be saved (I Tim. 2:3-4) and that not one person should perish in hell (2 Pet. 3:9). Adapted from Asuma Dakdok’s article, “Are Allah and God the same?” at www.thestraightway.org.

[8] See Usama Dakdok’s article entitled, “Islam,” at www.thestraightway.org. 

[9] To see all 20 points go to the article posted by Pam Geller on July 1, 2009, entitled, “ISLAMIC INVASION OF AMERICA: THE 20 POINT PLAN,” at www.thestraightway.org.  This 20-point plan originated from a refugee from the Muslim Middle East named Anis Shorrosh, author of ”Islam Revealed” and ”The True Furqan.” Anis is a Christian Arab American who emigrated from Arab-controlled Jerusalem in January 1967. Shorrosh says, “The following [20-point plan] is my analysis of Islamic invasion of America, the agenda of Islamists and visible methods to take over America by the year 2020.”

[10] See Frank Gaffney’s pamphlet, The Muslim Brotherhood in the Obama Administration (David Horowitz Freedom Center, 2012 Kindle Edition). 

[11] Ryan King and Carl Campanile’s June 29, 2025, article entitled, “Zohran Mamdani doubles down on plan to target ‘whiter neighborhoods’ with higher taxes — and says billionaires shouldn’t exist,” at www.nypost.com; Joseph Ax’s June 29, 2025, article entitled, “New York mayoral candidate Mamdani defends campaign despite Democratic unease,” at www.reuters.com.

[12] Jill Colvin’s June 29, 2025, article entitled, “How Democrats in America’s most Jewish city embraced a critic of Israel for New York mayor,” at www.apnews.com.

[13] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

[14] The first three verbs in Greek (perizōsamenoi… endysamenoi… hypodēsamenoi… ) are aorist middle participles which means they have already been put on by the soldier or Christian.  

[15] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

[16] The Greek verb translated “taking…” (analabontes) is an aorist active participle, meaning the Christian is taking the shield of faith as needed and the last Greek verb translated “take…” (dexasthe) is an aorist middle imperative which is used of the last two pieces of armor and means for oneself to take them up as needed.

[17] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 1820-1821.

[18] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 247-248.

[19] Ibid., pg. 907.

[20] Ibid., pg. 622. 

[21] These next five paragraphs are adapted from Tony Evan’s sermon video entitled, “The Sword of the Spirit” posted on July 17, 2021, at www.youtube.com.

[22] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 206.

[23] Ibid., pp. 598-601.

[24] Ibid., pg. 905. 

[25] Evan’s sermon video entitled, “The Sword of the Spirit” posted on July 17, 2021, at www.youtube.com.

[26] Much of this section is adapted from Ibid unless otherwise noted. 

[27] Much of this section is adapted from Ibid., unless otherwise noted. 

[28] Much of this section is adapted from David R. Anderson, Position and Condition: An Exposition of the Book of Ephesians (Grace Theological Press, 2017 Kindle Edition), pp. 376-378, unless otherwise noted.  

[29] Evan’s sermon video entitled, “The Sword of the Spirit” posted on July 17, 2021, at www.youtube.com.

[30] Much of this section is adapted from Evan’s sermon video entitled, “The Sword of the Spirit” posted on July 17, 2021, at www.youtube.com, unless otherwise noted. 

[31] A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research (Originally published in 1914), 2014 Kindle Edition locations 1413-1414.

[32] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1867.

[33] Ibid. 

[34] Ibid. 

[35] Ibid., pp. 1867-1868. 

[36] Ibid., pg. 1868

[37] Ibid., pp. 1868-1869. 

Spiritual Warfare – Part 8

Introduction

       We are living in a day when much hatred and division centers around the color of one’s skin or the political party with which one associates. The truth of the matter is that one’s skin color or political party is not what drives these conflicts. I believe the apostle Paul would want us to understand that behind these divisions and hate there is an unseen enemy who knows our histories and our weaknesses, and he is bent on getting us to fight one another instead of taking a stand against his kingdom of darkness. This foe would like nothing more than for people to think he does not exist.

       But the apostle Paul would have us believe otherwise. In his letter to the Christians in the city of Ephesus he concludes with ways to protect themselves from spiritual attacks. He instructs his Christian readers (including you and me), to wear the whole armor of God so we may stand against the “wiles” or deceitful methods of the devil (Eph. 6:11). He wants us to understand that our battle is not with “flesh and blood” (i.e., human beings regardless of their skin color or political differences, etc.), but with the kingdom of darkness (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, we are to take up the whole armor of God so we may stand against the enemy “in the evil day” when all of hell attacks us (Eph. 6:13).

