Prepare for the Fight with the Sword of the Spirit
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Back when our son, Keone was little, he attended a friend’s birthday party. It was a pirate party so at the door he was presented with a plastic blow-up sword, which looked good but caused no damage at all. Keone and his little friends had a blast wielding their plastic blow-up swords with a distinct lack of dexterity. The nimble skillfulness needed for sword fighting seemed severely limited by the floppy handles and fat blades filled with air, but at least they were safe. High adventure with ABSOLUTELY NO DANGER. Every parent wants this for their children.
You know, at times, that’s the kind of spiritual warfare we as Christians have preferred to wage - to go at it with our blow-up swords filled with our own hot air, waving them around with no skill and causing no harm to the enemy. A blow-up sword is fine for the warrior who is only pretending to fight but when the danger is real and the enemy is attacking- you need a real weapon- you need real armor.
Over the past several weeks we have been learning about spiritual warfare and how to prepare for it with God’s own armor.
Author Drew Larson explains,
“Spiritual warfare is the leveraging of everything that God promises against everything that opposes God’s purposes.
God is a God of purposes and promises. Purposes to redeem the world and promises to judge wickedness. Purposes to grow his children into maturity and promises to unfailingly steward that process. Purposes to save us and glorify his name, and promises about our lives and about his holy character.
Satan and his spiritual forces oppose all of that. They oppose all of God’s purposes for salvation and redemption, as well as his every promise for accomplishing it.
In non-Christians the enemy and his forces will attempt to thwart salvation (Luke 8:11-12) and encourage sin (Ephesians 2:1-3).
In Christians they will attempt to sever our connection with God, prey on our natural inclination to sin, and deceive us into believing untruths that might hinder our discipleship or cause us to lose our effectiveness for God’s kingdom.” (end quote)
The enemy of our soul works tirelessly to disrupt our lives. He wants to temp us to make bad choices, to embrace sinful behaviors, and to corrupt our relationships. Satan loves to bring division. He loves to enslave us by way of addiction. He wants to distract us from fulfilling God’s purposes by keeping us focused on anything else but God’s calling on our lives.
In that kind of battle, we need more than a blow-up sword. We need a real weapon and in our text this morning found in Ephesians 6:17, the apostle Paul identifies this powerful weapon as “the sword of the Spirit.”
So let’s look once again at Paul’s instruction to us concerning spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:10-17,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
In this passage Paul uses the armor of a Roman soldier as an analogy. You may notice that of all the armor listed- belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, and sword …
there is only one distinctly offensive weapon.
The Greek word Paul uses for sword in this passage is machaira. In other Greco Roman writing, the term machaira referred to a short sword or dagger not to be confused with the much longer Roman sword called the gladius.
The gladius was heavy and often cumbersome. It was often used with broad sweeping strokes with the hope of hacking down one’s enemy before they came in too close. The machaira, however, was a precision weapon. When one’s enemy came in close, the soldier would use his machaira to inflict precise deadly blows. In the New Testament the term machaira was used generically to refer to any type of sword.
The sword of the Spirit therefore, is more like the Viking sword Ulfbhert, Which is a wide sweeping weapon that can be used to prevent our enemy from coming in too close. But if the enemy comes in too close, it is also a precision weapon, capable of exacting precise deadly blows.
That brings us to our first point this morning:
1. The sword is the Holy Spirit’s offensive weapon that He empowers us to use.
Notice that the word “Spirit” is capitalized. That indicates that the spirit discussed is not an “it” but a “who.” This passage is referring to THE Spirit. The Holy Spirit who is an essential member of the Trinity. He is God. As the Nicene Creed declares, he is “the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified…” It is the Holy Spirit that helps us to apply salvation- to work it out in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit in us that helps us to live out Jesus’ command to love one another as He has loved us. Through the Holy Spirit we can have a personal relationship with God. He is our comforter and our guide.
Moreover, when we are attacked by the enemy, we are not left defenseless. As our passage for today states, the Holy Spirit equips us with His own sword.
