Sunday, May 20,
2018 – Ephesians 6:16
The Armor of
God, Pt. 21
The Shield of
Faith, Pt. 5
The Flaming
Arrows, Satan's Temptations, Pt. 2
Grace
Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher,
Jim Rickard
Stand in Warfare –
Eph 6:10-20.
3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17.
Eph 6:16; Psa 7:13; 11:2; 18:30; 28:7; 30:5;
57:4; 58:3-7; 64:3; 76:3; Prov 26:18
Vs. 16
Eph 6:16, “In addition to all (the first three
pieces of armor), taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able
to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.”
The thing that has been put on
fire is “arrows”, or “missiles”, or
“darts,” which is the Greek noun BELOS, βέλος that means, “dart, arrow,
javelin, etc.” It is only used here in the NT; a hapaxlegomena. It comes from
BALLO, “to throw.” It is a projectile such as an arrow, javelin, or dart hurled
deliberately and with purpose. If we were writing this letter today, we would
probably use the word, “bullet” or “explosive shells,” a projectile sent by an
explosion or fire. Missile is also a good imagery here. But back when the Bible
was written, they did not have bullets, but they did have arrows, darts, and
javelins. Therefore, the “flaming arrows,” refer to arrows tipped with tow,
pitch, or such material that were set on fire before they were discharged.
Sometimes they were missiles fitted with combustibles.
The one who is hurling these
flaming arrows at us is “the evil one,” which is HO PONEROS. PONEROS,
πονηρός is an Adjective, and with the article HO, it acts like a noun or
pronoun. It means, “painful, serious, grievous, bad, wicked, evil, or
depraved.” It means evil in a moral or spiritual sense, wicked, malicious, and
mischievous. But here, it is a title for Satan to describe his personage, as
well as his actions. We noted this word for Satan and his attacks back in vs. 13, “the evil day.” Here it tells
us of the one who shoots the “bullets” at us. Therefore, the flaming arrows
represent the temptations with which Satan attacks the saints. And, it is these
temptations that we will extinguish when we put on the “Shield of Faith.”
When Paul wrote Ephesians, the
PUROO BELOS was among the deadliest weapons developed for warfare. He used it
figuratively for satanic temptations. We draw attention to several particulars
in which this figure is specially instructive and warning.
1. The arrow is one of suddenness
with which Satan attacks us. Satan’s temptations were designed to come swiftly
and suddenly, and from directions we were not expecting. In other words, many
times we do not see his attacks coming. This is the “shock and awe” effect of
this weapon. That is why we always need to be at the ready, walking in faith,
so that no matter what comes or from where; we are able to handle it in faith.
2. The arrow was designed to hit
one specific area and penetrate deeply to cause the greatest amount of damage
to that area. Likewise, Satan tempts us in a one specific area at a time,
trying to hit your most vulnerable area to cause you to sin or get involved in
a system of human good works.
3. The arrow was designed so that
once it penetrated the intended target, it could not be easily removed without
causing further damage. Likewise, Satan’s temptations are designed to stick in
your soul, so that you cannot change your ways and repent back to God. Satan
wants to keep you in his clutches.
4. The flaming arrow spreads its
destructive intent, as Satan’s temptations are designed to affect your entire
soul, it sets the soul on fire in a negative way. In other words, when
temptation is thrown at you, it is designed by Satan to ignite a spark of sin
or human good in your soul that consumes the entire soul.
5. The flaming arrow disperses its
destructive force. Likewise, Satan’s temptations are designed to cause
widespread sinning, human good, or evil in your life. If one sin is allowed to
catch fire, it will ignite other sins in your soul causes a chain reaction of
sinning or human good in your life.
6. Even when the flaming arrow did
not hit the body and was caught by the shield, it hurled the flames all over
the shield and around it with the intent to cause fear or a panic. Likewise,
Satan’s temptations, though initially handled in your soul, (caught or
deflected), by faith, are designed to weaken your resolve to fight the battle
raising doubt, fear, worry, or anxiety about your spiritual walk, leaving you
vulnerable to future attacks.
7. The flaming arrows causing panic
in the soldier because their shield was blazing fiercely, could lead them to
throw down their shield and be vulnerable to the next arrow that was hurled at
them. Likewise, Satan’s temptations are designed for the Christian soldier to
throw down his shield of faith and become vulnerable to the other attacks or
temptation that may come. That is what Satan is trying to do to you. He sends
one temptation to get you to throw off your faith in God and His Word, so that
he can throw something else at you leading to sin or human good.
The burning arrows represent every
type of assault devised by the evil one, not just temptation to impure or
unloving conduct, but also false teaching, human good, persecution, doubt,
despair, etc. Faith is the power which enables you to resist them all and
triumph over such attacks.
“Flaming arrows” are also featured
in the OT in Psa 7:13; Prov 26:18. These
both speak of Satan’s attempts through the reversionist, who because of his
unrepentant heart becomes part of Satan’s cosmic system, to hurl temptations at
believers.
