Bible Study: The Shield of Faith (WORD)
The fourth piece of armor Paul mentions in Ephesians 6 is “the shield of faith.” What purpose does a spiritual shield serve for us?
Up until now, Paul’s description of the armor of God has been limited to items we wear. We put on the belt, the breastplate and the shoes, and they essentially hold themselves up.
The shield is different. Paul tells us that the shield is something we must take up, something we are required to raise. Just strapping it to our arm won’t do any good at all if we don’t make the effort to hold it aloft and use it.
The king had previously set up a 90-foot-high golden statue. At various times throughout the day, which were to be prompted by music, he commanded that his people fall down and worship this statue. Out of the entire nation, we are given the names of only three men who had the courage to stand against this royal decree. And for that courage, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were going to die.
When King Nebuchadnezzar became aware of their insubordination, he summoned the rebels and gave them an ultimatum: Worship the statue or be thrown into a fiery furnace. Their response is preserved for us in Daniel 3:16-18. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.'”
The faith of these three men in God allowed them to stand up to the world’s most powerful man and refuse to follow his blasphemous orders. They were then thrown into the furnace and miraculously delivered unharmed by God. But perhaps the most amazing thing about their story is their unwavering dedication to God in the face of an unknown outcome. Their faith was strong enough to accept giving their lives! How can we have that faith?
Why is a shield associated with faith?
Daniel 3:17-18
If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.
A shield guards. While a physical shield protects us physically, faith can protect our spiritual lives even in the middle of physical trials. When Satan (through Nebuchadnezzar) attacked the values and beliefs of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, they were able to stand resolute and unwavering because of their faith. In their response, they essentially said, “God is capable of delivering us from this fate. We don’t know if He will or not, but that doesn’t matter. He gave us His commands, and we are going to keep them regardless of the physical outcome. We know He can just as easily raise us from the dead.”
Ephesians 6:16
…above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
A shield deflects. Satan is always hurling his fiery darts of fear, doubt and worry in our direction, but the only time they can hit us is when we let our shield of faith down—when we stop believing that God is in control; that He is working everything out for our good; that whatever happens is for the ultimate best of everyone involved, however little it seems to be that way.
Matthew 14:28-31
And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
A shield is the first line of defense. While the rest of our armor helps protect us from Satan’s onslaught, it is not what you ideally want to be using to absorb every hit. You do not, for instance, go out into battle intentionally blocking everything with your head.
When our faith in God’s omnipotence and care is strong, it is impossible for Satan to break through our shield and land an attack. But when we allow doubt to creep in, as Peter did when distracted by the waves, we will start to sink. The rest of our armor will be battered, and so will we. But an actively raised shield of faith prevents this otherwise inhibiting fatigue.
Matthew 4:10-11
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
A shield can incapacitate. When Christ was being tempted by Satan, His faith in the Word and commands of God repelled Satan for a time (Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Christ was tempted in all things, so this was certainly not the only encounter Christ had with the devil). The boss (the metal knob in the middle) on the Roman shields allowed soldiers to give their enemies a stun-inducing shove that would allow them to follow through with an attack. Our faith in God, as demonstrated by Christ, can also give Satan a good shove backwards and give us a chance to fight back by doing God’s will and work. Because God tells us that faith cannot just be in our minds, it must produce actions—works of obedience and service (James 2:20).
How else can the shield be used?
The Roman military had an inventive and very effective tactic that made use of their large shields. When enemies would begin firing arrows and other projectiles at the army, the soldiers would close ranks into a rectangular array—called the testudo, or “tortoise,” formation—and those on the outside would use their shields to create a wall around the perimeter. Then those in the middle would raise their shields over their heads to protect everyone from airborne missiles. The result was a formidable human tank that could be stopped only through a tremendous effort.
Ephesians 4:11-16
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
When the Roman army joined its shields together, it became an almost unstoppable force. And if we in God’s Church join our shields—that is, strengthen each other with our faith, building up and serving within the Body as we are able—we will become an unstoppable force able to take on any challenge. This should be made clear when the Believers assemble themselves together; whether it be in prayer meeting, bible study, Sunday school, etc. It should be made clear that even though each one of us have our individual battles to fight, we are in this war together!
We must remember as we fight that this is not simply our battle. This is the war of all our brethren, both near and around the world. And if we are to win, it will only be once we put our faith in God and stand side by side, contending earnestly and as one for “our common salvation…the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
Some important points about “THE SHIELD OF FAITH” . . .
- The other parts of the armor that have been mentioned are worn on the body,
- The Shield is not worn on the body, it has to be held, raised or lifted up in order to be effective! The example of the three Hebrew boys is used as an example because of how they held and lifted up their faith.
- The physical shield can guard and deflect things that are being hurled at the person. The spiritual shield can guard and deflect those spiritual and intangible things that are hurled at the Believer; those things that can cause the Believer to fear, worry, doubt, become frustrated, become depressed, etc. “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16
- Just like the Roman’s physical shield was effective because of its size, the Believer’s spiritual shield is only as effective as its size. For example, if a person takes a granule of salt and places it on his/her tongue, they will be able to taste the saltiness of it. However, take that same granule of salt and mix it in a glass of fresh water, and it loses its’ effectiveness. This is why the faith of a grain of mustard seed is so powerful, because there is nothing like doubts, hesitations, questions, limitations, etc. surrounding it and taking away its effectiveness!
- The other parts of the shield that have been discussed are in contact with the body, but the shield is not; thus, it is the first line of defense. If the faith of the Believer is potent indeed, Satan will not be able to land a solid blow to the body of the Believer. In other words, All the things that Satan hurls at the Believer will be deflected by her/his shield. But if by chance Satan does get a shot in, it will be just a glancing blow, and the rest of the armor will do its job to make that blow of ill effect.
- When the enemy was hurling many arrows, stones, rocks, or whatever at them, they would kneel down, get close together, and like a turtle in a shell, they would join their shields together to withstand the enemy’s attack. What do you think would happen if the Believers do the same thing with their spiritual shields?