So, the focus of our study today is only five words. These words come from Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17. Paul says, “Take the helmet of salvation” (Eph 6:17). 

Now, as I’ve worked my way through this study of the armor of God, my mind has continually gone back to the origins of this church in Ephesus. If there was any church that knew something about spiritual warfare, it was the church in Ephesus. In fact, let’s go back and look at their story. Go with me, if you will, to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19.

I would argue that the church in Ephesus has quite possibly the most compelling story of any church in the New Testament. I mean, their history is pretty wild.

So, briefly, Acts chapter 18 tells of a Jew by the name of Apollos. He’s in the city of Ephesus. And we’re told:

He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. (Acts 18:24, 25)

Now, some of this goes outside the scope of our study, but it will suffice to say that Apollos was teaching the right things about Jesus, but his understanding was incomplete. So, two of Paul’s friends, Priscilla and Aquila, hear him, take him aside, and they explain “the way of God more accurately” (Ac 18:26).

Now, in a sense, this is the start of the church in Ephesus, at least according to the written account of Scripture. As far as we know, Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos are the first Christians. Perhaps there were more, but we can’t know that for sure. 

So, this is probably the first ray of light shining into the darkness of a thoroughly pagan city. As we’ll see in just a moment, this was a place of evil. It was a place of godlessness. It was a place of rebellion against the one true God. It was a place of rampant idolatry. On the surface, I’m sure it appeared to be a beautiful place, a prosperous place. But truth be told, it was a stronghold of the devil. The god of this world had blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2Co 4:4).

So, Apollos leaves the city. Then, at the start of Acts 19, Paul comes into the city. And he finds twelve men, presumably Jews, who appear to be disciples. Verse 1 says, “There he found some disciples” (Ac 19:1). That’s pretty vague, but I think it’s supposed to be vague, perhaps suggesting Paul wasn’t sure whose disciples they were. In fact, he begins to quiz them. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Ac 19:2). And they make it pretty clear that they are not genuine disciples of Christ when they say, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Well, that tells Paul everything he needs to know, and he proceeds to tell them about Jesus and having faith in Jesus. And God blesses Paul and these men. All twelve of them are saved and baptized. The church in Ephesus is growing. The light is getting brighter.

Then, Paul does what he typically does when he enters a new city. He goes straight to the local synagogue. He begins his ministry among the few Jewish people in that place, which makes sense. These are people who already have the foundation of the old covenant, and the Messianic prophecies, and the Old Testament Scriptures. But things don’t go all that well for Paul. His ministry in Ephesus seemed to have a strong start, but it hits a road bump. Verse 8:

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 19:8-10)

So, even in the Jewish synagogue, the devil is at work. I can’t remember who said it, but it makes me of the line that goes, “The devil loves to go to church.” He has no apprehensions about crossing the threshold of a religious building.

Well, after reading the four Gospels, it doesn’t really come as a surprise that the Jews would reject the good news of Jesus Christ and his kingdom. It’s almost more surprising that they allowed Paul to continue teaching in their synagogue for three months straight. 

But I want you to notice a detail we’ll come back to. Paul didn’t merely preach the gospel. Of course, he did preach the gospel, but he did more than that. The text says he was reasoning and persuading them (Ac 19:8). More than just stating facts or issuing exhortations, he’s methodically arguing his case from Scripture. If he spoke anything like he wrote, I’m sure his approach was very systematic. I’m sure it was very compelling. It was probably airtight logic, which only led the Jews to become frustrated with him and essentially force him out. I’ve noticed that when people can’t think of a good counterargument, that’s when they become irrational and angry.

But the point I want to make is that Paul is not just making emotional appeals to the crowd. He’s engaging their minds. Again, we’ll come back to this, but it’s an unfortunate assumption that people sometimes have that faith and logic, or faith and science, or faith and intellect are somehow at odds with one another. You can be either intelligent or religious, but you can’t be both. That’s the way much of the secular world sees things. Sadly, that’s how even some in the church may see it. We don’t need to reason. We don’t need to persuade. We just believe.

I think it was in his book The Consequence of Ideas, but R.C. Sproul wrote, and he’s speaking to Christians here:

We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization. We must have passion—indeed, hearts on fire for the things of God. But that passion must resist with intensity the anti-intellectual spirit of the world. It must be a passion governed by truth and a zeal that is as resolute in study as it is in prayer.

If I may paraphrase, God gave us a brain, and he intends for us to use it. In fact, I’ll go further. He intends for us to guard it. Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

But we’ll come back to that.

