The Sword of the Spirit
This study is based on what was discussed previously in a fellowship group, the sword that must be given.
Paul mentions this in Ephesians (6:17) as part of the whole armour of God (Eph 6:13-20). Verse 17 goes on to explain what the sword of the Spirit is… the word of God.
We’ve discussed how the scriptures explains itself. This is a solid way to gain understanding, not only about what some of these scriptures say and mean, but what our God wants us to know and is trying to get us to understand. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, more verses)
Let’s start in Eph 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”. Here we see the sword of the Spirit we are to take as part of the armour of God is the word of God.
Sword of the Spirit = word of God
This statement can be supported elsewhere.
Hebrews 4:12 likens the word of God to a sword, even says it’s better than one, as well as how one can use it:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
There are other examples that liken our speech, words and tongue to either a sword or for good. Psa 57:4, Psa 64:3, Pro 12:6,14,17-19, Rev 1:16, link for verses.
Jesus said “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Matthew 10:34. Maybe Jesus will be using the sword to discern what your thoughts and intentions are, or as Luke 12:51 further describes he’s bringing division and not peace.
Makes sense that God’s word and our words would have the same effect and operate using the same principles and guidelines. Although we know that “every word of God is pure” (Proverbs 30:5), our words sometimes aren’t as pure. Hence all the verses above telling us what our words can do so we are mindful of what we speak.
Sword of the Spirit = word of God
We did mention that the sword is the word of God, and we say it is the bible or the scriptures.
What importance do we place into the word of God and what does scripture say about the word of God?
First, let’s review what Jesus said about the word of God.
Mark 7:13 - “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”
For context, read Mark 7:1-16. Here (in v13) Jesus is wrapping up his conversation with the Pharisees.
v1-5 - The Pharisees had just called out his disciples for not washing their hands before eating as the tradition of the elders stated.
v6-7 - After they called out his disciples, Jesus stated “Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” (this prophecy can be found here in Isaiah 29:13)
Then in the next two verses he elaborates further, v8 “laying aside the commandment of God, to hold the tradition of men” and v9 “full well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition”.
In v10-12, gives an example of how they lay aside the commandment of God to keep their tradition or commandment of men.
Then wrapping up the example with v13, “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.”
So here Jesus mentions in response to the Pharisees accusing his disciples of breaking the traditions or commandments of men:
a prophecy about people who will worship God using the commandments or traditions of men,
As opposed to the true worshippers Jesus mentions in John 4:23-24
he mentions twice that people are setting aside the commandments of God in order to keep their own traditions or commandments,
then gives an example of how they are doing just that and do many more similar things and
sums it up by saying they are making to no effect the word of God through those traditions.
Seems like Jesus is linking the commandment of God and the word of God. It could also be said that the commandment of God is within or part of the word of God. It doesn’t matter whether it is in whole or in part, because even being part of the word is the word. And this is the first time the “word of God” occurs in the new testament, at least in the KJV.
We’ve added to our statement: sword of the Spirit = word of God = commandment of God
We also know from earlier that “every word of God is pure.”
In Jesus’s prayer to the Father (God) for his disciples (John 17:17), he claims “your word is truth”
He is likely quoting Psalms 119:160.
The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
Actually, when you read this prayer (John 17:1-26) he mentions the Father’s word (God is the Father) a couple times.
v6 - “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.”
v8 - “for I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”
The Father gave Jesus his word, Jesus gave the Father’s word to his disciples
v14 - “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
Because we have been given God’s word, which is pure and truth, the world hates us.
If we receive the word, we are not of this world, so they hate us.
v17 - “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
Sanctify is to purify, to make holy, to set apart
Could say “Purify them through thy word” for example
This should get your head nodding if you review 2 Tim 3:16-17 again, maybe extend it out to 2 Tim 3:10-17. Link to other verses.
Remember that is was mentioned that the sword must be given, and we’ve already seen that the sword is the sword of the Spirit = word of God = commandment of God.
Let’s see an example of this sword in use.
Jesus being tempted by Satan, in Matt 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13 also mentioned in Mark 1:12-13.
After his baptism by John
He was filled by the Holy Spirit and led into the wilderness by the Spirit
He fasted and was tempted for forty days, and he was hungry
The tempter said turn the stone into bread if you are the Son of God
We should be mindful of this type of if-attack: if you are truly saved, if you are truly a child of God, etc. which causes doubt. We should know this.
Jesus said “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Where is it written? Well in scripture, which we know is inspired by God, it is pure and the truth.
Deuteronomy 8 - Moses is talking to the Israelites before they enter the promised land and giving them a history lesson of where they came from.
Read Chapter 8 for context and more connections to 2 Tim 3:10-17 and John 17:17 concerning being sanctified and purified by God's truth and we know God’s word is truth.
