EPHESIANS 6:17 – and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
THEME OF THE DAY: HOW SHARP IS YOUR SWORD? The most descriptive passage of scripture about spiritual warfare the Christian fights daily, and the armor to wear to do so victoriously is found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, chapter six, verses ten through eighteen. Pertaining to the armor, there are six specific pieces and verse eighteen, the exhortation to put them on in prayer.
The pierces of the armor are the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel boots, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Of the six, how many are offensive in nature? The answer is one. Do you know which one? It is the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. What this quickly tells us is that most of our spiritual warfare is defensive, to take a stand, not do irrational things like go after the devil or go on the offensive in any spiritual battle. Yet, God has provided for us the one necessary offensive weapon to defeat the devil – His Word under the guidance of its Author, the Spirit of God and called His Sword. What the Apostle Paul is not referring to is a medieval-type broad sword used for cutting. He is describing a dagger used for stabbing at close range. And all spiritual warfare is just that – close-range – because it is a battle for our hearts. Our foes, the devil, flesh, and world want to steal our affections away from Jesus so that is where they attack. We put on the armor to shield ourselves from the attacks of our foes and we use the Sword to quiet those attacks, even repel them.
Jonathan Edwards described this vital piece of armor with these words, ““It is the sword of the Spirit that pierces [Satan] and conquers him. It is that great and strong sword with which God punishes Leviathan, that crooked serpent. It is that sharp sword that proceeds out of the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, with which He smites his enemies. Every text is a dart to torment the old serpent. He has felt the stinging smart thousands of times. Therefore, he is engaged against the Bible and hates every word of it.”
The classic and ultimate example of using the Sword of the Spirit against the devil is Jesus in His wilderness temptation with the devil. Here is the account. Pay attention how Jesus defeats each attack by the evil one – Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him (Matthew 4:1-11).
Did we see what Jesus did? He quoted scripture, “It is written” three times – Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, 6:13. And the devil left Him. What about us? Are we able to do what Jesus did? Do we have enough of the Word of God written in our hearts and minds enabling us to do battle against the devil and win? If we don’t, defeat is certain. We cannot reason with the devil, argue with Him, or fight in the strength of ourselves. We need a sharp Sword to defeat him. So, how sharp are our swords?
PRAYER: “Father, may I learn how to use Your Word in the spiritual battles I daily must fight.”
QUOTE: “We must not only know our Bibles but use them to fight our spiritual foes. It is our only offensive weapon.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim