Let us turn once more to the
sixth chapter in the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians where
we've been considering something of that armor, that spiritual
armor, that gospel armor that the Lord God has provided for
His children. And I want us tonight to consider
what he said here at the end of verse 17. Ephesians chapter
6 verse 17, the end of the verse, And take the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. And take the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. We've been considering the previous
parts of this armour over recent weeks and we observe now that
what we've taken up so far might be described as that part of
the armour that is for defence, a defensive armour and what is
represented by those various parts of the armour spoken of
in verses 14 through to the beginning of 17,
represents to us those Christian graces and Christian characteristics. That work of the Spirit in bringing
forth those fruits and those graces. Remember how that's spoken
of in Galatians chapter 5? And there at verse 22 we read
of the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And what we've considered here
in Ephesians 6 concerning those defensive parts of the believer's
armor are representative, are they not, of these various graces
or fruits of the spirit, those things that characterize the
child of God. We began, of course, with truth. In verse 14, we have mention
of the girdle of truth at the beginning of the verse. And then
at the end of that verse, we read of the breastplate of righteousness,
truth, and then righteousness. There is a grace of righteousness,
but of course the believer's principal defense is not any
grace in himself, but rather that righteousness that is altogether
outside of himself, that righteousness that was wrought by the Lord
Jesus and is imputed, to all those whose trust is in Him. Righteousness within thee rooted
may appear to take thy part, but let righteousness imputed
be the breastplate of thy heart. So whilst there is reference
there at the end of verse 14 to the grace of righteousness,
that fruit of the Spirit, yet we saw that we must also take
account of that righteousness of Christ imputed in justification. And then at verse 15 we have
the feet and that shod are they not with peace, the grace of
peace, shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, it says. Verse 16 speaks of the shield,
the shield of faith. Primarily that is the grace of
faith, the actual believing, that faith that is of the operation
of God in the soul of the sinner, that faith that is the gift of
God, But also we did say that there is some reference here
surely to the body of truth that is to be believed. Faith has to do with objective
things. It has to do with this whole
body of doctrine that we find set before us here in Holy Scripture. And we are to earnestly contend
for that faith that was once and for all delivered to the
saints There necessary is that shield, that shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked. And then, last time we came to
the first part of this 17th verse and the helmet. As I say, all
of these things that are spoken of in these previous verses are
for defense. Take the helmet of salvation. More particularly, we observe
that that helmet is associated with hope. In 1 Thessalonians
chapter 5 and verse 8, for a helmet it says, the hope. of salvation. Oh, what a blessed thing is to
hope. The believer is to be marked by these things, truth and righteousness
and peace and faith and hope. These blessed graces that come
by the work of the Spirit of God. But now we come to the one
item in this armament, the one item that is really for attack,
the swords. And take the swords of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God. Now this, in no sense, can be
equated with any graces of the Spirit. It cannot be said to
set before us that fruit of the Spirit What we have here is objective
truth. It is the Scripture, it is the
Word of God that is represented by the sword, the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God. And so as we come to consider
these words, at the end of this 17th verse, I want us to take
up this theme of the Word of God, and to consider the Word
of God in terms of the sword that he's spoken of, and also
in terms of the spirits, to follow that simple two-fold division
as we come to examine the content of this particular verse. It
speaks to us of the Word of God, but to think about that Word
of God in this two-fold fashion as the swords, and then in connection
with the Spirit. First of all, then the sword. Now what is the significance?
Doesn't the sword speak to us so clearly, so plainly, of the
whole matter of warfare and conflict? The Lord God speaking through
His servant, the Prophet Jeremiah, And speaking of those things
that he will visit upon the sinful nations, in Jeremiah 25 verse
29 says, I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the
earth, saith the Lord of hosts. When God calls for a sword, it
speaks to us of dreadful conflicts. It speaks to us of warfare. And there's not only that statement,
that verse in the Old Testament, when we come to the New Testament.
