Word on the Word

Ephesians 6:17b

Receive the Word of God. God’s self-revelation is our offensive weapon. This is Scripture when made alive in us by the Spirit. It is also the ongoing revelation of God… when made alive in us by the Spirit. It is the Spirit in us that gives us the ability to hear, discern and use the Word of God.

God says to us: It is dangerous to go alone. Take this.

Without the revelation of God, we have nothing to say, nothing to fight with and nothing to fight for.

The Magic Book

I remember as a kid reading through the Bible. 4th or 5th grade, I powered through the whole thing. Cover to cover. And it was I think mostly a bragging rights kind of thing… I’ve read the whole Bible. Huzzah!

But I also remember my mind wandering through parts of it. And wondering about the book. The Word of God was Holy, I had heard that my whole life. So what did that mean? Could I tear a page out of it or would God strike me down?

… and once that question occurred to me I wanted to test it… but I couldn’t! Because I didn’t want to die!

Then this happened. Someone defaced my bible. I think it was my sister.

That is a lie, written right inside the Word of God. It is not the property of <name>… it is my Bible. You can see the gold embossed name on the cover. Come on!

My naïve illusion was shattered. God doesn’t seem to protect His word in that way. The physical book isn’t magical. It isn’t magic. And yet we treat these words as if they had a kind of magical power.

Why? What is the power? What is the Word of God?

The Best Defense is a Good Offense

Ephesians 6:13-17

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The Gladius

The Gladius, a short sword (longsword is a different word in Greek). The soldier generally led with his shield and thrust with his sword.

The sword is important because the best offense is a good defense. In a football game, if you have the best defense in the world, but you never score a point, you are going to have problems. The best you can do is tie.

If you are on a battlefield and you are armored up invincibly… but you have no weapon, what are you doing there? You can dance (if you want to). But you can’t really fight. All the other stuff keeps the soldier alive, but it all comes down to sword-work at some point. It comes down to stabbing the enemy with the sword.

The best defense is a good offense. Defense is important, but you need some way to make the enemy flee, to leave the field, or to die.

And this Gladius, this short sword, was tremendously effective. No showy swings or dance moves. Step forward, stab from behind the shield (or under the shield).

Sword of the Spirit… which is the Word

This is a departure from the usual phrasing.

Previously we have had a clear pattern, the metaphor and the thing it represents. Shield of faith. Helmet of Righteousness. But now we have a complicated phrase. Sword of the Spirit… and if it stopped there it actually makes perfect sense. We receive the Spirit of God and His power enables us to go and accomplish. But modifying that whole phrase, explaining it, recasting it is this: which is the Word of God. The sword of the Spirit = the Word of God.

This is a bit of an odd combo… but it’s great. It comes down to what is “Word of God.”

What is the Word of God?

Our initial reaction is to hold up the magic book. This is Word of God. Holy Scripture. The Bible! And that is a great answer, because this is Word of God.

But is that the end of the Word of God? Did God stop talking? And how is it that these particular writings are Word of God?

How did these come about?

Someone wrote something down because they thought it was important. A letter to a church giving wise counsel. A record of an event. A chronicle. A song of praise. Wise sayings.

Someone read it and, within them, the Holy Spirit caused those words to come alive and have meaning and revelation within them. Those words were used to reveal something about God, something about humanity, something about themselves.

And a few scrolls, a few writings did that faithfully for many people, copies were made (and that was time consuming and expensive), but they were made because the Holy Spirit so consistently used those words, those letters, those chronicles, those gospels, the Holy Spirit so consistently used them in the life of individuals and churches.

Word of God simply means words that God spoke. His words. Living words that God spoke. Ones that come alive and have meaning and power time after time. Not just something he said one time. But words that reveal something true about himself, something true about what He has done, and something true about me when I read them. It is “Word of God” when God speaks them anew through his Holy Spirit.

God’s Words = Living words that God speaks

This [Bible] is a collection of writings that churches and people for millennia have recognized as being faithful and powerful words that the Holy Spirit makes alive in us.

And this is why the Spirit part makes sense in there. Without the Spirit, these are intellectual curiosities. Dead words. Ancient relics from a back country in the Middle East.

But the Holy Spirit makes them come alive. That is God taking the words from the page, making them His own spoken to you in that moment, and then they have truth and power and life.

The Bible we have are writings that have proven to be Word of God in people’s lives for thousands of years.

Word of God Today

And yet, God continues to speak.

God continues to speak to you. To give you Word of God. And he gives you the Holy Spirit, and that is what responds within you to His Word. It makes it transform, come alive.

That is how dead words on a page (in Scripture) are given life and power to change you.

But it also happens with words or ideas that come to you in listening prayer. Where you recognize the stamp of the Holy Spirit on that idea.

