Part 1
There is a perfect balance in the armor of God there are three defensive weapons, three offensive weapons and 1 neutral weapon.
The Breastplate, the Shield, and the helmet are defensive weapons their purpose is to protect you, provide you with the assurance and confidence to grow as you move forward in your spiritual walk.
The three offensive weapons are the shoes, the sword and the lance. These weapons allow you to demonstrate Satan’s defeat.
The neutral weapon is the Loin belt, which represents the Word of God. The loin belt is important, as it is the central part of the armor holding everything else in place. Without this central piece of the armor, The Written Word of God, the other pieces cannot function properly in your life.
I remind you that these pieces of the armor come from God; to walk in them and see them function in your life you must live in the presence of God.
Just like you draw your power from him, and just like you draw your nature from him, so also you must draw this weaponry from Him. He is the originator of everything we have - including our spiritual armor.
The Helmet of Salvation
In the next three lessons we will deal with " The Helmet of Salvation." Paul continued in his list of spiritual armor by saying, "And take the Helmet of salvation..." (Ephesians 6:17)
The helmet was a gorgeous piece of the armor it was very intricate and ornate. It looked more like a piece of artwork then a helmet! The Roman soldiers helmet was beautiful to look at. Rather than a plain piece of metal that was made to fit his head the Roman soldiers helmet was decorated with beautiful etchings and engravings.
The Helmet was often made to look like the head of an elephant, horse, or other animal. Sometimes it would have a scene of a pasture with animals in it. Some of the helmets had engravings and etchings of fruit on them. Just think how odd they must have looked a man with a bowl of fruit on his head of a horse or other animal. Thus the reason they looked more like sculpture than a piece of armor.
Further more as if that weren't enough the helmet had a large plume of brightly colored feathers or horse hair standing up out of the center, this at times could be so long it would hang down the soldiers back.
The helmet was made of bronze and equipped with pieces of armor that were specifically made to protect the cheeks and jaw. It was extremely heavy; therefore, the interior of the helmet was lined with a sponge to lessen the weight of the helmet on the soldiers’ head. This piece of armor was so strong that and heavy that nothing could pierce it not a hammer or even a battle-ax.
It would have been very difficult to walk by one of these soldiers who had what would have appeared to be a sculpture of an animal on his head with a plume sticking straight out of the center of it. These helmets made the solider noticeable.
Gods most Gorgeous Gift
Why would the Holy Spirit take a piece of weaponry like this and compare it to Salvation? Because your salvation is the most beautiful, ornate, intricate, and elaborate gift God has given you.
Paul calls this marvelous gift "The helmet of salvation" moreover he used the Roman soldiers helmet to make his point.
He likened salvation to the flamboyant helmet something that was very noticeable and as if that weren’t enough it had a plume sticking straight out of it to make sure it was noticed.
Paul is telling use something here, If we are confident in our salvation - and walking in the powerful reality of that salvation means to us, then we are a noticeable people. Not hidden behind the tree.
The word "helmet" is taken from the Greek word perikephalaia (pe-ri-ke-pha-lai-a) the word peri means "around" and the word kephalaia is the Greek word for "head." When joined together you come up with a word that means a piece of armor worn tightly "around the head."
Why did the Roman soldier need such a strong helmet? Because his enemy carried a short handled ax called a battle-ax and when he used it heads rolled!
When the Roman soldier went out to battle if he didn't have his helmet on he could be assured of one thing, He would loose his head. So his helmet wasn't purely a good looking thing it was intended to save his head.
That is exactly what salvation will do for you if you wear it like a helmet on your head! If you don't walk in salvation and all that it entails you may feel the blunt of the enemies’ battle-ax coming to attack your mind and steal your victory.
If your salvation - like a helmet is not worn tightly on your head the enemy will come to chop the multiple benefits and blessings right out of your theology. He will strike at your foundation telling you that healing, deliverance, preservation of the mind were not part of Jesus redemptive work at Calvary.
By the time the enemy is done with your mind the only thing he will leave you with is Heaven, you will have lost faith in all the other redemptive works, By exposing your unprotected mind to his insinuations you are leaving yourself open to be deceived. To face the enemy without your helmet is the equivalent of spiritual suicide!
Many believers attempt to do the work of God without making it a personnel goal to walk in the full knowledge of their salvation, they are spiritually slaughtered. You must have this helmet on if you are going to be useful to the kingdom of God.
How is the enemy going to attack you? How is he going to try to do you in? The devil comes to attack the mind!
He knows that this is the control center for your life. He knows that if he can seize this area, that he can begin to control your emotions, and begin to send sickness, disease and other things into your life.
To protect us God have given us a “helmet of Salvation.” The fact that Paul likens salvation to a helmet means we must know our “salvation” inside and out!
We must spend time studying the Word of God, and what it says about healing, deliverance from evil powers; we must spend time studying our redemption and the consequences of it.
Our understanding and comprehension of salvation must be engrained in our minds. When our minds are convinced of these realities, and our mind is trained to think correctly in terms of our salvation, it is then that knowledge will become a help met in our lives.At this point it doesn't matter how hard the devil tries to whack away at us, because we know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - what Jesus' death and resurrection purchased for us! Once this knowledge becomes a part of us, the devil can no longer attack our minds like he did in the past.
The knowledge of salvation puts a help met on our heads!