Ephesians 6:13–18 (ESV)

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints

We are examining each individual piece of armor, so that we can fight the battles that lie ahead and win. Thus far, we have examined the first four weapons. These are primarily defensive weapons in purpose.

They are…

1. “having fastened on the belt of truth”

2. “having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (verse 14)

3. “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.” (verse 15)

4. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. (verse 16)

So, here we see four collected pieces of armor for defense against the evil one: truth—the righteousness—the gospel of the peace—the faith.

We are now ready to look at the next three.  These are primarily offensive in purpose.

It may appear that there are six weapons of war, but as we shall see, there are actually seven. For though Paul does not use a weapon metaphor, surely prayer is the seventh and overarching weapon.

These three (helmet and sword combined with prayer) are primarily offensive in purpose and are linked together by means of an imperative. We are commanded to take these three weapons and charge toward the enemy.

Let’s examine the first of these offensive weapons.

5. “take the helmet of salvation” (verse 17)

The helmet is designed to protects the head.  Why?  Because the head is where our thought processes are derived.  So, in one sense, it is defensive.  But, it is only defensive in that it protects our thinking, so we can be on the offense. 

The helmet secures our assurance of our salvation. From it, we find safety from the devil’s attacks.

We must live in confidence of this secured salvation. We must be able to say what Paul said, “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. (2 Timothy 1:12)

We must live in confidence of the testimony that God has given.

1 John 5:11–13 (ESV)

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

The helmet allows us to walk with assured hope of our future deliverance,

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (ESV) But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

As a soldier of God, we must have clear understanding of who we are in Christ. With clarity, we are then able to take up the sword of the Spirit.