The Sword of the Spirit

The armor of God— the putting on of Christ— is the Christian’s only hope in a world under oppression and attack. It defends, protects, unites, and, ultimately, vanquishes the enemy in the power of God.

TO ILLUSTRATE

Swords in the Bible

Genesis 3:24 “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

Prophecy re: Esau Genesis 27:40 “And by thy sword shalt thou live, And shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.”

Sword of Goliath 1 Samuel 17:45–47 “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.”

Peter’s sword Matthew 26:52 “Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”

TO ARTICULATE

The Bible paints a clear picture regarding the connection between word and sword.

Psalm 59:7 “Behold, they belch out with their mouth: Swords are in their lips: For who, say they, doth hear?”

Psalm 57:4 “My soul is among lions: And I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.”

Proverbs 12:18 “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: But the tongue of the wise is health.”

Psalm 64:3 “Who whet their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:”

Proverbs 30:14 “There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, And their jaw teeth as knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.”

Isaiah noted of Messiah “And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, And made me a polished shaft; In his quiver hath he hid me” (Is. 49:2).

Thus, when we say sword we also means word. What, then, do we mean when we say word?

living- Jesus

written- logos

spoken- rhema

The Living Word- logos

The living Word is the Lord Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

Alexander MacLaren states that John describes the Word in eternity, in the world, and in the flesh

in eternity- John 1:1–3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

in the world- John 1:10–11 “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

in the flesh- John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

The Written Word- graphe

This is 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

5 Works of the Inspired Word of God

to make us wise unto salvation

to teach us doctrine

to show us where we went wrong

to teach us how to get right

to show us how to stay right

Matthew 21:42 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?”

Implicit in Jesus’ words is that the Word of God was

inspired- given by God

preserved- extended by God

fulfilled- completed by God

revealed- made known by God

IT IS WRITTEN!

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Matthew 4:6 “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Matthew 4:10 “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

The Spoken Word- rhema

The third Word word found in the Bible is the word “rhema” and speaks to the utterance of God. Rhema took place in the articulation and enunciation of God’s message.

Acts 2:4–11 “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”

Luke 1:38 “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

Luke 3:2 “Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

Luke 5:5 “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

Rhema is common in Scripture.

And the LORD spake- Ex. 6:2, 12, 13, 28, 29, 7:8, 7:19, 8:1, 5, 12:1, 13:1, 14:1, 16:11, 25:1, 30:11, 30:17, etc.

The Bible wants you to make a few connections in your own heart!

The Living Word (eternal) spake and it was written down. Then He came. The Living Word stepped into time because the written Word was not heeded. The writer of Hebrews said that “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

In other words, there is no contradiction between the living, spoken, or written Word, and once God had spoken by His Son, man needed no further revelation of God’s message. Thus, mankind must heed God’s message!

Acts 17:30 says, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.”

TO ELIMINATE

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

"There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit." - Napoleon Bonaparte

false doctrine

1 John 4:5–6 “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

false motives

tri-chotomy

di-chotomy

only the Scriptures can discern!

Satanic attacks

Matthew 4- the 3-fold temptation of Satan

Let’s remember that the armor of God features a power to overcome spiritual and Satanic attacks! It is a weapon in the supernatural sphere!

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Every foe Some day, Jesus will vanquish every foe with the word of His mouth Revelation 1:16 “And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” Revelation 19:15 “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Revelation 19:21 “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”

Barnes: “The Christian religion goes forth against all the combined and concentrated powers of resistance of the whole world; and the warfare is to be waged against every strongly fortified place of error and of sin. These strong fortifications of error and of sin are to be battered down and laid in ruins by our spiritual weapons.”

Final Note

Notice this mighty warrior for God!

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:10–17

What is the posture of the Christian counselor?

KNEELING! He is not only marching, fighting, running, or defending— he is kneeling.

In the heart of the New Hebrides Islands, amid thick jungle and towering palms, missionary John G. Paton and his wife Mary served among the hostile islanders of Tanna. The people were known for cannibalism, superstition, and deep fear of foreign gods. But Paton had come with a message of peace—a Gospel of love, redemption, and eternal life.

His arrival had not been welcomed by all.

One night, deep into their first year, word reached Paton that the local tribes were planning to kill him and burn the mission house to the ground. The sky was already darkening when the warning came, and John and Mary could hear war cries and drumbeats echoing through the forest.

With no place to run, they did the only thing they could do: they prayed.

“O Lord,” John whispered, holding Mary’s trembling hand, “Surround us with Your protection. Be our shield and defense. Your angels are mightier than any warrior. Hide us under Your wings.”

That night, as the drums grew louder, the Patons waited in silence. But the attack never came. The villagers gathered near—but then scattered into the forest. The missionaries were left unharmed.

Paton gave thanks, but had no explanation—until a year later when the local chief who had since come to Christ visited Paton privately.

“I must ask you something,” the chief said. “Who were all those men you had with you that night?”

Paton was confused. “There was no one here but my wife and me.”

The chief shook his head. “No. We saw hundreds of tall men in shining garments, with drawn swords. They stood all around your house—blazing with light. We were afraid to attack.”

John Paton was stunned. In that moment, he realized: God had sent angels to protect them—angels of fire, standing watch in the darkness.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

When did you receive your first “sword” and what memories are attached to your own copy of God’s Word?

Describe a time when the “spoken word” was preached and used by God to speak to your heart.

All of us need a time when we get alone with God to be ministered unto by His Word. What is your personal habit for Bible reading?