Up Close and Personal Combat
From The Armor Series
“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit – which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:17 CSB
Hey friend!
We are nearing the end of the series on the armor of God and I’m so thankful for all the nuggets of truths that God has been teaching us along the way.
The sword of the spirit is a very interesting and unique piece in the armor. It is the only offensive weapon that is discussed. Every other piece is either part of our uniform that we are to wear in the daily grind of life or a piece of armor to defend us against a very real enemy in the heat of a very real battle. What makes this piece of armor so interesting is two-fold.
First, this isn’t any ordinary sword. It wasn’t the typical long sword that one might picture. I’ll be honest. I always pictured it as a sword one might see used by pirates or soldiers in history books. No, not at all. The sword that Paul was referring to was a small dagger about eighteen inches long. The smallness of the dagger made it perfect for hand-to-hand combat. It was double-edged and extremely sharp. What makes this piece even more unique is that this piece of armor is the only piece that Paul actually describes in the passage of the armor of God in Ephesians 6 which leads us to the second part.
Secondly, we see in our key passage in Ephesians 6:17, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit – which is the word of God.” Paul doesn’t make us wonder or keep us guessing. He tells us exactly what the sword of the spirit is – the word of God.
Friend, this really encourages me, and I pray that it encourages you as well. Do you ever feel like the enemy is right up in your face? Do you ever feel like the battle you are in is an up-close and personal kind of combat?
I have.
Make no mistake, up close and personal is the kind of battle that the enemy likes to engage in. Oh, don’t get me wrong. Satan loves to throw arrows from far away but some of his best attacks come from the “up in your face” kind of moments.
However, the story doesn’t end with the enemy being the victor. Not by a long shot! And what I’m about to share with you is the key that makes the sword of the spirit so utterly amazing. There are three different words that were translated from “Word of God” in the original scripture. They are Graphe, Logos, and Rhema.
Graphe literally means the book. It’s the ink and the paper that makes up the words on the page. Logos is the message of the Graphe or the book.
But Rhema…. Oh, sweet friend, don’t miss this…
Rhema means the very utterance of God, the spoken word of God to you in every area of your life. The Rhema is what we must use when the enemy is in our face and up close and personal. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
God inspired Paul to write about a piece of armor that would send the enemy running if we would just use it. The Rhema – the very utterance of God, His Word, from Genesis all the way to Revelation is given to us divinely as the only offensive weapon in our arsenal of weapons for a reason.
Sweet friend, the reason? Because God’s word is living – It’s active – It’s sharp- and it’s all we need because it’s powerful. We will learn just how powerful the next time we meet. Until then, grab your sword and move over to offense. Let’s send the enemy running!
Dear God,
Thank you for the Rhema - your word. YYour powerful word. Your word is alive and well and I praise you for reminding me of that. Sometimes I do need to take more of a defensive stance but Lord, help me to see when I need to move to offense. You have given me everything in your word to fight well. Forgive me when I forget to put on my armor. I can’t wait until the day when you cast the enemy to his final doom but until that day, help me to stand firm and remain faithful in battle. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 CSB
Reflection:
What misconceptions have you had regarding the sword of the spirit?
What can you do today to offensively use the sword of the spirit in whatever battle you are facing?