“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
“Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.”
- Julia Ward Howe
There’s not much use, I don’t think, in going into a description of just the kind of sword the Roman soldier would have used, other than saying, perhaps, that it was sharpened on both sides. Both edges of the blade were useful for slashing and cutting and stabbing.
And this information is only useful insofar as it reminds us that the writer to the Hebrews said in chapter 4 verse 12, “…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.”
And that is a very worthwhile thing to note, and perhaps to study in depth on another day.
For now though, I want to be careful to stay in context with the passage we’re studying as we near the end of this great epistle, and keep in mind that Paul is telling the believer, in the donning of his armor, that along with the helmet of salvation he is to ‘take up’ or ‘take’ the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, in preparation for spiritual battle.
THE SWORD’S USE
First of all then, let’s be clear as to what a sword is for.
It is for killing. That’s it. It is too big and clumsy for whittling a stick. Even a short sword is too long for use on the kitchen cutting board. If someone saw you using one in the preparation of their meal they might just decide they’re not very hungry after all.
They are not even primarily for protection. They do that in part, but unless you employ them aggressively against an attacker, they will only protect you until your arm grows weary, and then you will at some point lower your guard and be taken.
The sword is a weapon in the purest sense of the word. Unlike a firearm that may at least be used for hunting game if nothing else is available, the sword is not even useful for that. It is designed for warfare, more specifically for close up, face to face, hand to hand combat, and it has no other practical function.
So as we apply this analogy to the life of the believer in Christ, it may be a little alarming at first, to think of Paul’s comparison of the Bible to a killing tool.
And as I’ve already pointed out, this is not the only place in scriptures this analogy is used. The writer to the Hebrews likened God’s word to a cutting sword, and although scholars debate the authorship of that letter, whether it was the Apostle Paul that wrote it, or Penelope, or whomever, the important thing to remember is that all scripture is God-breathed, that men wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and therefore, the symbolism is good and useful to us.
God’s word is a sword. It is, as Julia Ward Howe aptly put it, a ‘terrible swift sword’.
THE CHRISTIAN’S WEAPON?
Having taken a look at what a sword is for, and the primary purpose for which it is wielded; next we have to pay attention to whose weapon it really is. And it is at this point, I think, that we have to remind ourselves that no analogy of earthly, physical things is ever adequate for a complete explanation or representation of spiritual things.
Yes, we will go on to discuss why Paul uses the sword to symbolize God’s word, but just remember that the Bible is a spiritual thing. It comes from a spiritual source, in its entirety it is formed and completed spiritually, although through men, yet those men were inspired in every pen stroke, every word, letter, punctuation; every thought therein.
It is spiritually applied, in that only the Holy Spirit of God can apply it in a significant and life-giving way, and the end result of that application is always a spiritual result.
Now there may be effects in the physical and emotional realm that come as by-products of that application. For example, a man may be changed within as the Holy Spirit applies the truth of scriptures to his heart and life, and as a result of that inward change he may make certain decisions that he feels will most please his Lord, concerning the governing of his life and so forth. But first in order and in importance, is that this work of the Spirit is applied by the Spirit of God, to the spirit of the man.
So in this sense, this is God’s weapon. It is God’s tool, if you will, for cutting to the heart of every matter. I mean that in every sense that the term can be taken.
And this is where we have to depart somewhat from the analogy, because a soldier never deliberately cuts himself with his own sword, as long as he has good mental health.
But in truth, the child of God must allow God to use His terrible swift sword to do its searching and defining work in himself, before he can ever take it up to use it in spiritual warfare against the enemy.
Going by Paul’s use of the analogy alone, we can accurately say that the scriptures must be studied diligently and the Christian must have the Word of God hidden in his heart, just as a soldier must train vigorously and consistently with his sword in order to be proficient with it.
But again, we have to go beyond the reach of the analogy and point out that it is not enough to study the Bible like any other text book, and have the information in our head so that we might pull up any part of it on a moments notice, for use in a debate or to make a point in conversation.
The Christian, by definition, must yield himself, or herself, to the Holy Spirit’s searching, convicting, and sanctifying work, in taking the word deep into his or her innermost being and using it to continue the work of conforming us to Christ’s image. Sometimes that is simply an enlightening process, sometimes a very joyful one; but sometimes a painful one. However, if we are not submitting ourselves to that process of the Spirit, then we are kicking against the goad, and are retarding the process of our spiritual development.
Worse, we are diminishing severely, our availability to the Spirit of God, to be used in Kingdom work, or for the furtherance of the Gospel in our sphere of existence.
