Women of the Bible Lesson 9 Jael: A Story of Courage Part 7 Armor of God

Today we will continue talking about the armor we have been provided through the Holy Spirit to protect us in our spiritual battles.   

Ephesians 6:14-18 gives us a list of the armor we have been provided through the Holy Spirit. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (NLT)  

I want to begin with a quote from Charles Spurgeon, “TO BE A CHRISTIAN is to be a warrior. The good soldier of Jesus Christ must not expect to find ease in this world: it is a battle-field. Neither must he reckon upon the friendship of the world; for that would be enmity against God. His occupation is war. As he puts on piece by piece of the panoply provided for him, he may wisely say to himself, "This warns me of danger; this prepares me for warfare; this prophesies opposition."i 

As we have been learning for the past five weeks, we need every piece of the armor God has provided for us.  Today we will look at the Sword of the Spirit – The Word of God!!!   

The Roman gladius was made of iron.  It had a blade that was between 18 and 25 inches long, 2 inches wide, with a pointed tip and a double edge, making it a great weapon for slashing and jabbing.   

For a Roman soldier, the sword served as an offensive weapon against enemies. When sharpened, the sword could pierce through just about anything, making it a very dangerous tool.ii 

“The short blade of the gladius Hispaniens made it an ideal weapon when soldiers were closely engaged with the enemy and gave its carrier a distinct advantage over an opponent armed with an unwieldy and heavier, longer-bladed sword who had no space in which to swing his blade.”  

Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. (NLT) 

“The word of God is very necessary, and of great use to the Christian, in order to his maintaining the spiritual warfare and succeeding in it. It is called the sword of the Spirit, because it is of the Spirit’s inditing and he renders it efficacious and powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword.” “Scripture-arguments are the most powerful arguments to repel temptation with. “iii 

The Sword of the Spirit can be used both defensively and offensively.   

First, as a defensive weapon the sword is used to distinguish between right and wrong.  2 Timothy 3:16, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (NLT) 

It can also be used to counter attacks from the enemy. We see this example set by Jesus during his encounter with Satan in the wilderness.   

Matthew 4:3-4, During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (NLT) 

Also, the sword can be used to protect us from the lies of the enemy.  “Every day, our minds are bombarded with tens of thousands of thoughts. Do those thoughts agree with what God says in the Bible? Or are they lies from the enemy? God commands us to take our thoughts captive and He gave us the Bible as our best weapon to defeat the enemy.”iv 

2 Corinthians 10:5, 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. (NIV) 

1 Peter 5:8, Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV) 

John 8:32, And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (NLT) 

As an offensive weapon the Sword of the Spirit is powerful!   

First, we know that the spoken word has power.  Genesis 1:3, 6, 7, 11, 15, 20, 24, 26, And God said, “Let there be... and it was so!  

2 Corinthians 4:13, We have the same spirit of faith. As it is written, “I believed, and therefore I have spoken.” So we also believe and therefore speak. (MEV) 

When God spoke the world into existence, He did not doubt that when He spoke it would come to pass.  He said it and it was! 

Mark 11:22-24, 22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them. (MEV) 

Luke 17:6, The Lord said, “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. (MEV)   

In the above verses we see the connection between believing and speaking. Our beliefs are based on the Word of God. 

To continue, when we speak what we believe (wielding the Sword of the Spirit) our words carry all the power of God behind them.   

John 14:17, He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. (NLT)  

Romans 8:11, The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. (NLT) 

It is Holy Spirit who causes the spoken Word of God to be manifest. Genesis 1:2, The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (NLT) The same Holy Spirit dwells in us.  He was there in the beginning to manifest creation. He was also present to manifest the resurrection of Christ.  When Holy Spirit speaks through us things happen!  

Next, we know that the spoken word has the power of life and death.  

Proverbs 18:21, The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (NIV) 

Hebrews 1:1-3, God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (MEV) (Italics mine.) 

“And He upholds the universe by the word of His power. Originally He spoke to bring the worlds into being (Heb. 11:3). Still He speaks and His powerful word sustains life, holds matter together, and maintains the universe in proper order. It is by Him that all things hold together (Col. 1:17). Here is a simple explanation of a profound scientific problem. Scientists grapple to discover what holds molecules together. We learn here that Jesus Christ is the great Sustainer, and He does it by His powerful word.”v 

Mark 11:14,20-21, Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it. 20The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!” 

Here we see that by the Word of His Power, Jesus has both the power of life and death.  As kings and priests to God, we too have this same power through Holy Spirit.   

Revelation 1:6b ,and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (MEV) 

Finally, the Sword of the Spirit has the power to bind and loose.   

Matthew 16:19, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (NIV) 

Matthew 16:19, And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” (NLT) 

“The Greek text of that scripture would literally read, ‘I give you the keys of the kingdom. Whatever you declare locked on earth is locked in heaven and whatever you declare unlocked on earth is unlocked in the heavenlies.’ 

The heaven Jesus was talking about there isn’t the heaven where God resides. He was talking about the battle zone, about the heaven where Satan’s forces are operating. 

He was telling us that God has given us power to bind the wicked spirits in heavenly places and to loose the angelic powers of God to work in our behalf.”vi 

In closing, to use the Sword of the Spirit we must know the Word! We must read the Word, memorize the Word, meditate on the Word, and pray the Word.  A sword that just sits on a table will not vanquish any foe!   

Take up you sword!!!! 

Works Cited: 

i https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2201.cfm 

ii https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-armor-god-sword-spirit 

iii Matthew Henry's Commentary

iv https://drmichellebengtson.com/your-best-weapon-11-scriptures-fight-enemys-lies/ 

v Believer's Bible Commentary Copyright © 1989, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2016 by William MacDonald. 

vi https://www.kcm.org/read/faith-to-faith/08/29?language_content_entity=en-US