       Just as a soldier needs to know the strategies of his enemy, so Christians need to understand the schemes or “wiles” of the devil (Eph. 6:11). Some of the “wiles” of Satan may include the following: [1]

  • Deception: Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and he deceived Eve with bad doctrine (1 Tim. 2:14). Hence, Christians are to wear the belt of truth to expose Satan’s lies and replace them with God’s life-giving truth (Eph. 6:14a).  
    • Deviation: The devil wants to conform us to his world system and cause us to deviate from God’s will (Eph. 2:1-3; I John 2:16; 5:19b). He wants us to lower our standards of righteousness by tempting us to open our lives to a little sinfulness or worldliness. He may whisper in our ears, “It won’t hurt you to try that. Everyone else is doing it. Go ahead and do it. It’s fun.” This is why we need the protection of the breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14b).
    • Division: The book of James informs us that the kind of wisdom that causes strife, envy, and self-seeking (power struggles) in our homes, churches, and workplaces originates from hell, and it is earthly, sensual, and demonic (Jas. 3:14-16). Therefore, we need to wear the sandals of the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15).
    • Doubt: Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s Word (Gen. 3:1). This is one of his primary attacks against Christianity as a whole and the individual Christian in particular. Anderson writes, “When the Age of Reason rose up, European scholars discounted anything supernatural, which included a written revelation (the Bible) from a supernatural being (God). Thomas Jefferson swallowed the poison of doubt and decided to create his own New Testament by pulling the miracles of Christ out of the Gospels. If we doubt whether the Bible is God’s Word, why should we live by it or obey it?” [2] Hence, we need to take up the shield of faith to renew and strengthen our faith in the Lord and His Word (Eph. 6:16).
    • Disillusionment: Satan tries to put thoughts in our minds to make us think that his thoughts are our thoughts. When Job encountered severe trials, Satan used Job’s wife and friends to encourage Job to give up on God. They reasoned that any God-fearing believer assumes God will bless him for his obedience, not realizing that is the essence of legalism. We can never put God in our debt (cf. Rom. 4:4; 11:6). The other misunderstanding is to look at our trials as curses instead of blessings. God’s plan for our Christian growth is to mold us and sculpt us into the likeness of His Son. Often trials are the best ways to get us there. But the devil will try to give us thoughts that are contrary to God’s thoughts. And so, we are to wear the helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17a).
    • Discouragement: One of the “devices” (noēmata) of Satan is extreme sorrow or discouragement over our failures (cf. 2 Cor. 7:7-11). When the Christian community treats a repentant Christians like a leper, his discouragement may cause him to give up completely. Satan will use discouragement to keep a believer from reading or memorizing the Bible. Hence, we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God (Eph. 6:17b). 

           Paul addresses six pieces of armor in the order that a Roman soldier would put them on (Eph. 6:14-17). The first three pieces of armor are introduced with the verb “to be.” The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace we have with us all of the time [3] (“having girded… put on… shod…” – Eph. 6:14-15). [4] This is the state we are always to be in. But the last three pieces of armor – the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit – we are called to take and use as needed [5] (“taking … take…” Eph. 6:16-17). [6] Today, we will look at the second of these last three pieces of armor, “the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17a).

    The Location of the Helmet

           The placement of the fifth piece of armor is very significant. After putting on his belt, breastplate, sandals, and taking up his shield, the Roman soldier would put on his helmet to protect his head, especially his brain, because injury to one’s head can be lethal.

           And the world recognizes this. Whenever we are in a situation that could be dangerous to our heads and brains, we are often required to wear a protective helmet. For example, construction workers wear a hard hat to protect their heads from falling debris in a construction area. Motorcyclists wear a helmet to shield their brains from serious injury in case they are in an accident. Those who refuse to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle are flirting with tragedy because the likelihood of being killed in an accident increases significantly when a motorcyclist does not wear a helmet. [7]

          In American football, [8] a player wears a helmet to absorb the impact of colliding with another player so that the brain is not injured. Because the understanding is, if the brain is injured, bodily function is impeded. When you have players, whose heads are constantly absorbing violent collisions on the playing field, experiencing concussion after concussion, the brain can be severely damaged. And if the brain gets damaged, bodily function is impaired.

           The apostle Paul is saying in Ephesians 6:17a that the mind must be protected to absorb the shocks of being hit in the spiritual realm by the enemy. If our minds are not protected from these blows, our spiritual lives can be greatly impaired.

           Some of us know people who have contracted a debilitating disease known as Alzheimer’s whereby the brain is not able to function as it once did. And it progressively deteriorates over time so that the person is not able to care for themselves. The worse the brain problem gets, the less the person with Alzheimer’s can control.

           The less control you and I have in our Christian lives is because spiritual Alzheimer’s has set in. The mind is no longer functioning as God wants it to, impeding the soul from doing what it should, which results in the physical body being out of control.

           The apostle Paul is saying that Christians are to have a helmet on in this spiritual battle which takes place in the invisible realm if we are to have victory. Paul is dealing with a context of us being under attack.

           In an American football game, the quarterback is the leader on the football field. He is calling the play and setting the agenda, and he is always under attack. The defense is always trying to get to him, sack him, knock him down, move him out of the pocket, confuse him, and intimidate him so they can make him ineffective and inefficient.