So, Paul’s ministry among the Jews in Ephesus wasn’t all that successful, but historically, when the Jews close the door on the gospel, God opens a door to the Gentiles. And that’s precisely what he does here.

Paul starts up a Bible class, if you will, at the hall of Tyrannus. He begins teaching the Gentiles. Again, we’re told he reasoned with them. And this continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks (Ac 19:10). It proved to be a pretty popular class. 

More importantly, though, Satan was losing his grip over the city. The light of Christ is breaking through in a massive way in this place. In fact, it’s spilling out into other parts of Asia Minor. Jews are entering the Lord’s kingdom. Gentiles are entering the kingdom. And let’s not forget how unthinkable that was just a few years prior. Yes, we understand now that God always intended to save the Gentiles. He told Abraham thousands of years before, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Ge 12:3). But as the Jews made clear in Jesus’s day, no one really conceived of the possibility of God saving the Gentiles. Even in the days of the early church, it was still a struggle for many Jews to accept the Gentiles’ inclusion. It was unthinkable, and yet it was happening.

Now, if you’re the devil, how do you respond to this? Satan had dominion over the Gentile nations for generation after generation. But now, he’s watching his kingdom crumble. He’s losing control. God is snatching people left and right out of his hand. So, what does he do? How does he respond? Does he tuck his tail, give up, and leave? We know how heaven responds to the conversion and salvation of people. Jesus said, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Lk 15:7).

Heaven responds with rejoicing. The church responds with rejoicing. But what about the devil? Clearly, he doesn’t like what he sees, but does he give up? No. In fact, we might say he doubles down. He becomes even more aggressive in a sense. You know, Jesus said, “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man” (Mk 3:27). And that’s what Jesus is doing. He’s binding Satan to make a way for the gospel to spread freely. 

Now, if you’ve ever trapped a wild animal—in this case, a roaring lion—you know what happens (1Pe 5:8). The animal doesn’t suddenly become docile. It’s usually the opposite. They get all the more aggressive. They’re desperate, and they lash out. 

I remember when my daughter, who was maybe two years old at the time, cornered our small dog in the bathroom. And this was one of the most gentle dogs you could ever meet, but he felt uncertain about the situation. He felt potentially threatened. So, what did he do? This otherwise gentle creature snapped at my daughter. Thankfully, he didn’t actually bite her.

That’s what a wild animal does. And that’s what the devil does. He doesn’t walk away when he sees himself being defeated. No, he becomes all the more hostile. That’s why we see so much persecution in the days of the early church. I mean, technically, Satan has lost these people to Christ. We’ll talk about this more in a moment, but he’s not getting them back. He knows this. Jesus said, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (Jn 10:29). No one. Not the devil. Not anyone. And Satan knows this, but that doesn’t stop him. He wants to destroy God’s people one way or another. “The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1Pe 5:8).

Let’s see what happens here in the city of Ephesus. Verse 11:

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

What a strange story this is. But I want you to notice, first of all, how prevalent these demonic forces were in this place. At least, that’s the impression I get. Evil spirits are coming out of people left and right. 

Second, I want you to notice how powerless they are to stop the Lord working through Paul. I mean, even handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touchedPaul’s skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them (Ac 19:12). To be clear, that doesn’t say anything about Paul’s power. It doesn’t say anything about the power of handkerchiefs. But it does tell us everything we need to know about the helplessness of the devil in opposition [to God].

You see, we need to put out of our minds any notion that God and Satan are locked in some cosmic battle as we wait to see who wins. That isn’t biblical at all. Satan cannot win. It isn’t possible.

Listen to what the Puritan Arthur Dent wrote:

Satan’s limitations [are as follows]: The first limit is his nature, for he is not able to do anything than that which his natural disposition will permit and suffer. The second limit is the Will of God, for he can do nothing against the Will of God.

He goes on to write:

The power of Satan is not equal to the power of God. It is not so strong, so large, and so wide. It is every way infinitely less. There is no comparison between that which is finite. If we compare it with good angels, it will be less than some and greater than other some … But if we compare it with the power of man, it is far greater every way, but yet, we must know, that is a finite and natural power, not supernatural, for then none could be saved. It is mighty, but yet not almighty.

This is profoundly relevant to every one of us in Christ. You know, I have met Christians who were nearly crippled by fear of the devil. Yes, the devil is a real and present threat. That’s why Peter tells us to be sober-minded and watchful (1Pe 5:8). That’s why Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God (Eph 6:11). But again, the devil cannot snatch a genuine believer out of the Father’s hand. It’s utterly impossible. 

