The Shield of Faith is a piece from the Whole Armor of God that is paramount to anyone’s Christian walk. Why? Because everything that hinges on our walk with Christ requires a measure of faith on our part in some way shape or form. But what kind of faith is the Holy Spirit talking about through the Apostle Paul concerning the Shield of Faith?

As in each of these different studies into the different parts of the Whole Armor of God, the Lord taught me all kinds of things about the Shield that I hadn’t been shown before. On this page, I’ll share different of scripture that pertains to faith. I believe that by the end of this study, you won’t only have a fresh look into this particular piece of God’s Armor, but an increase of understanding into faith period.

When we began this journey into Ephesians 6, we began on verse 11. Throughout the course of tackling each piece of armor, we’ve knocked off whatever verse already covered. Perhaps it would be good to either check out the previous pages, or at the very least open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 6 and read verses 11-18. Staying true to form to all of the previous pages about the Whole Armor of God, here’s the remainder of the particular verses that we’ve been concentrating on throughout this study.

Ephesians Chapter 6

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Shield of Faith

Verse 16 tells us “above all” to take the shield of faith. Above all meaning especially or most importantly. Why is Paul telling us that this particular piece is seemingly a bit more important than the others? One clue would be the reasoning that he gives for it; “wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” That’s given as the most obvious reason for it to be so important. But also, it is a piece of the Whole Armor of God that protects all other pieces of your Armor.

Faith Scriptures – Our Faith

We as humans can put our faith into anything to be honest. If you were to self-examine (2 Corinthians 13:5) and take stock of all of your fears, what are you putting your faith into? Faith can move mountains (Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21). Faith can move that mountain to be cast into the sea, or cast right over your head. Which are you putting your faith into? In those couple of verses, Jesus never said anything about what to have faith in.

Matthew 9:

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

Matthew 9:

29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

Matthew 15:

28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Matthew 17:

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 21:

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

Mark 2:

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

Luke 8:

25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

Luke 22:

32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

Faith in What?

It’s rightfully understood that he was talking about faith in God, and he was, but for our record, he didn’t say. Although that may seem a bit like straining for a gnat, that same circumstance goes on with many different verses throughout the New Testament. I believe that the Holy Ghost arranged the text in that manner as evidence  for us to understand that faith all by itself, and the measure of that faith we put into anything, be it to our good or harm, will greatly impact our lives and perhaps the lives around us.

Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), and I believe that he placed faith in us from the womb. Straight away. That’s one of the reasons why he kept saying things  like “Where is your faith?”, or “O ye of little faith”.  Besides that, there is ample evidence that everyone has faith in or outside of Christ, it’s just not all in the same thing. I’d also submit that faith is placed into our fabric to urge us to seek him out and be saved, filling that void that resides in the heart of those without Christ. Jesus did however make it clear where our faith SHOULD and is intended to reside.

Mark 11:

22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

But after the death and resurrection of Christ, the Apostles through the Holy Spirit tell us more about where to rest our faith, or what to have faith “in”. Here are several verses that explain what we need to have faith IN, that may help us to hone in our faith, targeting closer to where it needs to land.

Acts 3:

16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Acts 20:

21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 24:24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

Romans 3:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

1 Corinthians 2:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Galatians 3:

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 1:

15 Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,

Colossians 2:

5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

1 Peter 1:

21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

There are many pieces of scripture that are good things to write upon the tablet of your heart concerning our faith. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded about the power of faith and what it can do (particularly to know what the Lord has to say about it). I would suggest that you grab your Bible and highlight or underline any of the verses that have been added into this post ( along with any that the Holy Spirit may point to you along the way). Remember where they are and memorize them to overcome the things that would strangle your faith from you.

There is a spirit of Doubt that takes joy in having the specific skill set of attacking and weakening our faith. We all have different doubts in one thing or another, and I’m not saying that if we doubt something (correctly or not) it is a demon. But when it comes to our faith in God, the Power of God, Christ Jesus, His shed blood, etc., it is the spirit of Doubt that is on the attack.

Sound knowledge and having God’s Word on the ready is something that we must use against these forces that target our faith. We will dive headlong into that topic much better when we discuss the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. So our faith can be defended, protected, attacked, diminished, lost, and built up by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Could this be the strength or the fuel into what we would call the Shield of Faith? The next section will straighten out what the key ingredient is to the Shield. I’m willing to be that you already have a good idea what the key ingredient is.

This is God’s Armor

Before and after conducting research for this page, I’ve seen and heard several sermons about faith alone as well as sermons specifically directed toward the Shield of Faith, so I’d like to point out that there is no shortage on this teaching. But there is one extremely important detail concerning each separate piece of this body of armor that the Lord has fashioned us with, and has made available for us to pick up, put on, and use. If you’ve been following along with the previous pages in this study concerning the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, and the Boots of Peace, you’ll understand what I’m talking about.