There are those, you see, who would say, well, the Old Testament
scripture is so bloodthirsty. Even those who profess the name
of Christian don't like the Old Testament, some of them. We leave
it with the Lord as to whether they are really Christian believers
or not. those who want to be always dwelling
upon the New Testament because they say it speaks to us of peace,
it speaks to us of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Prince of Peace. But what says the Lord Jesus
Himself in the course of His ministry in the Gospel? Matthew
chapter 10 and verse 34, Think not that I am come to send peace
on earth, He says, I come not to send peace, but a sword."
The same language as we have there in Jeremiah 25. God calls for a sword upon all
the inhabitants of the earth and the Lord Jesus echoes those
words. Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth. I come not to send peace, says
the Lord Jesus, but a sword. But here, of course, we're to
understand that the sword that the Lord Jesus
is really speaking of has to do with warfare that is spiritual
in its nature. Just as men misunderstand the
peace that the Lord Jesus speaks of or is spoken of when he comes
into this world. Remember the message of the angels
at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. At this baby's birth they speak
of peace on earth and goodwill towards men and there are many
who imagine that that peace that Christ came to bring is some
sort of political peace. There was political peace in
great measure at the time of the Saviour's birth because there
was the great might and authority of imperial Rome, ensuring peace
in every part of the empire, the Patrum Anum, how it ruled,
how insurrections were put down, there was peace, political peace.
That peace that the angels speak of is not political, it is a
spiritual peace that Christ came to bring. That peace ultimately
that is associated with propitiation. He is the propitiation for our
sins. How He has reconciled the sinner
to God. How He has borne in His own person
the wrath of God against sins. How He has made peace through
the blood of His cross. And so too also with regards
to the sword. We're not to think in terms of
natural warfare between nations. We're to think more particularly
in terms of a warfare that is spiritual in nature. And that's
what we see here in the whole context of this spiritual armor,
is it not? This Christian's armor. In verse 12, we wrestle not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Not physical, you see. Not fighting
flesh and blood. But he speaks of the principalities,
the prince of the power of the air, that spirit that now workers
in the children of disobedience. He's speaking of of Satan and
the host of demons, the rulers of the darkness of this world.
Spiritual wickedness, it says. Spiritual wickedness in high
places. How Satan hates God. And it's with Satan, you see,
that the child of God has to do in his conflict. Satan hates God. Satan contradicts
the Word of God. And we see it really from the
beginning, do we not? There in the Garden of Eden,
when the serpent comes to eat, here is that one who is the tempter,
the instrument of Satan. And what does the tempter say
concerning the partaking of that forbidden fruit? All you see
forbidden fruit is so attractive, is it not? forbidden fruit. How exciting! And the serpent
comes and he says this to the woman, He shall not surely die. She had spoken of what God had
commanded when He spoke to Adam concerning that forbidden fruit,
they must not eat of it. What had God said? In the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And here is
the devil and he comes and he contradicts the Word of God. Ye shall not surely die. He hates God. He hates God. He hates the Word
of God. He sets himself against the truth
of God's Word. And we see it not only there
in the Garden of Eden, but we see it in the ministry of the
Lord Jesus Christ. when the Lord is led by the Spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted, and the tempter comes. And what
is the temptation? Constantly He is saying this,
if thou be the Son of God. Twice we have it. There in Matthew
4 verse 3, and again in verse 6. If thou be the Son of God,
And that is a contradiction, is it not, of what God had said
just previously, that the baptizing of the Lord Jesus, as He came
up out of those waters of baptism, and the heavens opened and the
Spirit descended, a blessed anointing with the Spirit, and the voice
of the Father, the Father said, This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. And what does Satan do? He comes
and he contradicts what God had said. Doubt is what he's about, you
see. If, if thou be the Son of God. The Hymn writer says that
impious if is us that God incarnate through. No wonder if he cast
it us and make us feel it sir, or if he will come and attack
the Lord Jesus and seek to undermine his confidence in what God has
spoken, will he not come and assault us in a similar fashion
and cause us to question the Word of God, his blessed Word
of God which is the sword of the Spirit? How he will undermine
our confidence in the Scriptures of truth just as he attacks the
Lord Jesus Christ? Paul could say, writing to the
Corinthians, So fight I, not as one that beateth the air.
