October 1, 2026
Ephesians 6:16-17 (NKJV) 16above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
In today’s scripture there are three weapons listed. The first one in the list is the shield of Faith. Paul says that we take that one “above all.” Since faith is above all the rest, I am going to skip to the helmet. As we consider our protective helmet, we see that Paul calls it the helmet of salvation. Everything flows from the head. If we are wounded in any other area of our body, we may be able to continue fighting but a head wound is either a severe distraction, disabling or fatal. The head holds the brain which processes information. If we have any brain injury, we will be unable to process information in a way that will keep us effective in the battle. It is the seat of our senses. If we cannot see, hear or even smell it will incapacitate us to the point where we will be out of the fight. In physical battle the head must be protected, and spiritual battle is no different
In a sense, this helmet protects two types of heads. Jesus is the head of the church. For any member of the body of Christ to be effective in battle they must have a clear connection to the Lord. We must be able to hear his commands. We must be able to draw from his strength, and we must be in tune with his will. If any of those things are not right, we will find fighting through the battles of life will be very difficult.
I am reminded of the modern combat helmets which include integrated communication both between soldiers and with the home base. Through that connection, they can call in help such as airstrikes and receive intelligence such as satellite or drone imagery. When this helmet is working and in place, they have advantages that other militaries cannot match. When our connection to our “head” is intact, we have an advantage that our enemy cannot match.
Our helmet is salvation, but what exactly is that? Salvation is what happens to us when we receive Jesus as both Savior and Lord. The clearest explanation in the Bible is from Romans 10:9-10.
Romans 10:8-10 (NKJV) 8But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
In this verse we see exactly what it takes to be “saved.” We must first accept that the sacrifice of Jesus was and is the payment for our sin. This involves both our sin nature (Ephesians 2:2-3.) and our transgressions. Our transgressions are the sinful things we have done. When we choose to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, the implication is that we believe he was raised up for us. When we, from our heart choose to believe and receive what Jesus did, we fulfill the first part of salvation.
The second thing we must do is confess with our mouth that Jesus is now our Lord. Lord means absolute ruler. We must be willing to affirm our submission to Jesus as the Lord of our life and do so with your mouth. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead for our sin nature and our transgressions. It is also not enough to simply confess the lordship of Jesus. We must believe and confess.
Paul makes it clear why. With the heart we believe unto righteousness. It is in our inward man that we believe. However, with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The confession of Jesus as Lord is an action that corresponds to what we believe in our hearts. This can be problematic for some who may see this as some kind of legalism. That is not the case at all. The declaration of submission to the Lordship of Jesus is a declaration for yourself, God and the devil, that you have made a choice and will not go back on that choice. Our words are important in the spirit (James 3:1-5.)
What happens when we believe and do what Roman’s 10 tells us. In John 3 Jesus called it being born again or born of the spirit. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:8-9 said we become new creations. Both imply something that no other religions claim. When we receive Jesus as both savior and Lord, a change occurs in us. That part of us that was separated from God at the fall is “born again.” In this process everything that we were outside of our relationship with God is removed from our record. Old things pass away and all things are made new.
Adam was created to be God’s representative on earth, but more than that he was to be the beginning of God’s family. In the fall Adam disobeyed the only restrictive commandment that God gave him. He could not eat of the tree of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. When he did, the Hebrew said, “in dying you will surely die.” The first death was a spiritual death. He was separated from his connection to God. He could no longer hear and fellowship with God inwardly. Salvation is the reversal of what came upon all men because of Adam’s sin (Romans 5:14.)
So how does this protect our “head.” When we have our helmet of salvation securely in place, we will not be deceived by the enemy. Our thinking will be dominated not by our past sins and weakness but by the fact that we are saved. When I received Jesus, I did not change religions, philosophy, theology or doctrines. I was born again. The inner person I was died and I became something I was not the moment before I confessed the Lordship of Jesus unto salvation. I am forgiven of everything on every level. I am joined to God in spirit. He is always with me because he is in me.
When I stand in a battle as it rages around me, if I have my mind encased in the truth of salvation, I will see as God sees. I will react to the information that comes before me according to my relationship with God. Like Paul, I will say in the midst of the battle that God is for me so no one can stand against me. As circumstance and even devils rage before me I will see through the deception and sense the reality of my Father’s presence in the fight. For this to be a consistent presence in my life, Paul says I must renew my mind. That comes as I fill it with the Word of God.
When a soldier in the Army of the united states goes into battle, he does not go in as just a human being. He goes as a trained soldier. He is not who or what he was before his training. He is transformed in mind and body to use his weapons so he can defeat the enemy. We go into the battles of life in the same way. Put on the helmet of salvation. Think about what salvation means. Meditate on the Word of God concerning salvation. Choose to believe what salvation has done in you. God is for you. The helmet you wear proves it and he will never leave nor forsake you, no matter how long or difficult the battle may be.
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