EPISODE 464 – PUT ON THE SHIELD OF FAITH 2

PUT ON THE SHIELD OF FAITH 2

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Ephesians 6:16 (KJV)

There is a spiritual warfare and we are not fighting to obtain the victory; we put on the whole armor of God to enforce the victory Christ has obtained for us.

Though the adversary is completely defeated, he continues to scheme and throw deceptive burning arrows at the saints.

Thank God, He has given us His armor so that we may be able to withstand the evil day. It is therefore your responsibility to put on the whole armor of God.

After Paul the apostle mentioned the first three gears, he went on to talk about the SHIELD OF FAITH.

Understand that, there is no armor which is more important than the other. For example, some assume that the SHIELD OF FAITH is more important than the others.

The argument is mainly because Paul the apostle used the phrase “ABOVE ALL” when introducing the SHIELD OF FAITH.

The “Above all” doesn’t necessarily suggest that the SHIELD OF FAITH is above the belt of Truth, The Breastplate of Righteousness and The Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel.

Faith is not more important than the Word of God (belt of truth); neither is it more important than the righteousness of God.

Faith is supplied by the Word of God.

The phrase “Above all” is from the Greek words, “epi” and “pas”.

The word “epi” means over, in addition, towards upon, covering and out in front. While the word “pas” means “all, whole, always, daily or everything”.

Therefore the phrase “above all” doesn’t mean the shield of faith is above the other armor pieces in terms of importance or value.

The phrase “above all” means, “in addition” to the other armor pieces, take up the SHIELD OF FAITH.

It also depicts the position of the SHIELD OF FAITH.

“Above all” can also be replaced with “Covering all”, “Out in front of all”, “Holding it in front of all daily”

So verse 16, can be put this way, “In addition, daily cover all or hold in front of all the armor pieces the shield of faith, to extinguish or quench all the fiery darts”.

You will appreciate this more when you understand the size of the shield.

There are two kinds of shields. The kind or type of shield used at that time varied from the type of people or tribe or even the type of combat. There is one for close combat; which is a small rounded shield made of wood or metal.

Paul the apostle wasn’t referring to a circular verge shield which can protect the upper torso of a human body.
He was referring to the large rectangular metal shield Roman soldiers carry.

The Greek word for shield in Ephesians 6:16 is “thureos” which is a large shield, as door shaped. The shield is wide and long as the shape of a house-door.

With that shield size, they are able to cover their whole body from flaming arrows shot at them. In those times, there were arrows as huge as javelins and were first dipped in fire before shooting at their enemies. The idea is not to only pierce the heart or body but to set the enemy on fire and to utterly burn them.

The shield is strong and covers the whole body to prevent the damage intended to be caused by the flaming darts.