And what does he mean, not as one that beateth the air? Well,
he was not ignorant. He was not ignorant. And we're
not to be ignorant of Satan's devices. We're not to be beating
the air, we're to know our enemy, how important it is that we understand
what the warfare is about. It has to do with the devil.
The devil who hates God. And the devil who therefore hates
man because man of course is God's image bearer. No surprise
that that fallen demon should hate man who was made in God's
likeness and created after God's image. And how he will come and
assault the believer Time and again, because in the believer,
of course, there is that restoration of the divine image. And he seeks to attack the child
of God. We're not to be ignorant. We're not to be those who are
beating the air. Let us know where our enemy is. Let us know
where he will seek to assault us. He'll come and he'll attack
the Scriptures. I remember hearing of a professed
Christian actually One I, once upon a time, knew
quite well. And he was made an office bearer
in a church. He was a deacon and had played
a profession of faith for a good number of years. And then he
began, I don't know why, but he began to go on the internet
and to investigate the whole doctrine of Scripture. And he
was looking at these various sites, which were obviously querying
and questioning the whole idea of an inspired book. And eventually,
his faith was destroyed. Well, maybe he had no real faith
in the first place. Or maybe he's now in a sad, backslidden
condition. But all the danger, you see.
He was inquisitive, and he went on these sites, and they were
undermining his faith all the time in the Word of God and the
inherency of it. That it is a remarkable book
like no other book as we sang in our opening praise that paraphrase
of part of the 119th Psalm by Isaac Watts. It was our opening
praise. There's no other book like it.
but how the devil, you see, will seek to undermine our confidence
in the Scripture. Because this is our great weapon
of attack, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The sword then speaks to us of
warfare, but here it is speaking to us of spiritual warfare, conflict
with Satan himself. But then we're told quite explicitly,
are we not, what the sword represents, what it sets before us, the Word,
the Word of God. Oh, and friends, what a weapon
is this. What a weapon is this when it's wielded against Satan
himself. It is that weapon that the Lord
Jesus Christ himself uses in the temptation. I know the devil
can come and appeal to Scripture, that's how subtle he is, but
he often misquotes the Scripture. He misuses the Scripture. But
how does the Lord dare as he resists the devil? Three times
we are told there in the account in Matthew chapter 4 in verse
4, and then again in verses 6 and 7. He says to the devil, it is
written, It is written. It is written again. This is
where the Lord appeals. He appeals to what God Himself
has said. The sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God. And David knew it. Oh, David
knew it. David was a great warrior king
in a very real and a very literal sense. We know that he was a
man of blood. He desired to build the temple
of the Lord, but that was not to be. It was his son Solomon,
whose name means peace, who was to have that great honor. David
had slain so many. It was David, of course, who
stood against the champion of the Philistines and slew the
giant Goliath. And they said of David, or They
said of Saul that he had killed his thousands, but of David that
he had killed his tens of thousands. He knew what warfare was. But
David also understood something of this spiritual conflict. In
the 119th Psalm, in verse 92 he says, "...unless thy law had
been my delights, I should have perished in mine affliction."
