Ephesians 6:16

“withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one”

“Withal”: “Above all” (KJV). “Besides all these” (Wms). “Above all be sure to take” (Phi). “In addition to all” (NASV) “A. an indispensable addition” (Stott p. 281). “Taking up”: Human accountability. The idea that the Holy Spirit will miraculously protect the child of God against all temptation is false (1 Corinthians 10:13). “Shield”:. large shield,. door-shaped shield. “While some armies used. small, round shield, the Romans used. large, rectangular one which covered the ‘whole man like. door'. The shield was as wide as. man's body and up to four feet in length” (Boles p. 339). “It consisted of two layers of wood glued together and covered first with linen and then with hide. It was specially designed to put out the dangerous incendiary missiles” (Stott p. 281). “It was solid, sometimes with. metal liner reinforcing its ability to repel the artillery of the enemy including its fiery darts, lances and spears” (Caldwell pp. 314-315). “Of faith”: “Which is, or consists of, faith” (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 387). 1 Peter 5:9 “But resist him, firm in your faith” (1 Peter 1:7). Unresolved doubts mean trouble for the Christian (James 1:6). “That committed conviction (trust) knocks off temptations, doubts, fears, human reasoning (Colossians 2:8), worry (Matthew 6:24), greed, envy, and all those other pernicious, wicked attempts by Satan to drag us down” (Caldwell p. 315). The same method that Jesus used to disarm Satan (Matthew 4:4 "It is written") is available to every Christian. “The devil tempted Eve by hurling at her the doubt regarding God's word: ‘Did God really say?' Eve's answer could have been. ‘Most certainly God did say!'” (Lenski p. 670). Faith in rooted in the conviction that God is good, and that every command ever given reflects God's goodness (1 Peter 3:10). Faith says that God always has my best interest at heart (Romans 8:32). That God is always right (Romans 3:4).

“Wherewith”: Using the above shield. “Ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one”: “These arrows dipped in pitch and set ablaze, could strike terror and destruction to an army without such shields. Satan would have us throw down our shields and flee in panic” (Boles p. 340). “Even when such. missile was caught by the shield and did not penetrate to the body, says Livy, it caused panic. because it was thrown when well alight and its motion through the air made it blaze more fiercely, so that the soldier was tempted to get rid of his burning shield and expose himself to the enemy's spear-thrusts” (Bruce p. 408). This infers that many of the temptations or wiles used by the Devil can cause panic in the unprepared Christian (Luke 8:13). Various accusations of the Devil have caused some professed believers to depart from the faith, and to give up and quit. The defense against such dangerous and "intimidating" darts, is book, chapter, and verse (Matthew 4:4). Carefully note, even the Devil knows Scripture and seeks to twist it toward his own ends. This tells us something about how the Devil works. Anytime you hear some professed believer using Scripture against Scripture to discredit God's revelation, you know that they are doing the Devil's work.