Ephesians 6:16, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.”
Verse 16, like the rest of the armor passage, is built around a participle that expounds the manner in which we are to “stand” (v.14). So, “stand…taking up the shield of faith…” Our taking up of this shield is part of the way in which we are to stand against the schemes of the devil (v.11).
Now, its crucial to see that this entire section is introduced by the command to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Too often the “armor of God” passage is used to present Christians as these decked-out warriors ready to fight demons and take out Satan…not at all. Rather, this entire passage is about a desperate dependence on THE LORD and the strength that HE SUPPLIES. The “armor”—like everything else in reality—is from, through, and to GOD in Christ. So if we come to this passage as if its some sort of armory where we suit up so that we can prove ourselves on the field of battle, we are coming at it all wrong. It is a call to confidence, yes, but confidence in the Lord. The elements of this armor are not things that God gives us to depend on in themselves, they are all expressions of His sufficiency for us in Christ.
Regarding the shield of faith….
If the shield of faith is able to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one, then it stands to reason that the burning darts in view here are attacks on the all-sufficiency of God in Christ (which is one way of talking about the content of faith). The burning arrows must be thoughts, circumstances, ideas, desires, doubts, etc. that would turn us away from dependence on Christ, that would make us doubt that He is Lord and God and all-sufficient treasure in all things at all times. Note also that these arrows are apparently coming at us “in all circumstances.” Paul envisions a world where we are constantly under the assault of these burning arrows meant to dislodge our dependence on God in Christ.
And what is the shield of faith? Well—it is faith, but faith in what? The simple—and true—answer is: faith in Christ. Faith that He is God for us. Faith that we have died and been raised with Him. Faith in who He is and what He has done and who we are now because of Him. Holding fast to all that God is for us in Christ is the shield of faith. It is—He is—our refuge in the face of the assaults of the world, He is our defense, our shield.
So what is it like to take up the shield of faith? Well—I should note (though I don’t have time to explain it this morning) that the shield of faith cannot be “taken up” apart from truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, salvation and the word of God wielded in prayer. This armor—this panoply of graces from God in Christ—is a package deal. It works together and each element flows from and into and supports the other. So we cannot simply “believe” without being girded with truth, without being made and working out righteousness in our lives, without standing on the gospel of peace, without the assurance of salvation, without the word of God and prayer….but as we are growing by grace in these things, taking up the shield of faith means—more or less—holding to Christ…..holding to the Christ we know is truth, holding to the Christ we know is righteousness, holding to the Christ we know is our peace, holding to the Christ who is our salvation, holding to the Christ to whom every verse of the word of God points—who is himself the Word of God—and holding to the Christ in, by, through whom we pray at all times to the Father in the Spirit. Taking up the shield of faith means depending on all that God is for us in Jesus…….