           Sitting high above the quarterback in a booth is an offensive coordinator (OC). The OC’s job is to assess the schemes of the opposing team and speak to the quarterback about what he ought to be doing in light of those defensive schemes. In view of the attacks of the opposing team, the OC gives plays to the quarterback through a technological wonder called a one-way radio system in the quarterback’s helmet. So, with his helmet on, the quarterback receives instruction about how he is to function in light of the attack he is facing.

           The reason why the OC is the one who gives instructions to the quarterback is because he is sitting high and looking low. He has a bird’s eye view up there in the booth of how the enemy is attacking down there on the football field. He can analyze the enemy’s movements so he can inform the quarterback through his helmet, what the deliverance ought to be for the pressure he is now under.

           The apostle Paul says we are to put on the helmet which means our minds are to be properly programmed. If the mind is improperly programmed, then it will function improperly. That is, if we are thinking wrong, then we will act wrong, and experience spiritual defeat amid the spiritual battle (cf. Prov. 23:7).

           Our spiritual enemy is attacking us on the field of life. God wants us to put on the helmet of salvation so He can speak to us in our minds because He is seated high above everyone and everything else (cf. Eph. 1:20-21). God can see the field of life better than we can see it. He can examine it better than we can. God knows the enemy’s schemes and He knows how to overcome them.

           But we must wear this helmet of salvation so God can protect and direct our thoughts. [9] Our thoughts are a very important part of our whole person and being. Satan wants to control our minds. He wants to put his thoughts into our minds and deceive us into thinking that his thoughts are really ours so we will live life his way, rather than in the way God has prescribed in His Word. The Devil engages in mind control. Once he is successful in doing this, he wants to torment us with these thoughts, causing us to experience defeat instead of victory.

           This part of a Christian’s person comes under severe attack in spiritual warfare. Satan wants to control our thoughts. He wants to put his thoughts within our minds as he did with Peter (cf. Matt. 16:21-23). [10] Many times, these can be hideous thoughts. Thoughts that are totally foreign to what we would normally think.

           For example, a Christian may have intrusive thoughts about murder. He or she may suddenly think about murdering their own family, their loved ones, members of God’s family, or even themselves. Should this surprise us that he who “was a murderer from the beginning” would give us these kinds of thoughts (John 8:44)?

           One Christian man shared with a Christian counselor that he suddenly had thoughts crowding into his mind that he was going to molest a little child. Thoughts that were totally foreign to this man. These thoughts caused the man to initially think he was going crazy until he understood that Satan is eager to put his thoughts into this man’s mind.

           The Devil delights in giving us thoughts to curse God, to tear up our Bibles, to engage in uninhibited sexual activities that are repugnant to God. He may introduce nagging thoughts to us that tell us what a terrible person we must be. Thoughts that say, “I’m dumb, I’m ugly, nobody loves me, or I can’t do anything right.” There is no limit to the kinds of wicked thoughts that our enemy will introduce to us. 

           What do we do with thoughts like this? First, we need to understand that these thoughts may come from the kingdom of darkness. Secondly, we need to take up our helmet of salvation to resist these thoughts. All of us need a resistance prayer to respond to Satanic, intrusive thoughts. A prayer that goes something like this: “In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.”

           We are not to accept these intrusive thoughts as our own. Especially if they are foreign to our common way of thinking. Some power of darkness is trying to convince us that we are a terrible person. If Satan tells us we are a terrible person, we must confront such an accusation with the truth. For if we are a child of God through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone (John 1:12), we are not in any sense a terrible person. We are a “saint” in Christ (I Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1b; Eph. 1:1b), forever “sanctified” or set apart positionally from our sin and shame through the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 6:11b; Heb. 10:10, 14), so there are no grounds for accusation or condemnation (Rom. 8:31-34). Hence, those wicked thoughts do not belong to us. And we are privileged to wear our helmet of salvation.

           We must be tenacious in resisting these thoughts from the kingdom of darkness. Satan will not give up easily. So, we must persist in resisting these wicked thoughts. Don’t stop with one resistance. Each time a wicked thought comes into your mind, continue to pray, “In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.”        

    Ways that Satan Attempts to Control our Minds [11]

           The first way Satan tries to control our minds is through what James calls being  double-minded: “6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas. 1:6-8). Satan will do his best to make a Christian a spiritual schizophrenic with two minds. With our mind we want to love and serve the Lord, but also with our mind many times we want to toy with the things that are not of God.  Instead of relying solely on God’s wisdom (Jas. 1:5), the double-minded believer wants to rely on human wisdom. He wants to act independently of God. James warns us that this is an “unstable” existence.

           A divided mind is a very serious emotional state; but it is even more serious spiritually. We need to pray like King David prayed, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.” (Psa. 86:11b). David wanted God to bring a unity or single-mindedness to his heart, so the Lord was the center of everything in his life. 

           A second way the Devil attempts to control our minds is through a carnal mind. A carnal mind is an enemy of God. The apostle Paul tells us this in Romans 8. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:5). When Paul speaks of the carnally minded here (“set their minds on the things of the flesh”), he is referring to a believer who places himself under the law to try to become holy as Paul had tried to do only to experience spiritual defeat (cf. Rom. 7:4-25).