What I’d like to keep reminding everyone about is that this is not our armor, but is the Whole Armor of God. Each attribute that is included in each piece of this armor is not attributes that come from us, but of God. For example, the Belt of Truth isn’t about how truthful we are, but is all about the truth of Christ (He is Truth). The Breastplate of Righteousness isn’t about our righteousness, but is God’s Righteousness we can wear as a breastplate. Not something that we produce, but what he’s given to us in Christ. And the Boots of the preparation of the Gospel of Peace isn’t about our gospel, nor is it to prepare for our peace. But instead is about preparing the ground on which you stand for the Gospel of Peace to be received. And that would be His gospel, that brings His peace.

Nothing of ourselves have yet been included in the Whole Armor of God (As it is God’s), and the Shield of Faith is certainly no exception. So when we take up this Shield, who’s faith are we taking up? Our own? Is this the Whole Armor of Brian? The Armor of Bill or Dave? Nancy? Margret? Ethel? No way. This is God’s Armor, and who had more faith in the Father than Christ Jesus? I’d say nobody.

Now, here is something that you should take to the Lord in prayer, as it is something that the Lord has been showing me during the creation of this page. As I’ve already mentioned, it is obvious to me that the Holy Spirit has preserved the Word of God to this very day, and has kept particulars in place for a reason. One little word that we may just breeze over may hit us like a ton of bricks if the Holy Ghost points it out to us. I believe we will see that in action here concerning what the Shield of Faith is made out of.

Faith of Christ

Above when talking about what we need to rest our faith IN, that word IN is one of those tiny little words that can greatly impact the intent and meaning of a verse. Often times we may skim over this and take little notice. Another word that will greatly impact our understanding into what the Holy Ghost is trying to convey to us is the word OF.

Now if you say “I place my faith in Christ”, that is YOUR faith that you are talking about. But if you were to say,”I am justified by the faith of Jesus”, whose faith are you talking about? The faith OF Jesus would be the faith that belongs to Jesus. The same faith that he moved in while walking about the earth 2,000 years ago, and the same faith he’s got now while he looks to his left and can see the Father, as he is sitting at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2).

This is the stuff that the Shield of Faith is made of. Not our faith, but even his own faith! If you haven’t already, give yourself a moment to allow that to sink in. I get excited even thinking about the implications of that! Here are scriptures that bolster this, and concentrating on the difference between the words IN (having faith in something) and OF (having faith of someone)

Romans 3:

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Galatians 2:

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Ephesians 3:

11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

Philippians 3:

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Revelation 2:

13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

Revelation 14:

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

As you can see, the faith of Jesus is something that we in today’s body of believers don’t necessarily take hold of, but instead think that our own faith can have the same impact that the faith of Jesus had. The Lord has lead me to advise this to you. Again, take it to prayer and come to your own conclusions in the Lord, however the Spirit leads. But at the very least look into the matter. But if you use your tiny mustard seed like faith in all of the things mentioned above concerning what our faith should rest in, trust in Jesus to use HIS faith between he and the Father to get that mountain out of your way, and to destroy all of the works of the enemy.

Conclusion

The Shield of Faith is not constructed by the faith that we have in Jesus, or even of the faith we’ve got in the Father. But instead is the actual faith OF Jesus, that HE has in his Father. The Whole Armor of God is not built of the stuff we put into it, but is constructed by the things from God. Now we are to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Not to be strong in the Lord to have our own power and might. All aspects of His Armor of His attributes, not our own.

And the Shield of Faith, which is held out in front of all other pieces of the Armor that we are instructed to put on and take up, quench the fiery darts of the kingdom of darkness by whatever form it manifests. As Jesus himself told us to seek first the Kingdom of God, and HIS righteousness, and all the necessities of life will be added unto us (paraphrasing), so should we keep our faith on the Father, Jesus, and on his power, faithfulness, and love for us, and enough faith to take up that shield, HIS faith will go before us into battle. That same faith, through that same Spirit in whom we also partake, that Jesus displayed, is being held before us like a shield. All praise and Glory to the King of Kings, that he has given us so much to work with, and has done so much to give us aid against his enemies!
I hope that this study into God’s Armor is blessing you, perhaps even strengthening your faith in the Father and Christ Jesus his Son. Soon to come, will be the next piece of the Whole Armor of God that the Father has made available to us, which is the Helmet of Salvation. That’s going to be a great one I believe!Go on ahead into it using the navigation links below, or maybe back up a bit to catch a piece of God’s Armor that you might have missed!

Whole Armor of God Study Navigation

The links below are lined up in the Biblical order given for each piece of God’s Armor, and as I try to stay somewhat consistent with these pages, the order that these pages were completed share the same pattern.

• Whole Armor of God Introduction
  • The Belt of Truth
  • Breastplate of Righteousness
  • Boots of Peace
  • Shield of Faith – You are here
  • Helmet of Salvation
  • Sword of the Spirit
  • Prayer and Supplication in the Spirit

If this study into God’s Armor has been a blessing to you, please share via the plus sign to the right, or the button at the bottom of this page. God bless you and thank you for reading about the Shield of Faith!

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