We’ve been talking about the armor of God in our Spiritual Soldier Series, a collection of battlefield trainings for spiritual warfare. Our last battlefield training discussed the shield of faith. Now we will talk about the helmet of salvation.
The helmet guards the head in battle from the blows of weapons. No matter what the enemy throws at you, your head is protected. The head houses the brain, the control center for the body, and the mind.
As we have discussed earlier in another battlefield training on the mind it is imperative that our minds remain free from the attack of the enemy. The helmet of salvation protects us in the heat of the battle. Let’s dive in!
“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” (Ephesians 6:17, ESV)
- It protects your mind.
Our minds can be one of the strongest weapons we have in the heat of battle with the enemy. But they can also be the most susceptible to the devil’s attacks. He will try to convince you that you are too weak, too sinful, undeserving, and the list goes on.
The battle is won in our minds before it is won in the spiritual realm. The devil knows this. And we must realize it as well. The enemy is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). He would like nothing more than for you to give up on the battle before it gets started.
You must lean on your faith in the darkest of times. The enemy will bring temptation and trial against you. He will convince you that the battle is not worth fighting. Is this really a hill I think is worth dying on?
Often when the devil spends so much of his time and energy trying to convince you it’s not worth it, these are the times that of the most crucial. For us to be able to ignore the enemy, his advances and attacks on our minds and thought patterns, we need the helmet of salvation to rescue us.
The helmet of salvation blocks every blow from the enemy, every well-aimed glance off the head and sharp arrow coming for our minds. If our heart is a vital organ protected by the breastplate of righteousness, our minds even more so crucially protect our thoughts and feelings, our mindset and worldview.
God’s peace from the helmet of salvation and its protection guards our hearts and minds in Christ (Philippians 4:7). The way we think, especially in the midst of battle, is essential not only to our survival but to our victory in Christ.
We must put on the helmet of salvation to protect us against every onslaught of the enemy. No matter what he throws at us, how he tries to get us to think, we know who we are in Christ. We know Jesus has already claimed and won the victory. And we along with Him are victors.
- It reminds you of your salvation.
The helmet of salvation is aptly named because the enemy will come at you with every evil lie in the book. He will throw every sin in your face. He will test your resolve with temptation after temptation. And he will challenge every step you take against the gates of Hell.
Sometimes it feels like every step you take is the most difficult step you have ever taken. He wants you to stop, to give in, to give out. One of his most common strategic attacks will be to challenge your salvation.
He will claim you are not really saved. All of these troubles are because you never really knew Christ the way you think you did. You fight so hard not against him but against your own understanding of your salvation.
He knows every trick in the book. If you are not certain of your identity in Christ you will be vulnerable to the enemy. You must put on the helmet of salvation, knowing who you are in Christ, a new creature, and ambassador of Christ, reconciled to God, having peace with God.
If you are unaware of your identity in Jesus you will listen way too much to what the enemy has to say. The helmet of salvation reminds you to listen to Jesus’ voice because you belong to Him (John 10:27). It will help you to fight the crucial battle in the mind.
The helmet of salvation guards your mind so you can fight the mind games of the enemy. Jesus has given you the weapons to fight spiritual warfare in the mind. You can demolish every stronghold the enemy tries to set up.
Go against the false narratives and worldviews of the evil one. Fight every dogma he has put in place through this world system. Take down every philosophy, every argument that goes against God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
As the helmet of salvation guards your understanding of what Jesus has done for you, your identity in Him, and your salvation is secured and assured by this helmet, you can rise up against the enemy and destroy every false statement he has ever said.
You can help others to come out of the darkness into light. As their minds have been darkened to God’s truth you can show them the light( Colossians 4:18). They have suppressed the truth about God and turned to idols but you can help them find freedom and truth again (Romans 1:18-23).
Now that your mind is guarded against the attacks of the enemy you can be a beacon of light and bring freedom to his captives. They can begin to think like Christ, have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
- It’s part of renewing your mind.
The Bible calls us to renew our minds in Christ, to not be conformed to the thinking of this world (Romans 12:1-2). This is our reasonably spiritual act of service to the Lord. I’ve talked about renewing your mind before but I want to stress how the helmet of salvation helps to renew our minds.
Our thought patterns must glorify God at all times. We don’t do this on our own. The Holy Spirit renews our minds as we listen to Him and think on godly things (Philippians 4:8). We give our thoughts to the Lord.
The helmet of salvation staves off the flaming arrows of the enemy so we can focus on God’s Word. Just as Jesus fought the devil and obtained victory through speaking the true Word of God to him, he had to flee (Matthew 4:1-11).
Three times the devil came to Jesus and tempted Him with providing His needs, giving Him the kingdoms of this world and their fame, and challenging His divine position in the Godhead. Even the devil knows Scripture, but he misuses it for his gain.
This is why our minds must be sharp, prepared with ammunition for the Holy Spirit to use in the heat of battle. We arm ourselves by memorizing and studying the Scriptures to show ourselves approved in the greatest battles.
It’s not just about memorizing Scripture. That provides the ammunition. But we must also understand the context of Scripture to apply it properly to the situations we face on the battlefield. We cannot just quote a verse. We must know how to use it like an arrow in the quiver.
Each Scripture must take it’s aim and hit the target. We cannot afford to miss our mark. The Holy Spirit helps with this, but only when we understand how to use God’s Word as Jesus used it in the wilderness. The devil will try to trick us with our understanding of the Scriptures so they do not hurt him when they hit their mark.
But we must be sure to know how to use Scripture, to be able to quote it, even more to hit the target the Scriptures are designed to hit. Memorizing Scripture is loading the gun. But studying Scripture and properly interpreting it is calibrating the gun to shoot true.
Use your mind as a weapon against the enemy. As the helmet of salvation protects your thoughts and thought processes use your memorization and study of Scripture to take back ground.
Wrapping Up
The helmet of salvation is a powerful defense against the attacks of the enemy. As he challenges your salvation, your identity in Christ, and what you know to be godly and true, every blow glances off of you as you advance toward him.
Your preparation for the battle through thinking on godly things, memorizing Scripture, and knowing how to apply it to every battle gives you the upper hand and assures victory for Jesus. Don’t let the enemy challenge you on the things you know and hold dear about what Jesus has done for you. What are some other ways the helmet of salvation protects us in spiritual warfare?
Up Next
We will continue talking about the pieces of the armor of God in our lives and how they bring victory on the spiritual battlefield. We turn next to the battlefield training on the sword of the Spirit, our most powerful weapon to advance the kingdom of God.
this is amazing. my family and I struggle a lot with mind battles. the church struggles a lot as well. this is the reminder we need to protect & defend ourselves.