how he needed the Word of God, how the Word of God ministered
to him and strengthened him. It was God who taught his fingers
to war and his arms to fight, as he acknowledges in another
psalm. He knew the Word of God, he knew
the value of the Word of God. And he celebrates, of course,
the Word of God there in the 119th Psalm. And what was Very much true in the experience
of a man like David. Here in the Scriptures, was it
not also true in the experience of a man like Martin Luther when
we come to consider something of Church history and think of
that great period of the Reformation? I'm sure you're familiar with
Luther's paraphrase of Psalm 46. The mighty fortress is our God,
it begins. But it has those words in one
of the verses, God's word for all their craft and force, one
moment will not linger, but in spite of hell shall have its
cause, it is written by his finger. Here was the reformer's confidence,
you see, the word of God. The word of God. And what was
his business? He translated the Word of God
into the German language so that the common people could read
the Word of God and discover the truth of it. And now, at
that time of the Reformation, certainly here in England, the
whole Reformation movement was centered very much in the Word
of God. How the Word of God had such
a preeminence here in the English Reformation. I know that with
other nations there were certain individuals who were very prominent,
who led the way, as it were. We can think of Luther in Germany,
or we could think of John Calvin at Geneva, or John Knox in Scotland. Well, there were great men raised
up here in England, but there was no great figure overstriding
all others. The movement here was very much
centered in the Word of God. And because there was such ignorance
amongst those who were reckoned to be parish priests, there was
the production of the homilies. And the homilies were to be read
in the parish churches, where there could be no proper ministry,
no proper preaching of the Word of God. And there were great
preachers raised up. It was Hugh Latimer, who became
a bishop, the Bishop of Worcester, of course, who is reckoned to
have said concerning preaching, this is the only office that
God hath ordained to save us by, let us maintain this, all
the Word of God. The Word of God, God's Word,
for all their craft and force, one moment will not linger, but
in spite of hell shall have its course. It is written by His
It is God's Word that is our principal piece of armour wherewith
we can attack Satan and deal with him in all his subtlety
and all his wildness. It's God's Word. And what do
we read concerning God? God is not a man that he should
lie or the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said it,
shall he not do it? has he spoken it, shall he not
make it good? All what we are dealing with
when we come to the Word of God is truth, verities. There is
a sureness here in the Word of God. Again in Ezekiel 36 and
verse 36 he says, I the Lord have spoken it, I will also do
it. And what has God done? why he
has given his word, he's given his promise, and because he could
swear by no greater, he swore by himself. That's what God has
done. He has, in that sense, exalted
his word, as the psalmist says, above all his name. All his word is so true, that
if God's word fails, then God himself fails, God is no more. Or the Word of God. Again, listen to the language
of David in the 119th Psalm at verse 42, So shall I have wherewith
to answer him that reproacheth me, for I trust in thy word. I trust in thy word. Friends,
this is where we're to look, to the Word of God. Time and
again we must come to the Word of God. Why does God's Word have
such a prominent position in a non-conformist chapel? Why
is the pulpit so central? Because there must be the reading
and there must be the preaching of the Word of God. That's why. Worship is centered upon God's
Word. Because this is where we put
our trust, this is where we put our confidence. All God's Word is not only given
His promise, He's not only confirmed that promise by giving an oath,
swearing upon Himself. We know that the New Testament
itself is now sealed with blood, and sealed with the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The amazing thing when we come
to the New Testament is that as Christ is revealed to us here,
we see Him as the incarnate Word. The Word of God made flesh. And
what we have in the Bible, of course, is the inscripturated
Word. What a relationship between Christ
and the Word! How the Word bears its testimony
to Him constantly. How He could say to the Jews,
search the Scriptures. In them you think that you have
eternal life, and these are they that testify of Me. All the Scriptures
and the Lord bear one tremendous name. The written and incarnate
Word in all things are the same. He has sealed it. and sealed
it by shedding His own blood. Here we have the Word of God
and this is where we're to come. And this is where we overcome,
is it not? What do we read of those overcomers in the book
of the Revelation? Remember there in Revelation
