The Sword of the Spirit

Bible Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20

“And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)

The last piece of armour which Paul teaches us to put on is the sword of the Spirit. Out of the six pieces of armour, only the sword is used for offence as well as defence. In conclusion to the armour, Paul teaches us that victory in our spiritual battle against sin and temptation is ultimately the work of the Spirit through God’s Word. 

In essence, it goes something like this. First of all, God’s Word in being is the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. Ultimately, the victory of our battle is because Christ has defeated Satan and the clasp of evil when He entered into it on the cross and rose victorious from it. If Jesus died for our sins and stayed dead, Satan and evil would have prevailed over Him, meaning it would continue to prevail over all of mankind. However, Jesus resurrected from the dead, defeating the power and dominion of death. John Owen wrote a book about this with an interesting title; The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. 

Because Jesus died, the final victory for His people is a surety. However, in the meantime, Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be our helper and counsellor until the day when He plans to return and make known His kingship over all creation. The Spirit is the one who helps us fight our day to day battles as we journey on in the process of sanctification. God’s plan for us was that we would enter this spiritual battle so that day by day, He could work in us to change us to see and adore His glory and work more and more. The Spirit is working; however, the Spirit does not work apart from God’s Word. 

This case talks about God’s written Word, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. God knew that oral tradition would not be ideal with billions of people, so at the right time and moment, God inspired human writers to write the scriptures, which are God’s infallible words. In His providence and guidance, this collection of letters, poems, prophecies and other forms of writing were put together into one book we call the Bible. 

The Bible is God’s truth and the truth of the universe. It is through these truths that the Spirit works to change us and give us victory. The Spirit uses the Word that we read or hear to give us strength to win over sin and resist temptation. The Spirit encourages us and kindles a zeal to radically live for God through the Word we read or hear. The Spirit changes our old ways into new ones and builds our faith through the Word of God we read or hear. 

The Spirit will never work apart from the Word of God. There is assured victory in the Spirit; however, the only method the Spirit works in us in our Christian life is through the Word of God. It is our duty and responsibility to read, listen to, study, sing, and memorise the Word of God. It is our responsibility to meditate on it day and night. If we are to go anywhere in our faith in our spiritual battle, be it at school or home, we must start in God’s Word. 

Ask God for a serious burden and desire to come to God’s Word afresh every morning. Ask God to give you His personal Word and pray that the Spirit works to let us know Him. That way, we can obey Him and grow in our faith. Make a serious and lasting commitment to prioritise God’s Word in our daily life. There is assured spiritual victory when the Spirit works. And the Spirit only works through the transformative power of the Word of God. 

Lord, please give me Your Word every morning. Make it my meditation day and night. Thank You that the victory of faith is sure in Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your Spirit who works and sanctifies us day by day until You return. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Teach me to do my part and help me to change my habits and commit to Your Word even more throughout my day to day life. Thank You for Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.