Sword Training – Part 3 Don’t Go Into a Knife Fight Empty Handed (Ephesians 6)

Big city lawyer hunting and bird he shoots falls on old farmer’s land. Lawyer goes to get bird and farmer says that it’s his bird since it’s on his land. Lawyer says that he’ll take farmer to court over it. Farmer says we settle things differently around here. Three kick contest Lawyer is young and scrappy so he agrees. Lets farmer go first. Farmer kicks him in side of knee takes him to ground … kicks in gut and then face with big boots. Lawyer woozy but able to get to feet Says, now it’s my turn Farmer says “No, that’s okay, you can have the bird. I didn’t really want it anyway.

Satan doesn’t fight fair. So we’re going to need to know how to defend ourselves.

I want to return to the text we started this series with: Ephesians 6:10-17 So far we’ve seen that God’s Word is our – BREAD – WATER – BREATH – LIGHT And a soldier who is malnourished, dehydrated, out of breath, and fighting in the dark, won’t be very effective. That’s why we need God’s Word. God’s Word nourishes us … It hydrates and cleanses us … It gives us breath … and It keeps us from stumbling in the dark.

Today we’re going to take a closer look at the sword. We’re going to see exactly what Paul means by “sword.” We’re going to define the sword of the Spirit. And finally we’re going to see how we should use the sword of the Spirit. Let’s begin by examining what Paul means by “the Sword of the Spirit.” Ephesians 6:10-17 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Here Paul uses a word for “sword” that everyone would have understood. He wasn’t talking about a broadsword. He was talking about the sword of the Roman Soldier. He was talking about a dagger. The word in the Greek language is the word “Machaira” - (makh’-ahee- rah) We call it a gladius. It’s the sword you see in the movie “Gladiator.” It refers to a 6 to 18 inch dagger. It was used for hand-to-hand combat. It was the sword that was used when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus in the garden. It was the sword that Peter used when he cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave. Warriors spent hours upon hours with it in their hands – getting used to the feel, and letting it become second nature, as familiar to them as their own limbs. Their lives depended on their ability to use their sword.

Many of the Roman Gladiuses were nothing more than a knife. (Demonstrate how to defend against attack from short gladius.)

Paul says that we’ve been given a weapon that’s like a sword. He calls it the Sword of the Spirit.

In verse 17 Paul tells us what the sword of the Spirit is. It’s the Word of God. I used to think that the Word of God here refers to the Bible. It doesn’t.

There are two words in the original language from which we get our English word “word.” The first word is “logos.” That’s the word that’s used in John 1 where we read: “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.” “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” That’s speaking about Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s last word to man. Jesus is God’s final word to us, and we better get the message.

The word “logos” is also used to describe this book, the Bible. In the book of Hebrews we’re told to honor those who speak to us the word of God. There he’s talking about the Bible. So the word “logos” primarily means this book, the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation the “logos” for us is the Bible. The totality of God’s message for us in the Bible is the “logos.”

But the word that Paul uses in Ephesians chapter 6 isn’t the word “logos.” Paul doesn’t tell the Ephesians to take up the sword of the Spirit which is the “logos” of God. He uses the other word that’s translated “word.” He uses the word “rhema.”

The word “rhema” doesn’t mean the totality of the Bible or the entire message of the Bible. The word “rhema” is best translated as “the sayings of God.” It speaks of individual truths that are found in the Bible … specific truths that can be used against specific attacks.

So, in a real sense, this book is an armory full of swords. The whole Bible is filled with God’s truth, but each individual truth is a “rhema” – a sword.

When Paul told the Ephesians to take up the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, he wasn’t telling them to take hold of the whole Bible. He was telling them to take hold of the sayings, or truths, that are found in the Bible.

