The Sword of the Spirit

There are two opposing forces in this world – God and
Satan. As children of God, we are at war with Satan.
He is our enemy, and we cannot allow ourselves to
be defeated by him. To help us win this victory, Paul tells us
to put on the whole armor of God. Most of the pieces of this
armor are defensive – that is, they help to protect us when
we face our enemy. There is, however, an offensive weapon
at our disposal: the Sword of the Spirit.

The word of God is powerful. As the writer of Hebrews
says, His word “is living and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12). It pierces the heart
(Acts 2:37). It illuminates the path that we should walk
(Ps. 119:105).

The word of God is powerful enough to train us in every
good deed. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may
be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work”
(2 Tim. 3:16-17). There is no way that God could tell us
specifically every good work that is possible. The book
would simply be too long for us to read or comprehend.
However, in the word of God, we have the principles that
we need for life and every good work. It equips us for
everything that is good. For example, Jesus teaches us that
the greatest command is to love the Lord our God with all
that we have; and the second greatest is to love our neighbor
as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39). But then He adds this simple
statement: “On these two commandments hang all the Law
and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40). Everything that we do is
based on our love for God and our love for our fellow man.

If we are going to fully unleash the power of the word
of God, we must use it properly. We must study it daily
(Acts 17:11). We meditate on it “day and night” (Ps. 1:2). We
must “rightly divide the word of truth,” using it in the proper
context (2 Tim. 2:15). But the only way we can use the word
of God effectively is if it is written in our hearts. When
Moses was preparing Israel to enter the Promised Land, he
said, “And these words which I command you today shall be
in your heart” (Deut. 6:6). He goes on to tell them that they
should teach them to their children; and they should talk
about them throughout the day (Deut. 6:7-9). Today, the
word of God must still be written in our hearts (Heb. 8:10).

There will always be those who challenge us in our faith. They (Satan) will want us to give up on God; and they will
do whatever they can to get us away from Him. We must
rely on the word of God for the answers to these challenges.
Early in His ministry, Jesus faced Satan in the wilderness
(Matt. 4:1-11). In three different ways, Satan tempted Jesus.
Each time, Jesus responded by saying, “It is written…” in
order to help Him deal with temptation, Jesus trusted in the
word of God. If Jesus trusted in the word of God, we also
ought to trust in His word.

With everything that is going on in our lives, we must
always be ready for the battle we face with Satan. The only
way to truly be prepared is to put on the whole armor of
God, and to arm ourselves with the sword of the Spirit.

-John Voss