Ephesians 6:17
Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab
Can I say something that might sound crazy when you first hear it? Every Christian is a heretic! That includes me. I say that because I am an imperfect human being that does not fully understand the mind of God, just like every other imperfect human being that ever lived. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything right. I think I’ve got a lot of good Christian Biblical theology tucked away inside my helmet of salvation. But I am willing to admit that I don’t know everything. This goes along with that acceptable saying that says, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”
So, because of that, never be satisfied that you have all your theology right. Keep studying the Bible and learning and growing into who you are supposed to become in Christ. Don’t be afraid to explore new realms of thought and inquiry as you continue to get to know God and seek his face. It may be that new ideas will lead us out of a present heresy and not into one. Trust God to lead you closer to himself each step of the way. But always get your bearings from the Truth of Scripture and never stray away from the path illuminated by the Light of God’s Word.
The Word does the judging. People fall into 2 categories. There are those who let God teach them what is true as they read His Word and it judges their hearts. Then there are all the rest who harden their hearts by telling God what they will accept as true and judge the Word accordingly.
But Paul’s way of teaching this, talking about the armor of God, was actually dangerous in a way! Ephesus was part of the Roman Empire, and this was way before it was called the Holy Roman Empire. It wasn’t holy at all. Roman legions of soldiers were everywhere, enforcing the Pax Romana at the points of their iron swords. So, imagine for a moment the shock value of Paul’s words about a suit of armor, complete with a sword. But his message was not that people should enlist in the Roman army. Rather, it would have come across to ordinary believers that Paul was asking them to take up arms against the Romans! Very dangerous imagery! And Paul is indeed encouraging believers to enlist in God’s army. But, of course, we do not fight with physical force. Paul was teaching his followers about the spiritual force and power of love, goodness and especially Truth.
This was completely in agreement with Jesus’ way of talking about the mission he calls us to. Jesus’ mission is about conquest, but not military conquest. We’re not going to raise an army against the Romans, or anybody else, not as the Church. For the church, love conquers all. All you have to do is talk about Jesus. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;” and what are you going to do with that power? “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The power Jesus is talking about here is simply staying power, endurance, wisdom, boldness, and memory, to stick to the truth about Jesus as recorded in Scripture and as those first believers saw with their own eyes. He sends us behind enemy lines as emissaries of peace, not as foot soldiers of conquest. It is still a dangerous mission, in the sense that we face rejection and even persecution. We don’t like to face that. It wounds us, But there’s more. There is an actual devil and his spiritual forces of darkness trying to stop us!
But nothing should be able to stop us from talking about Jesus, that power is what the Holy Spirit gives, and it is in the sword of the Spirit. Yes, there is also have power and authority to provide some healing miracles. But the primary focus of our mission, according to Jesus, is, “You will be my witnesses.” And “You will spread this news about me far beyond Jerusalem and Israel.”
We go forth on the power and strength of the Lord. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit. And the author of Hebrews confirms its power in that regard where 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.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Always polish your sword and keep it sharpened. There is something romantic and spectacular about swords in our culture. Swordsmiths were respected as artisans, and sword making was seen as a ritual. It was such a valuable piece of equipment that warriors were often inseparable from their weapons. I’m sure you’ve heard of samurai swords. They were called the “The Soul of the Samurai warrior.” These swords were very important, admired, and highly prized objects which made the swordsmith’s work an immensely important task. The beauty and strength of well-crafted blades were admired across the whole Empire.
Besides the admiration of a craftsman’s skill, there are legends about swords! I’m sure right now you’re thinking about King Arthur and Excalibur. You know that story. But I’ll bet you did not know that there is another sword, that is still embedded in stone to this day. This sword, with a story equally as unbelievable as Excalibur, actually exists in Tuscany’s Montesiepi Chapel. The short version is that an Italian knight, moved by visions to give all his worldly goods to the cause of Christ, wanted to erect a cross on top of the hill where his visions were realized. But there was no available wood. However, the handle of this sword formed the shape of across and in acting out part of one of his visions he sought to plunge his sword into a nearby rock. To his amazement, the sword went in as if the rock were made of butter. But then he could not withdraw it, and it is still there to this day, still stuck in the rock. Scientific studies have authenticated its age. Now it’s a tourist attraction!
These romantic legends about swords no doubt arose because of their importance in ancient warfare. At the beginning of the iron age it became possible to make them. And their value as one of the most effective weapons available for close combat was undisputed until the invention of gun powder and guns. To state what is obvious to us today, soldiers soon learned, never bring a sword to a gun fight. Even so, the elegance, grace and beauty of swords still preserves for them an ornamental place in many military outfits, perhaps most memorably glorified by the US Marines.
