Over the past few weeks, we have been looking at the armor worn by a Roman soldier. We have looked in great detail at the helmet, the body armor, the belt, the shoes, and the shield. We have compared the helmet to the knowledge of our salvation. The body armor to the righteousness given to us by God. The belt to the truth of God’s word. The shoes to the peace found in God and the peace of God. The shield to our faith, which completely covers us. Today we will look at two offensive weapons that are at out disposal.
Ephesians 6:17 “Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The sword that Paul was observing was about 19 inches long. Both sides of the sword were razor sharp. The tip of the sword turned upward. This allowed the soldier to thrust the sword into his enemies gut, slightly twist, and degut him as the soldier withdrew his sword. It was designed not only to kill but also to rip out an enemy’s insides. It was terrifying weapon of murder.
So Paul is telling the church that we have a weapon that is just that brutal against the spiritual forces of evil. Paul says it’s the Word of God. The Greek word used in this passage is rhema. It was a statement that was spoken clearly and spoken vividly. It was spoken in an understandable language. It was a statement that was unmistakable, unquestionable, and certain.
This word of God is the word that gets deep inside of us. It’s the scripture that gives us power. We have a promise about this word of God. John 14:26 “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
When Jesus left the disciples behind He did not give then a red-letter addition of the New Testament. He left them with his teachings and his statements. He knew it would be hard for them to recall everything that had been revealed to them. So God sent the Holy Spirit to reside inside of them spiritually. It would be him that would bring into remembrance all of the teachings and sayings of Jesus.
We have that same Holy Spirit within us. Everything we hear about God, Jesus, righteous living, obedience, and the list goes on is inside of us. Everything we’ve read or been taught is in our mind. And the Holy Spirit will bring those things to mind when we need them to fight a spiritual battle.
However, it goes back to partnership. If we have not read, studied, or meditated on God’s Word, then there is nothing to draw from.
The Roman sword would hang on the belt wrapped around his armor. It would be within immediate reach if attacked. The sword of the spirit is to hang on the belt of truth wrapped around us in our spiritual armor. It is vital for our protection. If the belt of truth is not firmly in place, there is a chance that we could lose our grip on sword of the spirit and drop it at the very moment we need it. This loosening of the belt occurs when we neglect spending time in God’s word.
This is two-edged sword that we speak of in the spiritual realm is different from a physical sword. To better understand this picture let’s read Revelation 1:16 “He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.”
This same description of Jesus is repeated in Revelation 2:12. In both scriptures there is a two-edged sword proceeding from his mouth. This sounds like a strange sight unless we understand that the two-edged sword is the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And in recognizing that we also can understand the partnership aspect that we have with God.
God sharpened one side of the sword when the word proceeded from his mouth. When God first spoke his word and inspired biblical writers to record it, the sword was a one-edged sword. It was a mighty sword but not designed for spiritual warfare. It became a two-edged sword when it proceeded from the mouth of Jesus.
Let’s talk about Jesus, the man. He was born as we were. He was a human as we are. He did not arrive on this earth with full knowledge. He had to learn to walk, to talk, to be pottied trained. He did not have instant knowledge of the scripture. The Bible tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom. He became a rabbi, which meant He would have memorized the entire Pentateuch, the first five chapters of the Old Testament.
After He was declared to be the Son of God we find him in a spiritual sword fight with Satan.
Matthew 4:1-3 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.
During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
Let’s look at his answer.
Matthew 4:4 “But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, “People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” ’ ”
Jesus had within him the written word of God. It was a one-sided sword that had been placed within him in times of spiritual battle. When He spoke that word at his enemy, it became a double-edged sword.
Satan countered with scripture.
Matthew 4:5-6 “Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
But Satan’s sword was only one-sided because the word was not alive in him. Jesus hit him with his tow-edged sword because it was the living word coming from his mouth. Matthew 4:7 “Jesus responded, ‘The Scriptures also say, “You must not test the Lord your God.”’”
Satan had taken a couple of blows but he wasn’t finished yet.
Matthew 4:8-9 “Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ‘I will give it all to you,’ he said, ‘if you will kneel down and worship me.’”
Jesus took a final swing of his two-edged sword and dispatched of Satan. Matthew 4:10“‘Get out of here, Satan,’ Jesus told him. ‘For the Scriptures say, “You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”’”
That is how we are to do spiritual battle. When we ingest the word of God and then speak the word of God, it becomes a mighty two-edged sword.
The writer of Hebrews drew a comparison between the Roman’s sword and God’s Word. Hebrews 4:12 “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.”
The writer of Hebrews states that God’s word is alive, powerful, and more deadly then the sword of the Roman soldier. How can it be alive? It comes alive by faith. Jesus knew that his heavenly Father would care for him. It comes alive by obedience. Jesus would not consider the offers of Satan because he would have been in disobedience to his heavenly Father.