Christians, please do not be deceived. Do not let the enemy of your soul drip his poison into your ear and tell you that you are a good, obedient Christian, and perhaps more spiritual than most, because you are diligent to do your daily devotions, and read your Bible, and you know the name of Nabal’s wife, or that you’ve figured out why Moses’ wife got angry with him for circumcising his son, or anything like that.
Phillip Brooks wrote: “The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope he sees worlds beyond; but if he looks at his telescope, he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it and so they see only the dead letter.”
Certainly, as R.C. Sproul said, we must first have the Word in our mind before it can be in our heart. But please, don’t let it stop at your mind. And let me here assure you, that once it’s in your mind, it will only go to your heart, where it does its real and lasting work, with the help of the Holy Spirit; and with prayer.
The Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, says Paul. He says to take it up because it is your weapon also. It is God’s, and it goes forth to accomplish every purpose for which He has sent it out.
But He has sent it out to you, and will send it out through you. It is your weapon, provided to you from God, by His Holy Spirit, through men of old who wrote as He inspired, for your spiritual development and for your battle as a Christian victor, against all those entities he exposed for us in verse 12 of this chapter.
This is the example set for us throughout scripture. The prophets came, not speaking their own words, but the word of the Lord. “Thus says the Lord…” they began. “Behold, the Lord says…” These words were their credentials, and in fact, they dared not go in any other authority, with any other voice.
“The Lord says” was their authority, and the coming to pass of all that they said was God’s own vindication of their witness.
When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, we are given three examples of Satan’s temptations, and Jesus’ three responses were, “It is written…”
Satan and his minions have no power, believer, against the accurately discerned and appropriately applied word of God, to any temptation, any circumstance of life.
Be warned though, it is not the word of God in our mind only that wields power against the enemy and his schemes. It is the word of God taken to our hearts that has power both to conform us to Christ’s image, and do warfare against the enemy of souls.
Remember the seven sons of Sceva, in Acts 19. They had some head knowledge about miraculous things being done through Paul in the name of Jesus. Their knowledge puffed them up but gave them no power. It is Christ in the heart, and His word hidden there, that manifests power and authority in the believer’s life. It is a spiritual weapon.
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON
You might remember back a few minutes, when I said that if the sword was used for your protection only, and not used aggressively against an attacking enemy, your arm would eventually grow tired from simply warding off blows, and you would drop your guard and the battle would be lost.
Now having the Holy Spirit take the word to our hearts to do His searching and sanctifying work there is sort of like our basic training and combat preparedness.
And having His word in our heart so that we might use it to answer the temptations of the devil might be likened to what I’m talking about here; protecting ourselves against onslaught.
But as I’ve mentioned in a previous sermon, the intent was never for us just to endure; just to stand, and not fall down.
I wonder… when did we lose the desire to be victors in our culture? I mean, to really be winners? What I see everywhere around me, is people just fighting to keep their head above the surface. Just trying to survive. And it has become the norm, even the goal!
Look at the popularity of the ‘survivor’ type television shows. Even the ones that are tagged, ‘reality TV.’, and do not necessarily advertise a ‘survival’ theme; yet that is what is really going on.
In one they’re trying not to get fired. In another they’re trying to not be rejected by the bachelor; or the bachelorette.
I’ve seen it on T-shirts. “I survived the gas crunch of ‘72” “I survived the hanging chad controversy of 2000”
You might remember some movies of the past decade or so. The “Die Hard” series of movies made by Bruce Willis, for example. He’s an off duty police officer who finds himself trapped in a high rise building in downtown Los Angeles, that has been taken over by terrorists. So he fights them on his own, and of course in the end they are defeated and the good guys win.
But we’re all proud of the hero, because he is beaten and bruised and bloody and barely makes it out alive, but he stuck with it until the end. Now I guess that’s ok, but in this story and many others I’ve seen or read in recent years, the emphasis seems to be more strongly, not on the fact that the hero won, but that he survived against terrible odds.
Am I splitting hairs? Arguing semantics? No!
I want you to see that this is not the emphasis of the Christian life!
Because you see, when someone is just trying to survive, his focus and his efforts are all toward self-preservation. Always inward. Warding off the blows and trying not to fall.
But this is not the calling of the church. The true calling of the church is to move forward, aggressively, against the enemy, to save others.
The focus is outward. Away from self.
