The Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17)
If this is the case, why do we often lose spiritual battles? After studying this text in Ephesians 6 a little deeper, I hope we all know why. Sometimes, we don't have our armor on. We haven't wrapped truth around us tightly. We haven't put on the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, or the helmet of salvation. Of course, Satan is winning when we fight him naked and exposed. Our goal is to grow stronger in all of these areas so that our armor is strengthened to the point where nothing can break through.
Tonight, we will study the last piece of armor. But this last item is not just a piece of defensive armor. It is also a weapon.
The Sword of The Spirit
The sword used to be the most common weapon for battle. It was both used to defend and attack. Going out into battle without a sword would be useless. Those who are in Christ have the Sword of the Spirit. This means that the sword we wield is given to us by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
Notice that God doesn't want us to fashion our own swords. In Matthew, we just studied about Jesus telling Peter to put his sword away. If he takes up his sword, he will perish by the sword of his enemy. By saying the Sword of the Spirit, he tells us that the Sword we wield is a spiritual sword. It's not a word we use to force people into believing what is true. It is a sword of truth and wisdom from the word of God. We all have one readily available because God has seen fit to provide us with a Bible of our very own. They didn't have that, but we do.
We might roll our eyes, thinking that words cannot defeat anything. What we need is something powerful and able to blow people up. Remember who we are fighting.
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV) --- 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
This is not a physical sword because this is not a physical battle. This sword does not defeat physical enemies in the same way that a physical sword would. It will defeat physical enemies by speaking the truth in love. Primarily, this sword is used to dominate the spiritual forces of wickedness by destroying their lies and deceptions. This is the more defensive work of the Spirit's sword. When God reveals his wisdom, power, love, and forgiveness to us, he overpowers those spiritual forces who would defy him. They cannot stand against him. So it is up to us to choose the word of God as our weapon. His word can cut down all who are stubborn and rebellious.
Hebrews 4:12--13 (ESV) --- 12 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. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Those who think the Bible is old and outdated haven't studied it. They have no clue how much help it could provide them and how powerful it is.
The Perfect Example
If we want to see this on display, we can look at Jesus in the wilderness. He has a Bible verse for every temptation. Satan comes to him on multiple occasions trying to get Jesus to stumble in weakness, but do you remember how Jesus responded?
Satan tells Jesus, who has been fasting for 40 days and nights, "If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread."
Matthew 4:4 (ESV) --- 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.’ ”
Satan comes at Jesus again. This time he takes him to the pinnacle of the holy city, Jerusalem, and tells him to throw himself down to prove that he is the Christ. On this occasion, Satan misuses the Old Testament to say that God would protect you if he really loves you.
Matthew 4:7 (ESV) --- 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
The third time, Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth and offers them to Jesus if he will fall down and worship him.
Matthew 4:10--11 (ESV) --- 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.
What Can It Do For Us?
How does the word of God help us defeat Satan? Paul described the value of the word in his letter to Timothy.
2 Timothy 3:16--17 (ESV) --- 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Training In Righteousness
The word of God can make us complete. We can become what God wants us to be. If we think about it, the word of God gives us all of our armor. It gives us the truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, and salvation. The word cuts us and refines us. It makes us wise and enables us to make the best possible decisions. It trains us in righteousness. We need to learn how to use it appropriately.
Peter says, "His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." We have all that we need to become like God in the revelation of Jesus. His life trains us and helps us understand how to be righteous.
The temptations and trials of Satan will try to deceive us into calling good evil and evil good. The world trains us to live for the here and now, but the word shows us true righteousness.
Equipping For Every Good Work
The text in 2 Timothy tells us that the goal is not only to be complete through the word. It equips us for every good work. We take up the sword to destroy the temptations and trials we face. But we use the sword to free those enslaved by darkness. It is the equipment we need to shine a light on their lives. That means that if we know God's word, we know the answers to everyone's most profound problems. We can really help people in a way that no one else can by releasing them from the power of Satan.
We live in a society that doesn't ask for help. Everyone around us wants to act like everything is as it should be, but it isn't. They don't know that the word of God can give them hope, joy, and peace. It's our responsibility to learn the word and be trained to share it with others. That seems like a scary thing to do, but it's not that scary. It's actually great news. We all will face a situation where someone needs to find peace and joy. We can help them. Once the word helps us, we learn how to help others.