It is powerful because it comes from the one who spoke the worlds in existence. God created the entire universe and all that is in it by simply speaking it. That power still exists in his word in spiritual battles.
It is deadly to our spiritual enemies. When we speak God’s word against our spiritual foes, we thrust our two-edged sword into their being and disembowel them. We make our spiritual enemies very ineffective.
Our next weapon is found in Ephesians 6:18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
This weapon is not actually named in Paul’s description. We do know two things for fact. That along with the entire armor that covered the soldier from head to toe, and the shield that likewise covered them, and the sword for hand-to-hand combat, they also had a spear-like lance. These lances were about six feet long. They were made of solid iron. They came with assorted heads to do maximum danger. There purpose was to strike the enemy before they engaged in close quarter combat.
Paul realizes the importance of preemptive strikes against the spiritual forces of darkness. And the way we utilize the preemptive strikes is through prayer.
Paul instructs us to pray at all times, every occasion, persistently. Prayer is not just for dinnertime or bedtime but also for all the time. We are to be constantly launching lances of prayers for our families, each other, and ourselves. Our spirit should be so in tuned with God that it is in constant communication with The Holy Spirit even when our mind isn’t.
As stated already, the lances of the Roman soldiers came with different types of spearheads. So are there different types of spearheads for our spiritual lances.
Prayer of Consecration
1 Samuel 1:11 “And she made this vow: ‘O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.’”
This is the story of Hannah who was barren. This was considered a curse. So she made a vow to God that if He would give her a son then she would give him to the temple priest to raise in the priesthood once he became a toddler. God granted her request and she kept her vow.
If you pray a prayer of consecration, be ready to uphold your vow. This type of prayer indicates that you are willing to totally surrender your life to God’s will. It means that you are turning from your fleshly desires and surrendering to God’s call on your finances, possessions, and time. Your benefit will be seeing God birthing new life within you.
If you launch that spear at the enemy with no power behind it due to your lack of willingness to surrender, it will be of no effect. God will not honor this type of prayer if He knows you will not keep your vow. If you cannot keep your vow, then do not offer up a consecrated prayer.
Prayer of Petition.
Hebrews 5:7 “While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God.”
We see clearly here the humanity of Jesus. He was very aware of his weaknesses as a human. He constantly cried out to God for support and strength. And because of his deep respect for God, He was heard.
This type of prayer reflects your dependence on God. It is knowing that God, and He alone, is able to provide for your need.
In order for this spear to be effective, you must have deep respect for God. That means living a life pleasing in his sight. When you respect someone, your desire is to be obedient to their requests. If you have no respect for God, then launching these spears at the enemy will be of no effect. You must respect God by your actions for him to act upon your requests.
Prayer of Authority
John 15:7 “But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!”
The word for “ask” in Greek meant demand. This verse says you can make demands on God if you meet certain criteria. First, you must be a follower of Jesus, constantly, 24/7. You must strive to do everything within your power to reflect Jesus in your life. Secondly, God’s word must be the only guidelines you follow in your daily life. You cannot compromise his word or refuse to obey it. Not just partially but totally. Then God says you can demand anything and you will have it.
That is quite a statement. But God knows that if you meet these two criteria then you will not demand anything contrary to his desires for you. This is the only way that this spear will be effective against the enemy.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Thankfulness is not built on circumstances. It is built on relationship. If the only time you are thankful is when things are going well, you have missed the point of being thankful. You belong to Jesus. That is the bases of your thankfulness. There will be problems and heartaches in this world. If that is your concentration then you are missing God’s will for your life.
He gave his Son and in return He expects our thankfulness. If you are only thankful for the pleasantries in life then your spear has become of no effect against the enemy.
Prayer of Supplication
1 Timothy 2:1 “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”
This is where we pray for each other. We are to pray for all people. That would include our friends, families, neighbors, co-workers, and our enemies. Ask God to help them. If you know their needs be specific. Ask God how you can be used to meet those needs. And thank God that they have come into your life to challenge you and make you grow.
Prayer of Intercession.
Romans 8:26 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”
This is the most powerful prayer we have against Satan. It’s when we realize that we are not as strong as we thought we were. It’s when we face the fact that we are weak. It’s when we realize that our prayer life is suffering and we are ineffective in those areas that were just listed. It is then we can humble ourselves before God and be still. It is then we allow the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf. It is then we can become powerful with our lances and fend off the army of enemies advancing toward us. It is then, in our weakness, that we find our strength.
Putting on the full armor of God and being equipped with the two weapons of offense will guarantee us victory in spiritual warfare.