Psa 7:13, “He has also prepared for himself deadly weapons; he makes his arrows
fiery shafts.”
Prov 26:18, “Like a madman who throws Firebrands, arrows
and death.”
Because the Greek and Roman gods
of passion, called Eros and Cupid, respectively, were said to strike with
flaming arrows, some of Paul’s readers may have thought specifically of the
temptation of sexual lust here. Yet, it is intended to cover more than just
that danger, cf. Psa 11:2; 57:4; 58:3-7;
64:3; cf. Psa 120:1-4; Prov 25:18.
Psa 11:2, “For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make
ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in
heart.”
Psa 57:4, “My soul is among lions; I must lie among those
who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows
and their tongue a sharp sword.”
Psa 64:3, “Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.
They aimed bitter speech as their arrow.”
Psa 58:3-7, “The wicked are estranged from the
womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth. 4They have venom
like the venom of a serpent; like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear, 5So
that it does not hear the voice of charmers, or a skillful caster of spells. 6O
God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; break out the fangs of the young
lions, O LORD. 7Let them flow away like water that runs off; when he
aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.”
Notice that the arrows are defined
as “words” that come from the mouths of evil men. Therefore, we see that the temptations
that Satan hurls at us are many times those from the tongue: gossip, maligning,
slandering, lying, insults, false witness, false flattery, enticements, etc.
The arrows of Satan are not only sharp and penetrating, but what makes them
more destructive is that they are fiery, designed to cause the maximum amount
of damage to our souls.
Therefore, to combat these evil
words that are sharp and penetrating to our souls, we need the righteous Word
of God resident within our souls to apply in faith to the various forms of
temptations. To combat an emphatic foe, we must put up the Shield of Faith,
which will be found more than capable of not only halting their penetration,
but of quenching their dispersing heat. The Christian’s shield effectively
counteracts the danger of such diabolical missiles not merely by stopping or
deflecting them, but by actually quenching the flames to prevent them from
spreading further damage or destruction.
And our Lord is the one who gives
us the victory over these temptations through His Word and Spirit being
functional within our souls, Psa 76:3f.
Psa 76:3, “There He broke the flaming arrows, the shield
and the sword and the weapons of war. Selah.”
Satan shoots these “flaming
arrows,” at our hearts and minds: lies, blasphemous thoughts, hateful thoughts
about others, doubts, burning desires for sin, etc. If we do not by faith
quench these arrows, they will light a fire within and we will disobey God. And
we never know when Satan will shoot an arrow at us, so we must always walk by
faith and use the shield of faith.
We have a shield to protect us
from the attacks of the enemy when we put on Christ, believing the promises of
God. The combination of Bible doctrine in your soul plus the trigger called
faith, becomes the basis of protecting you against Satan’s super weapons. The
great overall principle of this verse is that there is no power which belongs
to Satan that is great enough to destroy those believers who are holding up the
shield of faith. You must carry the shield with you wherever you go. Believers
should never be without the shield of faith.
When the demon armies start
throwing these fiery darts at you, you have had enough Bible doctrine through
the function of GAP, you have accumulated doctrine in the soul, you have built
an altar in the soul, you have put on the full armor from God, and the result
is that you are able to meet all of the attacks of the unseen enemy, the demon
army.
Just as the shield would break the
arrow’s force and cause them to fall harmlessly to the ground, so does your
faith in God and His Word resident within your soul cause the attacks or
temptations of Satan to be null and void within your soul, because truly God is
your shield, Psa 18:2, 30, 35; 28:7;
33:20; 35:2;59:11;91:4; 115:9-11; 144:1; Prov 30:5; cf. Gen 15:1; Psa 18:2;
Psa 18:30, “As for God, His way is blameless; the word of
the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.”
Psa 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart
trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, and with my song I
shall thank Him.”
Prov 30:5, “Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to
those who take refuge in Him.”
Just as the soldier could not
afford to be without his protective shield at any time, the follower of Christ,
the Christian soldier, cannot for one moment afford to be without faith, to be
without God.
Psa 144:1, “Blessed be the
LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.”
The shield of faith is the
confident trust in and receptiveness to Christ and his power that protects the
whole person who claims it is, “an objective, Divinely given reality.” Faith
takes hold of God’s resources in the midst of the onslaughts of evil and
produces the firm resolve which douses anything the enemy throws at you, Mat 8:5-13; 1 Thes 5:8-9; 1 Peter 5:8-9.
In Mat 8, we see the example of the Roman centurion who came to Jesus
asking Him to heal his servant. Jesus said in vs. 10, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone
in Israel.” And He replied to the centurion in vs. 13. “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed."
And the servant was healed that very moment.”
1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your
adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same
experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the
world.”
And remember,
Psa 7:10, “My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in
heart.”
Rom 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the
word of Christ.”
Eph 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”
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