Christian Living
Welcome back!
This is the 3rd part of this blog series. In part 1, we introduced the concept of the Armour of God and in part 2, we started looking at the components of this armour, the first being; The Breastplate of Righteousness. If you are just joining us on this series, I urge you to read the first 2 parts to catch up. I’ve been getting great feedback from this series. So stay with us… 🙂
Today, we continue with another component of the armour of God….. the helmet of salvation.
The Helmet of Salvation
We have been reading at Ephesians 6: 11, 13-19;
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” NKJV.
What is a helmet?: A protective gear worn to protect the head from injuries. A helmet usually covers the whole head. From a medical perspective, a helmet is worn to ultimately protect the brain from injury or damage by protecting the skull.
Simple dictionary definition for ‘salvation‘ is deliverance from harm, ruin or loss.
A very quick review of how salvation became a human need will take us back to the Garden of Eden, when Adam introduced sin into an otherwise sinless world through sheer disobedience. From that time, the whole human race became infected with sin, leading to spiritual death (1 Corinthians 15:21-22, Romans 5:21).
From a biblical perspective then, salvation means deliverance from sin and its consequences (death) by faith in Christ Jesus. Sin and death (spiritual death), necessitated salvation.
When Jesus, in His discourse with Nicodemus (John 3), sadly informed the Pharisee; ‘you must be born again’, born of the spirit and the water, that became necessary because God kept His word {sadly, ..rolling my eyes} to Adam of ‘you shall surely die‘ as given in Genesis 2:17. So as we see in John 3:5 &7 below, man needed a rebirth;
“Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot {ever} enter the kingdom of God……do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘you must be born again {reborn from above-spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified}” AMP.
I love the way the Amplified Bible version captures the above scripture… it’s thorough and explicit. And for me, it is this ‘reborn from above’ that is most exciting when I think about ‘Salvation/Redemption’.
Why so?
Because becoming born-again (saved) changes everything! It changes my root, my citizenship, my identity and my experience (I’ve been thinking on this for weeks now and the more I think about it, the more excited I become).
John 1:13 very aptly captures this for me;
“who were born, not of blood {natural conception}, nor of the will of flesh {physical impulse}, nor of the will of man {that of a natural father}, but of God {that is; a divine and supernatural birth-they are born of God-spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified}. AMP.
Romans 8: 17 reads;
“And if {we are His} children, {then are we His} heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance), if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory“.
Halleluyah! Halleluyah!! Halleluyah!!!
Imagine if you were the son/daughter of the President of a country, any country at all, you’ll have very high regard and reverence from other citizens (whether you earn it or not). Your family background gives you some privileges and rights.
So here’s my right and privilege, my salvation is cover over my head, it gives me a different identity.
Why head?
Because the ‘head’ connotes authority, rights and privileges.
Praise God for ever! I am born of God. I am an heir of God. I am a supernatural being, born through a divine birth! I have the God-kind of gene-SINLESS! I am a member of God’s family because my citizenship is of Heaven. Satan cannot hold me down with sin or death. Halleluyah!
I can hear someone saying; ‘well Grace, you may be a citizen of Heaven but you’re not there (in Heaven) yet, you may not be experiencing Heaven while on earth’.
Well John 10:10b tells me differently;
“…I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance {to the full, till it overflows}“. AMP.
As we see, John 10:10 is not referring to a Heavenly experience. The life, enjoyment and life-more-abundantly Jesus came to give me is for here and now (while I live on earth).
A few years back when I experienced a most crippling illness, I put together a faith confession that I repeated regularly. A part of it read; ‘I am a citizen of Heaven. There is no sickness in Heaven and none can stay in my body’
I tell you, that is a revelation that has changed my entire life and attitude. It is a constant reminder that I can have a different experience irrespective of what is going on down here on earth. Halleluyah!
Brethren, every day and every time, let us be reminded of our identity, because it changes everything for us. As we confess that we put on the helmet of salvation, let’s say it in all understanding that we are BORN of God, we have His sinless-gene, we are God’s children and heirs ….and we have authority, we have rights and privileges …… that changes everything.
And if anyone is reading this post and is hungry like Pharisee Nicodemus, if you’d like to become born-again, the good news is – it is not difficult. Romans 10:9 shows us how;
“because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord {recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God}, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. AMP.
That is how to become saved-believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He died and God raised Him from the dead, then confess with your mouth that He is your Lord. THAT’s It! 🙂 Additionally, you must become water baptized by immersion and be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
Today is a good day to come under the cover of God’s fatherhood. 🙂
