Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
8 June 2014
Ephesians 6:17
THE BLADE OF THE SPIRIT
Intro: Today, we will consider the final piece of the “the whole armor of God.”
• Our enemy, “the devil,” does not want us to have anything that we have been given by God
• everything in His power/take away those blessings from us
• there/some things/devil can’t take away
• He will attempt to nullify/blessings/God he cannot steal!
Today, we will consider the final piece of that armor
• Blade Of The Spirit
• Told/Blade of the Spirit is “the Word of God.”
Let’s examine last piece armor and discover how “the Word of God” can empower us/enable us/overcome our enemy the devil.
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THE IDENTITY OF THE BLADE - two words used “sword” in/NT
• Rhomphaia - (hrom-fah´-yah)
• word speaks of a long, broad sword
• image that come to mind when we think of a sword
• Tend to picture a sword/being long, broad/double-edged. That is what this word refers to.
• used in hand to hand combat for slashing at ones enemy
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• Machaira - (makh’-ahee-rah)
• Refers/knife/short sword carried/Roman soldier
• six to eighteen inches
• hand to hand combat to stab the enemy
• typical strike would be in the abdominal area
• that day, abdominal wounds were nearly always fatal
• Sword/called “gladius” by the Romans.
Word Paul uses here in the second word
• He/thinking/short sword carried/every Roman foot soldier
• soldier’s principle weapon in hand to hand combat
• Always available and ready for use.
• kind of sword Peter used to cut off the ear of Malchus
• Servant of the high priest….
• Herod’s executioners used to martyr James, Acts 12:2.
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The sword Paul has in mind is not a physical sword.
• Paul identifies this “sword” as “the sword of the Spirit”
• Which is the word of God.
• “Sword” is a spiritual weapon used/believer in and out spiritual conflict with Satan.
• reminds us that the Bible is not a manmade book
• Bible is a spiritual book, came to us from Spirit of God.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:16–17.
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I would remind you today/Bible in your hand is no ordinary book.
It:
• Is the Word of God.
• Is inspired by God.
• is infallible, and it is inerrant
• can be trusted
• Can be believed
• The very words of God.
In its pages we find:
• The truth of Who God is.
• The truth of who we are.
• The very mind of God.
• The identity of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
• The way to be saved
• The source of all faith.
• Help for every battle we face
• Hope for every road we travel
• Peace for the times of turmoil
• Joy to sustain us in times of sorrow.
• Wise answers for all the questions of life.
• Guidance and direction for all the paths we walk.
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The Bible is a book to be read, believed, loved, shared, enjoyed, and trusted.
• It is the Word of God!
• We must saturate our lives in its truths
• Soak in the glories it contains.
• No other book like it in the world
• Bible alone is a spiritual book
• Bible alone is the Word of God.
So, when Paul speaks about the “sword of the Spirit,” he is referring to God’s Word.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BLADE
Just/short sword was essential to the work of the Roman soldier, the Word of God is essential to the Christian soldier.
• Word our text we need to look at for a moment
• Word “word” in v. 17, Greek word “rhema.”
• Word literally means “an utterance.”
Other places/New Testament/four Greek words are translated “word” in our English Bibles.
• Two of those words are used most often
• One is the word “logos”/other /word “rhema”.
• Let’s examine those words for a moment.
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Logos/word refers to something said
• Refers/thought behind the words
• often used to speak about the entirety of the Word of God
• “Logos” totality of the Word of God.
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Rhema/word refers to “an utterance.”
• When used/Word of God/doesn’t speak whole Word/God
• Speaks/smaller sections/individual words.
• When Paul uses the word “word” in v. 17
• Speaking of “rhema” in the word he uses
• not referring/whole Bible/individual “words”, if you will.
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Let me illustrate this truth
• Jesus/wilderness/faced Satan’s temptations, Matt. 4:1-11
• Jesus responded/every attack/devil by quoting Scripture
In Matt. 4:4, Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word comes from the mouth of God
• Paul uses the word “word” here/word “rhema.”
• Jesus says “every word of God,”
• Not referring/whole Bible, but/specific, individual sec/Bible.
