The Sword of the Spirit

The sword of the spirit

            The Roman soldier’s occupation required a sword.  This sword served as a powerful, offensive weapon against anyone who rose up against him.  It remained as one of the most valuable pieces of the Roman soldier’s offensive armor.  He used it in battle against his opponent.  He could also use it to nourish his body through killing a wild animal for food.

            The believer’s sword is much like that of the Roman soldier’s sword.  It serves as an offensive weapon against the enemy.  Scripture defines what the believer’s sword is.  Ephesians 6:17 informs the believer that their sword is “the word of God.”  Christ tested the sword Himself.

            Just as Christ tested the previous pieces of the believer’s armor, He also tested the sword as well. Christ verified Hebrews 4:12, which states, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  In Matthew chapter four, Christ battled the devil and used the Word of God as His defense.  The devil attacked Christ with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, and each time Christ engaged him using the Scriptures.  If Christ engaged the devil with Scripture, why should the believer engage him with anything else?  After all, every time that Christ used Scripture on the devil, the devil lost the battle.  The believer’s main weapon of offence is the Word of God.  The Word of God is so powerful that the wiles of the enemy cannot contend with it.  Not only is the Word powerful, but it is alive.

            In Hebrews 4:12, the Greek word for “quick” is “zao.”  “Zao” means “alive.”  The Word of God is so powerful that it is alive.  The Word of God is alive through the Son of God.  Christ is the living Word.  He fights and protects His Church.  Christ, the living Word, is bound by the written Word, which is the Scriptures.[1]  If God informed the reader of a promise through the Scriptures, than God must honor His Word.[2]

            The Word of God comes in two forms as discussed in a previous chapter.  The Word of God comes in a written form (logos) and a living form (rhema).  The written word exists as the Scriptures.  God gave the Scriptures to the Church as a weapon against the enemy.  That is why God commanded the church to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”[3]  Christ also commanded the believer to learn the Word.[4]    The believer should learn the Word of God because it is powerful.  Verses such as John 14:13, which states, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  The believer possesses power through the name of Jesus.  And Matthew 16:19 that state, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Through knowing the Scriptures, the believer realizes that they can bind and loose things through Christ, Who is the Living Word.  However, knowing is only half of the believer’s responsibility.

            The believer must know the Word of God for themselves but they must also know how to use the Word of God.  That is the difference between the belt of truth and the sword of the Spirit.  The belt of truth consists of the believer knowing what they believe but the sword of the Spirit is the believer using the information that he or she already possesses.

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[1] Matthew 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

[2] Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

[3] II Timothy 2:15

[4]  Matthew 24:32 “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:”

Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”