           “While striving for holiness under the law, Paul had focused on the commands (e.g., ‘lust’) so that his mind-set was fleshly: ‘I must steer clear of all lust.’ This fleshly orientation doomed him to commit the very sin he sought to avoid.

           “Simply put, if one lives with a fleshly orientation—even if it is the result of a vigorous effort to keep the law—he is going to fail because he has the wrong mind-set.” [12] [emphasis added]

           “6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” (Rom. 8:6-7). These two mind-sets, “to be carnally minded,” or “to be spiritually minded,” are polar opposites. The first mind-set is in the sphere of “death” and results in “death.” But the “spiritually minded” believer experiences “life and peace.”

           “The trap into which a Christian falls when he is principally concerned with the law itself is that he cannot escape a preoccupation with the spiritual deadness within and around him. The mind-set of the Spirit, however, lifts his preoccupations to the level of supernatural life and peace.” [13] [emphasis added]

           Carnal mindedness is described in Galatians by Paul when he writes, “19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like…” (Gal. 5:19-21). Carnal mindedness focuses on the fleshly desires of our sinful nature. The longer a Christian sets his mind on his sinful flesh, the more likely his fleshly mind becomes a demonically dictated thought process. Satan uses this carnal mindedness to control a believer’s thoughts.

           The third way Satan will attempt to control our thoughts is through his version of “God-is-our-enemy–thoughts.” The Devil enjoys putting thoughts in our mind that say, “God is your enemy.” “God is not playing fair with you.” “He could make it different, but He is not.” “You ought to get angry with God.“ “If God truly loved you, He wouldn’t let you go through so much pain and suffering.” When we have thoughts like that, do we know where they are coming from?

           God cannot be anything but good (Psa. 106:1), gracious (Psa. 111:4), holy (Isa. 6:3), just (Isa. 45:21), kind (Joel 2:13), loving (I John 4:8b), merciful (Ps. 103:8), and righteous (Psa. 11:7). Regardless of what we are experiencing, God is Who He is because He cannot be anything but that.

           But Satan will come along when life is not what we hoped it would be, and he tries to rule our mind with wicked thoughts about God being our enemy. And these thoughts can easily make us angry toward the Lord.

           Fourth, the Devil can also try to rule our minds through deceiving, lying thoughts. Such was the case with Ananias and Sapphira. Satan filled their hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land they sold for themselves (Acts 5:4, 8-9). It cost both of them their lives.

           Whenever we are tempted to lie, we can be assured that Satan is involved in that temptation. Jesus said the devil “is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

           Fifth, Satan will also try to control our minds through fearful thoughts. The Bible tells us the that our “adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8b).

           “Do you know how a lion uses his fearsome roar to frighten his prey? I’m told that the old male in a lion pride goes upwind of a herd of gazelles or whatever and lets out a roar. The terrified animals take off in the opposite direction, where the rest of the pride is waiting to gobble them up.

           “If we were to hear a lion roar, most of us would run. If he roared again, we would run again. Pretty soon we’re being directed by fear.” [14] [emphasis added]

           In the verse prior to I Peter 5:8, Peter writes, “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (I Pet. 5:7). We can cast all our cares or concerns upon God because “He cares for you.” This phrase can be translated, “You are a matter of concern to God.” [15] 

            Christians who are engaged in intense spiritual warfare, especially those who facing Satanic frontal attacks, may conclude, “God doesn’t really care about me. If He did, He wouldn’t let me languish in this terrible bondage.” [16] [emphasis added]

           If we believe God doesn’t care about us, we will be plagued by all kinds of fear. Satan loves to put us in bondage to fear. He will even use violent fear and panic to immobilize us.

           But at the moment we feel that panic and fear, is the moment to use our helmet of salvation and pray, “In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I command the wicked power of fear to leave my presence and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.” God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). The helmet of salvation enables our thoughts to be our own and to be like those of Christ.

           Thoughts that are projected into our minds by the enemy need to be recognized quickly and decisively! We need to understand this. We don’t have to accept those thoughts from Satan as our own.

           For example, one Christian young man was deeply troubled. Every time he began to pray to God, thoughts would enter his mind that said, “Pray to Satan…Pray to Satan… Pray to Satan.” He was tormented by these thoughts so much so that he became convinced he was going crazy. But once he understood where these thoughts were coming from, and resisted them, he was totally set free from those intruding thoughts. [17]

    The Person of Salvation

           This fifth piece of armor is called “the helmet of salvation.” What is salvation? The Bible informs us that salvation is a Person. David wrote, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” (Psa. 27:1). The Hebrew word translated “salvation” is yeshu’ah. Yeshu’ah is the Old Testament word for “salvation,” and its basic meaning is “deliverance.” The English word Jesus, which means “God is salvation,” is also derived from this Hebrew word. Hence, David is saying, “The Lord [Yahweh] is my light and my Jesus [Yeshu’ah].” (Psa. 27:1). Salvation is a Person.

