We are all in a spiritual war, every day, every hour, and every minute. We considered the enemies we fight, whether it be the devil, the world, or even ourselves. But the word tells us:
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Our fight is against the unseen forces in the spiritual realm. These forces can bring about our destruction, in both the physical realm as well as in the Spiritual realm. We are in a battle, not for land or for political ideology. We are in a battle for souls of men that have eternal effect. So we are told to:
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Today are considering the last two pieces of the armor for God. Next week we will look at prayer, upon which all these pieces of armor are dependent.
The list of our armor, that is provided by God, finishes out with "The helmet of Salvation and Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God."
Ephesians 6:17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Like a soldier, do you not think that we would need to be well acquainted and well trained on the armaments and weapons with which we fight this war?
2 Corinthians 10:3–4 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
I hope you have your Bibles open to Ephesians 6, look back at what we have covered.
Verse 14, we have already girded our loins with truth – we put on the very belt of truth which holds all the armor together. Also we have the breastplate of righteousness, for right living leaves no room for the enemy to get a foothold.
In verse 15, we have put on the shoes of the Gospel of peace. This Gospel of peace is for our own souls. We can have peace with God and we can experience the peace of God, regardless of the turmoil happening in the world around us. If we have peace in the depths of our soul, we can face anything the enemy sends our way.
Verse 16, we have the shield of faith. Faith here is not the saving faith we have in Jesus (that I will cover in just a moment), but a living faith, a trust in the promises and the power of God. Faith is a defensive weapon which protects us from Satan’s fiery darts. Faith is knowing that God has got this, He is on His throne, and nothing happens without His knowledge.
Now we come to:
Ephesians 6:17a And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION
Notice this is in all caps in the NASB. This means it is a quote from the Old Testament, like a lot of this imagery of the Armor of God, Paul borrows from the OT.
Isaiah 59:17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
But not only does Paul borrow from the OT, he also relates it to the Roman soldier of his day. Remember Paul was chained to a soldier while he was in prison, while he wrote this letter. The Roman helmet was made of either heavy leather, or of medal and it would often have cheek pieces. All this was to protect the head. For the Christian, the mind, the heart and soul of the believer is protected. Because of our salvation, we possess the peace of God.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Possessing the salvation that only Christ can give, the Christian is not discourage. Salvation is a present reality and a future hope.
1 Thessalonians 5:8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.
We can look back and know our sins are forgiven. But we also realize the continued forgiveness of sin as we look forward. It gives us strength to move ahead. We know the ultimate victory has already been won and that even in dire circumstances, the Christian is preserved from retreat or surrender. With the helmet firmly in place, we know Jesus will never let go of us. We face the battle knowing our salvation is assured:
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
And that leads us to the final piece of the armor:
Ephesians 6:17b ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Let’s do a quick analysis of this phrase, "the sword of the Spirit": This is the only offensive weapon of the group, it is used defensively as well as offensively. The Greek word for sword here means a small sword – like a large dagger – sharpened on both sides, used for close in combat, not the large broad bladed sword. The same Greek word for this small sword is used in Hebrews 4:12 where it says, “The Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword …” We are in close combat with the evil around us. The sword requires much training and practice by the user to be effective. This sword in the hands of an unskilled person, a child, can hurt themselves and others.
How well do you know the your main offensive weapon in our Christian arsenal?
Many years ago when I was in Army basic training, I spent many hours on the rifle range. Not just an afternoon on the range like many of you who experience Air Force Basic Training. I spent quite literally two-thirds of my training time on the rifle range. I was issued an M-16 assault rifle for training. I put tens of thousands of round of ammunition downrange with my M-16. I tore apart and cleaned my M-16 several times every day. I went to chow with my M-16. I went to sleep with my M-16. I went to the latrine with my M-16. I lived every day with my M-16. I could take my M-16 apart and put it back together blindfolded, not because I tried to or was trained to, but because I was so familiar with my weapon, I could do it in my sleep. I knew what to do when it jammed – instinctively. I knew how to load it and how to clear it. If my M-16 broke, I knew how to fix it. I knew my weapon inside and out.
And that was 48 years ago, and if I was given a M-16 today, I believe I could still take it all apart and put it all together again, even now. It was drilled into me that much.
How much have we trained in our spiritual weapon? How familiar are we with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God? Do we know the word inside and out? Can we instinctively use the word in a moment notice. How well do we handle the word?
2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
To have read the word is one thing. Do you know how to handle the word? We are called to put the word to use.
