The Sword of the Spirit
Ephesians 6:17b
…And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NLT)
What Does it Mean?
The sixth, and final, piece of the armour of God is the sword of the Spirit. There is something obviously different about this piece of armour, which sets it apart from all the other pieces of the armour of God. Whilst all the other pieces of armour are defensive, the sword is an offensive weapon. Again, the sword of the Spirit is symbolic of an aspect of the armour worn by a Roman soldier – in this case, the short-sword that the Roman soldier wore on his belt for close quarter fighting.
The sword of the Spirit, we are told in this verse, is the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 also compares the Word of God to a sword, because it is sharp and able to pierce the inner man just as the physical swords is able to pierce the body.
There are two important aspects to the sword of the Spirit. Firstly, Acts 2:37 tells us that we are cut to the heart when the Word of God convicts us of our sins, but the conviction of our sins is what leads us to repentance and on to freedom.
We may be temporarily wounded by the sharpness of the Word, but those wounds heal and give us life. Secondly, when used against satan, the sword of the Spirit deals a crippling blow to our enemy, hindering him in his attempts to defeat us. Remember that it was the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, that Jesus Himself used to defeat satan when He was being tempted in the wilderness.
The strength of the sword of the Spirit lies in how familiar we are with the Word of God, and how much we use it and apply it to our lives. Unlike a physical sword, it does not grow dull with use but gets ever sharper the more we use it and delve deeper into its riches.
Satan is capable of quoting from the Bible to try and confuse us and lead us astray, so it is important that we are well grounded in Scripture so that we can stand firm with the Word of God as our weapon, as Jesus did. The effectiveness of our sword is dependent on how much and how well we use the Word of God that has been given to us in the Bible.
Ponder-Points
How sharp is your sword? Think about how much Scripture you know really well. Ask yourself what steps you can take to sharpen your sword. Remember that, as The Message version says, “God’s Word is an indispensable weapon!”
Think back to the list you made on day one. How can you use the sword of the Spirit to defend yourself against satan’s attacks?
Are there any ways you can use the sword as an offensive weapon, cutting off the enemy’s means of attack?
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for the sword of the Spirit that you gave us in the form of your Word. We thank you that your Word is sharper than a double edged sword, and that when it convicts us of sin, it does so to give us life. Thank you, too, that your Word can deal a crippling blow to the enemy when he attacks. Father God, help us to grow deeper in our knowledge of you and your Word, so that our swords grow ever sharper day by day. Amen.
Conclusion
In this study, we’ve looked at the battle that we have to fight, as believers in Jesus Christ, against the devil, on a daily basis. Hopefully you will have been able to identify some of the tactics that the enemy uses to try and trip us up and win minor victories. But this study has also delved a little deeper into the way in which God has provided us with a suit of spiritual armour, much like the Roman soldier’s armour, that helps us to fight against the schemes of satan.
You may have identified weak areas in your spiritual armour, but don’t be discouraged by that. Knowing that the weaknesses are there gives you the opportunity to strengthen yourself in those areas. You might want to discuss your weak areas with a Christian friend who is a little more mature in their faith than you, and they will be able to help you to identify ways in which you can build up your spiritual armour to make it harder for the devil to attack.