           This is why Simeon prayed in the temple as he held the Baby Jesus in his hands, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation…” (Luke 2:29-30). Christ is our salvation. He is a Person.

           Thus, when we put on our helmet of salvation, we are putting on the Lord Jesus Christ to protect our mindsfrom the intruding thoughts of Satan and also to fill our minds with His thoughts. [18]

           The Lord Jesus is much greater than the Devil. Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father in the heavenly places, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion,” including Satan and his demonic armies (Eph. 1:20-21). Jesus sits in a position of authority and power that is far greater than the kingdom of darkness and we are seated next to Him (Eph. 2:5-6).

           The apostle John tells us that this same Jesus indwells us: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you [Jesus through the indwelling Holy Spirit] is greater than he who is in the world [Satan].” (I John 4:4; cf. Gal. 2:20). Hence, we do not need to fear nor succumb to Satan’s attacks because Jesus in us is far greater than the Devil and his demonic armies who are in the world.

           The Greek word translated “salvation” (sōtēria) in the New Testament basically means  “deliverance.” [19] The apostle Paul refers to this helmet as “the hope of salvation,” that is, the hope of deliverance (I Thess. 5:8b). Why? Because Satan wants to convince us that our situation is hopeless. If we conclude that our situation is hopeless, that we are trapped in our bondage and there is nothing we can do, then we only have two choices: We can either abandon ourselves to the sin or get ready to check out of this life. [20]

           The type of deliverance Jesus provides is determined by the context. As our “Salvation” (Psa. 27:1), the Lord Jesus provides three types of deliverances as they relate to our spirit, soul, and body (I Thess. 5:23).

    Our Past Salvation

           The first type of salvation is our past salvation (a.k.a. justification) whereby our spirit is delivered from the penalty of sin forever when we believed in Jesus for His gift of salvation (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9). When we were born again by believing in Jesus (John 3:3-18), we received “a new spirit” (Ezek. 36:26) that “was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23-24) and was “perfected forever” (Heb. 10:14). Our spirit “cannot sin because” it “has been born of God” (I John 3:9).

          Satan wants to steal the assurance of our past salvation. Since he knows we cannot lose eternal life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:35-40; 10:28-29; 11:25-26; et al.), he tries to rob us of our assurance that we are God’s child. He may put hideous thoughts in our minds and then accuse us, saying, “No true Christian would never entertain such wicked thoughts.”

           Satan will use false teachers to try to steal our assurance of eternal life. The apostle John addresses this in his first epistle. John’s readers were being told by the antichrists (false teachers) that Jesus was not the Christ Who guarantees a future resurrection and never-ending life to all who believe in Him. But John refutes this by saying, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” (I John 2:25). Instead of listening to the falsehoods of the antichrists, John redirects his readers to the unchanging “promise” of God which guarantees “eternal life” to all who believe in Jesus (cf. I John 5:1, 13; John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24; 6:35-40, 47; 11:25-27; 20:31). This is the message they heard from the beginning of their Christian experience. This is how they began a personal relationship with God. Assurance of eternal life is found in God’s promises, not in the lies of false teachers which denied that eternal life is through simple faith in Jesus.

           There is much confusion today about assurance of salvation. Some insist that assurance of going to heaven is based on our performance and whether we measure up to certain tests concerning the quality of our Christian experience. [21] But if we look to our performance or experience, we will never be certain we have eternal life because we always fall short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23; I John 1:8, 10). Whenever we take our focus off Christ and His finished work on the cross (John 19:30), we are more likely to doubt our salvation. Even on our best day, we still fall short of God’s glory.

           John wants his readers to look to the unchanging promises of God for the assurance of their salvation. “God’s promises don’t change. That’s why the promises of God are the foundation for our assurance of salvation. People who want to teach that 1 John is a book of tests to determine whether you are a Christian or not have gone completely against what John himself uses as his source of assurance: the promises of God.” [22]

           Why does John remind his readers of their secure relationship with Jesus? “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.” (I John 2:26). John did not want his readers to be deceived by the false teachers who tried to undermine their assurance of salvation. Knowing they have eternal life simply be believing in Jesus for it would enable them to effectively resist these antichrists who taught John’s readers they were not genuinely saved because they lacked a secret knowledge which only the false teachers could give them to have eternal life. John understood if a Christian doubts his or her salvation they are more vulnerable to losing their fellowship with God and the apostles. Hence, I believe John would agree with the apostle Paul, that Christians must take up the helmet of salvation, so they do not lose the hope of their past salvation.  

    Our Present Salvation

           The second type of salvation is our present salvation (a.k.a. sanctification) whereby our soul is being delivered from the power of sin as we hear the word and do what it says (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 1:21-22). Just as we were justified and reconciled to God through faith in Jesus’ death, so now we are to be saved from the power of sin (God’s present-day wrath – Rom. 1:18-32) through faith in Jesus’ resurrection life (Rom. 5:9-10). This is a lifelong process called discipleship which begins at conversion and ends when we go to be with Jesus in His heaven (John 8:31-32; 13:34-35; 14:1-3; 15:1-8).