Appropriately enough then, the full armor of God comes with a sword, too. It’s the sword of the Spirit. We get to use God’s sword! God’s sword is God’s Word. It is the sword of the Spirit. That means it is activated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Of all the six pieces of armor we have been talking about, the sword is the only one that can clearly be used to attack as well as defend. That means it is the tool with which we make progress in advancing and establishing God’s Kingdom.
The sword of the Spirit is elegant, beautiful and graceful. What I mean by that is that out of all the possible explanations of the character of God, the nature of man, his fall from grace, and the presence of evil, no other book, no other writing describes a more perfect and loving God. The description of his plan for redeeming and finishing a perfect creation, with evil removed forever, is more beautiful than anything any human being could have ever imagined. We know this for a fact because every other religion ever devised humans are required to be good enough, and then they might get saved if the god, or gods, look on them with favor. Only in Scripture is mercy perfectly balanced with Justice. Only in the Bible is God so loving and gracious that he would come to earth as man who was willing to die on a cross to demonstrate the horrors of sin, satisfy justice, and tell us, “I love you this much!”
The sword of the Spirit is supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 Paul writes, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the 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.” That is a supernatural power from the Holy Spirit, and he is talking about words of truth against words of falsehood, arguments and pretensions, lies that are set up to defend against the light of God’s word and keep people in the dark.
But the sword of the Spirit can penetrate that darkness and bring people into the light. In that way we are rescuing them from the clutches of satan, the deadly enemy of mankind. The sword of the Spirit is given to us to use at His command. This may well include the words of defense and testimony which Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would put on the lips of his servants when they were dragged before magistrates. Matt. 10: 19-20 say it, “when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” But of course, the sword of the Spirit really most fully refers to the entire body of Holy Scripture, God’s written word, who’s origin is repeatedly attributed to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Still today the Bible is God’s sword, for he uses it to cut through people’s defenses, to prick their consciences and stab them spiritually awake. And that is the sword that he puts into our hands so that we may use it both in resisting temptation, and in advancing the kingdom by evangelism. On resisting temptation, do it as Jesus did, quoting Scriptures to counter the devil who tempted him in the wilderness. You will notice there that Jesus spoke the word of God out loud.
It is interesting and significant to pay attention to which Greek word Paul used for “word” in Eph 6:17. You are probably more familiar with logos. But in this verse, Paul used rhema, which is Greek for the spoken word. What this means is that there is power in the spoken Word of God. We are to defend ourselves against the evil one by speaking aloud God's Word.
Why is it so important to speak God's Word in addition to believing it and thinking it? Because Satan is a created being, and he doesn't perfectly know what you're thinking. By observing you, he can pretty well tell what you are thinking, just as any student of human behavior can. And it isn't difficult for him to know what you're thinking if he is the one who put the thought in. He can put thoughts into your mind, and he will know whether you buy his lie by how you behave. But he doesn't know what you're going to do before you do it.
Satan can try to influence you by planting thoughts in your head, but he can't read your thoughts. If you're going to resist Satan, you must do so verbally so he can understand you and be put to flight. You can communicate with God in your mind and spirit because He knows the thoughts and intents of your heart (Hebrews 4:12). Your unspoken communion with God is your private sanctuary; Satan cannot eavesdrop on you.
But by the same token, if you only tell Satan with your thoughts to leave, he won't leave because he can’t hear you. You defeat Satan by speaking out, so he hears you. Then once he knows you are grounded in the Word, he knows he can’t defeat you. Demons can be commanded to depart, by the authority of the name of Jesus, if you know him. But again, you tell them out loud, so they hear you. There have been times when I have had troubling thoughts, even nightmares that woke me up.
I have found that if I can remember a verse in Scripture that directly counters the thought that’s bothering me and then I say it out loud, even if it’s just a whisper, I can regain my peace more quickly, because the demon who planted that troubling thought knows he must leave me alone. When I resist him, he must flee.
The other reason we have the sword of the Spirit in our hands is for advancing the Kingdom. Every Christian is called to be an evangelist, to at least know your own testimony of God’s power at work in your life and at best to know some Bible verses and texts that are useful in helping others understand the gospel so they can come to faith. There are simple tracts that can help you with this. But it’s even better if you know the verses by heart. Sharpen your sword! Get the point.
Children of God, you are now dressed in the splendid armor of God. Next we will examine the role of prayer that energizes this suit of armor. Remember the word of God is living and active. Our armor is not so much like the knights of the Middle Ages, just sheathed in dead metal. Our spiritual armor is more like that if Iron Man in the Marvel Comics. There is power in it!
That’s not just our imagination! That is the promise of the ever-living God, who is with us and in us all through the course of our mission on earth! Give thanks and praise the Lord and carry on!! Forward march! Amen.
