Ephesians 6:13–18 (ESV)

13 Therefore take up the whole armor 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

We are examining each individual piece of armor, so that we can fight the battles that lie ahead and win. Thus far, we have examined the first four defensive weapons which have to do with living a life of truthfulness, righteousness, peace, and faith.

We then began to look at the offensive weapons. Last time, we talked about the helmet of salvation. Let me remind you that the helmet is designed to protect the head. Why? Because the head is where our thought processes are derived. So, in one sense, it is defensive. But, it is only defensive in that it protects our thinking, so we can be on the offense. 

Today, we look at…

6. The Sword of the Spirit.

“take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (verse 17)

While I am labeling the helmet of salvation and prayer as offensive weapons, many see the Sword of the Spirit as the only offensive weapon. Certainly, it is the most obvious weapon. However, many have a distorted view of what the sword looks like and how it is to be used. When we think of a soldier with his sword, most pictures present a large object two to three feet long. However, the Greek word for sword is a word for a smaller knife or dagger. The fact that Paul uses the word for a short rather than a long sword suggests hand-to-hand combat. When we battle “the evil one” it is an up close and personal event. It is a “take no prisoner” fight.

Of course, the sword here is symbolic of the Word of God. However, it is not referring to the whole of the Scriptures, but a specific passage in the Word that is designed to be applied to a specific situation.

As a smaller instrument, it has the ability to do surgical cuts into the hearts and minds of those who need it. As the writer of Hebrews explains, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

In the day that was written, there was no understanding that one could separate the joints from the marrow. What the writer was saying was that God’s Word can separate the inseparable. God’s Word is so sharp, it can separate the soul from the spirit of a person. There are times that a person does not know why they are acting or thinking the way they are.  Then God’s Word is applied to their soul and their spirit is shown the wrong of their ways.

The word of God is at once our weapon of defense against sin and our weapon of attack against the sins of the world.

When we think of the Word of God, we must see how God reveals His will through both the Living Word, Jesus Christ, and the written Word, the Bible.

Jeremiah reminds us of the power of God’s Word. “Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29)

There is a danger of misuse of this sword. The danger is that it is easy to think that there is power simply in quoting a Bible verse when we are in the battle, as if simply by quoting a verse we will overcome the tempter.  Be honest, have you ever been in a struggle and quoted a verse to remind you of what you should not do, yet you did the wrong thing anyway? For instance, were you ever worrying about a matter and you quoted a verse that said “Don’t worry about tomorrow…,” yet you could not quit worrying?

Why is that?

Let’s let Jesus explain by what He said to the Jewish leaders.

John 5:39–40 (ESV)

³⁹ You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

You see, the power is not in the Scriptures unless the Scriptures lead us to the true power source, which is Jesus. It is Jesus that empowers us. It is He through the Holy Spirit that empowers the Word. Notice, the sword belongs to the Spirit (“the sword of the Spirit”).

Tomorrow, we will let Jesus teach us by example how to use the sword of the Spirit against the devil.