Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" — Ephesians 6:17 (ASV)

Two more items remain. The “helmet” covered the head. It was made of bronze with leather attachments. In Isa 59:17 the Lord wears “the helmet of salvation” along with the “breastplate of righteousness.” Christians share that divine equipment. The verb “take” reflects that the helmet and sword were usually handed to a soldier by his armorbearer. This verb is appropriate to the “givenness” of salvation. In 1 Thessalonians 5:8 the helmet is identified with the hope of full salvation; this may well be the inference here (Ephesians 1:18).

The final weapon is the “sword,” the short two-edged cut-and-thrust sword wielded by the heavily armed legionary. The “sword of the Spirit” is the Christian’s only weapon of offense—meaning either the sword that is supplied by the Spirit or that is used by the Spirit. “The word of God” is the divine utterance or speech. In Isa 11:4 the Messiah is portrayed as one who strikes the ruthless with the rod of his mouth (i.e., by the authoritative impact of what he says).

But what specifically is this utterance of God? Some suggestions are the recorded words of Scripture in the OT, the remembered sayings of Jesus, or apostolic sayings that were incorporated into the NT. Others regard it as words given by the Spirit to meet the critical need of the moment (cf. Mark 13:11), or as prayer in which the Spirit speaks through the Christian (v.18). The best interpretation is probably the most obvious; it refers to those words that the Spirit has inspired so that Christians may use them to drive away Satan. It is significant that in Matthew’s temptation narrative Jesus himself refers to “every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4) and employs relevant Scriptures to defeat the devil’s stratagems.