Sword of the Spirit
It is amazing how relevant this still is. Here Paul paints a picture of a Roman soldier & reminds us firstly that we at war. Therefore, we need t be in full combat gear.
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:13-17 NIV
My favorite part is the last line. It is interesting that the Word of God is the only offensive part of this armor.
The sword ⚔️ of the spirit – the Word of God is the only part of our combat/war gear that can be used to attack the enemy.
This point is further exemplified when Jesus was tempted by the enemy after fasting for 40 days, his rebuttal to the enemy was always “It is written..do not put the Lord to test” Matth 4:7
Every time he quoted the word he was performing warfare & sticking the ‘sword’ into his enemy.
Furthermore not only is the word an offensive tool but Jesus equates it to 🥖 bread. In the verse he says “..man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes from the Lord.” Matth 4:4-6. Bread was such a core part of the culture it was equivalent to a meal.
Meaning your spirit man is weak and cannot fight when you have no Word in you. Ever tried to do anything of importance on an empty belly? It is hard to do so.
Brothers let us encourage each to stay in the Word for it is food to our spirit man and an offensive weapon against the enemy.