Ephesians

The Sword of the Spirit

Finally, Paul tells us, “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). What is the word of God? It is Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is our life—but in this instance, Paul means that Christ is made available to us in practical ways through the writings in His Word. That is why the Word of God has been given to us: to acquaint us with the nuts and bolts of our faith, so that we can live it in daily practice.

In writing to the Colossians, Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). By this he is indicating that the authority of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Scriptures are one and the same. To attempt to distinguish the two is like asking which blade of a pair of scissors is more important, or which leg of a pair of pants is more necessary. We know Christ through the Bible, and we understand the Bible through the knowledge of Christ.

It is important to understand that it is not the complete Bible that is referred to by the phrase, “the word of God.” There are two words used in Scripture for word. There is the familiar Greek word logos that is used in the opening verse of John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word [logos], and the Word [logos] was with God, and the Word [logos] was God” (John 1:1). But there is another Greek word translated “word” in English, but which is used less frequently in Scripture: rhema. Logos refers to the total utterance of God, the complete revelation of what God has said. Rhema means a specific saying of God, a passage or a verse that has special application to an immediate situation.

When Paul says, “Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” he uses the word rhema, not logos. So the “sword of the Spirit” is the saying of God applied to a specific situation. This is a powerful weapon in the hands of a believer. Have you ever heard or read a Scripture passage and thought, “That is God speaking directly to me!”? That is God’s rhema, His word applied specifically to your life and your situation.

Or perhaps someone has asked a question or shared a problem with you, and you were caught off guard, without an answer for that person. Then, in the next moment, you felt a glimmer of illumination and a word of Scripture came to mind—and suddenly you had the answer your friend was seeking. That’s God’s rhema, spoken in your thoughts so that you can minister God’s word to that person.

These are examples of God’s rhema, God’s word that slices through all the extraneous clutter of our scattered thoughts, cutting right to the heart of the matter. That is why God’s rhema is called “the sword of the Spirit,” because it is not only originated by Him as the author of the Word, but it is also recalled to mind by the Spirit and made powerful by Him in our lives. It is the Spirit’s answer to the attack of the devil, who comes to discourage us, deceive us, and defeat us.

As a sword, it is useful both for defense and for offense. This, by the way, is the only part of our armor that has an offensive capability. It both defends and protects us, but it also penetrates other hearts and destroys the lies of the devil in others besides ourselves. As Christians we are to wield this sword in the battle against the lies of Satan. We are to go on the offensive, proclaiming the word of God. We do not need to defend it. We are simply to declare it.

A word of caution is needed here: do not act on the strength of a single verse yanked out of context. Compare it with other Scripture. Is it in balance? Or has that verse’s meaning been distorted by isolating it from the rest of God’s Word? The fact that a particular verse of Scripture comes to our mind at a particular moment does not automatically mean that we have received a rhema from the Lord. Remember, the devil can quote Scripture as well, as he did when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1-11). But the quotation of the Scripture by the devil is never balanced. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He always countered by quoting Scripture or by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Then the devil left Him. This is always what happens. The devil is put to rout by the sword of the Spirit.