The Whole Armor of God - Sword of the Spirit

The Sword of the Spirit

I have become a fan of the spiritual armor in the last months – simply because it has become very necessary for me. Paul described about it in the letter to the Ephesians, so that they are equipped for the spiritual battle, in which every(!) Christian stands. It is quite a complex subject when you think about it. I have chosen one part for today:

The sword of the spirit, which is God’s word.

The Bible says a great deal about the characteristics of God’s Word. The Bible is not just a collection of wise sayings and instructive stories. We have been given the Bible as God’s word. And this word has power. We all know the account of Jesus‘ time in the desert, when he puts the devil to flight with God’s Word (Matthew 4:1-11). And the devil does not give up immediately, but tries three times – for this reason alone we should know God’s Word well.

This sword of the spirit has many properties. Only very briefly I have written down here a small collection of what the Bible says about it:

Now, of course, it does no good for us to buy a Bible and put it on the shelf and dust it off regularly so that it looks spick and span. We are to „work“ with the Word of God. That is what I mean by that:

In short, we are to use it in spiritual warfare.

What are spiritual struggles?

I think everyone knows them. Everyone fights out their own battles. Sometimes more on the front lines, sometimes in the back lines of battle. If we are no longer fighting, then we should consider why that is. A lull in the fighting is sometimes necessary, it does exist, but if we permanently experience nothing in that regard, it means that we are left alone by the devil – he does not need to attack a non-threatening fighter. James writes:

My brothers and sisters, consider it pure joy when you fall into many trials, and know that your faith, when it is proven, works patience.
James 4:2+3

Challenge exercises our spiritual muscles, so to speak. It is necessary for spiritual and personal growth. I’ve been thinking a bit about what „fiery darts of evil“ might be fired at us, and I’ve come up with – frighteningly – a great many. The devil seems to have a lot of experience in fighting…
The arrows come in the form of thoughts, feelings, whispers, statements from other people, situations, and so on. Some of these arrows hit, some don’t. Some hit so well that they bring us down. Everybody has his/her sore spots where he/she can be sensitively hit. The spectrum of arrows ranges from sh… circumstances to our character traits and hostility from fellow human beings to very personal attacks on our soul. Just a few examples:

The good news is: we are not defenseless – on the one hand we have the shield of faith to ward off the fiery darts, as Paul writes, and on the other hand the sword of the Spirit to parry blows and strike back (here my picture is not quite right now…)

We all experience situations where things don’t go well. Situations that leave pain and questions. No life just goes that smoothly. But it is in the challenging times that God shapes our character and brings out what is hidden in us:

„Behold, I have tested you in the furnace of misery. “
Isaiah 48:10

Face your challenges!

These times move us forward in our lives. The key to passing the test and growing through challenges is: Keep at it and don’t let challenges or people take you off the path and thoughts of God. Keep focusing on what God is telling you.

We can hold God’s word against the attacks – we can speak it and know: It has power, is like fire and shatters rocks. It helps in such situations to know Bible verses that speak into the momentary challenge/situation. We may claim them as promises. We may draw our sword in prayer and fight on the side of God. It is not a matter of saying Christian all-is-good mantras. Or about anything magical. If we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, let’s use it – like Jesus in the desert. For that, it certainly doesn’t hurt to know some Bible passages by heart.

Combat announcements

Because God’s word has power, we speak it out loud. We put all our frustration, our worries, our powerlessness into these prayers. We use the sword of the Spirit!

For some challenges/situations I have collected „battle statements“. I would like to present a few of them to you – all the others you’ll find at the end of the blog as PDF download. Of course, it is not forbidden to add Bible verses that have become important to you personally…

We may claim the promises for ourselves – how about putting in a promise „I am…“, „You will me…“?

We may claim the promises for ourselves – how about putting in a promise „I am…“, „You will me…“?

We may also say these words to one another,

„YOU are brave and strong, a strong hero! “

Winning Mentality

We may develop a winning mentality: Ultimately, with Jesus and through God’s power, we are the victors over all circumstances. Sure, we will lose a battle sometimes, but the war is already won. If God is for us, who can be against us!

You always have a choice. You can be a victim and wallow in self-pity or you can get up and keep fighting.

Let us oppose the circumstances with gratitude, just as Paul writes:

Be joyful always, pray without ceasing, be thankful in all things; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

This reminds us that God has been guiding us all our lives, that He takes good care of us, that He was and is there for us. It changes our thinking, our mindset – to the positive. Let’s try to see the good, let’s focus our thinking on God, let’s use the powerful Word of God, that’s what we got the sword of the Spirit for!

Salz und Licht