           Reimer writes, “To really understand your identity, you have to properly divide soul and spirit. Your spirit has been made new. You are a new creation in Christ. You have received a new spirit and a new heart (Ezek. 36:26). Your spirit has been perfected in Christ. You have received every spiritual blessing you need in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:3). You are adopted into the family of God (Eph. 1:5; Rom. 8:15). You are heirs of God…

           “These are all the claims of Scripture for who you are in Christ. Your spirit has been purified, purged, renewed, born again, and transformed. But your soul… well, that can still be a bit of a mess.

           “Your soul can have hurts and bitterness. Your soul can still have sin and demonic strongholds. Your soul can have fears and faulty beliefs about who you are. Your soul can still feel condemnation and shame.

           ”Sanctification, or the process of becoming like Jesus is simply becoming who you already are. You have to work out in the realm of the soul what has already taken place in the heavenly realms through the work of Christ in your spirit.

           “Your soul is where your mind, your will, and your emotions still hold sway over the reality of your daily existence. For example, you may know cognitively that you are loved, but because you grew up in an abusive home, or because of your own sinful behaviors, you don’t feel loved. You don’t act as if you are deeply loved. Your soul still feels shame, you may even feel unlovable, and you feel distant from God. Until you deal with the issues of your soul, you will not experience the fullness of God nor the intimacy with Him for which your heart longs.

           “Working out your identity is learning to become who you already are. This battle for your identity is a critical part to your spiritual maturity.” [23] [emphasis added]

           Satan wants to deceive us into thinking that the power of sin has not been broken in our lives. That we are still slaves to sin. He loves to whisper lies that say, “You can never change.” “This isn’t that bad.” “God gave you this desire, so use it.” “Everyone else is doing it.” “You deserve to feel pleasure.” “You cannot cope with your pain without doing this.” “God doesn’t want you to experience this because He knows you will become more like Him knowing good and evil, etc.” 

           The Bible describes the victory Jesus has already won for us, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15).

           “It is more natural to view the principalities and powers here as the defeated foes, driven in front of the triumphal chariot as involuntary and impotent witnesses to their conqueror’s superior might.” [24][emphasis added]

           “The picture, quite familiar in the Roman world, is that of a triumphant general leading a parade of victory…. To the casual observer the cross appears to be only an instrument of death, the symbol of Christ’s defeat; Paul represents it as Christ’s chariot of victory.” [25] [emphasis added]

           The death of Jesus did three things to the spiritual rulers of darkness. It disarmed them, displayed them, and dethroned them.

           How did Jesus do this? [26] Jesus “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14). When a person was executed under Roman law, the sentence was attached to the accused’s cross (see John 19:19). But Jesus took our sentence away, effectively nailing our certificates of debt to His cross. He paid our penalty in full (John 19:30); He died for our guilt and shame. God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21).

           Satan now has no legitimate grounds to accuse us of wrongdoing before God because Jesus already paid our sin debt to God in full. That is why Paul writes, “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Col. 2:15). A fallen angel is no match for the Son of God, Who took away Satan’s power. Satan is the accuser of Christian brothers and sisters (Rev. 12:10). He accused Job (cf. Job 1:9-11; 2:4-5) and Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:1). But in light of the all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, Satan’s accusations are empty now.

           If somebody has a gun pointed at you, whether or not it’s loaded is a huge deal. The devil doesn’t want us to know that his gun has been emptied by the cross of Christ. Now, if we don’t know that, we are still going to cower and run, living in fear and shame. But we don’t have to listen to the devil any longer. Though he is right about our sin, our sin debt has been paid by Christ in full. We are free to live for God now. Satan still has power, but he no longer possesses final authority in our Christian lives.

           Thus, when the devil tempts us to sin, we can respond by saying, “Jesus has already broken the power of that sin through His death and resurrection (Rom. 6:10-11). Therefore, it has no power over me.”

    Our Future Salvation

           Our third type of salvation is our future salvation (a.k.a. glorification) whereby our physical body is delivered from the presence of sin when Jesus comes back for His church (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:8b-10; I John 3:2-3). The apostle Paul writes, “And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (I Thess. 1:10). The Greek verb translated “delivers” [ruomenon] means to “rescue from danger.” [27] This deliverance or rescue is from the Tribulation “wrath to come” on earth (cf. Rev. 6:1-18:24) which is the theme of this epistle [28] (cf. I Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-5:11, 23). How does Jesus deliver Christians from this coming Tribulation wrath on earth?

           Paul explains in First Thessalonians 4:13-18. The apostle does not want his readers, including us, to be ignorant concerning believers who have died lest we “sorrow as others who have no hope.” (I Thess. 4:13). Paul understands that an ignorant believer can easily become a hopeless believer. [29] He then provides the order of events in the Rapture or sudden removal of the church from the earth.

