“But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
In light of the imminent Rapture and the approaching day of the Lord (1 Th. 4:13 - 5:3), we are to put on “the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Th. 5:8).
- This is the language of soldiering in the midst of spiritual warfare. God’s redeemed people are not of the darkness, but they live in the midst of the darkness in this present world, and they must be on guard and protected. Here Paul mentions two of the six items listed in Ephesians 6:14-17, the breastplate and the helmet, both of which are defensive armaments. The breastplate protects the chest and its organs from the enemy’s fiery darts. The helmet protects the head. Both the breastplate and the helmet signify protection of the inner man, the heart and mind and soul, which is where the enemy focuses his assault. He attacks the believer’s confidence in God’s Word and faith in God’s goodness (Ge. 3:1-5). He tries to corrupt doctrinal thinking and lead the believer away from the truth (2 Co. 11:1-4). He tries to get believers to reject God’s Word for the world’s thinking (Mt. 16:21-23).
- The “breastplate of faith and love” protects the heart and mind. Faith is believing and trusting God’s Word. It is holding fast to God’s promises. It is refusing to be turned away from the truth of God’s Word. It is standing fast in sound doctrine. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Ro. 10:17). Love refers to love of the brethren, which is mentioned six times in the epistle (1 Th. 1:3; 3:12; 4:9; 5:8, 13). Faith in God’s defeats the devil’s attacks. If I hold fast to faith and love, the world cannot capture my heart as it did with Demas (2 Ti. 4:10). If I love the brethren I will continue in fellowship with them and will seek to edify and help them.
- The “helmet, the hope of salvation” is confidence in one’s salvation. The helmet protects the head. I must possess the helmet of salvation, and I must use it to protect me through all of life’s battles. The helmet of salvation is to know what God has given me in Christ and to be sure of it and not to doubt it. New Testament hope is not a maybe hope, it is a sure hope because Christ has paid the full price for my salvation and salvation is 100% a product of God’s grace. Biblical hope is an “everlasting consolation and good hope through grace” (2 Th. 2:16). Thus it is “an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast” (Heb. 6:19). The believer’s hope is already laid up for him in heaven (Col. 1:5). It could not be more sure. Like faith, hope comes by God’s Word (Ro. 15:4). The better the believer learns the Scripture, the more he knows about his great salvation, the better he can trust God. The victory over the devil is to maintain “the full assurance of hope unto the end” (Heb. 6:11).
- “The apostle is simply saying that sons of light should wear the protective covering of a consistent, godly life. What preserves us from the corruption that is in the world through lust? Faith, or dependence on God. Love for the Lord and for one another. The hope of Christ’s return” (William MacDonald).
- “The breastplate protects the heart; the helmet protects the head. Our affections and our thoughts are to be kept protected from the enemy. We are not to love the things that this world has to offer. We are not to allow ourselves to be seduced by its philosophies, attitudes, and attractions. This world is not our home” (John Phillips).
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