I. Eph 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith"

A. "Above all": Def: give thyself wholly to
    1. Our faith activates & empowers our spiritual weapons & spiritual armor
B. "Taking the shield of faith" : "Taking" is not passive, it is active, it requires a step of faith
C. In ancient times, in the midst of the battle the enemy would rain down arrows upon advancing armies: to put fear in the hearts of the enemy soldiers & to wound & to kill
    1. Roman soldiers would line up shoulder to shoulder, placing their shields over their heads to protect themselves from the onslaught of arrows. They would also line up shoulder to shoulder & hold their shields in front of them and advance on the battle field
D. The Roman Shield Paul describes in Ephesians was:
    1. Five foot high and three foot wide, covering the entire body of the soldier
    2. Constructed of a wood frame
    3. With seven layers of tough leather from the skin of a bull nailed to it making it 5 inches thick
    4. Soldiers would dip their shield in water so it not only stopped arrows but quenched fiery Arrows

II. Eph. 6:16 "Shield"; Greek word: THUREOS Def: Door

A. Jn 10 7 "Then said Jesus...I am the door" & vs 9 "I am the door"     1. The Shield is actually a type & shadow of Jesus
B. The Wooden frame of the shield: type of the wooden Cross of Jesus
    1. Leather skin of the bull that covered the wooden frame is a type of the animal sacrifice required for a sin offering which was a bull or a calf in the Old Testament: Ex 29:36
        a. Which was a prophetic gesture of Jesus sacrifice for our sins on the Cross
    2. They nailed the leather hide to the wooden frame work a type of Jesus nailed to Calvary’s Cross: Matt 27:35 "They crucified Him."
    3. The shield had seven layers. Seven is the number for perfection in scriptures
        a. Jesus the Perfect Sacrifice: 2 Cor 5:21 "made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin"
    4. The shield was five inches thick: Jesus has given Five Fold Ministry Gifts to the church, Especially for the times of battle & to provide a spiritual covering Eph 4:8 & 11
    5. As the Roman soldiers dipped their shield in water to quench the fiery arrows
        a. Our Shield of faith will extinguish the fiery darts of the enemy (Eph 6:16) as we:
            (1) Dip our faith in the water of the word:
                First: be cleansed spiritually Eph 5:26
                Secondly: causing faith to come into our heart (Rom 10:17)
                Thirdly: receive a Fresh Baptism in the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:5)
C. Every fiery dart the devil intends for us: Jesus our shield has come to take upon Himself:
    1. Jesus took our sin: Isa 53:6
    2. Jesus took our infirmity: Isa 53:3-4 & 1 Pet 2:24
    3. Jesus took our poverty: 2 Cor 8:9
    4. Jesus took our curse; Gal 3:13-14
        a. When Jesus died on Calvary’s Cross, He interposed Himself between us & the enemy