The Sword of the Spirit is not the Spirit, but the Spirit gives the Sword. The Spirit is the One who gives power to the sword. What is the Sword? The word of God. What is the word of God? In the Greek there are 2 words for “word.” The first is the Greek word “logos.” We see “logos” in:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Here the “Logos” is Jesus – it is something, or in this case, Some One that is real and tangible.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
In this passage, the “logos” is something that is written down in a book, namely the Scriptures, we would call the Bible.
The second Greek form of the word “WORD” is “rhema.” This word is generally used for the word that is spoked or heard:
John 5:46–47 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
The rhema/words of Jesus at this point in time are the words that he speaks and others hear.
Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
The "rhema" in this verse something that is heard – words that are spoken. Logos and rhema are often interchangeable, but logos more often refers to the written word, whereas rhema refers to the spoken word, the word that is proclaimed.
Ephesians 6:17b ... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So the sword of the Spirit is referring to those words that are spoken, words that are proclaimed, words which come from God. We are to speak the words of God to be heard by others. This is the very weapon Jesus uses in His direct confrontation against the devil, when Jesus was tempted by the devil. After fasting for 40 days, the devil tempted Jesus by telling Jesus to turn the stones into bread, but Jesus answered is said:
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ”
It is written – (quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3) the written word, and the very word from God – “rhema” the spoken word from God. In this story Jesus said three times, “it is written,” and Jesus had to speak the Word several times, had to take multiple jabs with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, to defeat the devil. Jesus defended and attacked the devil by speaking the very words of God, from the “logos,” the written word, our Bible. And so must we.
Go back and re-read the temptations of Jesus by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan used the word of God too. He probably knows the Word better than we do, but often the devil will use the word partially and out of context. So we must know the word of God. We must study and be trained in the Scriptures, our Bibles.
The weapon used by and spoken by the Messiah is available to every believer. The words we speak are more than for doing battle directly with the devil. It is for speaking words of liberation to those held in Satan clutches, for people who the devil has a death hold over. It is the life giving words of the gospel from our lips to their ears. Words that will free people to the mercies of Almighty God. But we cannot use words we do not possess.
Like soldier in the Army. The spiritual warrior must trains daily with his weapon, so that he knows his weapon, the sword of the Spirit, inside and out.
Psalm 119:11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
God’s word directs me, shows me the way. I know His word, and the Holy Spirit will bring remembrance.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
But to bring His Word to our memory, we have had to do more than just casually read it, it must have been studied. The word needs to be memorized. This why we have Sunday School, why we have Bible Studies. And all this includes self study of the Word.
Today, everyone has a copy of Scripture, so we are without excuse. We have large study Bibles and small pocket size. We have it on our smart phones and we can get audio copies to listen to it. There is no excuse for the Christian in America today not to know the word of God.
The word has power. We are to use it to free some and convict others. We read in Hebrews where the word of God is sharper than a two edge sword. A sword will pierce the body, whereas the word, both spoken and written, will pierce that heart. When the church was just formed after the day of Pentecost, we see two very different reactions to the word. When Peter was preaching that first morning at Pentecost after receiving the Spirit, we read:
Acts 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
When hearing the word, some will be convicted and ask, what must we do to be save? But also we must be prepared for the other reaction. When Peter and the other apostles appeared before the Council (the Sanhedrin), they spoke the Word, and the Word pierced those in the coucil as well, but their reaction was different:
Acts 5:33 But when they heard this, they were cut to the quick and intended to kill them.
One thing is for sure, the Word of God has power. It is by no accident the helmet of salvation is listed with the Sword of the spirit.
But in order for the Word to have any power in your life, you must be born again, a new creation. Those of the world cannot understand the word of God because they do not have the Spirit to interpret the word (1 Cor 2:14). Although Satan cannot kill the soul, he can wound the mind. Those who are in a state of salvation have their minds covered by the salvation (past, present and future) that has been obtained for them in Christ. We cover the mind with Word that he has given us. With salvation that we can never loose, we should be able to speak the Word in all boldness. We have been given the Word, the very words of life, the words of the Good News, the Gospel, and we have the responsibility to give that life saving word to the world.
The two questions I leave you with this morning are these: First, to you possess the Helmet of Salvation? Do you know Jesus? Is your eternity secured with Him?
And second, if you have put on the helmet of salvation, have you also taken up the sword of the Spirit? Do you have the word? Do you know the word? Can you speak the word for others to hear?
