Why Church? Armed For Battle-The Sword of the Word

Introduction

Welcome and good morning!

Open your bibles to Ephesians 6!

We are continuing our series through Ephesians entitled Why Church and have spent a fair amount of time in Chapter 6 especially in the section dealing with the armor of God.

As we have gone through this armor we have looked at the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, The Shoes of the Gospel, The Shield of Faith, and the last time I preached we looked at the Helmet of Salvation.

Each and every one of the pieces of armor have been 100% used for defense against the enemy.

None of these pieces are to be used as an offensive weapon. So the question has to be asked!

What CAN WE USE!

Having all the tools and armor needed for defense isn’t a bad thing, in fact I would say that given the weight and detail that Paul puts on the defensive peices of the armor, I would say that our primary posture as a believer is to be on the defensive.

But just like in a physical war, you will never win if you only remain on defense. YOU NEED TO GO ON THE OFFENSIVE To DRIVE THE ENEMY BACK!

You will never gain ground in your battle against the powers of darkness and satan if you do not attack the enemy back.

So what is our weapon?

Lets stand to read Ephesians 6:10-17

Chip Ingram, a pastor in California and CEO of the ministry Living on the Edge, shares a story in which he was walking home one evening and was passing by a bar. Outside the bar was a couple of guys who were raising quite a commotion. Now these men weren’t ordinary men. They were about 6’4” 200lbs all muscles and wearing tight t shirts so as to show their muscles. In fact they made the security guard that was unsuccessfully trying to throw them out look very small. The altercation got to the point where the police where called. Chip goes on to say that he was sure that the security guard was relieved to see the cops get there, expecting to see a massive male officer get out to take care of these unruly drunk men! As the officer stepped out of the car it was a female about 4’11” and 110lbs. Not what they were expecting! She approached the men and asked them if there was a problem. The Large intoxicated men walked over to the officer and starting trash talking her. She immediately pointed to her badged and reminded them that she was the authority in the situation And told them to get up Against the police car. The large and now infuriated men laughed at her, that is until she put her hand on her revolver! You never saw 2 drunk men move that fast! In fact they willingly followed EVERY one of her commands after that.

Now why on earth would 2 very large and strong bullies submit to a tiny woman?

In any other situation this could have turned out disastrous!

But this situation had nothing to do with size or strength!

You see the police officer had an authority that the men on steroids did not have. She also had .45 pistol to back her up!

Her POSITION enabled her to say “you must do what I say, and if you do not, I have a powerful weapon that I am authorized to use to enforce it”

Church I want to submit to you today, that the Sword we are to use, in our battle, is in a way very similar to this story.

But first, just as we have done in the previous messages on the armor of God, we need to take a look at the historical context so we get a better idea of what Paul is writing about here.

This is an actual Roman soldiers sword from the first century! In fact this sword dates back to about 15 BC. It is made of iron, which explains the corrosion, and gilded bronze. This sword along with every other Roman soldiers sword was a little over 2’ long and weighed about 1.5-2 pounds. This sword would have been easy to maneuver and quick enough to inflict a deadly blow with one swipe. The soldier would have it hanging from his right side and it would have been attached to his belt.

Now that we have a visual of a real Roman sword, lets look at how this concept works with OUR spiritual battle that we are In

Because as we remember, our battle is NOT flesh and blood, therefore we need to look at what the deeper meaning of this sword is and how we can use it.

So what is Paul saying About this sword? What does he mean?

Before we move on to the application of what this verse means to us we need to define some very key terms here.

Paul starts out and right off the bat, gives us who the authority that this weapon is given to us by.

He tells us our weapon is the sword OF THE SPIRIT!

In other words, this sword we are going to use is NOT GOING TO BE USED BY OUR OWN POWER!

We dont have the capacity or power to utilize this sword on our own! It’s not even our sword!