It happens frequently in wise counsel from friends or mentors. They speak into your life, and it is powerful. Supernaturally effective.

Discerning the Word

This gives us a tremendous gift. When we are listening for the Word of God through any other means. Through listening prayer. Through sermons. Through wise counsel from friends or mentors. We have a check.

God is absolutely consistent in Word and Character. So any Word he gives now will be consistent with Scripture.

This is why we can read something from a prophet like Muhammad and Joseph Smith. They claim to be adding new revelation, new Scripture, but what they say is not consistent with what God has said and revealed about himself previously.

So we listen for the Word of God.

And we test the words, to see what is true, what is faithful, what is His.

And then, with the trusted and proven words of God, we take that into battle. We use it.

How is this Spiritual Warfare?

Fencing with the Word of God. It is a battle for the truth. What did God say? How does the world work?

Satan’s first temptation started with just this kind of deception. “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”

Twisting his words, changing his words.

Example: Jesus the Fencing Master

In Jesus, we have the fencing master. He knew the Word of God. He was and IS the Word of God.

Matthew 4:1-11

1 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.’”

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.’” 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.

So Jesus is quoting the Scripture. But the Old Testament wasn’t canonized yet, so he didn’t have a handy volume. He was quoting from faithful prophets and writings. In this case, he quotes from Deuteronomy, the very core, the most foundational, trusted and faithful to the Jewish people.

Jesus had filled his mind with the Word of God, tested and trusted, and thus was ready to use to stab apart the devil’s deceptions and half-truths.

Example: The Words in Ephesians

The Ephesians are receiving this word, but as a letter from a wise mentor. They heard this word and received it as the Word of God.

Example: Next Step Vision – God’s More Preferable Future

The simple truth that God had a more preferable future for his people in this church. And now we stand in that more preferable future.

How do we Receive the Sword of the Spirit?

Listen and Receive.

Listen to the Word. Read it and hear it, it is trustworthy.

Listen to wise counsel. Seek it out.

Test It

Especially when you hear something new, something new to you. Test it against Scripture, for that is so faithfully, infallibly, His word. This is why, in the Protestant church, we say “Sola Scriptura” or Scripture Alone. If you can’t backup your hearing of God’s word with His Scripture, show that what you are hearing is fully consistent with His Word revealed here… then we are pretty sure you are off the reservation.

Use It

And then, as Jesus modeled, we use the Word of God to pick apart the lies of the enemy. The twistings of truth. The half-truths. He seeks to steal the joy of Christ’s victory and render us ineffective for His Kingdom.

It Is Dangerous To Go Alone

We hear a “word of God” because we are listening for it.

We test the “word” for consistency with Scripture.

We allow the proven Word of God to shape and transform our lives.

We use the Word to stab apart the enemy’s deception and confusion. We use it.

In the very first opening screen of Zelda, Link walks into a cave and encounters an old man. And the old man says: It is dangerous to go alone. Take this.

That sword is then Link’s companion for the rest of the game. You upgrade it, you replace it with better ones, but Link is never without his sword. He uses it to take his enemies apart. (And if he has full health, his sword can shoot out across the screen, which is really useful).

God says to us: It is dangerous to go alone. Take this.

Without the revelation of God, we have nothing to say, nothing to fight with and nothing to fight for.

You have nothing to say, nothing to fight with, nothing to fight for. Unless you have the Word of God. Which he is giving to you.

Arm yourselves. Receive it. Our world may be growing darker and more dangerous in the spiritual realm, and that shouldn’t surprise us. But we also have more and greater access to the Word of God than ever!

Not only can you all have easy access to Bibles, you can have that word on your phone for free at all times. You can listen to it being read to you with the touch of a button! Shout-out to all those joining me on this year through the Bible in the audible Message.

You can hear and discern the Word in the midst of sermons… and you aren’t limited to only me. You can podcast great preachers around the world for free, and you have to listen carefully, and you have to discern and test, but you can hear the Word of God.

Vision Word – What is Next for Next Step?

This is where we are as a church right now. We are seeking God’s next steps. We are seeking and listening for God’s word as to his more preferable future.

We are listening for God’s word. Listen with us. Pray for me, pray for all of our leaders. We are looking to receive a freshly forged sword from His hand. It is dangerous to go alone, God speak your Word to us.

We are testing what He does speak to us. We believe that the Spirit works through the Community of the Spirit. So as I think I hear something from God, I submit that Vision to the leaders in the church, then to the church community as a whole, and we test it. We see if the Spirit within us responds and makes those words come alive. Is it consistent with Scripture? Does it burn within us, challenge us, and change us?

And then we put it to use to stab our enemy in the face.