A Spiritual Sword for a Spiritual Battle

A Spiritual Sword for a Spiritual Battle

Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

   One by one, Paul has compared the pieces of a Roman soldier’s armor to the spiritual truths we learn from the Word of God.  These are the Christian principles we learn to live by.
   -We learn truth to hang our lives on and to gather everything else in.
   -God’s righteousness protects our heart from damage.
   -The Preparation of the Gospel gives us a firm foundation to stand on.
   -Faith is like a large shield turning back the enemy’s attacks.
   -Salvation keeps our minds working clearly and free from confusion.
   Now we come to the offensive weapon in our armory.  The Roman soldier’s gladius, or short sword, was a formidable weapon in the hands of a well-trained soldier.  It was shorter than most swords, but it was lighter in weight while still being thicker than other swords.  It was also double-edged and had a sharp point.  It was strong enough to break another sword and being double-edged it was as dangerous on the return swing as on the first swing.  Being pointed it was dangerous in close quarters fighting when a swing was not possible and the soldier could only stab.  Of all the weapons at the Roman army’s command, the gladius was the most common and most used of them all.
   Comparing the Word of God to a sharp, two-edged sword is both simple and powerful to us.  We have a weapon to use against the enemy that is effective when used right.  The Bible will not be effective sitting on the coffee table covered by dust.  It will not be effective if we regard it as a good luck charm, a silver bullet of a magic cure-all.  To effectively use this sword, we must first remember and believe that it is the Word of God, as Paul writes in this verse, “which is the word of God."  If we do not have the confidence to believe that the Bible is the Word of God, you will never be able to grow in Christ and will never be able to carry it into battle.
   When we gain confidence in the Bible as God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will make the Scriptures alive to us in ways we never knew they could be.  He will write them on our hearts and they will become part of our lives and will always be with us.
   Paul, when speaking at Antioch in the book of Acts, (chapter 13,) said that David was a man after Gods own heart.  When we look at David’s life, we see that he loved God’s Word and also said he took delight in it.  He hid it in his heart.  He said that God’s Word would be a light to us and would guide us.  Do you love God’s Word?  Do you take delight in reading and meditating on it?
   I truly believe that one of the biggest obstacles to our growing in Christ is that we look at studying His Word as something tedious that we must endure.  We look at the Bible as boring and wordy and old-fashioned.  Memorization is practically unheard of and is rarely encouraged from the pulpit. Our Sunday school met as a group for 15 minutes before class time and the superintendent would call on students to recite scriptures we had memorized.  She would even call on, (GASP!)  the adults, (Surely not!) who would fidget like little kids and stumble through their memory verse much to the delight of the younger kids.  Can you imagine that happening in church today?  People would faint from shock if the Pastor called on people at random to recite memorized scriptures.    
   Oh, woe to us.  We live in padded, secure world where no churches challenge us; they protect us and sooth our nerves and tell us what great men and women of God we’ve become.  When in reality we’ve become like the church of the Laodiceans who thought they were rich and well-off but whom Christ said were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.
   Think of that Roman soldier in training, practicing sword thrusts and moves and positions.  He practices until he can use his sword like an extension of his arm  and develops a great fighter’s instinct.  At the time of battle he will instantly recall which thrust, which position suits the exact moment.  He will be able to use his sword with precise accuracy without a second thought because he is so familiar with using it.
   Most Christians today are so ignorant of the Bible and what it says that when they are confronted by a crisis in life they think they can blow the dust off it and open it and the perfect answer will magically appear to them.  This will not happen.  To properly be prepared for those spiritual battles in our lives we must become familiar with the Bible and practice with it until it becomes a natural extension of our lives.
   Effectively using the sword of the Word takes practice. The best example of this was Jesus combating the temptation of Satan in the wilderness.  He quoted scripture.  Paul wrote to Timothy, “Study to show yourself approved of God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed.”  (My paraphrase.)   Paul could use the sword of the Spirit at whatever confronted him because he had worked with it and knew it in his heart.  In the same way, our study and interest in the word of God prepares us to use its truth and its principles at the moment of whatever crisis confronts us.  We can use the Bible to answer every lie that comes from the world, the flesh, and the enemy with the truth from the Scriptures.  That is the time when the Bible will truly be the Sword of the Spirit in our hands.
Ephesians 6: 13& 14a
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.
Stand therefore


Stephen Cram                            April 22, 2012                         Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8