• Think/Bible as a vast armory
• In/armory there/weapons of every size/description
• Those weapons/designed for specific types of battle.
You may have heard, “You don’t bring a gun to a knife fight.”
• That is the idea here.
• When times of temptation/Satanic attack come against you
• Impossible/impractical/try/throw/entire Bible/enemy
What you need/specific Word of God speaks/individual circumstance.
• That is what Jesus did.
• 3 times He/attacked/enemy
• 3 times stepped/armory/Word of God
• Select the very weapon He needed for each encounter.
Jesus didn’t try to repel the enemy’s attacks/whole Bible, He chose the precise weapons He needed for each attack.
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Matt. 4:3-4 - In response to this attack, Jesus chose Deut. 8:3, which says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”
Matt. 4:5-7 - Here, Jesus chose Deut. 6:16, “ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”
Matt. 4:8-11 - In this case, Jesus quoted Deut. 6:13, which says, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.”
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Jesus/so familiar/Word/God/He/able to select/proper “rhema” in each attack.
His wise use/“rhema” in/“logos” allowed Him to achieve victory over the devil.
• Notice Jesus did not rebuke Satan
• He used the Word of God as His sword.
• Three times Jesus was attacked
• Three times Jesus used the “rhema” repel/attack/devil.
• Each “rhema”, or verse the Lord quoted
• parried the devil’s thrust
• When/devil was faced/truth/Word of God
• he had to abandon his attack and flee.
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The lesson for us is clear, I think.
We need to be so familiar/armory, the Bible that we know where all the swords are placed.
• When/enemy attacks us
• We are able to repel his attacks with the Word of God.
• Enable us to stand against/assaults/enemy.
Take the battle to the enemy. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb. 4:12.
Jas. 4:7 When/Word of God/used against the devil, He will flee
• Word of God/preached/power/HS, it transforms lost sinners.
• It invades their darkness
• drags them into the light
• Enters/tomb of their dead condition/breaths life/their spirits.
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For the saints of God
• the living Word changes sadness into joy
• despair into hope, stagnation into growth
• immaturity into maturity
• Failure into success.
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The problem with many in the church today is they are not familiar with what God has said in His Word.
• When they are attacked by the enemy
• they resort to rebuking him, or pleading the blood
• Or some other useless tactics.
• If they knew the Word of God
• locations of the various weapons
• where they are located
• they would not be so helpless
• Nor would they be so often defeated.
The only way to know the Bible and learn where the various weapons are located is for the Christian to read the Bible and learn its contents.
• That means we have to pick it up, open its pages
• Learn what it has to teach us.
It is a guidebook for every road, a chart for every sea
• a medicine for every malady
• Balm for every wound.
• Rob us of our Bible and our sky has lost its sun
• We must learn its truths
• or we are helpless against our enemies.
• Bible is our source for happiness, peace, spiritual growth, and power for living.
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“As I looked out into the garden one day, I saw three things. First, I saw a butterfly.
• Beautiful…flutter to another flower/another
• second or two it would sit and it would move on
• touch as many lovely blossoms as it could
• but derived absolutely no benefit from it
Watched a little longer out my window came a botanist.
• Big notebook/big magnifying glass
• lean over look for a long time
• there for hours writing notes, closed them
• Tucked his magnifying glass in his pocket and walked away.
Third thing I noticed was a bee, just a little bee.
• Sit on a flower/sink down deep into/flower
• Extract all the nectar and pollen it could carry.
• It went in empty every time and came out full.”
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“Some Christians, like/butterfly
• Bible study to Bible study/sermon to sermon
• Gaining little more than a nice feeling/some good ideas.
Others, like the botanist
• Study Scripture carefully and take copious notes
• Gain much information but little truth.
Others, like the bee
• go to the Bible to be taught by God
• to grow in knowledge of Him.
• Also like the bee, they never go away empty.”
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If you have a Bible, you are blessed with a precious treasure. Cherish it. Read it. Learn it. Love it. Live it.
Do as the Psalmists said in Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.”
Maybe the Word of God has reminded you that you need to deepen your commitment to its truths.
• Come to Jesus.
Maybe you are in a spiritual battle and you need help to fight the enemy.
• Come to Jesus.
