Ephesians 6:13-17
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The sword is the only offensive weapon, so-to-speak, mentioned in the outfit known as the armor of God. I say “so-to-speak” because I suddenly remember some quotes from my football coach: “a good defense is a good offense,” and “offense wins games, defense wins championships.” Technically, all of our defensive tools are what give us the best offense against our opponents because we have a solid foundation that keeps us strong and sturdy.
On my way to work this morning, I was thinking about today’s devotional and about the Sword of the Spirit. I thought back to about a month or two ago when I was helping out with the 5th and 6th graders’ Sunday school class and we were talking about being the light in the midst of the darkness. The boys, in discussing Star Wars references concluded that our bible, the Word of God, is a light saber to use against the enemy. So true, it is a sword of Light.
Then I remembered the description of Christ in the Revelation of John, which describes to us what he saw in the vision of the second coming of Christ:
Revelation 1:16
16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
His tongue is a two edged sword. This repeats the same concept, that His Word is a Sword. The very word that He speaks is like a sword. The bible is that word. We are reminded of this in the beginning of John, 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
We have a gift in the bible, it is our holy weapon against our foes. This doesn’t mean you should go beating people with it, but rather that as our spiritual weapon, we are to wield it as such. Jesus exemplified this for us at the beginning of His ministry when he fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and was tested. We see three specific examples where He clings to the Truth of the Word to defeat the enemy, who fled from Him once he realized Christ was effective and efficient in swinging His Sword. Look at how those two words slide together: HisSword. HisS word. His Word.
How are you treating the weapon God has given you? Are you constantly practicing, sharpening, and personalizing it for battle? Are you making sure you practice the right grip? The right swing? Different swings for different situations? In the Marines we clung to our weapon and made it ours. It was, what they called “our government issued girlfriend.” We were to care for it, love it, and depend on it. We cleaned it constantly, practiced with it as often as we could, we memorized every last feature of it. We carried it everywhere, why? Because you never know when you will need it.
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