Sermon Series: The Doctrine of the Kingdom of God

Subject: The Helmet of Salvation

Ephesians 6:10-18
"In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides].
Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil.
For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.
Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place].
Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.
And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.
Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one].
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.
Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all manner of prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people)."

The Kingdom of God is our subject...and what an exciting subject! It is the theme of our entire Bible! Jesus had so much to say about the Kingdom in the Gospels.

***page break***
(page two)

Mark 1:14-l5: "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.""
The unsurpassable future of God has begun!
The divinely decreed time of waiting has come to an end. The decisive manifestation of the saving God, promised in the prophets, must therefore be taking place. The general thrust of Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God, implies that in His word and work there is an initiation of the sovereign action of God that brings salvation and is to end in a transformed universe!
Peter writes: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13).
Again, Jesus spoke about the kingdom in these words: "But when he was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables." (Mark 4:10-11).
The word MYSTERY has in Greek a technical meaning; it does not mean something which is complicated and mysterious in our sense of the term. It means something which is quite unintelligible to the person who has not been initiated into its meaning, but is perfectly plain to the person who has been initiated.
Paul said it this way: "However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

***page break***
(page three)

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:6-14).
When the New Testament talks of the MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM, it does not mean that the Kingdom is remote and abstruse and hard to understand; but it does mean that it is quite unintelligible to the man who has not given his heart to Jesus, and that only the man who has taken Jesus as Master and Lord can understand what the Kingdom of God means.
All that Jesus says and does in relation to the kingdom of God is an enigma to those whose eyes have not been opened to the significance of His mission.
Paul writes: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory" (1 Timothy 3:16).
Again, Paul writes: "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:8-11).

***page break***
(page four)

There is one more observation made by Jesus in reference to the kingdom of God which we should consider. It is found in the passage containing many parables, the thirteenth chapter of Matthew: "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him. "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, "An enemy has done this." The servants said to him, "Do you want us then to go and gather them up?"
But he said, "No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First, gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." (Matthew 13:24-30)
Jesus then explains this parable;
"Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
The field is the world, the good seeds are the Sons of the Kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:36-42).
The purpose of this parable is to point to the fact that along with the new thing that has come...namely the Kingdom of God, evil is also at work among men, an enemy opposing the work of God. This parable emphasizes the fact that the function of the divine sovereignty in this time is to save men, not to judge them. God's sovereignty certainly manifests itself in judgment as well, but judgment will be reserved in God's time; till then the re-

***page break***
(page five)

sponsibility of the faithful is to share the attitude of the Lord of the Kingdom toward the impenitent and in the spirit of divine grace show them the power of redeeming love. Jesus was making the point that while His coming signaled the arrival of the Kingdom, its consummation would be delayed. The Children of God and the children of Satan would grow together until the harvest; then God would judge and separate His children from Satan’s children (the children of the evil one.")
Until that eternal harvest takes place, we as believers in Christ and members of His Kingdom, will be involved in a spiritual battle that Paul described in the Ephesians passage.
"For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere." Paul has admonished us that we are to arm ourselves for this battle. We are to have on the belt of truth, protected by the breastplate of righteousness, our feet shod with the gospel of peace, and covering ourselves with the shield of faith.
Paul's next piece of armor is the helmet of salvation. Paul mentions this piece of armor in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-11: "You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing."
The defense of the head was a matter of supreme importance in ancient warfare. The helmets worn by the Romans were made either of leather or of metal. The helmet included plates to protect the cheeks, a band for the forehead, and a collar-like projection to protect the back of the neck. Such a helmet, when closed, showed little besides the eyes, nose and mouth.
"And take the helmet of salvation," says Paul, borrowing this metaphor from Isaiah 57:17. This passage reads: "For He put on

***page break***
(page six)

righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head." In the Isaiah passage Jehovah wears the helmet, but in the Thessalonian passage, believers are called upon to receive it. The Apostle identified the helmet with "the hope of salvation," salvation is both a present possession and an inheritance not yet fully acquired in this life; hence, the object of firmly anchored hope. Were it not for the fact that in the midst of hardship and persecution the assurance of salvation both present and future dwells in his heart he might easily give up the fight. It is exactly this precious treasure that fortifies him with strength to continue the fight, for as to himself he knows that what God has begun in him will be carried on to completion. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever." (Psalm 138;7-8). "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:3-6).
"Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:17-20) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter: 3-5).
TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION!
When Paul tells us to take the helmet of salvation, he is drawing attention to the head, to the mind, the brain, the understanding, the thinking of a Christian.

***page break***
(page seven)

There are times in spiritual battle that we become discouraged and weary and tired, and often there is a sense of hopelessness that begins to fill our souls and minds.
Listen to David: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, where is your God? Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me;...Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God." (Psalm 42)
This is the kind of problem that is dealt with in a well-known poem of Arthur Hugh Clough: "Say not the struggle naught availeth, the labour and the wounds are vain, The enemy faints not, nor faileth, and as things have been they remain."
The poem deals with the condition in which a man begins to feel that the fight is in vain, 'Naught availeth, the labour and the wounds are vain.' He says to himself, "I have been in the campaign for a long time, I am wounded, and striving, I am struggling; but what is the point of it all, I am the one who is tending to faint, "and as things have been they remain." Have I gained an inch of ground, have I done anything at all?
The Apostle Paul deals with that same problem when he writes to the Galatians in these words: "Let us not be weary in well doing" (Galatians 6:9). The Christian becomes weary in well doing, simply through feeling the heat and the burden of the day. The battle is constant, the warfare is tiring, and often one desires to give up! THAT IS WHEN WE PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION AND REMIND OURSELVES OF THE HOPE PROMISED TO US.
The devil succeeds at times in persuading us to become so preoccupied with the details of the Christian life that we forget the grand truth covering the whole of our faith.
"Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am there you may be also." (John 14:1-3).

***page break***
(page eight)

As Christians, the struggle will at times be staggering, but we have the promises of God that He will never leave us nor forsake us. When we call, He will answer!
But Christ has warned us that the Christian life will be filled with trial and trouble and temptation. "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." That is the picture! Nevertheless Christ gives His disciples real hope! He says, "These things have got to be; these things must happen before the end comes.
But then He tells them about the end! When Christians think that everything is hopeless, and they are about to give way to despair, suddenly they shall see the Son of Man coming, riding upon the clouds of heaven, King of kings, Lord of lords. That is what is meant here by "the helmet of salvation." When the enemy tells you to give up and to give in, that you are hopeless, that you are losing, your answer is-- HOPE! the hope! THE HOPE OF GLORY! THE HOPE OF HIS COMING! Everything that is contained in His teaching of ultimate glorious victory.
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
It’s another way which Paul tells us to put on the helmet of salvation!
Hebrews 6:11-12 says:
"We desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
The Apostle Peter writes: "But the God of all grace who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Peter 5:10).
The Apostle John writes in similar fashion. "Beloved, now are we the Sons of God...It doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is."
Then follow the words: "Every man that hath this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." Ah! That is the helmet of salvation. Paul said: Whom He justified, them He also glorified! That is the promise, our HOPE!