Ephesians 6:17b - Christian Armor; The Word of God.
Ephesians 6:17b: Christian Armor; The Word of God.
Ephesians 6:17b (KJV) and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God:
INTRODUCTION
There exists a world outside of our own - a world we cannot
see, a spirit world where real battles are fought. When you became a
Christian, you took a side against evil in this cosmic struggle - and you
became a part of it.
The battle is not against enemies of flesh and blood.
Instead, we battle the demons over whom Satan has control, the fallen
angels who joined Satan in his rebellion and thus became perverted and
evil. These are real and powerful beings, not mere fantasies, and
believers must not underestimate them. What are their tactics? Demons can
at times cause physical, psychological, and emotional turmoil. More
often they seek ways to keep nonbelievers in unbelief and render
believers ineffective through moral failings.
God does not leave us without protection and weapons,
however. With this host of spiritual forces arrayed against us, we need
God's full armor. Our enemy is powerful, but he is also a defeated
foe. As you prepare to engage him in spiritual warfare, don't be
intimidated by his influence. Use the full armor of God and stand together
with other believers. [The One Year Bible for New Believers re
Eph.6:10-17]
We must depend on God's strength to defend against the attacks
of Satan and his army. God has provided us with his power by
filling us with his Holy Spirit. It is his Spirit that cloaks us with
protection: the belt of truth, the body armor of righteousness, the shoes of
the Good News, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit - God's Word. And as we fight spiritual battles,
we must constantly rely on God's Spirit to guide us. And you don't
have to fight alone. God's army - the church - is filled with God's
Spirit as well, uniting us together against the mighty powers in
this dark world.[One Year NLT SB re Eph. 6:10-17]
The armor is Christ himself. Putting on the armor is equivalent
to putting on Christ. The power of Christ is sufficient to stand
against all evil and temptation that a believer will encounter [New
Bible Companion]
WORD STUDY
Sword of the Spirit. The other parts of the armor are defensive
only, whereas this is both defensive and offensive. [SDA Bible
Commentary]
The phrase of the Spirit means that the Holy Spirit is
both the source of Gods word, and the one who gives effectiveness
to its cutting edge (see John 16:8-11). [College Press NIV
Commentary]
Word. It is with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, that
the Christian cuts his way through all circumstances. [SDA Bible
Commentary]
COMMENTARY
To the Christian armed for defense in battle, the apostle
recommends only one weapon of attack; but it is enough, the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God. It subdues and mortifies evil desires
and blasphemous thoughts as they rise within; and answers unbelief
and error as they assault from without. A single text, well
understood, and rightly applied, at once destroys a temptation or an
objection, and subdues the most formidable adversary Scripture-arguments
are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with. Christ
himself resisted Satan's temptations with, It is written, . This, being hid in the heart, will preserve from sin , and will mortify and kill those lusts and corruptions that are
latent there. (Matthew Henry's Commentary)
A single text of Scripture is better to meet a temptation, than
all the philosophy which the world contains. The tempter can reason,
and reason plausibly too. But he cannot resist a direct and positive
command of the Almighty. Had Eve adhered simply to the Word of God, and
urged his command, without attempting to "reason" about it, she would
have been safe. The Saviour , met the tempter with
the Word of God, and he was foiled. So we shall be safe if we adhere
to the simple declarations of the Bible, and oppose a temptation by
a positive command of God. But, the moment we leave that, and
begin to parley with sin, that moment we are gone. It is as if a man
should throw away his sword, and use his naked hands only in meeting an
adversary Temptation often assails us so suddenly that it checks all
"reasoning;" but a text of Scripture will suffice to drive the tempter from
us. (Barnes' Notes)
These pieces of armor are for the believers protection; the
sword of the Spirit and prayer are weapons for attacking Satans
strongholds and defeating him. The Christian must fight spiritual enemies
with spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:4), and the Word of God is the only
sword we need. Gods sword has life and power (Heb. 4:12) and never
grows dull. Christians conquer as they understand Gods Word,
memorize it, and obey it. [Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
Why are the Scriptures described as a sword provided by the
Holy Spirit? Quite simply, it is the Holy Spirit who has given us the
Scriptures. They come altogether from Him.
It was the Holy Spirit who inspired men to write them: "Moved
by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God" (2Pt 1:21). Again in 2
Timothy 3:16 we read: "All Scripture is inspired by God""a statement
which assures us that the Scriptures come from the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is not a mere human document. The Holy Spirit
breathed into men and inspired them to write the way they did. This does
not mean that the people who wrote the Scriptures did so
mechanically, in the way that a dictating machine would record someone's
dictation. The Holy Spirit used their natural way of expression but gave
them an additional ability to write without error.
