In Ephesians chapter 6, we are told to put on the whole armor of God.  One of the most vital pieces of the armor is the sword of the Spirit.  A sword is a sharp bladed weapon one uses to incapacitate, or to destroy, the enemy.

Most of the pieces of the armor: the helmet, the breastplate, the belt, the shoes, and the shield are primarily defensive armament; pieces used to protect the warrior, to defend them in battle.  The sword, however, is an offensive weapon, used to decimate the enemy.

You may recall that when David knocked Goliath unconscious with his sling shot, he found himself without a sword in his hand.  So he ran and took Goliath’s sword to finish the job.   He took Goliath’s own sword and cut his head off, and held it up for all the enemy to see.  Then the rest of the Philistines fled in terror, their champion was dead!

We need every single piece of the armor of God, it is all important, but the sword of the Spirit is the weapon that finishes the job.  And the sword of the Spirit is the word of God, wielded in faith.

God’s word is living, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword.

For the word of God is quick [living], 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.   Heb. 4:12

When Jesus had not eaten for forty days, the devil came and tempted him in this weakened condition.  But, Jesus still vanquished his foe with the sword of the Spirit.  He shredded every temptation thrown at him with “It is written.”  Our Messiah triumphed by standing on God’s Word, and so do we.

You can never place too much emphasis on knowing the Bible.  What does it really say?  How much of it do you believe?  The Word believed can raise the dead, heal the blind, move mountains, cast out demons; and fill you with the confidence you need to live as more than a conqueror.

Speak God’s truth to yourself.

Speak God’s truth to others.

Speak God’s truth to your situation.

The Word of God is your spiritual birthright.  It is God’s covenant with you.  If the Bible says it, you have a legal right to claim it.  When you were born again you moved from death unto life, you changed families, you changed citizenship, you became completely new on the inside.  You were filled to capacity with the spirit of the Living God.   Or, as I like to say, “Filled to the brim with HIM!” His spirit, His love, and His power.

God wants you to know that you know, who you are in Christ Jesus.  The devil does not want you to know your legal rights.  The devil does not want you to know how terrified he is of YOU.  And he certainly does not want you to use the sword of the Spirit, because for him, that spells defeat.

It is interesting to note that when Satan went after Jesus in the wilderness the most consistent part of his temptation was a big “IF.”  He repeatedly said to Jesus “IF thou be the son of God.”  Satan’s first line of attack was to try to get Jesus to doubt his sonship.  Do you think the devil has changed his methods?  No!  That is why you are hit with that lie on a consistent basis.

Satan will try to tell you that you are not really God’s child.   He will try to get you to think that God loves all His other children – but NOT you.  He’ll try to get you to think you are just not good enough to ask God for anything because of some past indiscretion; when God is crying out, “You are forgiven, my child, and I have cast your sins as far as the east is from the west, and I remember them no more.”

The truth, my friends, is that you really are a child of God.  You really are righteous in Christ!  You really are forgiven!  You really are a royal heir!  That’s why salvation is called amazing grace; because it IS so amazing!

Satan has many other endless suggestions to throw at you, to see which ones will stick.  He’ll whisper, “Does God really mean what He says, and say what He means?”   Or, “Isn’t this Bible stuff just too good to be true?”  Or,“You couldn’t really have THAT kind of power.”  The Serpent used this ploy in the Garden to get Eve to question the integrity of God’s word, and has used it very effectively ever since.  So, he attacks you with doubt.  Satan knows if he can just get you to doubt God’s trustworthiness, to doubt his Word, he’s got you immobilized.  And when a warrior is immobilized on the battlefield his enemy can move in for the kill.  Just like David finished off Goliath.

When you boil it all down, Satan’s temptations all have one common thread at the center, taunting you with, “Do you really TRUST God?”  Do you really believe God more than the circumstances?  Is your God big enough to deliver?  How can He deliver?  Ultimately, it all boils down to an issue of our trust in God.

Let me make a very important point here: you don’t need to pray for more faith.  You have been given the faith of Jesus Christ.  You can’t get any more faith than that.  What you need is to ask God to help you with is your  DOUBT, so that you can fully trust God.  Believe Him.  You see, doubt defeats the promises of God.  Doubting is the opposite of trusting.  Jesus illuminated this truth in Mark:

The key in this verse is “shall not doubt.”  Doubting God negates trusting God.  First you believe (trust), then you receive.  That’s a spiritual law.  You wield the sword of the Spirit when you cast the doubt out of your heart and decide to fully trust God; when you get fully persuaded in your own heart that God can, and will, do what He has promised.

When you wield the sword of the Spirit you rise up on the inside and say,

“I am God’s child, His seed is in me!”

“It IS Christ in me, the hope of glory!”

“In my weakness, His strength is perfected.

“It is NOT too good to be true.”

“My Father is El Shaddai, He is over and above everything.”

“I command the darkness to go, in Jesus name.”

God’s light dispels the darkness.  The sword of the Spirit slays the devil’s attempts to harm you, it defeats the works of the adversary and puts you in the seat of power.  As V. P. Wierwille used to say, “What power we’ve got, if we only knew it!”

As sons of God it is up to us to know the Word, to know how to use it with skill and authority, and to be sharp.  Then, we use our power, tempered with love, knowing its source is God.  All the manifestations of the Spirit work the same way,  by “your operation of the God given ability.”  That’s the balance, that’s how Father set it up.  We do this together.  He has freely given His children tremendous power, but we must have the will, the desire, the love, the humble believing, to use it.

God says it, I believe it!  It is settled.  It is finished!  Period.

In the battles of life, the sword of the Spirit is what finishes off the enemy.  Trusting God in all things, above all else; that’s wielding the sword of the Spirit.  And His Word never fails.

In His Grace,