The Armor of God: Knowledge unto Salvation and the Word of God
"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"
-Ephesians 6:17
Helmet
When we reflect upon the use of a helmet in Paul's analogy, the purpose of this piece of armor is to protect the soldier from receiving any injury to the head. It's the same concept when it comes to sports, such as baseball or American football: the athletes wear them to protect them from head injury.
In a metaphorical sense, however, the idea of the helmet is to protect the mind from injury. While addressing spiritual matters, I believe it is appropriate to speak about mental health as well, especially mental abuse. Mental abuse causes injury which can't be easily seen by an observer, but the signs are there. Depression and anxiety disorders are serious matters which stem from abusive patterns to the one who's been injured.
In addressing the spiritual matter on the symbolism of the helmet, the following comes to mind:
"Let thy bowels ... be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven."
-Doctrine & Covenants 121:45, emphasis added
Salvation
With salvation represented as a helmet, it can be an allusion to study and reading of the Scriptures. It's to have a knowledge of sacred things. Knowledge is a Christlike attribute which the Apostle Peter had recorded that one should have.
2 Peter 1
5. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7. And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus taught on two separate occasions to study the Scriptures, and to live His doctrine:
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
-John 5:39
"If any man will do his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."
-John 7:17
What the Savior really means in John 7:17 was that those who know His doctrine are obligated to live in obedience to His commandments.
From the expressed writings of the prophet Mormon, who gave the following testimony:"I am Mormon, and a pure descendent of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, (and no one knew it save it were himself and those whom he brought out of the that land) and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls."
-3 Nephi 5:20
Sword of the Spirit
"And whatsoever they [the prophets and apostles] shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."
-D&C 68:4
This recalls to what was written by the prophet Amos, as found in the Old Testament:
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, until he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."
-Amos 3:7, with the Joseph Smith Translation
It ought to be of interest that the Apostle Paul used the image of the sword to represent the word of God. The sword is a soldiers tool, and an offensive weapon. It's purpose is to cut or divide the physical body when the soldier is engaged in combat.
The Apostle John the Beloved, also used the same metaphor. He saw in vision, the Risen Lord in His divine majesty, and recorded the following:
Revelation 1
13. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of [Man], clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps [or chest] with a golden girdle.
14. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15. And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
The same vernacular can be found again in the epistle to the Hebrews:
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of body and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
-Hebrews 4:12, with the Joseph Smith Translation
Alma, a prophet from the Book of Mormon, went about preaching the gospel among his people, he did so because he knew it was more effective than the sword.
"And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just - yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them - therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God."
-Alma 31:5
The Word of God
1 Nephi 11
24. And ... he [the angel] said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.
25. And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters*, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.
In restored knowledge, which was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, we find that our Heavenly Father addressed Moses in this way:
"And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth."
-Moses 1:32
The late Russell M. Nelson, the 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gave the following statement at a Brigham Young University Devotional:
"Under the direction of the Father, Jesus bore the responsibility of Creator. His title was the Word—spelled with a capital W. In the Greek language of the New Testament, that Word was Logos, or “Divine Expression.” It was another name for the Master. That terminology may seem strange, but it is so reasonable. We use words to convey our expression to others. So Jesus was the “Word” or “Expression” of his Father to the world. The gospel of John begins with this important proclamation:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
"The same was in the beginning with God.
"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. [John 1:1–3; see also D&C 93:21]"
An interesting aspect with the scriptures is the play on words which are often used to convey the message of the Gospel that we as mortals are offered as an invitation to believe in and rely on the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
In closing, here is an invitation from Nephi to come unto Christ through His words:
"Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore ... feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."
Comments
Post a Comment