１
The flaming darts are Satan's temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks; we need to take up the shield of faith to quench these flaming darts.
２
We need to exercise our spirit of faith with our subdued and resurrected will to believe that the Lord's manifestation is to destroy the works of the devil (2 Cor. 4:13; 1 John 3:8; Matt. 16:22-23; Luke 4:39; Matt. 12:28; Luke 10:17, 19).
３
We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord's death has destroyed Satan (Heb. 2:14; 1 Cor. 15:54-58; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:3-6).
４
We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the Lord's resurrection has put Satan to shame (Col. 2:12-15, 20; 3:1; John 14:30; Phil. 3:10; Isa. 61:10; Zech. 3:4-5).
５
We need to exercise our spirit of faith to believe that the ascension of the Lord is far above Satan's power (Eph. 1:19-23; 2:6; 6:11, 13).
６
We must have faith in God, who is real, living, present, and available (Mark 11:22; Rev. 1:18).
７
We must have faith in God's heart; God's heart toward us is always good; He has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss (Rom. 8:28-39).
８
We must have faith in God's faithfulness; God cannot lie but is always faithful to His word (1 Cor. 1:9; 1 John 1:9; Titus 1:2).
９
We must have faith in God's ability (Eph. 3:20).
10
We must have faith in God's word; God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken (cf. 1 Thes. 5:24; Eph. 6:17-18).
11
We must have faith in God's will (1:5, 9, 11; Rom. 12:1-2; Heb. 10:5-10).
12
We must have faith in God's sovereignty; under His sovereignty even our mistakes work for good (Rom. 9:19-29).
Ｆ
"Receive the helmet of salvation" (Eph. 6:17a):
１
The helmet of salvation is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts shot in by the evil one; such a helmet, such a covering, is God's salvation.
２
Satan injects fear, threats, worries, anxieties, and other weakening thoughts into our mind; God's salvation is the covering that we take up against all of these, and this salvation is the saving Christ whom we experience in our daily life (John 16:33).
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 6:16-17 Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith....And receive the helmet of salvation...Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.
We need now to consider the shield of faith in detail. We certainly are not to have faith in our own ability, strength, merit, or virtue. Our faith must be in God (Mark 11:22). God is real, living, present, and available. We need to have faith in Him.
We also should have faith in God's heart. Every Christian must know both God and the heart of God....No matter what may happen to us or what kind of sufferings we may undergo, we must always believe in the goodness of God's heart. God has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss.
Along with faith in God's heart, we should have faith in God's faithfulness. We may change, but God does not change. As James 1:17 says, there is no shadow of turning with Him. Furthermore, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), but is always faithful to His word.
God is not only faithful, but also able. Therefore, we need to have faith in God's ability. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul declares that God "is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think."
Still another aspect of our faith is faith in God's word. God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken. The more He speaks, the more responsible He becomes to fulfill His own word. We can tell Him, "God, You have spoken, and Your written Word is in our hand. Lord, You are bound to fulfill Your word." Hallelujah for God's faithful word! (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 544)
Today's Reading
We also need to have faith in God's will. Because God is a God of purpose, He has a will. His will with respect to us is always positive. Hence, no matter what befalls us, we should care not for our happiness or our environment, but for God's will. Our environment may change, but God's will never changes.Furthermore, we must have faith in God's sovereignty. Because God is sovereign, God could never make a mistake. Under His sovereignty, even our mistakes work for good. If God did not sovereignly allow us to make mistakes, we could not possibly make them. (However, this does not mean that we should deliberately make mistakes.) When we are wrong, we need to repent....After we repent for a mistake or shortcoming, we must still exercise faith in God's sovereignty.
We all need to have a full faith in God, in God's heart, in God's faithfulness, in God's ability, in God's word, in God's will, and in God's sovereignty. If we have such a faith, Satan's flaming darts will not be able to damage us.
The flaming darts are Satan's temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks....Every temptation is a deceit, a false promise....As we are waking up in the morning, often Satan will make proposals to us. For this reason, we need to get into the Word the first thing in the morning. If we are not in the Word, we shall have no covering against the devil's proposals.
In the first part of Ephesians 6:17 Paul goes on to say, "And receive the helmet of salvation." This is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts directed at us by the evil one. Such a helmet, such a covering, is God's salvation. Satan injects into our mind threats, worries, anxieties, and other weakening thoughts. God's salvation is the covering we take up against all these. Such a salvation is the saving Christ we experience in our daily life (John 16:33).
Satan's darts come to us through our mind. Therefore, just as our conscience needs the breastplate of righteousness and our will needs the shield of faith, so our mind needs the helmet of salvation. We need truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and then salvation. Righteousness issues in peace, and peace gives us the ground to have faith. Then faith brings in salvation. Do not separate the helmet of salvation from the shield of faith. The shield protects the front of our being, but the helmet protects our head. The shield and the helmet work together. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 544-547)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 65