¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

with which you will be able to quench

The shield will intercept fiery darts. These darts are temptations that seduce the Christian. The shield of faith protects the believer from yielding to temptation and spiritual defeat.

all the fiery darts

“Fiery darts” in the Roman world were arrows tipped with pitch set on fire just before they were hurled toward the enemy. There was a double injury with this weapon—piercing the body and setting it on fire. To be hit with this weapon was a wretched experience.

As the Roman shield defended against fiery arrows, swords, and spears, faith protects us from anything the devil may hurl at us. He cannot undermine our faith by his subtleties if we trust God and His Word. Faith is a shield against all satanic attacks against us.

of the wicked [evil] one.

The “wicked one” or evil one is the devil. He schemes against the believer for evil purposes. The believer’s protection against attacks from Satan is faith.

PRINCIPLE:

The Christian’s faith can extinguish Satan’s assault on our persons.

APPLICATION:

The shield of faith is appropriation of truth to experience. It is the constant utilization of God’s extant promises and principles of the Word in our lives. Faith is the application of truth to experience.

Our faith will extinguish Satan’s flaming missiles of doubt in God’s Word or his temptation to sin (Ps 18:30; 1 Jn 5:4). Taking the shield of faith is the believer’s appropriation of God’s promises for daily living.