Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 6:16

"withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil [one]." — Ephesians 6:16 (ASV)

“In addition to all this,” the Christian soldier is to “take up the shield of faith.” The shield is the large oblong or oval scutum that the Roman soldier held in front of him for protection. It consisted of two layers of wood glued together, covered with linen and hide, and bound with iron. Soldiers often fought side by side with a solid wall of shields. But even a single-handed combatant found himself sufficiently protected.

For the Christian this protective shield is “faith” (GK 4411). We should regard faith here both as our faith in action and as the objective content of faith. Believing cannot be divorced from what is believed, and no rigid line should be drawn between these two aspects. Here only does Paul indicate the effect of a particular piece of armor. With such a shield believers can extinguish all the incendiary devices flung by the devil (v.11). In ancient warfare cane darts were sometimes tipped with tow, dipped in pitch, and then ignited. The Christian’s shield effectively counteracts such diabolical missiles not merely by arresting or deflecting them, but by actually quenching the flames to prevent them from spreading.