The sword of the Spirit

Believers, have you ever considered the different functions of the different parts of the whole armour of God as outlined for us in Ephesians 6:14-17? One part in particular has a function that is different from the rest. Check out all of the parts and see if you'll notice:

1. "having girded your waist with truth," 

2. "having put on the breastplate of righteousness," 

3. "and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; , 

4. "above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." 

5. "And take the helmet of salvation," 

6. "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;"

See it yet? Armour 1 - 5 are for covering and defence. The belt of truth keeps our spiritual clothing from falling off so our nakedness is forever covered- we will not be exposed/ashamed/disgraced; the helmet of salvation on our head deflects attacks in the form of wrong thoughts that can lead to depression, psychosomatic illnesses and such; and so on. Whenever the Accuser attacks with the only weapon in His arsenal (fiery darts of accusations) and with the sole aim of putting believers under condemnation (under law) so that the judgment of the law can follow, we are well protected because in Christ, we have 1- 5. 

But football fans will tell you that playing only defensive games does not help you score goals or win trophies😊. Our Abba Father's armour 1-5 prevents the devil from scoring even one goal in our lives but you don't want to play "draw" with the devil, always fighting defensively. With each game (accusation,) we have to attack to score and win that particular match. And armour no. 6- "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;" is purely for attack!

Remember, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour Himself is the Word. Hear Him and Wield Him in every trial and temptation. There is something about the Word of God that causes Satan not to want to hang around those who use it. It reminds him of Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), who rendered Satan powerless and of no effect when He said, "It is written…"

So next time the devil in the form of a minister of Christ comes around to put fear in you by telling you things like "Be careful because I saw your friends/parents/colleagues plotting your downfall in a coven," and then asks you to fast or do things by your own effort to avert disaster, effectively telling you that Jesus died for nothing in your life, respond with:

"It is written: "Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.

Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake." Isaiah 54:15

Tell such that it would be strange if there was no gathering against you because the Lord Himself said "Indeed they shall surely assemble"; so they are not telling you anything new. To gather against you is to gather against Christ!

Verses 17-18 of the YLT translation says of the sword of the Spirit "...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the saying of God, 18 through all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit,..."

I believe that the "saying of God" is also praying in the Spirit. When we pray in tongues, we pray according to God's perfect will. This way, by His grace, we can pray flawless prayers that are untainted by our emotions and our desire for any perceived flesh and blood enemies to perish😊. You know Christ died to save our human "enemies" too. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Through tongues, we can pray for things we have no idea that we need, pray for our enemies, pray for our family and loved ones who are in danger or in need without even knowing it and "pray without ceasing" too - while watching TV, attending a meeting or even carrying on a conversation, because we don't have to think about what we are saying. He does it all.

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.