Listen Link: www.lcepc.org then look for “sermons” tab
Can I say something that might sound crazy when you first hear it? Every Christian is a heretic! That includes me. I say that because I am an imperfect human being that does not fully understand the mind of God, just like every other imperfect human being that ever lived. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything right. I think I’ve got a lot of good Christian Biblical theology tucked away inside my helmet of salvation. But I am willing to admit that I don’t know everything. This goes along with that acceptable saying that says, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”
So, because of that, never be satisfied that you have all your theology right. Keep studying the Bible and learning and growing into who you are supposed to become in Christ. Don’t be afraid to explore new realms of thought and inquiry as you continue to get to know God and seek his face. It may be that new ideas will lead us out of a present heresy and not into one. Trust God to lead you closer to himself each step of the way. But always get your bearings from the Truth of Scripture and never stray away from the path illuminated by the Light of God’s Word.
The Word does the judging. People fall into 2 categories. There are those who let God teach them what is true as they read His Word and it judges their hearts. Then there are all the rest who harden their hearts by telling God what they will accept as true and judge the Word accordingly.
But Paul’s way of teaching this, talking about the armor of God, was actually dangerous in a way! Ephesus was part of the Roman Empire, and this was way before it was called the Holy Roman Empire. It wasn’t holy at all. Roman legions of soldiers were everywhere, enforcing the Pax Romana at the points of their iron swords. So, imagine for a moment the shock value of Paul’s words about a suit of armor, complete with a sword. But his message was not that people should enlist in the Roman army. Rather, it would have come across to ordinary believers that Paul was asking them to take up arms against the Romans! Very dangerous imagery! And Paul is indeed encouraging believers to enlist in God’s army. But, of course, we do not fight with physical force. Paul was teaching his followers about the spiritual force and power of love, goodness and especially Truth.
This was completely in agreement with Jesus’ way of talking about the mission he calls us to. Jesus’ mission is about conquest, but not military conquest. We’re not going to raise an army against the Romans, or anybody else, not as the Church. For the church, love conquers all. All you have to do is talk about Jesus. Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;” and what are you going to do with that power? “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The power Jesus is talking about here is simply staying power, endurance, wisdom, boldness, and memory, to stick to the truth about Jesus as recorded in Scripture and as those first believers saw with their own eyes. He sends us behind enemy lines as emissaries of peace, not as foot soldiers of conquest. It is still a dangerous mission, in the sense that we face rejection and even persecution. We don’t like to face that. It wounds us, But there’s more. There is an actual devil and his spiritual forces of darkness trying to stop us!
But nothing should be able to stop us from talking about Jesus, that power is what the Holy Spirit gives, and it is in the sword of the Spirit. Yes, there is also have power and authority to provide some healing miracles. But the primary focus of our mission, according to Jesus, is, “You will be my witnesses.” And “You will spread this news about me far beyond Jerusalem and Israel.”
We go forth on the power and strength of the Lord. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit. And the author of Hebrews confirms its power in that regard where 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.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Always polish your sword and keep it sharpened. There is something romantic and spectacular about swords in our culture. Swordsmiths were respected as artisans, and sword making was seen as a ritual. It was such a valuable piece of equipment that warriors were often inseparable from their weapons. I’m sure you’ve heard of samurai swords. They were called the “The Soul of the Samurai warrior.” These swords were very important, admired, and highly prized objects which made the swordsmith’s work an immensely important task. The beauty and strength of well-crafted blades were admired across the whole Empire.
Besides the admiration of a craftsman’s skill, there are legends about swords! I’m sure right now you’re thinking about King Arthur and Excalibur. You know that story. But I’ll bet you did not know that there is another sword, that is still embedded in stone to this day. This sword, with a story equally as unbelievable as Excalibur, actually exists in Tuscany’s Montesiepi Chapel. The short version is that an Italian knight, moved by visions to give all his worldly goods to the cause of Christ, wanted to erect a cross on top of the hill where his visions were realized. But there was no available wood. However, the handle of this sword formed the shape of across and in acting out part of one of his visions he sought to plunge his sword into a nearby rock. To his amazement, the sword went in as if the rock were made of butter. But then he could not withdraw it, and it is still there to this day, still stuck in the rock. Scientific studies have authenticated its age. Now it’s a tourist attraction!
These romantic legends about swords no doubt arose because of their importance in ancient warfare. At the beginning of the iron age it became possible to make them. And their value as one of the most effective weapons available for close combat was undisputed until the invention of gun powder and guns. To state what is obvious to us today, soldiers soon learned, never bring a sword to a gun fight. Even so, the elegance, grace and beauty of swords still preserves for them an ornamental place in many military outfits, perhaps most memorably glorified by the US Marines.