But Jesus specifically quotes Deut 8:3 in response to the tempter’s first noted attack - “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”
We will discuss the connection between the words that come from the mouth of the LORD and word of God in a bit.
Next, the devil brings Jesus to the top of the temple and says “It is written ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
Yes, the devil can use the scriptures, even the very word of God to tempt you. One of many reasons why we need to know the scriptures or the word of God.
Psalm 91:11 - For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:12 - In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
Jesus responds “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”
This is Deut 6:16 - “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah.”
So even though scripture is pure and truth, we see we should not tempt God, especially with our lives.
Even though the command was given to the people in Deut in response to a recent tempting, Jesus brings it forward to his current day telling us that even the commandments of old apply to you today. Endures forever and nothing new under the sun comes to mind.
Then, the devil takes him to a high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world. Then says “All these I will give you if you fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Deut 6:13 - You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.
Deut 10:20 - You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name.
Joshua 24:14 - Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord!
Some other examples of the “word of God” in the new testament.
Luke 8:4-15 The Parable of the Sower link
The seed in the parable is the word of God
Possibly 4 outcomes or scenarios of those who receive the word of God and how they treat and care for it.
Luke 8:19-21 - Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Those who hear the word of God and do it can be Jesus’s mother or brothers (maybe in his family).
Luke 11:27-28 - And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Here he blesses those who hear the word of God and keep it.
Rev 1:9 - I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Here John stating that he and others are being punished for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus (Rev 1:2 also)
Rev 6:9 - And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
As part of the 5th seal John sees all those slain because of the word of God and the testimony
Rev 20:4 - And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
John sees those who reign with Jesus 1000 years who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God.
Here we see the testimony is now witness and rightfully so.
Rev 12:17 - And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Here the dragon is going to make war with those who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus
Rev 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Now it’s commandments of God and the faith of Jesus
We can keep doing this all day long, making these connections and links. It’s actually very exciting.
However, we see the “word of God” search really only focuses on the new testament (the exact search shows 49 times with only 4 in the old testament). But we really want to incorporate all scripture for a more complete view.
So let’s expand this search by making another connection to the sword or the word of God.
Psalms 18:31 - For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
LORD in all caps is the name of God. Yahuah, or some use Yahweh, and Yah
David says God is the LORD, and by the way He is a rock
Psalms 18:2 - The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
The LORD (Yahuah) is a list of details (more connections can be made), but we’ll focus on the “my God” portion.
Zechariah 13:9 - And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
The LORD is my God
We can start seeing the importance and some connections with the refining and trying process. This third part of people is being instructed, reproved, corrected, etc and more importantly, perfected and purified as a result.
This is just a few examples but the point is that the LORD is God, and God is the LORD, and “the LORD” refers to the name of God.
I know you may question why this is, it is quite detailed. But long ago, some religious people decided that God’s name was too sacred to say and pronounce. So instead of pronouncing God’s name they said Adonai (Lord) or HaShem (the name), despite the scriptures that say that the people of God will call on my name, or be called by my name.
Here’s a list of scriptures. You’ll notice the first two, Acts 2 is quoting from Joel 2 (the LORD here is the name of God, Yahuah).
Again, this is detailed and a study for another day. But the point is that we are making the connection between the word of God and the word of the LORD. And this is not too much of a stretch and might be obvious.
Sword of the Spirit = word of God = commandment of God = word of the LORD
Here’s a couple verses just to make sure were on the right train of thought.
Numbers 3:16 - And Moses numbered them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.
The word of the LORD is connected to a command by God. Moses did something as a result, kept God’s word and did as he was commanded.
Numbers 3:51 - And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons, according to the word of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Again, Moses acted on / did / kept the word as commanded
Numbers 22:18 - And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
Here we see Balaam admitting he could not do more or less than the word of the LORD and clarifying that the LORD is God.
1 Samuel 15:26 - And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
God leaves and rejects Saul when Saul rejects the word of the LORD
1 Kings 2:27 - So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
Here we see Solomon acts so he can fulfil the word of the LORD
Seems we have heard of another fulfilling the word/commands/law of God
The list goes on concerning the “word of the Lord”. List for more verses (274 actually)
In case you were curious about the word/commands/law comment above, here is a list of verses that connect the law (or torah in Hebrew, also instructions, directions, teachings) to the word of God, the commandments of God, etc.
As you read them, think about all the connections we have seen above. You will also see these terms being interchanged. Even in just this last list of verses you would have been able to make many of the same connections this study makes.
The sword of the Spirit = the word of God
This is not a comprehensive study, I had to hold back in areas and try to keep it focused on the sword, and I may add to and expand this study over time. The main intention is to show what the sword or word of God and its importance to us today.
Add questions and comments using the insert comment feature, we can all add to this discussion.
I pray your curiosity has been increased, you have greater understanding, and you continue seeking the truth.