The helmet of salvation is part of the full armor of God, which we are instructed to put on in Ephesians 6.
First, think about that...we are told to put on the full armor of God...His armor! [Ephesians 6:11, 13] Not kid-sized armor, or 'junior' armor, but the same armor that Isaiah 59:17 describes: 'He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.' This is the same armor that the Holy Spirit, writing through Paul, instructs Christians to put on.
If we're told to put it on, we must be able to put it on, and it's got to fit. Ephesians 6:10 prefaces the instruction to put on the full armor of God with 'Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.'
Not only His armor, but His power—His strength and might! These are incredible promises, often glossed over in Sunday School but never really meditated on until they become spiritual reality.
So What?
The helmet of salvation is designed to protect the head—the mind, or soul, of the believer. The assurance of salvation is supposed to protect our minds from the lies and deceptions of the enemy.
The problem is that we don't really understand how complete our salvation is. To modern-day believers, it mostly means that our sins are forgiven, we can have a prayer relationship with God, and we have the promise of a glorious afterlife. While those things are great and wonderful, they do not comprise all that salvation is.
Salvation includes all of the promises of God being 'yes' in Him—health, wealth, angelic protection, answered prayer, blessings upon our children, joy, peace, etc. Wholeness—we are made complete in Him.
Unity with the indwelling Godhead, miracle-working power, authority over all the works of the devil.
If we really believed that salvation was more than just fire insurance...if we really understood the depth of the completeness of the finished work of salvation in our individual lives, that knowledge would protect our minds from any lie or deception.
Here's an analogy: if you knew you were the king's son or daughter, and you were old enough to understand all that that meant, you wouldn't believe lies that you were broke, or unprotected, or that your father wouldn't send out the army if you were in trouble. You would know who you were and what that meant—deceptions would have no power over you.
The problem is that salvation doesn't mean that much to our daily lives. We see God as a benevolent but capricious ruler...kind to the 'lucky' ones while 'taking' some children in death or doling out cancer as some sort of teaching aid. Yes, we have the privilege of prayer...big deal. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't...preachers misquote 1 Corinthians 2 and tell us that we can't understand God or His plan, so don't get too carried away.
God is Good
We say that God is good, but the fine print says He might not be good to you. It might be His will to kill your husband, or send you into bankruptcy, or burn your church down.
If we could begin to meditate on the wholeness, the completeness of our salvation, not just for the sweet by-and-by but for the not-so-sweet here and now, we could put on the true helmet of salvation and enjoy protection for our minds. If we would settle, once and for all, the fact that God is good and Satan is bad...that Jesus came to give us abundant life and the enemy comes only to kill, steal and destroy...we would enjoy the peace of mind that our helmet was designed to provide.
If our salvation doesn't mean anything other than we get to go to heaven when we die, it's not much of a helmet. We'll fall for any lie...God won't heal you, He won't deliver your kids, He doesn't want you to have too much...blah blah blah.
For the helmet of salvation to really protect our minds, it has to be strong...it has to mean something to us, today, in this life.
Hallelujah!