That brings us to our second point this morning:
2. The sword of the Spirit is the uttered word of God.
The spoken word is often compared to a sword in the Old Testament. Specifically, the Bible compares God’s word to a sword in His hand used to lay bare the heart of man, to separate the truth from the lie, and bringing about justice through judgement.
As Hebrews 4:12-13 declares (NIV),
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. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
In this passage, the sword I envision is the machaira- the smaller precision weapon used by God to cut deep in just the right spot for maximum impact.
The Greek term for “word” in Hebrews 4:12 is the same word we learned about last week- logos. There are many English words that have several different meanings depending on the context in which the term is used. Words such as love convey different things such as: “I love this coffee,” or “I love you brother,” or the love a man has for his wife.
As we learned last week the Greek term logos also has several meanings. Plato used logos to refer to the source of man’s reason- his intellect- his inner self. The Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Philo referred to logos as the force by which all things were created and by which all things are held together. The apostle John identified this force- made flesh as the Logos, capital L, and names Him Jesus.
In Hebrews 4:12, the apostle Paul gives us yet another use of the term logos. In this passage Paul says that the “logos of God” is a double edge sword. In this context, logos refers to the meaning or the message of the word.
There is a second Greek term used in the New Testament that translates into the English term for “word.” Graphe is used to refer to the written word. This is the graphe of God. When we read it and study it the Holy Spirit helps us to understand the logos- or God’s intended meaning.
However, in today’s text in Ephesians 6 where we are instructed to “take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” neither graphe or logos is used. Instead, Paul tells us that the sword of the Spirit is the rhema of God.
Rhema refers to the uttered or spoken word. It was often used to indicate a promise, declaration, or command.
As Tony Evans explains,
“Rhema is the declaration of the logos that you got from the graphe. The Graphe is the book, the logos is the message, and the rhema is the utterance- the speech of the message… The graphe, the book, gives you the logos, the message, but it is the rhema that plunges in and draws blood. It is the rhema that the Spirit uses… When it comes to spiritual warfare and the enemy is all up in your grill, you need more than graphe and logos- you need rhema. You need the logos from the graphe uttered- spoken- declared.”
God’s written word- the graphe is powerful and useful. It is even more powerful and useful when we comprehend the logos- its message- its meaning. But when you feel tempted, as Dr. Evans puts it, when “Satan is all up in your grill,” you probably won’t sit down for a good scholarly session- reading the Bible and studying its meaning. No, when the add pops up when you are watching YouTube and temptation starts pumping and lust begins to flood your mind - you need the rhema of God- the word of God that you can utter over and over again like Psalm 51:10 (ESV), “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (repeat 1 to 2 Xs). When your co-worker says something nasty about you and your hateful retort is on the edge of your tong, you need the rhema of God like , “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Friends, the word of God is a weapon used to bring about deliverance for the one who yields it. The word of God is the Spirit’s sword. When you grasp it, the Holy Spirit brings God’s truth alive within you. God’s word emboldens our faith and we become fortified by His knowledge and understanding so that we may resist the onslaught of the enemy.
Undoubtedly, the most meaningful example of how we are to use this weapon is found in Matthew 4:1-11. Which brings us to our third point this morning:
3. Jesus modeled how we are to use the sword of the Spirit when He was tempted by Satan in the desert.
Imagine if you will that you are Jesus’ cousin John. You know, I mean you know that you know that Jesus is not just some ordinary guy. Your parents had first hand seats to the miracles that lead up to Jesus’ birth. You watched Jesus grow up and saw with your own eyes that this young man is extra special. So when Jesus comes to you and askes to be baptized, you are taken aback and reply, “I need to be baptized by you Jesus not the other way around.” But Jesus calmly insists and before you know it, you are in the water helping to give Him a dunking. As He comes up out of the water the sky opens up and the Spirit of God, that is THE Spirit, the Holy Spirit descends on Him like a dove. Then you hear a voice from heaven declaring, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Wow. What an incredible experience. You watch Jesus walk away and know that great, amazing things, are coming His way.