           First, we see the return of Christ in the air with Christians who have died. “For if [or since] we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.” (I Thess. 4:14). The rapture of the church is just as certain as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At one point in time the death and resurrection of Christ were prophecy. But now they are history. We can believe the Rapture with equal certainty.

         When Paul refers to “those who sleep in Jesus,” he is talking about Christians who have died (cf. John 11:11-12). What happens when a Christian dies (see pic)? His spirit goes immediately to heaven, but his body “sleeps” in the grave. “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8). To be absent from the body in death is to be present with the Lord Jesus in heaven.

           The second event is the resurrection of the bodies of Christians who have died. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.” (I Thess. 4:15). The bodies of Christians who have died will be resurrected first by Jesus, so that their spirits, which are now with Christ, can re-enter their bodies permanently in resurrection. Notice that Paul included himself in these verses – “we who are alive and remain…” He expected to be “alive” when Jesus returned. He believed the Rapture could take place at any time and so should we.

           “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (I Thess. 4:16). In the Rapture, it is the Lord Jesus Himself that is coming, not the Holy Spirit or God’s angels. There will be a magnificent sound much like a shout, like the voice of an archangel and like the sound of a trumpet all in one, and only those who have placed their trust in Christ as their Savior will hear it. For the Bible says, “The dead in Christ will rise first.” Only those who are “in Christ” through believing in Jesus, will respond to this sound. Those who have not believed in Jesus Christ will be left behind.

            Notice that Christians who have died will return with Jesus (I Thess. 4:14b) and receive a glorified resurrection body (“the dead in Christ will rise first” – I Thess. 4:16b) that is incorruptible (sinless) and imperishable (eternal), like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. I Cor. 15:35-51; Phil 3:20).

            Next is the removal of living Christians. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17a). The words “caught up” are from the Greek word haparzō which means “to snatch up or take away suddenly.” [30] Paul describes it like this:  “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (I Cor. 15:52). In the time it takes you to blink your eye, the Lord will snatch all believers in Jesus off the earth to meet Him in the air – not one will remain behind.

           Finally, we see the reunion of both living and dead believers with the Lord in the air. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17). This sudden removal of all Christians from the earth is intended to comfort believers in Jesus. That’s why Paul writes, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (I Thess. 4:18.) If the rapture is at the middle or end of the seven-year Tribulation period of intense and unusual suffering on earth, there would be little comfort and encouragement in this. But the prospect of Christ coming at any moment is a much greater comfort.

           Paul alludes to putting on “as a helmet the hope of salvation” (I Thess. 5:8c). The Greek word translated “salvation” (sōtērias) in First Thessalonians is not deliverance from everlasting punishment in hell, but deliverance from the Tribulation wrath on earth. “9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (I Thess. 5:9-10). Christians will not go through the Tribulation because “God did not appoint us to wrath.” Thus, this “salvation” is deliverance from God’s Tribulation wrath on the earth via the Rapture of the church “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

           Our precious Lord’s death (“Christ, who died for us”) guarantees that all Christians will be caught up to be with Jesus, “whether we wake or sleep,” spiritually (I Thess. 5:10; cf. I Thess. 5:4-7). Knowing and believing this truth acts as a protective helmet against Satan’s attacks. The Devil wants us to doubt that we will be delivered from God’s coming wrath through the Rapture of the Church. He has convinced many Christians that they will go through the Tribulation period. Some believers think we are now in the Tribulation.

            Satan wants us to conclude that Jesus is not coming back in our lifetime because he understands that we will then be more likely to live his way instead of God’s way. Jesus warned of this faulty conclusion when He told the parable of the faithful servant who became an evil servant (Matt. 24:45-51). Christ spoke of “a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household” (Matt. 24:45). If that servant remains faithful in light of his master’s soon return, his master “will make him ruler over all his goods” when he comes back (Matt. 24:46-47).

           But Jesus warns, “If that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’” he will be in danger of mistreating “his fellow servants” and living a self-indulgent life (“eat and drink with the drunkards”), resulting in a severe rebuke (“the master of that servant… will cut him in two,” cf. Heb. 4:12-13) and intense grief (“weeping and gnashing of teeth”) over the loss of eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Matt. 24:48-51; cf. Matt. 25:30; I Cor. 3:15; I John 2:28). [31]

           Even though it has been nearly twenty centuries since Jesus ascended to heaven, no Christian should dare to conclude that Jesus “is delaying His coming” for His church. That is what Satan wants us to do. He knows that if we lose sight of the nearness of Christ’s return, we will also lose hope.  

           The helmet of salvation provides hope for the believer. The hope that one day all the projected thoughts from the powers of darkness will be removed forever when the Christian is given a new resurrection body which will no longer be subject to sin and death.

           The promise that Jesus Christ could return for His church at any moment is one of the greatest reasons for us to live for Jesus now. Focusing on Christ’s any-time-return “purifies” us inwardly so we can have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He appears (I John 2:28; 3:2-3).

