The Sword of the Spirit: Part 1

In Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul introduces the idea of the armor of God:

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

We get some bad news in this verse: the devil is scheming against you.

Some good news: you can take a stand.

And some better news: God will equip you with armor. But you need to put on the full armor. Not part of the armor. Not half of the armor. But all the armor.

Every piece of armor God has given you is important to take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Every piece.

Now normally when I think of armor, I picture a helmet, a breastplate, a shield…etc.

Paul talks about all of these pieces of armor in Ephesians 6. There are a lot of pieces. But he mentions one piece I did not expect. That piece is the sword…called the “Sword of the Spirit.”

Roman foot soldiers typically carried a sword called a gladius. It was about 2 feet long, two-edged, and came to a point. In this way the sword was useful for either slashing or stabbing opponents. In the first century, a stab wound to the torso was typically fatal.

So Paul takes the physical image of a sword and converts it to a spiritual sword called the “Sword of the Spirit.”

The unique part of the Sword of the Spirit is that it’s the only offensive weapon. It’s designed to attack. I suppose the helmet could be offensive if you headbutted your enemy with it, but the helmet is not designed to be offensive. I suppose the shield can be offensive if you threw it at someone but it is not designed to be offensive. The sword however is specifically meant for offense.

So in standing against the devil’s schemes, you have an offensive weapon. The question though is how then do you use your sword offensively? It is important to know. What good is your sword if you don’t know how to use it?

How to use the sword offensively may surprise you. The reality is using the Sword of the Spirit offensively is very important to your spiritual growth. Use your sword properly, and you will grow spiritually.

So what actually is the Sword of the Spirit?

Fortunately Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:17. He writes,

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

So the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. This is important because that makes the Bible, which is the word of God, your sword.

This point is enormously important to your spiritual growth because it highlights that the Word of God is your offensive weapon. The Word of God is how you can offensively take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

But how do you use the Word of God offensively in your life to defend yourself against the attacks of Satan? In my next post, I’ll show you.