But instead Jesus’ steps lead Him to the desert of all places where he is tempted by Satan himself.
Man, I don’t know about you but there have been times in my life when I have had a really special experience with God only to find myself moments later being tested and attacked by the enemy of my soul. It is good to know that I am not alone. Jesus Himself experienced much the same thing and models for us how to handle those kinds of attacks.
So in Matthew chapter 4 we see Jesus enter the desert where he fast for 40 days. Notice that Satan doesn’t play fair. He doesn’t start tempting and testing Jesus at the beginning of His fast, no, he waits till He has gone 40 days and nights without food. He waits till Jesus is HUNGRY to start tempting Him.
Now, how many of you know that Satan’s attack method hasn’t really changed over the years. He has a time tested temptation strategy that is described in 1 John 2:15-16 (NIV),
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Dr. Larry Patten explains,
“Satan tempts us in three separate ways according to I John 2:15-16:
The lust of the flesh is the desire to DO something apart from the will of God.
The lust of the eyes is the desire to HAVE something apart from the will of God.
The pride of life is the desire to BE something apart from the will of God.
The first desire appeals mainly to the body, the second to the soul, and the third to the spirit. Perhaps the most common manifestation of the lust of the flesh in modern western civilization is illicit sex (hedonism, idolizing pleasure). Perhaps the most common manifestation of the lust of the eyes is excessive buying (materialism, idolizing possessions). Perhaps the most common manifestation of the pride of life is trying to control (egoism, idolizing power).
Many have pointed out how the three aspects of temptation listed here parallel the way that Satan tempted Eve:
She saw that the forbidden fruit was good for food (Ge. 3:6), which was an appeal to the lust of the flesh.
She saw “that it was a delight to the eyes.” This appealed to the lust of the eyes.
She also saw “that the tree was desirable to make one wise.” This appealed to the boastful pride of life.” (End quote)
Turning back to Satan’s attack on Jesus in the desert we can see this same pattern repeated. First Satan appeals to the lust of the flesh. Jesus is hungry so Satan urges Jesus to turn the stones into bread. Food is not a bad thing and there are other times when Jesus miraculously provides food for others. His turning 2 fish and five loves of bread into enough food to feed 5 thousand people is a great example. But here, Satan temps Jesus to perform a miracle for selfish reasons. Out of all the miracles Jesus performs in His life time, not one of them is for Himself.
But Jesus is HUNGRY and His flesh yearns for food, still, Jesus doesn’t fall prey to Satan’s trap. Instead He takes out His sword and attacks the enemy with, “’It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Satan doesn’t like that, not one bit so he tries another tactic. This time he goes for the “lust of the eyes.”
In Jewish Rabbinic tradition it was believed that the Messiah would ascend from above the temple. That was not prophesied in Scripture, but it was widely believed by the Jewish people at that time. So Satan takes Jesus to the top of the Temple and offers Him a short cut. Throw yourself down and God will surly send His angels to save you. Jesus knew that if He were to miraculously ascend from atop the temple in front of the crowd- the Jewish people would have declare Him the Messiah. A nice little short cut indeed.
But then there would be no animosity between Jesus and the Jewish leaders, no Garden of Gethsemane, no accusations before Pilot, no death sentence, and no crucifixion. Jesus would fail to fulfill His mission. The mission He and His father God planned together. His mission was to die in our place- taking the penalty of our sin upon Himself. If He failed His mission, there would be no victory over sin, no victory over death, no miraculous resurrection, and no redemption for mankind. I am not liking that short cut- not one bit.
Notice in Matthew 4 verse 6 that Satan tries to use the sword against Jesus. Satan utters his own rendition of Scripture which he twists slightly out of context, “For it is written:
‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus knows what is written AND He knows the logos- the meaning behind the words so He is not fooled by Satan’s trick. Using the sword correctly, Jesus blocks Satan’s blow- He resists the temptation by declaring, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Thank you, thank you, thank you Jesus for not taking Satan up on his short-cut.
