In today's devotional, we’re talking about “The Sword of the Spirit,” which is the word of God. Paul has used this illustration because we need an offense and defense weapon to protect ourselves.
One of the ways the Romans made their sword was by making it double-edged so that it would make it easier to penetrate, as well as to cut in every way. In the same way, the word of God can also penetrate and cut in every way to go straight to the heart.
In Hebrews 4:12 it says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The sword is a weapon that belongs to the Holy Spirit. Just like the soldier, it was to protect himself from harm or to attack the enemy to overcome or kill. In both cases, it was necessary for a soldier to get training on the proper use of the sword to get maximum protection. All Christian soldiers need the same training to know how to properly handle the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The sword that Paul refers to here is the Holy Scriptures. We know from 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that the word of God is from the Holy Spirit and written by men. We, as Christians, are on a spiritual battlefield with the evil forces of this world and we need to know how to handle the word properly. If we do this, we will know how to effectively defend against Satan and his demons.
In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 it says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Sword of the Spirit
The purpose of the Sword of the Spirit, the Bible, is to make us strong and able to withstand the evil attacks from Satan. Psalms 119:11, 33-40, 99-105 talks about just that. The Holy Spirit uses the power of the word to save souls and then to give them spiritual strength to mature into soldiers of the Lord, aiding in the fight in this corrupt and evil world we live in. The more we study and know the word of God, the more useful we will be in doing the will of God. The spirit will use the word of God to reveal God's will to you and to help you know what to pray for and do.
Matthew 4:1-10 talks about how Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days in the desert. Jesus constantly rebuked Satan's temptation by quoting scriptures. This, to me, is another example of how God shows us that His ways are better than ours. If it was good enough for Jesus, then it must be for us.
God bless,
E.