10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:10-18
The next piece of armour is the helmet of salvation. Once again the imagery here is important. A helmet guards the head and protects the eyes. This part of the Christian armour therefore, is obviously something for the mind and the thoughts, and the meaning, in brief, appears to be something like this: a mind constantly preoccupied with the thoughts of our great salvation is kept safe from the onslaughts of the enemy. This is the thesis presented by the phrase before us. We could collate an interesting series of Scriptural verses in this connection, as for example, Isaiah 26:3, 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee'; 1 Peter 1:13, 'Gird up the loins of your mind'; Philippians 4:7 if, 'the peace of God ... shall keep your hearts and minds think on these things ... and the God of peace will be with you'. And, as Paul goes on to say in the following verse, 'Whatsoever things are lovely and of good report, think on these things'. Well might we sing
With salvation's walls surrounded
Thou mayest smile at all thy foes.
One might well wonder whether the experience that Paul relates in 2 Corinthians 1:8ff was an attack of this nature which required the protection of the helmet of salvation when he was pressed out of measure and above strength, despairing even of life, at the hands of Satan as a destroyer. One recalls a strange and terrible experience through which a missionary passed in which he felt pressures so great upon his mind that he really began to feel, doctor as he was, that he was going insane. It was only after he had passed through it that he recognised that it was a demonic power attacking his mind. It may be that when Paul said in 2 Corinthians 7:5, 'Our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears', he was similarly conscious of the destroyer at work. But there are other areas in which the New Testament speaks of the devil as having an influence on the mind and we shall consider these in tomorrow's Note.