How do we use the Sword in spiritual battle? Let me tell you how I use individual “rhema” swords against Satan: Satan might attack me saying: God says that you shouldn’t commit adultery. And Jesus said that if you’ve ever lusted after a woman in your heart that you’ve committed adultery. So you’re a lawbreaker and you deserve death. My response might go something like this: You’re right, but Romans 3:20 tells me that no one will be declared righteous by observing the law. And Ephesians 2:8 tells me that I’m saved by grace through faith. And I’ve placed my faith in Jesus, not in my own good works.

Now in responding to Satan you don’t need to use Scripture references. All you need to do is know the specific truth and apply it.

For instance, Satan might tell me that I’m worthless. Maybe Satan has told you that you’re worthless. Tell him that you’re worth more than many sparrows. You’ve been bought with a price and the price was quite high. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for you. So you aren’t worthless. God has put great value on you.

In this book we find the entirety of God’s message for us (logos), but we also find spiritual truths (rhema). They’re swords that will help us do battle with Satan.

With that said, I want you to notice how effective this sword is: Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living 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.”

This passage tells us that the Bible is living and active. It’s sharp and it penetrates men’s hearts.

While a material sword pierces the body, a spiritual sword pierces the heart. While a physical sword pierces to hurt, a spiritual sword pierces to heal. It’s used to do surgery on the heart.

I have a question for you. Have you ever been stabbed by this sword? Maybe you were reading your Bible and all of the sudden a truth of Scripture stabs you in the heart. Or maybe you were sitting in church and all of the sudden something that I said pierced your soul. Because when I’m preaching, all I’m doing is standing up here and throwing out little swords of truth from God’s Word. Sometimes that truth penetrates our hearts and does its work.

Another verse that talks about the effectiveness of this sword: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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.

It isn’t possible for Satan to stand against the sword of God’s Word.

God has given us this weapon to be used in hand-to-hand combat with our spiritual enemy, and there are multiple swords that are found inside this book.

I wonder what it might look like to wield a sword as an expert swordsman. It might look something like this: Watch this video (Pirates of the Caribbean)

The pirate, Jack Sparrow, asks: “Where did all these swords come from?” To which Will Turner answers, “I made them.” I can imagine Satan asking that same question when he tempts Jesus. Where did You get all these swords? I made them.

So how do we wield this sword in battle? To answer that I want us to consider how the One who designed the Sword used it in battle. In Matthew 4 we find an example of how Jesus used it in battle.

In chapter 3 of Matthew we find that the Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. Did you ever wonder why the Spirit would take Jesus into a place where He would be deliberately tempted? Maybe it was so we could get a record of how an expert swordsman uses the sword.

So here we find Jesus in the wilderness where Satan is going to tempt Him. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He didn’t argue with him … He didn’t try to rebuke him … He simply reached into his armory and He picked out the right sword for the attack.

Three times Satan attacked, and three times Jesus responded with a sword of His own … a rhema of truth. James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. Jesus resisted the devil and the devil left Him.

So to use the Sword of the Spirit properly, we need to have the truths of the Word of God in our arsenal.

We need to be so familiar with the Bible that we know where all the swords are and how to use them. When the enemy attacks us, we need to be able to repel him with the “rhema” of God … with the truths of Scripture that we’ve applied to our lives.

That’s what Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15)

So here’s the question : How do we correctly handle the word of truth? First we must accept the individual “rhema” words of truth as our own. If we don’t accept a sword as truth … we won’t take it as our own.

Then we must train with them by using them in our daily lives. That creates muscle memory. We can’t expect to fight Satan by saying, “Wait a minute. Let me check my computer program and find a sword to use against you and then get the instructions on how to use them. We create muscle memory with Scripture memorization. We also create muscle memory by using these swords in our daily lives. And the more we use these swords, the sharper they become and the more effective they are in fighting Satan.

Sword Training – Part 3 Don’t Go Into a Knife Fight Empty Handed (Ephesians 6)

What is the Sword of the Spirit?

How do we use the Sword in spiritual battle?