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2009-06-01 - The Shield
The Spiritual Warfare Series, Part 9
VERSE 16: Now we consider the next item of armor. The word shield
is interesting, because of the way it would extinguish the arrows of the
enemy. The NIV Bible Study Notes says of the Greek used, it
:
Describes the large Roman shield covered with leather, which could
be soaked in water and used to put out flame-tipped
arrows. 8
Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon on this verse. Some of the points he made
were:
I believe the word that is translated shield sometimes
signifies a door, because the ancients shields were as large as a door.
The covered the man entirely.
As the shield enveloped the entire man,
so faith envelops the entire man, protecting him from all missiles wherever
they may be aimed against him. Faith protects the whole man. Let me also
suggest that faith like a shield receives the blows that are meant for the
man himself. Some Christians think that faith should enable them to escape
blows that if they had faith, everything would be peaceful and calm.
But be armed with faith; it receives the blows. The poor shield is
knocked and hammered and battered like a house exposed in time of storm.
Blow after blow comes rattling upon it, and though it turns death aside,
yet the shield is compelled itself to hear the cut and thrust. So must our
faith do it must be cut at, it must bear the
blows. 9
Growth and overcoming arrives not in the absence of battle, not in the midst
of calm circumstances, but in how one depends on the Lord, appropriates the
power of the Holy Spirit and the gift of salvation in the trials and struggles.
We need to quit looking for comfort in our life, but rather look for spiritual
growth. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).
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NIV Study Bible Notes, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids,
MI, 1985, Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc.
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Spurgeon, Charles, Spiritual Warfare in a Believers Life, The
Shield of Faith, Emerald Books, Lynwood, WA, 1993, p. 153, 155.
Comments or Questions?
Geoff
GKragen@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org
Additional studies
by Geoff
Podcasts of Studies in Matthew can be found at
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