    Conclusion

           Satan does not want us to put on the helmet of salvation because…

    • He wants us to live in the past filled with our sin and shame. But when we put on the helmet of salvation, the Lord Jesus instructs us to learn from the past, not live in the past because He has delivered our spirit from the penalty of sin forever the moment we believed in Him for His gift of salvation (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9; 4:23-24; cf. Ezek. 36:26).
    • He wants us to believe that we are still slaves to sin who can never change. But when we put on the helmet of salvation, Christ tells us that we can change because our soul is being saved from the power of sin which was broken through Jesus’ death and resurrection (Rom. 6:10-11). We must simply hear and do what Christ tells us (Jas. 1:21-22).
    • He wants us to doubt Jesus will return for His church in our lifetime so we will lose hope and live under his control instead of God’s. However, when the helmet of salvation is put on, we become watchful for Jesus’ soon return for His church when our physical bodies will be saved from the presence of sin forever (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; I John 3:2-3). Focusing on Christ’s any-time-return “purifies” us inwardly so we can have confidence and not be ashamed before Him when He appears (I John 2:28; 3:2-3).

           As with the other pieces of armor, we put on the helmet of salvation through prayer (Eph. 6:18).

           Prayer: Father God, I recognize that my mind is a particular target of Satan’s deceiving ways. Thus, I cover my mind with the powerful helmet of salvation which protects and directs my thoughts, so my life is filled with hope. Thank You for the assurance that my spirit is saved from the penalty of sin forever when I put my faith in the Lord Jesus alone for His gift of salvation. I praise you for Jesus’ death and resurrection which broke the power of sin. By Your grace I pray for my soul to be saved from the power of sin as I yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to obey what Your Word says. And thank You Lord for the hope that my physical body will be saved from the presence of sin when Jesus gives me a new glorified resurrection body when He comes back for His church. Please show me any thoughts I am entertaining right now that are from the enemy. In the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood, I come against the power of darkness that just put that wicked thought in my mind. And I command you to leave me and go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you.

    FOOTNOTES:

    [1] Adapted from David R. Anderson, Position and Condition: An Exposition of the Book of Ephesians (Grace Theological Press, 2017 Kindle Edition), pp. 369-370.

    [2] Ibid.

    [3] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

    [4] The first three verbs in Greek (perizōsamenoi… endysamenoi… hypodēsamenoi… ) are aorist middle participles which means they have already been put on by the soldier or Christian.  

    [5] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.

    [6] The Greek verb translated “taking…” (analabontes) is an aorist active participle, meaning the Christian is taking the shield of faith as needed and the last Greek verb translated “take…” (dexasthe) is an aorist middle imperative which is used of the last two pieces of armor and means for oneself to take them up as needed.

    [7] Retrieved on March 5, 2025, from an article entitled, “Motorcycle Helmet Laws and Safety Statistics 2024,” at lawtigers.com. The article states that “in states with universal helmet laws, 55 percent of motorcyclists killed in 2021 were not wearing helmets, compared to 9 percent in states with universal helmet laws.” 

    [8] The following lengthy discussion about the use of a helmet in American football is adapted from Tony Evan’s video message entitled, “The Helmet of Salvation,” on youtube.com.

    [9] Many of the following paragraphs are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.

    [10] For a more detailed treatment of Matthew 16:21-23, see “Spiritual Warfare – Part 2” in Ropp Update & Reflections (July 2024).

    [11] Much of this section is adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.

    [12] Zane C. Hodges, “Romans,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1045.

    [13] Ibid.

    [14] Jim Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), pg. 182.

    [15] Ibid.

    [16] Ibid.

    [17] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on BRMinistry app.

    [18] The first three paragraphs of this section are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “9. Head First Into Battle… Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.

    [19] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 985-986.

    [20] Logan, Reclaiming Surrendered Ground, pg. 185.

    [21] Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? 2013 Kindle Edition, pg. 15 cites John MacArthur, Jr., Saved without a Doubt (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, 1992), pp. 67-91; Tom Constable, Notes on I John, 2022 Edition, pg. 46 cites James Montgomery Boice, The Epistles of John (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979); John F. MacArthur Jr., The Gospel according to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988); John R. W. Stott, Basic Introduction to the New Testament, 1st American ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964); and Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2 vols. (Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1989).

    [22] Anderson, Maximum Joy: I John – Relationship or Fellowship? 2013 Kindle Edition, pg. 128.

    [23] Dr. Rob Reimer, Soul Care: Seven Transformational Principles For A Healthy Soul (Carpenter’s Son Publishing, 2016), pp. 37-38.

    [24] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Colossians, 2023 Edition, pg. 61 cites F. F. Bruce, “Colossians Problems,” Bibliotheca Sacra 563 (July- September 1984):198-199.

    [25] Ibid., cites Curtis Vaughan, In Ephesians-Philemon. Vol. 11 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978), pg. 202.

    [26] The following three paragraphs are adapted from Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2701-2702.

    [27] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 907.

    [28]  Robert Wilkin, “I Thessalonians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1463.

    [29] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2727.

    [30] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 134.

    [31] Hal Haller Jr., “Matthew,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 179-182.