Are We Trained?
Once we see how the word of God is our sword and understand how we can use it for good, we need to think about knowing it and using it.
How much good would a sword do you if I handed you one right now? It probably wouldn't do any good for you if you weren't trained in sword fighting beyond pretending with sticks as a child. In the same way, we must learn to use the word appropriately. It is dangerous for us to pick it up and start flailing it around. The word of God has caused much pain and suffering when misused or abused. We can hurt ourselves and those around us. That's the kind of thing our enemy wants us to do, so we must be careful and become trained.
Why Aren't We Trained?
But why aren't we trained? How many people go to church most of their lives and live ungodly lives? How many of them mishandle the word of God, saying, "Judge not, that you be not judged" without understanding that they need other people's judgments. People use the word without being trained by the word themselves. Their doctrines are a mixture of scripture and pop culture. We should use scripture to overcome sin, not justify it. Instead, we must submit to the truths we find in scripture.
The word comes with many warning labels, but we need to read them and believe them. If I'm not trained in the word, is it because I think I know more than I do? Have I reached a knowledge level that convinces me that I know "enough?"
James 2:14--17 (ESV) --- 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
How Do We Get Trained?
Now, let's talk about some practical ideas for becoming skilled in using scriptures.
Study
We had a series of classes on Enjoying Bible Study based on Irving Jensen's methods. His stuff is the best I have found. I plan to have more studies like that in the future. One of the most basic ideas in that study was that we need to spend time studying from a big picture point of view and a more detailed point of view. The combination of these two study methods will help us interpret scriptures skillfully.
Why Don't We Study? Now is when we need to be honest about our study of scriptures. If studying the Bible is so vital for us to be trained in righteousness, why aren't we spending the time necessary to study it? There are many excuses I could give: "I'm too distracted with other more entertaining things. It's too hard and takes too long to understand. What's the point if I'm going to be wrong anyway. No one else is studying it. I just don't care to know. I don't plan to teach anyone." If we love God and love each other, these reasons don't hold any real value. God has spoken to us through his son, so we must pay much closer attention to what he has said.
Practice Speaking It
Also, to be trained in the word, we must study it (of course) and practice using it. We have to be willing to talk to other people about what we learn to expose and strengthen our weaknesses. But the best way to get trained is by coming to Bible class and speaking up. Bible class is our training time. It is the perfect opportunity to verbalize our understanding with patient, like-minded people. We can help one another if we speak up in class.
Why don't we speak? Is there a fear inside of us that we might be wrong? Someone might say something, and I might say, "That's not right," or you might say, "I disagree with that." That's a good thing. Everyone gets to learn from a common misunderstanding when that happens. Our Bible classes are as good as our comments, and our comments are as good as our study habits.
Love It
Finally, to be trained in the word, we must have the right motivation. We should study to know God because we love him and want to do his will. This is totally different than studying a rule book. If we open up the Bible to find all the things God wants us to do, we will not understand its message. Understanding the Bible requires us to look at this book differently than any other book we pick up. This is God's communication to us through men. He wrote all of this down to understand him and find hope in his promises.
Psalm 19:7--11 (ESV) --- 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
The word has to become sweeter than honey for me to be trained by it and become skilled in it.
Conclusion
One day, Satan will attack you and cause you tremendous suffering. He seeks to destroy you. Without knowing the word, Satan will defeat us in the wilderness. Knowing the word, we will defeat him and send him running. When we win that fight, all those around us will be strengthened. Those lost might find Christ, and we will grow stronger than ever.
Paul wants us to put on all the armor of God and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. This sword allows us to destroy Satan and diminish his power over us. The more skilled we become with the word of God, the more power it can have in our lives. We can be ready to face anything with excellent knowledge of God's word, but we need to learn more than just the facts. We need to dig deeper. We need to understand how the facts apply to our lives, and we need to let the truth shape us into image-bearers of God. When we do that, we will find a life worth living, and we will look forward to the hope of eternal life like never before.