Regarding the three previous pieces of armour, Paul had described the readers as ‘having on’ already — in other words, believers always know the truth of the gospel, are always justified through the righteousness of Jesus and always are reconciled with God. Concerning the next three pieces, Paul says to ‘take them up’, which means that they are available. We are to take them up in all circumstances.
The first item is the shield, which Paul says depicts faith. A Roman soldier’s faith was made of leather or some other hide, and was doused with water to extinguish any fiery arrows that were fired at him. The shield was flexible in that it could be used against all directions. Faith in Jesus is like that and flexes itself by his promises which we are to use to put out any fiery accusations or temptations that the devil uses.
The second piece is the helmet of salvation. A helmet protected the brain and the eyes. The spiritual equivalent is the mind and the vision, and they are protected by focussing on the contents of salvation. Salvation in its fullest sense is past, present and future. With spiritual vision, we can look back to the cross, or up to the throne, or ahead to the resurrection. We need to focus on those aspects when under attack.
The third piece is the sword, and Paul says that its equivalent is the word of God, which was inspired by the Holy Spirit. The term translated ‘word’ indicates it is a spoken word such as a verse rather than the entire Bible. Paul is indicating that we should know the Bible well enough to cite it in the midst of a spiritual attack. Citing it would not only encourage ourselves but other Christian soldiers near us.
Those three pieces – the shield, the helmet and the sword – were always close at hand so that the soldier could grab them immediately. Their equivalents – faith, salvation and the inspired word – should be so close to us, even in our minds and hearts, available for immediate use.
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