The Sword of the Spirit: Part 2
In The Sword of the Spirit: Part 1 we learned the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. In Part 2, let’s talk about how you can use the Word of God offensively to take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
In 2nd Timothy 3:16-17, Paul writes to Timothy,
“ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
There are 3 key ideas here which will help you wield the Sword of the Spirit effectively.
1) All Scripture is God-breathed: God-breathed means that God inspired the writers through the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote. God-breathed means the Scripture contains the very words of God himself. But God-breathed means more than simply inspiration. God also breathed power into the words of the Scriptures—enormous power, the power of God. Have you ever read a good book and been affected. Of course you have. The Bible is different. When you read the words of the Bible the power of God through the Holy Spirit activates and produces life-change within your being. So God-breathed means more than inspired…it means infused with the very power of God himself.
2) And is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness: The fact that God breathed tremendous power in the Scripture raises a big question. What is the power used for? Fortunately Paul answered the question by writing that Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. Ok…the next question is useful for who? Who is in need of teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness? Are you a follower of Jesus? If so, the answer is you…and me…and every other follower of Jesus. I know for me, it takes a lot to teach me. Even more to correct me and rebuke me. Yet I also know that sometimes in my relationship with God I need those things. Not from you. I need those things from God. I want God to teach me, rebuke me, correct me, and train me in righteousness. I might not like what God says to me…but if it truly comes from God I am okay with it. So God uses the power he breathed into his words to accomplish these things.
3) So that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work: How many good works? Every good work. This is one of the goals for the power God breathed into the Scriptures. Not just to equip you, but to thoroughly equip you. Think about that for a moment. God wants to use the Scripture to equip you to do good works. That is amazing. But go a bit deeper. Whose good works are they? You might say your good works. I suppose they are your good works because you do them…but whose good works are they. The answer is God’s.
I love Ephesians 2:10 which says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
This means God prepared good works for you to do in advance. How advance? I am not sure. Certainly before you do them. The point is God has prepared the works for you to do. Not only that, but you are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do the good works God prepared in advance for you. So God has given you the Scriptures to teach you, rebuke you, correct you, and train you in righteousness so you can do the good works he has prepared in advance for you to do. That is amazing. Your Sword helps you go on the attack—but for good, to bring more Light into the world, to beat back the darkness.
In my next and final post on the Sword of the Spirit, we’ll learn practical ways to use its power in our every day lives.
