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Ephesians 6:17a And take the helmet of salvation…..
We have looked at salvation in an earlier study How to be Saved ….. X 3. Through Jesus Christ, God saves us 1. spiritually; 2. Mentally (psychologically, emotionally); and 3. Physically. This helmet of salvation involves all 3 aspects.
Take is the Greek word dechomai, meaning to receive what is brought by another. For those who have a broader knowledge of Greek, this is not the Greek word lambano, which involves a more active taking unto oneself (and which is the word always used when talking about manifesting the spirit of God).
So this phrase should actually read, “And receive the helmet of salvation.”
The helmet protects the head. The Greeks believed that the brain (in the head) reasoned, the heart believed, and the bowels felt. All rational thinking came from the brain, all deeply held beliefs came from the heart, and all emotions and feelings which stirred the soul came from the bowels.
Romans 10:10a For with the heart man believes unto righteousness….
Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Salvation means safety or preservation. It indicates a wholeness of being or of function. For example, a car missing a tire would not be whole, neither can it function as it ought. Without that tire, the car is doomed. Putting the missing tire back on “saves” the car. A person drowning in a lake is saved by the arrival of a life preserver or a boat. A basketball game is saved when the 5th member of a team finally arrives. An apple tree is saved from dying of thirst by being watered.
The arrival of the spirit of God first and foremost makes our lives whole by supplying the life and power of God which had been missing. Then it supplies the wisdom of God to our understanding and reasoning, so that our decisions can flow out of that wholeness, resulting in productive, fruitfully functioning lives in practice. There you have the 3-fold aspect of salvation.
I Corinthians 1:23, 24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Thus, the helmet of salvation indicates that our thinking, our reasoning is to flow out of that which the holy spirit of God supplies. In practice, once we experience the wholeness of the thoughts of the spirit of God (which is Christ), all further thought, reasoning, logic is to be “protected” by that wholeness.
Let’s take an example. I became born of the spirit of God, and was filled with joy. That joy then became a helmet to protect me from thoughts which were not joy. That joy helped me determine which unjoyful thoughts to simply allow to bounce off my thinking, not allowing them to influence my decisions and reasoning. The same can be said of love, of peace, of kindness. Once we see how the thoughts which flow from out of the presence of Christ make everything better, it becomes easier and easier to not accept anything less!
Before that salvation entered my life, what I used to determine which thoughts to think were the powerful spiritual influences which pushed me around, which I had no control over. Lust, anger, depression, strife (arguing), pride, envy, bitterness, etc. Once salvation anchored itself in my heart, I could keep bringing my thoughts to that salvation, allowing that wholeness to decide which thoughts should, and which thoughts should not, influence my thinking and reasoning.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded (think according to the flesh) is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they are in the flesh (not allowing the helmet of salvation to protect their thinking) cannot please God.
Since having this helmet of salvation, I am so happy to say that many many different, powerfully destructive (including self-destructive) thoughts that used to be welcome visitors in my mind, now no longer find a place in my thinking and reasoning. This helmet of my salvation more and more determines which thoughts I think and act on, and which thoughts I allow to simply bounce off my thinking and slink away. Oh, this change in thinking has not happened overnight, but without the wholeness of Christ within, it would not have happened at all!
Here’s an everyday example. My wife speaks to me in a way I find offensive (not respectful, not loving, whatever). My reasoning kicks in, “WTF!! Doesn’t she know who’s she’s talking to? What right does she have? The b****, I know how I’ll pay her back, I’ll………” and on and on my reasoning goes, influenced by the sinful emotions of my soul. All this reasoning which flows out of the unsaved mind is intent on destruction….of myself, my wife, of our relationship, of the children we are raising, and of anyone and everyone we come into contact with.
But having received the helmet of my salvation, and allowing it to protect my thinking, as soon as “Who does she think she is” tries to enter my mind, the wholeness which now protects my thinking determines that that thought is not whole and rejects it. That helmet may cause me to reject 5 or 10 or 15 other thoughts too, until finally a whole thought which has flowed out of the Christ within now arrives, (for example), “Satan is messing with my wonderful wife. I know what I’ll do, I’ll get up off my butt and give her a big hug and let her know how much she means to me.” And that’s what I do!
I Corinthians 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? (A quote from the Old Testament) But we have the mind of Christ.
This mind of Christ is our helmet of salvation! Surrender your thinking to God. Surrender to the wholeness brought to you by Jesus Christ, and receive this helmet which will protect you from the thoughts which want to steal your ability to function as a fruitful, powerfully productive Godly being.
II Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations (logical reasonings of the mind) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge (gnosis – experience) of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
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Other studies dealing with our thinking:
Emotions of Sin
The Need To Be Right.
Satan’s Justification
Vanity of the Mind
Get Over Yourself
Conform, Reform, or Transform
Godly Logic (How to Serve God)