So, we have to find a balance here in our thinking. We shouldn’t make a joke of the devil. We shouldn’t laugh him off or be complacent in our spiritual warfare. Meanwhile, we don’t want to become unnecessarily fearful either. Satan doesn’t have any more power than God allows him to have. He cannot do anything more than God allows him to do. So, ultimately, we trust in God to protect us and to keep a tight grip on the devil’s leash, no matter how far he allows it to extend.

So, we see how prevalent demonic forces were in Ephesus, and we see that the devil is ultimately powerless to stop what God is doing in that place. And third, we see just how determined the devil is to destroy. 

Think about this. There’s probably some demonic influence over these Jewish exorcists. They’re certainly not doing the Lord’s work. They’re not advancing the kingdom. Instead, they crave this miraculous power they see at work in Paul. And they attempt to draw upon this power to cast out evil spirits. It’s just like Jesus said. “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (Mk 3:24). You would think these demons and these exorcists would be on the same side. They were, in effect, on the same side. Yet, the exorcists are trying to drive out the demons, and the demons respond by attacking the exorcists.

You likely remember when Jesus met the madman with a legion of unclean spirits. Once those spirits knew they were in the presence of the Son of the Most High God, they gave up the fight (Mk 5:7). They knew they were helpless against Christ. And what did they do? They begged to be sent into a herd of pigs. “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them” (Mk 5:12). Why? Well, we’re told, “The unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea” (Mk 5:13). Destruction. That was it. They had no greater cause, no higher purpose. It was as though their nature was to simply destroy, even if they destroyed themselves in the process. Who cares? Destruction, destruction, destruction.

I suppose it’s a good thing the Lord equips us with his armor. We’re not fighting our spiritual battles according to a gentleman’s agreement. The devil doesn’t abide by any rules for war. Destruction. That’s his aim. That’s his nature. He did it in the Garden of Eden. He did it in the murder of Abel. He did it on the cross of Christ. It’s the one thing you can count on with him. No matter how attractive or enticing his temptations are, he wants to destroy.

Now, look what happens here in verse 17. Not only is the devil powerless against God, but God uses the devil for his purpose. So, while the devil is essentially destroying himself, God is building his church, which is the one thing the devil doesn’t want to happen.

And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. [That’s nearly six million dollars adjusted for inflation.] So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Acts 19:17-20)

Now, for just a moment, I want to jump ahead. Let’s leave the story in Acts for a minute and turn back over to Ephesians. I want to get Paul’s theological understanding of what was happening. Of course, we could turn to Romans or one of his other letters, but it makes sense to consider what he tells the believers in Ephesus about what was happening among them. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1.

In fact, I’ll read this at length, starting with verse 3.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14)

And I’ll stop there.

So, this is an interesting presentation of the gospel. Paul doesn’t explain our salvation in the way we might expect. Christ is mentioned, of course, but Paul’s only reference to his death on the cross is the phrase, “we have redemption through his blood” (Eph 1:7). Our belief or faith is almost a footnote in this text. So, this is a very different presentation than what we’re accustomed to. Rather than tell us what Christ did and implore us to believe, Paul pulls back the curtain, if you will, to show us what happens behind the scenes of our salvation. And let me summarize what he says.

First, he explains God the Father’s role in salvation. “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). Before we were even created, God graciously and sovereignly elected a people for salvation.

Second, God the Son died. No, Paul doesn’t go into great detail about his death, but we find Christ in every part of this. Paul continually uses that two-word phrase, “in him.” According to the purpose of the Father, at the fullness of time, Christ died in our place, suffering the penalty of sin, so that, in him, we have redemption through his blood (Eph 1:7).

Third, Paul does talk about our faith. On a personal, individual level, this is our saving moment—when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him (Eph 1:13).

And lastly, we see God the Spirit’s role in our salvation. Once a sinner believes and is saved, Paul says, “He or she is sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it” (Eph 1:13, 14).

Now, have you ever stopped to wonder why the Bible teaches us some of these things? For example, why do we need to know that God chose us before the foundation of the world? Does that change anything? For all practical purposes, we obviously need to know that Christ died and why, and we need to understand that it is faith alone that justifies us, but what about the doctrine of election? I mean, far more Christians would get along with one another if the Bible never said anything about election. 

So, why is it taught? This happened before we were ever created. Why do we need to know this?

Well, the first reason most theologians would give is that it glorifies God and humbles us. And that is certainly true. I think it was Spurgeon who said, “The Lord must have loved me before I was born, or else he would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards.” 