Appropriately enough then, the full armor of God comes with a sword, too. It’s the sword of the Spirit. We get to use God’s sword! God’s sword is God’s Word. It is the sword of the Spirit. That means it is activated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Of all the six pieces of armor we have been talking about, the sword is the only one that can clearly be used to attack as well as defend. That means it is the tool with which we make progress in advancing and establishing God’s Kingdom.
The sword of the Spirit is elegant, beautiful and graceful. What I mean by that is that out of all the possible explanations of the character of God, the nature of man, his fall from grace, and the presence of evil, no other book, no other writing describes a more perfect and loving God. The description of his plan for redeeming and finishing a perfect creation, with evil removed forever, is more beautiful than anything any human being could have ever imagined. We know this for a fact because every other religion ever devised humans are required to be good enough, and then they might get saved if the god, or gods, look on them with favor. Only in Scripture is mercy perfectly balanced with Justice. Only in the Bible is God so loving and gracious that he would come to earth as man who was willing to die on a cross to demonstrate the horrors of sin, satisfy justice, and tell us, “I love you this much!”
The sword of the Spirit is supernaturally empowered by the Holy Spirit of God. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 Paul writes, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the 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.” That is a supernatural power from the Holy Spirit, and he is talking about words of truth against words of falsehood, arguments and pretensions, lies that are set up to defend against the light of God’s word and keep people in the dark.
But the sword of the Spirit can penetrate that darkness and bring people into the light. In that way we are rescuing them from the clutches of satan, the deadly enemy of mankind. The sword of the Spirit is given to us to use at His command. This may well include the words of defense and testimony which Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would put on the lips of his servants when they were dragged before magistrates. Matt. 10: 19-20 say it, “when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” But of course, the sword of the Spirit really most fully refers to the entire body of Holy Scripture, God’s written word, who’s origin is repeatedly attributed to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Still today the Bible is God’s sword, for he uses it to cut through people’s defenses, to prick their consciences and stab them spiritually awake. And that is the sword that he puts into our hands so that we may use it both in resisting temptation, and in advancing the kingdom by evangelism. On resisting temptation, do it as Jesus did, quoting Scriptures to counter the devil who tempted him in the wilderness. You will notice there that Jesus spoke the word of God out loud.
It is interesting and significant to pay attention to which Greek word Paul used for “word” in Eph 6:17. You are probably more familiar with logos. But in this verse, Paul used rhema, which is Greek for the spoken word. What this means is that there is power in the spoken Word of God. We are to defend ourselves against the evil one by speaking aloud God's Word.
Why is it so important to speak God's Word in addition to believing it and thinking it? Because Satan is a created being, and he doesn't perfectly know what you're thinking. By observing you, he can pretty well tell what you are thinking, just as any student of human behavior can. And it isn't difficult for him to know what you're thinking if he is the one who put the thought in. He can put thoughts into your mind, and he will know whether you buy his lie by how you behave. But he doesn't know what you're going to do before you do it.
Satan can try to influence you by planting thoughts in your head, but he can't read your thoughts. If you're going to resist Satan, you must do so verbally so he can understand you and be put to flight. You can communicate with God in your mind and spirit because He knows the thoughts and intents of your heart (Hebrews 4:12). Your unspoken communion with God is your private sanctuary; Satan cannot eavesdrop on you.
But by the same token, if you only tell Satan with your thoughts to leave, he won't leave because he can’t hear you. You defeat Satan by speaking out, so he hears you. Then once he knows you are grounded in the Word, he knows he can’t defeat you. Demons can be commanded to depart, by the authority of the name of Jesus, if you know him. But again, you tell them out loud, so they hear you. There have been times when I have had troubling thoughts, even nightmares that woke me up.
I have found that if I can remember a verse in Scripture that directly counters the thought that’s bothering me and then I say it out loud, even if it’s just a whisper, I can regain my peace more quickly, because the demon who planted that troubling thought knows he must leave me alone. When I resist him, he must flee.
The other reason we have the sword of the Spirit in our hands is for advancing the Kingdom. Every Christian is called to be an evangelist, to at least know your own testimony of God’s power at work in your life and at best to know some Bible verses and texts that are useful in helping others understand the gospel so they can come to faith. There are simple tracts that can help you with this. But it’s even better if you know the verses by heart. Sharpen your sword! Get the point.
Children of God, you are now dressed in the splendid armor of God. Next we will examine the role of prayer that energizes this suit of armor. Remember the word of God is living and active. Our armor is not so much like the knights of the Middle Ages, just sheathed in dead metal. Our spiritual armor is more like that if Iron Man in the Marvel Comics. There is power in it!
That’s not just our imagination! That is the promise of the ever-living God, who is with us and in us all through the course of our mission on earth! Give thanks and praise the Lord and carry on!! Forward march! Amen.
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