This, I think, is the singular facet of Tolkien’s trilogy of the rings stories that draws my attention and respect. Everyone involved in the defense of Middle Earth and the destruction of the evil ring, is moving out for the support and salvation of everyone else. Shrinking back from no personal danger, each one, each group, each army playing their respective roles in the story, are looking out for someone else’s interests, no matter the cost to themselves.
Christians, we must be made to see that in Christ we are not survivors; we are victors. “Fought the fight, the battle won” says the great hymn, and that is the case.
“…thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”, says Paul at the end of his great chapter on the resurrection in his letter to the Corinthian church. He’s been talking about the Christian’s great assurance and hope of final resurrection to eternal life, and the victory won for him over death and the grave through the death and resurrection of Christ. And as he puts the final touches on his argument he breaks into a virtual song of praise. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ”!
Survivors stand and ward off blows, Christian. Victors march forward in aggression against the enemy, leaving him little or no opportunity to swing.
BATTLE TACTICS
Now I want to draw this to a close by talking a little about the Holy Spirit’s strategy. Paul has admonished us to put on and take up these various pieces of God’s armor. We have seen over these past weeks that they begin with understanding and application of the truths that lead to salvation. Justification. And protecting our hearts and minds with sound doctrine, and preparing ourselves for going out with the message of the gospel, warring against the darkness of this world in order to make peace between men and God.
Then we’ve seen that following preparation comes action. First we’ve put on, now we are to take up. The shield of faith, quenching the fiery missiles of the evil one that would take us out of action. And the helmet of salvation that protects our minds from the doubts and fears and the deceptions of the enemy that would confuse and immobilize us.
And now the sword of the Spirit, and its applications which I will not repeat now, but just go on to finish. We’re armored; we’re standing; we’re trained and prepared and well-armed for the task at hand. But what about tactics?
We don’t just go running out across the fields, screaming and brandishing our weapon with no plan or forethought! Right?
Well Paul has provided that for us too. Let’s go to the text and read verse 18.
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints”
Christians, are you standing? Are you clothed with the armor of God and have you taken up the articles of provision He has given you for the work of the Kingdom, which is aggressive battle against the enemy’s schemes?
Because here is what it has really all come down to. As victors in Christ’s service, the task He has called us to is to take the Word of God and use it in prayer and petition for the saints.
Now here is where someone will say, but we’re supposed to be taking the gospel and winning souls!
Yes! But our feet are shod with that! We’re supposed to be prepared with that as we go about our day. Ready for any opportunity that arises, to make peace between God and men with the gospel of peace.
But believers the enemy isn’t attacking the unsaved. He attacks the church. Your brethren. Those doing the work of ministry. Those in active service for the Captain of our salvation.
Get out of this mindset of our church here and their church there. Of this denomination and that one.
As my friend and brother Roger Odegard loves to repeat, and rightly so, when we get to Heaven God isn’t going to ask if we were a good Southern Baptist. His only concern is going to be if we walked in faith and obedience as believers in Christ.
Notice that Paul says to pray at all times in the Spirit. So he wasn’t calling for some kind of kneeling toward Mecca at certain intervals throughout the day. Although it is a good discipline for the Christian to have a regular prayer time each day.
But in this case he’s admonishing the believer to maintain an attitude of prayerfulness at all times. A consciousness of God with him and a readiness to pray for his fellows as they come to mind or as he becomes aware of a specific need, or just feels a prodding from the Spirit to bring a brother or sister to the throne.
And Christian, there is just no more powerful prayer for those in ministry, than a prayer that comes straight out of the word of God.
“Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”, says Paul, and “with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
As I close, glance back once more at verse 10 of this chapter. Let’s remind ourselves that he began these closing statements with the exhortation to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
And with that fresh in our minds believers, consider that it is not for our own sakes that he says this, but that we might be strong for each other. Not just in our own congregation, but those doing the work of the Kingdom everywhere in these final days.
We’re not survivors, so let’s not act like survivors. Just trying to maintain. Trying to keep our heads up. Struggling to stand.
With confidence in our Justification, and our Sanctification and our future Glorification, secured for us forever in the death and resurrection of our Lord, let’s act like victors, and move out in the interest of our fellows, doing spiritual battle for the sake of others, alert to the moving of the Spirit and praying with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
There’s rest ahead for all of us, Christians. But it is not yet. Don’t rest. Don’t sit down. Don’t get lazy. Get out of the barracks. The enemy is on the move. Let’s meet him on his own turf with the sword of the Spirit, and expose his schemes, free his captives, give aid to our brothers in the fray.
