The Armor of God: Faith
"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."
-Ephesians 6:16
Faith
It would be prudent to help define faith at the start. What is faith? How does faith work?
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen."
-Hebrews 11:1, with the Joseph Smith Translation, or revision, and use of the Greek
Lectures on Faith, Lecture 1
9. "From this we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelligent beings.
10. "If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action in them; that without it both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental."
Summarizing from the above statement, the Prophet Joseph taught that faith is a principle of action. He also taught the following:
24. "Faith ... is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God. Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation nor existence!"
In a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord stated:
"Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not."
-Doctrine & Covenants 8:10
Shield
I believe it's interesting to visualize faith as a shield. The obvious meaning behind this symbol is meant to protect and defend oneself from an enemy attack.
"Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him."
-Proverbs 30:5
With this statement here, God is to be our shield. We are to place our faith, or trust, in Him. The Lord is our defender against Satan, the father of lies and sin.
Able
Or the ability to act for ourselves.
In his plea to his sons, Lehi gave this counsel with his blessing:
2 Nephi 2
27. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of he devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
28. And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
29. And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
Fiery Darts
Tree of Life and Rod of Iron. (1 Nephi, chapters 8 and 11)
In a discussion between Nephi and his older brothers, Laman and Lemuel, some questions and answers are provided on the two objects from their father's dream.
1 Nephi 15, emphasis added
21. And it came to pass that they did speak unto me ... saying: What meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What meaneth the tree which he saw?
22. And I answered them: It was a representation of the tree of life.
23. And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?
24. And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
With the use of Bible commentary:
Fiery darts; it seems to be an allusion to the poisoned darts some barbarous nations were wont to use, which inflamed the bodies they hit. By them he means all those violent temptations which inflame men’s lusts. These fiery darts of temptations faith is said to quench, when, by the help of grace obtained of Christ, it overcomes them.
Wicked
The wicked, or the wicked one, or the evil one. The tempter of mankind.
In a talk from General Conference, President Boyd K. Packer gave the following statement on the wicked one.
The Tempter
"The adversary is jealous toward all who have the power to beget life. He cannot beget life; he is impotent. He and those who followed him were cast out and forfeited the right to a mortal body. His angels even begged to inhabit the bodies of swine (see Matt. 8:31). And the revelations tell us that 'he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself' (2 Ne. 2:27)."
Prayer
We can resist temptation through mighty prayer.
Alma 34
18. Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
23. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
In a rebuking revelation to Joseph Smith, Jr., the Lord gave the following counsel which is applicable here:
"Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work."
-Doctrine & Covenants 10:5
We have weaknesses to be humble, and we're capable of overcoming the temptations which beset us in our daily lives. The Apostle Paul stated to the saints in Corinth:
"There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
-1 Corinthians 10:13
The Lord has given to us this counsel:
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Comments
Post a Comment