Sit, Walk and Stand based on Grace and His Finished Work (15)

Put on the Full Armor of God (8) – The Sword of the Spirit

The 6th piece of the armor is an offensive weapon, it is a sword! Paul likens the Word of God to a sword. “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” ( Ephesians 6:17 NKJ). This brings to mind another verse in Hebrews where Paul uses the same powerful imagery to depict the Word of God : “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” ( Hebrews 4:12)

The sword of the Spirit is no ordinary sword, it is so effective that Jesus Himself used it against the devil and caused him to flee when He was tempted in the wilderness. “And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
⁴ But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”
⁵ Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written,‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ (Luke 4:1-8 NKJ)

In the next verse, the devil quoted scripture against Jesus! "For it is written:
‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’ and, ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”. (Luke 10,11 NKJ)

But what did Jesus say to counteract the devil's cunning tactic of misquoting the Word? Jesus answered back with the Word : "And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” (Luke 4:12 NKJ)

Take note that the devil knows how to quote scriptures too but he usually misquotes them to use against us. That is why it is so important that we study the Word. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV) Every time the evil one came against Jesus with his lies and insinuations, Jesus immediately retorted with “it is written”. What is written where? Jesus was referring to the Word of God written in the Torah, which in our context is the Bible. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, could have defeated the devil in many other ways when He was tempted but He chose to quote the Word of God. Surely, that is something for us to emulate! No wonder 1 John 2:14 tells us : “I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one. (NKJ) Isn’t this powerful? When the Word of God abides in us, we have overcome the wicked one!

It is vital to note that in John 1:1 the Bible likens Jesus to be synonymous with God’s Word : “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (NKJ) Revelation tells us : “He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.” (Revelations 19:13 NKJ). The Word of God and Jesus cannot be separated, they are one! This is why there is so much power in the Scriptures. Evil spirits tremble and flee when the Word of God is spoken with authority against them by God’s children because they know that the Word represents the very essence of Jesus Himself, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The Word carries all the backing of Almighty God. That is how powerful the Word of God is and also the reason why Paul tells us to take the sword of the Spirit in our battle against the evil one.

--------------------to be continued-----------------------