“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so that you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:13-17The first five pieces of armor are defensive. The Sword of The Spirit is our offensive weapon, which gets sharper and sharper as we use it. The sword is the Word! Hebrews 4:12 tells us about this:
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
God’s Word reveals who we are. It reveals truth. So doesn’t it make sense to use truth to counterattack lies? A material sword pierces flesh, and it wounds to hurt. The Word of God pierces the heart, but wounds to heal.
To be as precise as we can be with the sword, we have to get God’s Word deep down inside of us ~ so we will be ready (at a moments notice or no notice at all) to pull out the sword and fight our way towards victory. Maybe you find yourself in some situation where a certain scripture seems to jump off the page, and is exactly what you need to hear. Or maybe you’ll have a moment of temptation or doubt, and immediately a scripture comes to mind, and it’s the thing you need at that moment to win the battle. This is using the sword of the Spirit!
Study the Word, and let it take hold of you. Read daily and memorize the scriptures, so you will have plenty of swords to use in the battle.“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Joshua 1:8
Wow!!!
*Some words taken from the Spiritual Warfare Study Guide by David Jeremiah