chapter 12 and verse 11 we read of those who overcame? And so,
by the blood of the Lamb, it says, and by the Word of their
Testament, The two things go together. The blood of the Lamb. The words of their testimony. This sword then that we read
of here in the text is nothing less than the words of God. God's Word. What God has said. And what God has said, He said
before us here on the page of Holy Scripture. I'm sure you've, at some stage,
read Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. And what remarkable images that
book is full of. And remember how he speaks there,
in the Pilgrim's Progress, of Christians' fights with Apollyon. Christians' conflict with Satan. And Bunyan says, concerning that
fight, a Christian reached for his sword and gave Napoleon a
deadly thrust and a mortal wound. Well, that's how we must deal
with Satan, you see. We must come to the Word of God,
we must appeal to the Word of God. Here is our authority. Here is
that great sword that God himself has provided. Well, let us, having considered
something of the sword and the significance of it, how it speaks
to us of warfare and spiritual warfare, and speaks to us of
the word of God, and how we can make use of the word of God in
all our spiritual conflict, let us turn now in the second place
to the spirit, the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. Paul says to us the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strongholds not carnal weapons carnal in the sense of worldly
Like we read in Romans chapter 8, the carnal mind, that is the
natural mind, is enmity against God and is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be. The mind of the flesh, the
natural mind. And so when he says the weapons
of our warfare are not carnal, he's speaking of those things
that are natural, of this world. No, the weapons of our warfare
are mighty through God, through the pulling down of strongholds. And what is it that makes them
so mighty? It's the Spirit of God, is it
not? It's the Spirit of God. Now the Holy Spirit himself,
as we know, is the author of Holy Scripture. We're told, are we not, in 2
Peter, there at the end of the first chapter, our holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the Spirit of God. He's referring to the ministry
of the Old Testament, he's speaking particularly of the prophets
and he says those holy men they spake as they were moved. And the word that he uses, and
we've said this on other occasions, the word, the verb, to move is
a strong verb. They were moved. They were carried
along. They were borne along by the
Spirit of God. The same word. as we find in
the 27th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, where Paul is
shipwrecked as he's making that journey to Rome from Jerusalem. That terrible wind, Euroclidon,
comes and though the mariners are clearly men of some experience,
they're seafaring men, yet they can do nothing and we're told
how they simply had to abandon the vessel to the elements, to
the winds and to the waves. Twice there in Acts 27 verse
15 and again in verse 17 we read as a letter drive and so were
driven. And that's the same words that
we have there in 2 Peter 1.21 Those holy men of God, they spoke
as they were driven, borne along by the Spirit of God. Oh, it is the Spirit Himself
who is the author of these Scriptures. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable. All Scripture is God-breathed. That's what it literally says.
and the Spirit is the Breath of God. And so whilst it is true
that many different human authors are responsible for the various
books that we find here in Holy Scripture, yet none of them is
simply writing his own words. They're writing what is the Word
of God. They're not the real authors. It is a great miracle, is it
not? the way in which God has given
us this blessed book, the way in which God has revealed Himself
to us. The Spirit is the author of Scripture,
so it is the Holy Spirit who must apply the Word. He gave the Word, and He takes
the Word which is before us on the page of Holy Scripture, and
He makes application. He applies it to the hearts of
men and women. God's children, they learn the
power and the authority of Scripture experimentally. We have to learn
it, do we not, in our soul's experience, when the Spirit comes
and applies the Word of God. And this is the Spirit's office,
really, in the economy of grace. in the outworking of the covenant
of grace. This is what the Spirit is charged
with. Now we've remarked on this these last two weeks when we
were considering those words in John 14, 16 and 17. Remember what Christ goes on
to say concerning the Spirit, the Comforter. In chapter 16
and verse 8, when He is come, He will reprove, or as the margin
says, He will convince the worlds of sin and of righteousness and
of judgment. How He applies the Word, how
He takes the Word and He brings the Word home into the conscience,
into the soul, And we read those words, did we not, in Hebrews? Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12.
The Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and
of the joints and marrow, and is the discern of the thoughts
and the intents of the heart. That's the Word of God. That's
the Word of God. He divides asunder soul and spirit. How He cuts, He cuts deep. And
we see it, do we not? We see it on the day of Pentecost. And there, of course, we have the coming of the Holy Spirit
in all His power, in all His glory. And Peter preaching, and
preaching under that gracious unction of the Holy Ghost. And so we're told when they heard
this, they were pricked in their heart. All the Word of God in
the hand of the Spirit is quick, powerful, sharper than a two-edged
sword. They were pricked in their hearts
and said, Men and Brethren, what shall we do to be saved? All that Word of God in the hand
of the Spirit of God. The Psalmist says, Thine arrows
are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies whereby the people
fall under them. God's arrow's sharp when the
Spirit comes and makes that application. And this is how believers themselves
learn. This is how believers are to
learn to use the Word of God as God deals with us under the
Word. as God makes us to feel the spirituality of His Word,
how that He is sharp, how that He brings conviction into the
soul of men, how it prods the conscience. And we see how Stephen,
Stephen obviously learned what it was to use the Word of God
There in Acts chapter 7 we're told he was a man full of the
Holy Ghost. Full of the Holy Ghost. And he
gives that remarkable account of the history of God's ancient
covenant people. Makes that great apology for
his faith. Asserting, you see, the truth
of the Christian gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're
told, are we not, what the consequence was, the result of his preaching. When they heard these things,
they were cut to the heart. They were cut to the heart. This
is the Word of God. And we're told that they laid
down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. That's what we are told at the
end of Acts chapter 7. This man who is a great persecutor,
who is a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee, who hates those
who are the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, he's there.
And as they stoned Stephen, calling upon the name of the Lord, they
lay their garments at the feet of this man saw. And then just
a little later on, the beginning of chapter 9 in Acts, what do
we read? Where the Lord Jesus Christ meets him and confronts
him and arrests him, lays his hand upon him there at the gates
of Damascus. It is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. Paul, you see, was under conviction.
It's the work of the Spirit. how the spirit works, he works
in remarkable ways we sang that hymn of Watts just now, 1007
and he speaks of the Christians warfare and the Christians warfare
is not only with Satan, it's also with himself all but the weapons that God
has given even when we're dealing with
ourselves I was very struck as we sang that third verse. What
though thy inward lusts rebel, it is but a struggling gasp for
life. The weapons of victorious grace
shall slay thy sins and end thy strife. There's our comfort you
see. All this sword of the Spirit,
we can use it against ourselves. We are to use it against ourselves.
Against the old nature. Now it exposes us, you see, it
shows us what we are. What will you see? In the Shulamite
is the question put, there in the Song of Solomon, and the
answer, as it were, the company of two armies. There's a conflict.
There's the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against
the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other, and you cannot
do the thing that you want. But how that all nature is to
be slain. The crucifying of the flesh,
you see. How? By the Word of God. Always by
the Word of God. The Sword of the Spirit, which
is the Word of God. And we're to learn to use this
mighty instrument in all our dreadful conflict with Satan
himself. As we resist him. How do we resist
him? We resist him with the Word of
God. How we need to be those who are familiar with this book.
How our eyes Our ears, our hearts, as it were, need to be much in
this book. He is a fearful foe. He is the most dreadful foe.
Yes, he is but a creature, but he's a mighty creature. He's
a fallen angel. He's a fallen angel. Only the
Lord Jesus Christ, as a man could say, the Prince of this world
cometh and hath nothing in me. or when this fearful foe comes
he finds so much in us that he can take advantage of so much
in our fallen nature so much in our sinful desires and those
lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and that pride of
life that's spoken of in 1 John 2 what are we to do? we are to familiarize ourselves
with this blessed book that we might use this great instrument,
this sword of the Spirit, against Satan and against all his wiles. But how are we to do that? We'll
come to it, God willing, next week, praying. Praying always,
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto,
with all perseverance and supplication for all sakes. O God, help us
then that we might be those who are made wise unto this salvation
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who are wise in this blessed
book. Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Amen.