The bulk of the pieces of the spiritual armour of God are defensive in nature. The breastplate, helmet and shield are meant to protect from enemy assaults and attacks. There is one piece that is defensive but is also offensive. It is a weapon – the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

1 – The Explanation of the Sword of the Spirit

The sword was an essential part of the armour of an ancient soldier. His other weapons were the bow, the spear, or the battle-axe. But, without a sword, no soldier would have regarded himself as well armed. The ancient sword was short, and usually two-edged, and resembled very much a dagger. It was deadly in hand-to-hand close combat.

The “word of God” mentioned here is translated from the word “rhema” which refers to just a specific portion of the Scriptures pertaining to a specific subject or applicable to a specific situation. It is a particular passage that is relevant to the particular need at hand. There are many swords. Each sword is a saying of God found in the Bible. The Bible is the armoury and the sayings the weapons within it.

2 – The Emphasis of the Sword of the Spirit

See Hebrews 4:12-13. The power of the sayings in the Bible is supernatural. It is able to do what a material sword cannot do. One is used in a physical battle, the other in a spiritual battle. One pierces the body and the other pierces the soul. One gets duller the more you use it and the other gets sharper the more you use it. One requires the hand of a soldier and the other requires no human hand. One causes injury or death and the other causes life.

3 – The Example of the Sword of the Spirit

Jesus used the sword of the spirit to defeat evil. He used it against Satan and the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Satan tried to use the scriptures against Jesus but he used them deceitfully. He did not finish the verse he used; Satan will try to make God appear less good and harsher in judgment. He accuses us before God. Satan likes to think that the end justifies the means. He will take short cuts that leave the job undone! He tries to get Jesus to abandon the path to the cross.

Satan tried to tempt Jesus three times to not go to the cross. Jesus uses the sword of God to defeat Satan 3-0! The Devil has no choice but to leave Him alone. The angels ministered to Jesus. This is how you use the sword of the spirit against evil.

4 – The Effect of the Sword of the Spirit

The effect of the sword of the spirit upon Christians and the world is important to understand.

• This explains the dynamics of preaching – People are saved by the foolishness of preaching. See 1 Corinthians 1:21. It is the not foolish preaching! Swords are being thrown at unbelievers when they come to hear the gospel being preached. It will hit and cut your heart unless you get out! The sword of the spirit can change a person’s life forever in a moment. They go from death to life by the sword. God’s Word never returns back to him empty. See Isaiah 55:11. No one has a good excuse to reject the gospel.
• This encourages the systematic reading of the Bible – Jesus used these swords in the Bible. All three of His swords against the Devil were from the book of Deuteronomy. Not the book that most Christians will have read deeply! Jesus could have quoted from any of the other 38 books in the Old Testament. We might have expected Psalms, Proverbs or Isaiah. You never know what saying will be needed for a given situation. We must study all the books of the Bible. This is where a reading plan is handy.
• This exhorts the diligence of memorising key passages of the Bible – You often don’t have the time or luxury to open your Bible. Jesus did not look up a concordance! It is difficult to learn if you are not running! If you are running the race then the Bible will be of interest to you. If you are not running the race then you lose interest in the Bible. We go empty and finish up being full – like a bee on a flower. We need to keep running so that we keep digging.

Categories: Ephesians