Spirit Sword

And take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (6:17)

All of the weaponry, or believer’s equipment described in this passage, have been defensive pieces. We come now to the one piece that is both defensive and offensive. The sword.

The sword referenced here is not a flashing, shiny long sword, like one you might see on a fireplace at an English countryside castle, or one brandished about wildly in a medieval battle movie scene. The word used here for sword is a ‘short sword’, and used in close-range combat. 

The Enemy comes at us in close range, up-front and personal.

Without providing even a modest exposition of the passage in Matthew 4, I join a list of writers and preachers who make a necessary connection with how Jesus responded to the Enemy during his wilderness temptation. The Enemy was in his face, demanding he prove himself. Demanding that he show everyone how great he was, and that he was an extreme miracle worker. If you are who you say you are, then demonstrate your supernatural power! Validate yourself in my presence and at my command.

In every attempt by the Enemy to tempt Jesus to sin, Jesus replied with direct words from Scripture, and referenced every reply as being from Scripture. In other words, he quoted both his source and content as being from Scripture.

One of the most intriguing exchanges is when the Enemy quotes Scripture. Yes—he used the Word of God in an attempt to overtake Jesus, demanding that he jump from the high point of the Temple. The Enemy quoted Psalm 91, telling him that God would send his angels to protect his servant. But note that he “used” the Word out of context, and for the wrong motivation. The point is that even though the words of God entered the conversation from the Enemy’s side, they were not life-giving, but completely inappropriate. It’s almost as if the Enemy said, “Ah! You can use the Word of God? Well, I can, too! Try this one on for size. What’s your response now?!” The answer from Jesus is recorded by Matthew as simply, “Jesus responded, ‘The Scriptures also say you must not tempt the Lord your God’.”

What do we learn from the example of Jesus?

First, and it’s easy to overlook, Jesus himself was not exempt from the attack of the Enemy. We might be tempted to think the Enemy had enough brain to know not to attack the Eternal Son of God! But that didn’t matter to him. He came at him anyway. As God’s people, we need to be alert that the Enemy has tried to take down our head, and we know from history that he tries the same with us.

Secondly, Jesus held his ground. He did not give in to the urgings of the Enemy. He did not take action on the basis of the lies of the Enemy. His defensive posture was also an offensive one. Nor did he just stamp his foot and say “Go away!” In each temptation, what flowed out of Jesus was the Message that God had given to his people.

Of the various pieces of this whole armor, the sword is different in a couple of ways.  I’ve already mentioned that it is the one piece of equipment that it used for both offense and defense. Another is that it receives an additional description from Paul, apart from simply being named. He calls it the sword of the spirit, the word of God.

First, what is the spirit that is referenced here? Interestingly, Paul did not use the fuller expression, the Holy Spirit, as in the sword of the Holy Spirit. Does he mean ‘human spirit’, as in the ‘sword is one residing deeply in the spirit of God’s people—and it’s the Word of God. When confronted, the believer pulls out this sword from deep within and engages the Enemy.’ I don’t think so.

Throughout Ephesians, Paul has referenced the Holy Spirit. Sometimes he has used the fuller description, Holy Spirit, in which he talks about the basis for the guarantee of our salvation as in 1:13, and in the next verse, same context, he used just Spirit. In 4:23, he uses just Spirit, in his reference to letting the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes. A few verses later, in 4:30, he uses a much fuller phrase, God’s Holy Spirit. Then in 5:18, he uses Holy Spirit in talking about the believer’s infilling. And so on. My point is that throughout Ephesians, Paul uses Spirit and Holy Spirit interchangeably to indicate the person of the divine Trinity who is present and active in our lives. There is no indication that he could have meant human spirit as the sword in the whole armor discussion. Here is a continuing reference to God the Holy Spirit.

We rejoice that the sword of defense and attack comes from the Holy Spirit! It’s readily available. It is not one that we have to find or fabricate. But we do have to allocate. What exactly is it? Paul could have just left the identification as the Spirit’s sword, and moved on, leaving it to us to describe, or imagine. But he went further. He identified this piece of armor as the Word of God.

God has been speaking to his people from Day One. He has been making his desires known. Telling his people how to live, love, and honor God and others. His Word is reflective of his character and purpose. It is life-giving! And remarkably, it has been written down for us.

As one whose life work is handling the words of God in the written Word of God in Bible translation, I am constantly amazed at how he has preserved his truth and Word for us, transmitting over many centuries through the miracle of written communication. He wanted his message to be known, and he has done so. In the words of evangelist John Wesley, “God has condescended to show us the way, and He has written it down in a book!”

For the believer to stand his or her ground in this Enemy attack, where does the Word need to reside? Notice that when Jesus was confronted by the Enemy, he didn’t have to go to a written scroll to “look things up.” God’s Message was internalized. When confronted, God’s Message came out of him. (And interestingly, back to the ‘spirit’ idea, this Word came from deep within his spirit! The Holy Spirit brought it up from within him.) But sometimes, we may need to reference his written Word, or seek help from a friend to point us to a text or story.

The Enemy’s attacks are attempts to bring death and destruction to us. Jesus identified his work in John 10:10 as stealing, killing, and destroying. But the Word from God brings life.

The Enemy’s attacks are based on lies. But God’s Word is based on truth—truth about who God is, about what he has done, about what he will do, and about who is people are.

The Enemy attacks to halt the advance of the Kingdom of God, carried out through the Body of Christ. But God says that all the powers of hell will not conquer it (Matthew 16:18).

God has generously provided for us the necessary weapon for close-in combat. With the Word of God, we are able to resist this foe, who delights in getting in our face to tempt, mock, and spew hatred. Without the Word of God, we will not stand firm. This is why we must be soaked in the Word, and have its roots and evidence deep in our spirits. We often don’t get an advance warning when this weapon will be needed. But when it is, let’s be ready.

To arms!

“Father, thank you for this sharpest of all weapons, your Message. Where would we be without it? You have miraculously enabled us to receive it. We ask you to keep the Enemy from keeping us from the Word! Yet again, at the point of battle, thank you for providing what we need from what you can give. Thank you again that we do not have to try to trust ourselves or our own gifts and talents and strength. We trust you, the One who has revealed himself through his Message as God Almighty, the Protector of his people.”