Thwarted again, Satan tries once more. This time he appeals to the pride of life. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth, offering to give them to Him. Now Jesus knows that He is destined to rule over it all. All authority will be His. He is destined for every knee to bow and every tong confess that He is Lord. But again, Satan is offering Him a short cut. Basically he says, “Forget the pain and suffering of the cross- you can have all this now and all you have to do is bow down and worship me.”
We know that Jesus is not looking forward to the pain and suffering of the cross. In the Garden of Gethsemane His dread is so great that He sweats blood. So here before Him is a way out- Satan is saying “Skip the suffering. Do a little bow- pretend a little worship and bang- it is all yours…”
Jesus however, counters once again with the rhema of God, ““Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
And we read in verse 11 (NIV),
“Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
(Swinging an imaginary sword with each phrase) It is written, it is written, it is written- every attack of the devil is thwarted and he flees before a weapon that is far greater than he- the uttered word of God!
Friends, Jesus is our example. We can do this as well. That leads us to our final point this morning:
4. To wield the sword of the Spirit correctly we must first get to know God’s word.
Craig Brian Larson shares the following story,
“Recently National Geographic ran an article about the Alaskan bull moose. The males of the species battle for dominance during the fall breeding season, literally going head-to-head with antlers crunching together as they collide. Often the antlers, their only weapon are broken. That ensures defeat. The heftiest moose, with the largest and strongest antlers, triumphs. Therefore, the battle fought in the fall is really won during the summer, when the moose eat continually. The one that consumes the best diet for growing antlers and gaining weight will be the heavyweight in the fight. Those that eat inadequately sport weaker antlers and less bulk. There is a lesson here for us. Spiritual battles await. Satan will choose a season to attack. Will we be victorious, or will we fall? Much depends on what we do now--before the wars begin. The bull-moose principle: Enduring faith, strength, and wisdom for trials are best developed before they're needed.
In the desert when Satan was all up in His grill, Jesus didn’t say, “oh wait a minute let me consult my scroll of Scripture before I reply to you,” (mime taking out a scroll, un rolling it and then scanning it, a finger running down imaginary columns- then sitting up as if to say something then muttering to yourself- ‘nope not that one… I know its here somewhere…um…”
NO! (roll up the imaginary scroll then put it to your temple) It was here. It was already in His mind. Jesus had studied the graphe, He had divine insight into the logos, and was ready with the rhema.
Satan isn’t going to sit around waiting for you to google the right Bible verse when He temps you into sin. We must be like the bull moose and prepare now for future battles. The best way we do this is to commit ourselves to reading the Bible, studying it, and yes even memorizing it.
Now, if you are like me, and have poor short term memory, then memorizing Scripture may be a challenge for you. Dr. David Jeremiah gives this suggestion…
Try simply memorizing one Scripture verse with multiple applications. Psalm 51:10 (ESV) is a great example. It reads, “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
Regardless of the sin that Satan may tempt you with, repeating this beautiful plea will help keep your mind focused on what God is doing in you instead of on the temptation.
Once that verse is truly memorized you can work on another passage.
But Reading the Bible, studying the Bible, and memorizing Scripture verses are not enough- you also need to use it for it to be effective.
In closing I want to leave you with a quote from Charles Spurgeon. He urges,
“The one note that rings out from the text is this:-TAKE THE SWORD! TAKE THE SWORD! No longer is it, talk and debate! No longer is it, parley and compromise! The word of thunder is-Take the sword. The Captain's voice is clear as a trumpet-Take the sword! No Christian here will have been obedient to our text unless with clear, sharp, and decisive firmness, courage, and resolve, they take the sword. We must go to heaven sword in hand, all the way. ‘TAKE THE SWORD.’ On this command I would enlarge. May the Holy Spirit help me!... I cannot tell what your particular difficulty may be at this moment; but I give you this direction for all holy warfare-‘Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.’ You must overcome every enemy; and this weapon is all you need. If you, my hearer, would overcome sin and conquer unbelief, take such a word as this, ‘Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;’ and as you look you shall be saved, and doubt shall die, and sin be slain. God grant you his Spirit's aid, for Christ's sake! Amen.”