Just as the police woman in the story I told you earlier, and a Roman soldier in the 1st century, the weapon that they used and the sword that we use in our fight are not ours! They are issued by the supreme authority over them.

The .45 pistol for the cop was issued by the state, the sword for the Roman was issued by the Roman government.

The sword we are going to use to fight satan is issued by the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS!

There is NO earthly or human authority that could issue us a weapon that would be effective against a spiritual enemy

We need an authority that transcends time, space, and matter. That authority is God! And specifically his Spirit!

Now that the authority is established, Paul moves on to the actual weapon.

He tells us that the sword is the word of God.

Now, what’s he mean by this?

There are 2 main Greek words used in the NT that mean we translate into English as “word”

1. Logos- John 1:1

John 1:1 (ESV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This word logos is commonly used to refer to Jesus, the spoken word of God himself or sometimes it refers to the entirety of the word of God

2. Rhema- this is the Greek word used here in this verse. This refers to the specific, spoken word or words given to us by the Spirit of God.

One commentator put it this way: God applies his Word (rhema) by making the Word (logos) alive and active in our specific situations. The difference between the logos and the rhema is the difference between a stockpile of weapons and a sword in a highly skilled hand. One is the invaluable arsenal; the other is a specific, well timed deployment.

In other words the sword we are using is the skilled deployment or use of the word of God for the circumstance that we are in.

We don’t use the sword the same way in every battle!

Now, this is all great information to have, and for a nerd like me its easy to only go this far in our study of what the sword of the Word is and leave out the PRACTICAL part and the APPLICATION to our everyday lives and battles.

So this morning we are going to look at 3 ways that we can use our sword as an OFFENSIVE weapon against our enemy!

The First way we use this Sword is by

1. Meditating on the Word, Having Your Sword Ready

Look at the beginning of vs 17 just before we read about the helmet of salvation.

Paul uses the operative verb “take“. He says “and take“ now we tie that verb to what he says later about the sword of the Word

So the verse actually reads, “TAKE the sword of the Spirit“

Now this word take in the Greek literally means to receive, welcome, or accept.

This gives the word take a much more intimate and deeper meaning.

Illustration with Snickers. Giving one or setting it down and taking it.

It is MUCH more intimate for me to personally hand you a gift than to just set it down and you grab it when you want.

The illustration with the snickers really doesn’t do the concept of what Paul is trying to say here justice. In fact this same word Is used in a much more intimate way in James 1:21

James 1:21 (ESV)

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

The action of receiving here is the implanting of the word into your soul!

Brothers and sisters this, the implating of the word, is the essence of meditating on the Word!

I think sometimes, at least in my mind, meditation can be looked down upon as some kind of new age practice.

But when we are talking about meditating on the word of God, its a way that we can use it as a weapon against the enemy!

Psalm 1:1–3 (ESV)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

The psalmist here is telling us that when we meditate on Gods Word, when we implant the word of God in our hearts and heads, we yield fruit and do not wither when the battle comes!

When satan throws something your way, if you already are in the practice of meditating on Gods word, your sword is ready and drawn for the battle.

You are not caught off guard with your sword still in its sheath.

You see, meditating on Gods word will Keep the sword drawn ready to fight back.

Gods Word has permeated your mind and is RIGHT there!

So we use the Sword of the Word by Meditating on it and having it ready, we also use the sword by

2. Memorizing the Word, Keeping Your Sword Sharp

When dealing with the concept of Gods Word, spiritual warfare and how we can win there is NO better person to look to than Jesus Himself.

Background. Right after Jesus baptism. A spiritual high. Satan Shows up!

Matthew 4:1–11 (ESV)

Here we get a play by play account of how Jesus handles satan and a spiritual warfare so intense that Jesus takes on Satan FACE TO FACE!

How did Jesus handle this? Remember, we are talking about the God of the universe in human flesh!

