The Helmet of Salvation
6: 17a
The helmet of salvation DIG: How is salvation like a helmet? What are the two edges of Satan’s double-edged sword? What is God’s unbroken and unbreakable chain?
REFLECT: What does it mean for you to stand firm in this spiritual battle that you are in? Are you sure of your security in Messiah? If not, why not? If so, who can you tell?
The helmet of salvation is the great hope of glorification that gives us confidence
that our present struggle with Satan will not last forever,
and we will be victorious in the end.
The next piece of God’s armor is represented by the Roman soldier’s helmet, without which he would never enter battle. Some of the helmets were made of thick leather covered with metal plates, others were heavy molded or beaten metal. They usually had cheek pieces to protect the face. The purpose of the helmet, of course, was to protect the head from injury, particularly from the dangerous broadsword commonly used in the warfare of that day. It was not the much smaller sword mentioned next (to see link click Ch – The Sword of the Spirit), but was a large two-handled, double-edged sword (rhomphaia) that measured three to four feet in length. It was often carried by cavalrymen, who would swing at the heads of the enemy soldiers to split their skulls or decapitate them.
The fact that the helmet is related to salvation indicates that Satan’s blows are directed at the believer’s security and assurance in Messiah. Two dangerous edges of Satan’s spiritual broadsword are discouragement and doubt. To discourage us, he points to our failures, our sins, our unresolved problems, our poor health, or to whatever else seems negative in our lives in order to make us lose confidence in the love and care of our heavenly Father. Because the Adversary will never lay down his sword against us as long as we are on the earth, God’s armor is a constant necessity until we leave this earth forever. Discouragement in praying for an unsaved husband who continues to reject the Gospel, or a child who refuses to follow the ways of the Lord he has been taught is all too common. The other, closely related, edge of Satan’s two-edged sword is the doubt that often brings discouragement. Doubts about the truths of ADONAI, including doubt about one’s salvation, are the worst discouragements for a believer. If a believer has doubts about God’s goodness or promises, he has no reason to hope in the future and therefore no protection against discouragement.
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that all Your promises are totally trustworthy! I have no doubts for I can trust Your offer of salvation with complete confidence. And the testimony is this – that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The one who has the Son has life; the one who does not have Ben-Elohim does not have life (First John 5:11-12). You have promised salvation to all who go beyond hearing You, to trusting in You. Amen, amen I tell you, whoever hears My word and trusts the One who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed over from death into life (John 5:24). I don’t need to worry if I am good enough to be saved. I am not good enough but my faith and trust is secure in your gift of redemption/salvation to all believe in You (Ephesians 1:12-13). No matter what life throws at me, it is a comfort to know that my salvation is secure in your work of sacrificing Messiah Yeshua as the Lamb of God (John 1:29, Second Corinthians 5:21).
Thank You that your power to take those who love You to heaven, is absolutely secure. No army is greater than you (Revelation 19). You have covered every detail for my salvation of when Messiah died and rose in victory (First Corinthians 15:3-6). I so thank and worship You for living within those who love You. Yeshua answered and said to him: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). In Messiah Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen
Since Sha’ul is addressing believers, putting on the helmet of salvation cannot refer to receiving Messiah as Savior. The only ones who can take up any part of God’s armor, and the only ones who are involved in this supernatural struggle against the Devil and his demonic forces, are those who are already saved. We were justified at the moment of salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith), we are sanctified in this life as we are conformed into the image of Messiah, and one day we will be glorified when we leave our decaying bodies and live forever in God’s presence. And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified (Romans 8:29-30).
This final act of salvation, glorification, is the real strength of the believer’s helmet. If we lose hope in the future promise of salvation, there can be no security in the present. This, no doubt, is why Paul calls this same piece of armor . . . the helmet, which is the hope of salvation (First Thessalonians 5:8). Thus, the helmet of salvation is that great hope of final salvation that gives us confidence and assurance that our present struggle with the Enemy will not last forever and we will be victorious in the end. We know the battle is only for this life, and even a long earthly life is no more than a split second compared to eternity with our Lord in heaven. We are in a race we cannot lose. We have no purgatory to face, and no uncertainty about our future (see The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). No one is ever lost from predestination to justification to sanctification to glorification. That is God’s unbroken and unbreakable chain of salvation.
We have a certain hope, a living hope, as Peter calls it. Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope, to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven. Meanwhile, through trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a deliverance ready to be revealed at the Last Time (First Peter 1:3-5). When the helmet of that hope is in place, we can greatly rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials. Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Yeshua Messiah. Without having seen Him, you love Him. Without seeing Him now, but trusting in Him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words. And you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your salvation (First Peter 1:6-9). Our helmet is the guarantee of heaven, our ultimate salvation, which we have as the anchor of our soul (Hebrews 6:19).264
A first-century soldier would have a helmet as part of his arsenal. It was essential for protection of the head, the command center of the entire body. On the spiritual front, God’s children need to protect their minds. In fact, Second Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive to make it obedient of Messiah. The High Priest was instructed to have a special head-covering that would symbolize his submission to God and the sanctification of his mind. The word for his head-covering (see the commentary on Exodus Gc – Make an Engraved Plate: Holy to the LORD) means a protection around the head, which was probably like a turban. Most branches of modern Judaism (including Messianic Judaism) encourage men and boys to wear yarmulkes or kippahs at religious services as a reminder of their priestly calling. In the spiritual battle, this head-covering reminds us to stay submitted to the Father and to let Messiah renew our minds (Romans 1:2). Again, the Rabbi references the prophet Isaiah who specifically calls the head-covering the helmet of salvation (Isaiah 59:17). The promise of ADONAI is complete victory for the one who has his or her mind set on Yeshua.265
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