Posts Tagged ‘shield of faith’
Paul tells us that part of the defensive armor that God has given us is the shield of faith – but what, exactly, is faith, and how can it be a shield for us? Is it, as so many have taught over the years, I kind of button that we push to get what we want out of God, whenever we want it? Is it simply the adherence to a correct set of doctrinal precepts? Is it something we can get only by summoning every ounce of our will power and focusing it on believing?
One thing that we really need to understand is that faith is spiritual. No amount of intellectual understanding will produce it, nor will any amount of will power. Those things come from the soul, and the soul cannot produce spiritual results. Likewise, a hyped-up meeting that produces a wonderful emotional high cannot produce faith – emotions are also part of the soul realm. Sometimes those things may clear the way for us to move into faith; but at other times they may actually block the way and prevent us from finding true faith. Just as in an inoculation a “mini dose” of the disease, or something that is somewhat like the disease, can keep us from contracting the real disease, so trying to find faith through the soul realm can inoculate us against finding true faith.
Faith has three aspects: truth, relationship and action.
The truth aspect of faith is not something we can find by natural means, even by reading the Word of God. It has to come by revelation. Think about it: how often, before you came to the Lord, did you read the Bible and it made no sense to you at all? Then one day the Lord opened your eyes, and it became real and meaningful.
Truth has to be a revelation, because our minds are so minute compared to the mind of God. Our minds cannot begin to understand Him, just as the mind of an ant couldn’t begin to understand us. The only way we can know Him is by a revelation from His Spirit to our spirit.
That knowing then leads to the second part of the faith equation: relationship. It is not enough to know about God, we need to know Him personally in an intimate relationship. The more we know Him, the more we know that we can trust Him to do the things He has promised. Whilst Paul tells us to take up the shield of faith, Psalms tells us that “His faithfulness will be your shield” (Ps 91:4Ps 91:4
English: World English Bible - WEB
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
Under his wings you will take refuge.
His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
WP-Bible pluginb). Our shield is not some kind of artificial belief summoned by the force of our will, but our rest in the faithfulness of Him with whom we are related.
This in turn leads to action. We automatically act out of the things we truly believe. We do not have to grit our teeth and say, “I believe thus, therefore I will act so.” It happens naturally. If our actions do not match our beliefs, then we either have serious mental problems or we do not really believe the things we think we believe. Particularly in relation to using faith as our shield, our actions include our words. If on one hand we say that we believe God is able to deal with whatever situations we face, but on the other hand we talk as if those situations are going to destroy us, then maybe we should look again at what we really believe. If our words are not a true expression both of the truth that has been revealed to us, and the relationship that we have with the Lord, then that faith will never be a sufficient shield to protect us against the attack of the enemy.
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This blog is © copyright Lynn Fowler.
There is one God, and one mediator between God and people, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:51 Timothy 2:5
English: World English Bible - WEB
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
WP-Bible plugin)in Whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9Colossians 2:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily,
WP-Bible plugin)and Whom God the Father has exalted to the highest place, giving Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11Philippians 2:9-11
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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