Suit up! – Sword (7 of 7)

“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

Ephesians‬ ‭6:17‬ ‭ESV

The Word of God is the most important aspect of the armor. Without a sword, putting the rest of the armor on is for nothing. I don’t know of any person that puts on all his defensive armor and rush into battle without a weapon. 

Crafting a gladius (Roman blade) would take days, the foundries to create flat stock, smelt iron from ore. The swordsmith would have apprentices began the long task of heating, hammering and repeating until the stock becomes the shape of a blade.   The swordsmith would take days to grind and sharpen the blade.  

The word of God is given to us freely, as a sword is given to every soldier. It is up to you to be able to maintain and how to correctly wield it. 

Maintaining a blade

Protecting – You have to keep your blade protected for the elements. Water, ice, and snow can cause a blade to begin to rust and rust will destroy a blade. Keeping the blade in a sheath, when traveling or not in battle will help to keep it protected from unneeded exposure to the elements. We must hide the word of God in our heart to protect it from the elements of life. God is speaking to us in Proverb chapter 7 verses 1 & 3 says “My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; … bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Inspecting – on regular bases, you should look over your blade, re-examining every accept of it. checking the blade for a stress fracture, looking for blade edge damage, knick or voids. Inspecting the hilt, consisting of the grip, crossguard, and pommel, making sure it has no damage or the pommel is loose. We have to constantly inspect the word of God that is written in our hearts and make sure there are no damages caused by life issue. You could have gone thought a hard situation and wrongly applied the word of God to the situation. This would need to be corrected that your weapon is in good order.

Caring – Once you have inspected your blade you will need to sharpen and then clean the blade. You may have to hammer out any void to the edge before sharpening can happen. Once the edge of the blade is back into the proper shape you will use a stone or another piece of iron to sharpen the edge. Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Getting a sharp edge is important to help you conserve energy during battle. Ecclesiastes 10:10 “If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength…”.

Once the edge of the blade is sharpened you will need to clean it by wiping down the blade removing any debris. After washing it down with water and drying it thoroughly you will apply oil, the oil will prevent any rusting while in the sheath. We are to care for the word of God, in the same way, sharpening it when needed and applying the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit to persevere it.

Wield a blade

A newly appointed soldier is given a blade made of wood, called a waster, he will perform many defensive and offensive drills to learn properly how to handle the blade. These drills are executed over and over until it becomes second nature, today we call it muscle memory. during a battle, they will not have to think they will just react to the situation. Once they have the muscle memory they will be put thought time of sparing one another, all of this is still using the waster. Once they are properly trained the soldier are issued a live blade (with a sharp edge).

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

We all need to be trained in how to wield the word of God if wielded incorrectly it can cause damage to other individuals. I have seen people in the church, not true followers of Jesus, use the word of God to cause shame, fear, and control over others.

The word of God is to be a strong foundation for every believer in Jesus. We are the hide it in our heart and live out of every word the proceeds out to God’s voice. We are to continually care for and sharpen the word of God. There are many ways to accomplish this, coming together reading and discussing the scriptures, attending church service, Bible study plans, and memorizing verses, to name a few. The same way you care for and sharpen the word of God is the same ways we get better at wielding it correctly. We hide it in our hearts and make it part of us.

…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthews 12:34 ESV

Before we begin to wield the word of God toward anyone remember 1 Corinthians 16:4 ESV “Let all that you do be done in love.” Every act we do or speak should be tempered with the Love of God, so we will not wield it incorrectly. We have the power of God within us. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Proverbs 18:21 ESV and what and how we speak others will cause them to have life or death.

14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:14-16 ESV

Application

• Read the Bible consistently (get the word of God in your heart)
• Find multiple ways to care and sharpen the word of God in your life
  • Church service
  • Small groups bible studies
  • Bible study plans (YouVersion app has some great plans)
  • Gathering with friends to read and study
• Be willing to be trained in how to use the word of God correctly