But I believe we can point to another reason. Paul makes something very clear when he writes to the Ephesians. I suppose he could have simply pointed to the moment they believed when the second half of that great exchange took place. Christ took on their sins. Then, when they believed, they took on Christ’s righteousness. It was imputed to them through faith. I mean, that’s salvation in a nutshell, right? But instead, Paul pulls back the curtain to show what God has been doing to save us since even before the world began.

Why? To humble us? Yes. For his glory? Absolutely. But also knowing what God has done, is doing, and will do to save his people is a tremendous encouragement to us. We weren’t saved because we just happened to hear the gospel and just happened to believe it. The plan of salvation was not thrown together last minute as the Lord scrambled to figure out what to do after Adam sinned in the garden. No, this was the plan—always. Before he ever created the world, God determined to save a people. Better yet, he determined and chose the very people he would save. He determined that he would send his Son to die in our place. Then, he determined that his Spirit would act as a downpayment on our ultimate redemption until we acquire possession of it.

In other words, God is and has always been in full control of our salvation. And that is why Jesus could say, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (Jn 10:29). From before time itself to the end of time, All-Powerful, Almighty God is in control of our salvation.

Paul says it this way in Romans 8:

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers[we might say, nor the devil], nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans 8:31-39).

Paul explains salvation the way he does to the Ephesians so they might be encouraged. He doesn’t want them (or us) to ever think our salvation is dependent upon us—our faithfulness, our works, our power. No, it’s all dependent upon God’s faithfulness, his works, and his power. And if we don’t understand this, well, the devil will use it against us.

So, briefly, let me summarize the rest of the Ephesians’ story in Acts 19. Paul’s ministry there was so effective that the local idol makers felt threatened. If people turn away from idolatry, you know, they’re out of business. Their business was to make and sell idols. So, long story short, they create pandemonium in the city. It is chaos. We’re told, “The city was filled with confusion” (Ac 19:29). The idol makers want to put an end to this Christian nonsense, and they provoke the whole city to through a tantrum about it.

And again, we see what the devil does. He can’t stop the gospel from spreading. He can’t stop sinners from being saved. But he continues fighting. He works through these unbelievers to rise up against Paul and the church. Thankfully, though, that’s the most he can do in this situation. God yanks back the devil’s leash and doesn’t allow him to hurt Paul or the other Christians in that place. After a couple of hours, the crowd is dispersed, and the disaster is averted.

Okay. So, that concludes my introduction to the helmet of salvation (Eph 6:17). How much time do we have left?

Obviously, when Paul tells the Ephesians to “take the helmet of salvation, he’s not telling them to get saved (Eph 6:17). We can rule that out because, as we saw in Acts 19 and Ephesians 1, he’s writing to people who are already saved. He’s writing to people who cannot become unsaved. So, what is this helmet?

Well, first of all, it’s a defense against the devil. It’s not defending us against Satan robbing us of salvation, but it’s a defense nonetheless. We saw how the devil operated in Ephesus. He may know he cannot overcome the Lord’s will, and he cannot snatch us out of the Father’s hand, but that doesn’t stop him from attacking. That doesn’t stop him from trying to devour us.

Second, this helmet is called “the helmet of salvation,” but Paul gives it a slightly different name elsewhere (Eph 6:17). Here’s what he writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:

Let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:8, 9)

Notice what Paul says there. Paul reminds us of the eternal plan of God. “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation” (1Th 5:9). It is positively certain. If you are saved, you will be saved. Therefore, put on the helmet of the hope of salvation (1Th 5:8).

What is Paul really talking about? He’s talking about assurance. He’s talking about knowing the promises of God and being confident that we will see them fulfilled. “We have eternal security,” Paul says. “Now, believe it. With every fiber of your being, believe it.”

Third and final, Paul wants believers to put the hope of salvation on their heads. This is a helmet. It protects the head from attacks. In this case, it protects the head—the mind—from the devil’s spiritual attacks.

Think back to what I said about Paul’s reasoning with the people in Ephesus. I said he engaged their minds. You see, Christianity is not a religion of all feelings. It’s not altogether about the heart. It is about the heart, of course, but it’s also about the mind. It’s about our intellect. It’s about what we know and what we think.

Paul said, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:2). And he said that right after telling the Colossians that believers are raised with Christ, who is seated next to his Father in heaven. Think about Christ. Think about what he’s done. Think about what he’s promised to do yet. Never mind the havoc wreaked by the devil on this earth. Set your mind on things above.

Elsewhere, Paul says:

Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.(Philippians 4:8, 9)

If we want to protect ourselves against the devil, we must guard our minds. If we want peace, we must consume our thoughts with good things, heavenly things—the hope of our salvation.