Our Superior Weapon

I’m sure most will agree with me that life can be a battlefield at times.  Sooner or later, we will all have to fight some battles.

Paul, the New Testament apostle, had to fight many battles – you could say he was a seasoned “soldier for Christ”.  In his letter to the church in Ephesus, he gives them a profound lesson in warfare – let’s read from verse 10:

Ephesians 6:10à

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. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Paul faced opposition from many people – but they were not his actual enemies.  His real enemy was the devil.  His visible opponents were not the real enemy – the real enemy was the invisible one behind it all – the devil.  And the same truth applies to us today.  We may face opposition and persecution from people – but our “actual beef”, our real battle, is not against them – it is against the devil, who has conned them into doing what they are doing.

In verse 11 Paul tells us that the devil works through SCHEMES.  He is a plotter and planner of note!  He devises cunning schemes of deception that trick people into doing things that he wants to do. 

The Roman authorities caused trouble for Paul – but it was because of a scheme of the devil – to portray Jesus, and therefore Paul, as an enemy of Roman rule. 

The Jewish authorities caused trouble for Paul – but it was because of a scheme of the devil – to portray Jesus, and therefore Paul, as an enemy of the Jewish nation.

So Paul begins with a word of PESPECTIVE: the people that cause us pain are not the real enemy; they have been conned by one of the devil’s schemes into doing his dirty work for him.  The devil is the real enemy and we need to take our stand against his schemes.

This perspective can be scary.  We are up against the devil’s team, not the people on the ground.  He says our struggle is against an evil spiritual realm.  He says these forces can attack us – so we need to put on a “spiritual suit of armour”.

I’m not going to speak about the ARMOUR now, but I urge you to study this passage in your personal devotional times.  All I’ll say for now is that these things that Paul describes as God’s armour will protect us from the schemes of the devil: truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, assurance of salvation, and prayer.  We need to make these things an integral part of our lives if we are to withstand the devil’s schemes.

What I want to look at today is an incredible WEAPON that God has given us. Verse 17 tells us that in additional to defensive ARMOUR, we also have a God-given WEAPON.  He tells us to TAKE UP THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT – WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD.

Our battle is not a physical one, but a spiritual one.  So a physical sword won’t win the battle.  A physical sword can kill a physical enemy, but this will not defeat the devil’s schemes.  To defeat a scheme of the devil, we need a spiritual weapon.  We need to take up the sword of the Spirit.  And this spiritual sword, says Paul, is the word of God.

In Hebrews 4:12, we read just how powerful this weapon is:

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.

A double-edged sword was the ultimate weapon of the day when these letters were written.  It was the best sword a soldier could have, because it cut both ways and because it penetrated the best.  It was the sharpest, deadliest sword.

The word of God is described as sharper than a double-edged sword.  In other words, it is better than the best weapon available.  Paul didn’t have a better weapon to describe, but we can think of many.  The point is, the word of God is better than any other weapon available.

WHAT GOD HAS SAID IS THE ULTIMATE WEAPON!

I remember a scene in the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where Indiana Jones faces a scary swordsman.  After an impressive display of sword handling, Indy simply shoots the swordsman.  You may not like the illustration, but it does work!  The devil can be really intimidating, but we have the superior weapon!

Paul drives this home in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5:

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.

This is proper war talk!! J We wield heavenly weapons – with divine power – and demolish strongholds… we demolish arguments and pretensions – the devils schemes!

On Sunday night, I saw in my mind’s eye a table full of gleaming swords.  People were running up to the table, each taking a sword and then running to the battle-line. 

They ran with confidence – because the swords they were taking up were superior weapons.  They knew that they could fight with confidence, because their weapons were better than those of their enemy.

I BELIEVE GOD IS CALLING US TO TAKE UP OUR SWORDS.

So we step up… we take up our swords… our superior weapons…

Now we have to learn to USE this amazing weapon!

So here we go… “Sword-craft 101”!

Let’s learn from the master!  We’ll learn from the ultimate duel… as recorded in Matthew 4.

Matthew 4:1à

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

4 Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:

" `He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,

  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'"

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

This is a sword-fight of eternal consequence!  As Jesus battled against the devil, he defeated him every time – with the sword of the Spirit – “IT IS WRITTEN”.  The devil was defeated in three short rounds.  Three challenges.  Three swift answers.  No debate, just the word of God: “IT IS WRITTEN”!

We would do well to follow his example.  We don’t need to be great debaters; we just need to know what God has said.  And the most reliable source is the Bible.

Paul pointed Timothy to his source in 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Here Paul tells us where to find out what God has said – in Scripture.   In that day, this was what we call the Old Testament – so please don’t devalue the Old Testament!  Rather read it!!  Now of course, we have even more words from God in the New Testament – especially the words of Jesus himself! 

Paul also says that Scripture is not just the ultimate weapon; it’s also the ultimate multi-purpose tool!  When we know it, we are “thoroughly equipped for every good work”!  Its a “spiritual Swiss army knife” with a gadget for every situation!

As we prepare to step up with the word of God, I must give a caution.  We need to know more that a “handful” of promises from Scripture.  It is tempting to take one verse of Scripture that we really like and go out to battle with it – but be careful to find out WHAT ELSE God has said about your situation!

We have a great example in our Jesus vs. the devil duel.  The devil had a go at Jesus with Scripture – with one verse on a topic – but Jesus defeated him with another Scripture – because he knew WHAT ELSE God had said about the topic – “IT IS ALSO WRITTEN”!

So friends, we have a weapon of unparalleled power – the word of God.  With it, we can defeat the attacks of the devil and his dark forces.

So let’s get training!  Let’s get reading!  Let’s get studying!  Let’s start responding to all of the situations we face with these immortal words:

IT IS WRITTEN!

When you face your next battle of life, avoid the “fight or flight” reflex!  Go to God in prayer.  Open your Bible and start seeking God’s word for your situation.  If you are unsure, get help from someone who knows the Scriptures better than you.  But get GOD’S WORD on your situation.  And then wield the weapon:

IT IS WRITTEN!

Say it!  Believe it!  Do it!

Let’s take up our swords…

Let’s hone our sword-craft…

Let’s win those battles!!!