It is vital, if you are to win the battle against Satan, that
you not only see this truth but believe it. When you consider how
powerful Satan is, you need something that is even more powerful. The
Bible, the inspired Word of God, is your strength.
One step further"only the Holy Spirit can enable us truly
to understand God's Word: "We have not received the spirit of the
world, but the Spirit who is from God, in order to know what has been
freely given to us by God" (1Co 2:12). Without the Holy Spirit, we
would be no more able to understand the Scriptures than a blind man
could judge a beauty contest.
Gracious Holy Spirit, just as You breathed into the Bible to
give it its life and power, breathe also into my heart today so that
I might know and understand its truth. I ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen. [Every Day With Jesus Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional re
Deu. 11:18]
Christians who do not accept the authority of the Scriptures
have no effective weapon with which to overcome Satan. It is as
simple as that. If you are not certain that the Bible is the Word of
God, if you do not believe that it is without error in all that it
affirms, then you are like a soldier with a broken sword.
To use the sword of the Spirit effectively, we need to have
as wide a knowledge of the Bible as possible. Let me take you back
to Christ's encounter with Satan in the wilderness of temptation.
When Satan advanced, Jesus took up the sword of the Spirit and knew
exactly which particular Scriptures to use to rebut each of the three
separate temptations of the Devil.
If we are to conquer Satan in the same way that Jesus
conquered him, then we must know the Bible in its entirety. It is no good
saying to the Devil: "The verse I want to use against you is somewhere
in the Bible." You must quote it to him and quote it precisely.
You need a deep, intensive program of study if you are to
become proficient in the use of the Scriptures against Satan. Decide
right now to commit yourself to exploring the Bible more deeply and
thoroughly than you have ever done before.
O Father, I see that the more I know of Your Word, the more
effective I will be in resisting Satan. Show me how to go more deeply into
the Scriptures than I have ever done before. In Jesus' name I pray.
Amen. [Every Day With Jesus Bible with Selwyn Hughes devotional re
Acts 17:11]
CLOSING THOUGHT
The superbly crafted sword felt smooth and solid in my hands
as I slowly drew it out of its protective scabbard. Wow! Whoever
made this beauty certainly knew what they were doing. Perfection of
heft and balance, flawless artisanry down to the smallest detail.
Bright reflections of the morning light danced off the highly polished
steel, dazzling my eyes. It was an exceptional work of art. With great
care I gingerly fingered the razor-sharp edges, imagining how easily
they would slice through bone and gristle. But being a man of peace,
I can't imagine actually using it to do harm, though I can easily
see why it's a weapon of choice for hand-to-hand combat.
Fortunately, it's just a showpiece now, for ceremony and display.
But wait, there is a war going on - an intense and deadly
serious one. The struggle is for my allegiance and yours. Will you turn
your back on Jesus? Unless you maintain a fine sword and keep honing
that edge daily, you are in mortal danger of compromising faith. Your
personal sword of truth is your most important weapon for fighting this
spiritual warfare. Knowing and living the truth found in God's Word is
crucial. To survive the conflict, we must treasure truth.
Does anybody really care about truth anymore? In a study by
Common Sense Media, nearly a quarter of middle and high school students
surveyed didn't think that having notes on their cell phone was really
cheating. One third had actually used them during tests and quizzes.
Cheating on marriage vows, tax returns, government contracts, and the
like seems to be the norm. Scientists falsify data. Employees steal
from their employers. Shoplifting is epidemic and raises the cost of
goods for all of us. The theft of music and software attracts much
media attention. This world is awash in lies, deceit, and dishonesty -
all started by that first lie in the garden: "You will not certainly
die" (Gen. 3:4, NIV).
Jesus came to liberate us from the tyranny of lies and the
distrust and broken relationships that result. God's Word, the sword of
the spirit, is truth. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NKJV).
Christians should love the truth, study the truth, memorize the truth, and
live the truth. Without a sharp sword, we won't be able to separate
truth from error.
Lord, has my sword lost its edge from inattention? Help me to
keep it sharp through spending time in Your Word. [God of Wonders by
David Steen]
ONE LINER
We take up the sword of the Spirit so that we can combat Satan's
lies with Scripture's truth. [Life Principles SB By Charles Stanley]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/
ABible.com: http://www.aBible.com
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK
Restoring The Power by John Bradshaw:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRogO1SxoZN15Boa7BMon4BouVMdteVaq
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
Last Day Prophecy: His Other Sheep by Pastor Gerald Babanezhad:
https://vimeo.com/162267518