Jesus us tempted 3 times. Each one of these temptations stem from the same EXACT categories that all of our temptations come from

The first temptation is the

A. Lust of the Flesh vs. 1-4

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,

“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Jesus was hungry, his flesh was weak! Satan tempts him and how does Jesus respond? He quotes back to satan a scripture from Deut 8:3

Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

The second way Jesus was tempted was the

B. Pride of Life vs. 5-7

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

“ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’

and

“ ‘On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Here satan tempts Jesus to abuse His powers as the Son of God and he even uses scripture to sound like its ok!

Remember, when battling with satan he DOES NOT play by the rules. He is a liar, cheater, and will do ANYTHING within his power to try to take you down!

but how does Jesus respond again? He quotes a scripture from memory from Deut 6:16

Deuteronomy 6:16 ESV

“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

The third way Jesus is tempted is the

C. Lust of the Eyes vs. 8-11

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

“ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve.’ ”

11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Here satan tempts Jesus to take the easy way out

If any quick route to the Messiahship could be attained, bypassing the beating and crucifixion for which He had originally come, this was the way.

Yet the mere thought of bowing down to worship satan caused Jesus to respond back with quoting from memory Deut 6:13

Deuteronomy 6:13 ESV

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

Church have we learned something from this?

Jesus not only MEDITATED on the Word of God, but he MEMORIZED IT!

His sword was drawn and ready and it was SHARP!

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Gods word has a severe sharpness to it that it can cut us straight to the heart to convict us and when we memorize it, it can have the same effect as we fight back satan!

Remember, our words alone have ZERO power against this enemy! But when we take scripture in deep into our hearts and memorize it, when we SPEAK it, We have the power of the creator of the universe behind Us Because we are speaking HIS WORDS!

Now, the last way that we can use our sword of the Word against the enemy is to

3. Study the Word, Tighten Your Grip

The swords we have in our hands are vital to this battle! But they wont be a lot of good if during the fight with the enemy you lose your grip and the sword comes loose!

A deep study of the word of God will keep your grip firm on the weapon!

Paul charged his understudy Timothy on 2 Timothy 2:14-15 to be a person who has a firm grip on his sword

2 Timothy 2:14–15 (ESV)

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Awana Kids Say this verse out loud! Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

This phrase rightly handling or rightly dividing the word of truth gives us a picture of someone who studies the Word so that when someone or something comes along to challenge its authority, Timothy would have a firm grasp.

As believers we are to be constantly learning more and more and going deeper and deeper in The word of God!

How do we do this? Well you have to start by taking the time. Honestly this is the biggest deterrent of deep study.

It’s much easier to find something else to fill our time with. It’s much easier to just listen to the pastor share what he thinks something means

But I will tell you this, by staying on milk, your growth will stunt and you will NOT have a firm grip on the sword of The word.

Church, knowing what the Bible says is a life and death matter! Like a sword in the hand of a soldier it NEEDS to become second nature and you need to have a growing deeper understanding of it!

If you are going to have the full armor of God on then you will have to be a man or woman of this book!

There is no way around it!

Now please don’t misunderstand Me. Im not saying that you need a seminary level education! If that were the case we would all be in trouble.

What I’m saying is dig deeper than just the simple stuff in here! Think of it like daily nutrition!

We need to eat everyday. WE NEED TO BE IN THE WORD EVERYDAY!

This is not legalistic, its life or death in your spiritual battle!

Having a rounded knowledge of the scriptures will only help tighten your grip on the sword of truth, so that when the battle starts, you can swing that sword at the enemy with CONFIDENCE!

Conclusion

So we Meditate on the Word so that it’s ready for battle, we Memorize the word so that our sword is sharp, and we study the word so that we have a tight grip.

The only way that we can even begin to understand and use this sword is if we know the one who empowers us with it!

This is all just good information if you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and savior. This morning, if you want to finally fight back against satan and all the lies he hurdles at you, start by being set free from sin from a loving and sovereign savior!

Pray