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The Sword


           …and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17b)

           For the word of God is alive 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. (Hebrews 4:12)

          In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:16)

          Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. (Revelation 19:15)

          I happen to like swords. I collect letter-openers because I couldn’t afford to buy swords. It’s a romantic thing for me, not really a means of combat. For the people of the time when Ephesians, Hebrews, and Revelation were written, it was a weapon of choice. I do have one, but I’m not sure, if it came to it, that I’d even be able stick an attacker “with the pointy end.” (Game of Thrones reference.) What all t his means is that I have a fondness for the verses above.
          One of the bits of wisdom told over the years is that the sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God. If you want to see it wielded well, check out either Matthew 4, Luke 4, or (in a more creative way) Genesis 1-2. Over the years, I’ve also debated whether “the word of God” referred to the sword or to the Spirit. At this point, I have to say, the sword refers to both the Spirit and the Word of God. John says, “In the beginning was the Word” referring to the Son, and the Spirit and the Son are one, just as the Father and the Son are one.
           The question that remains this morning is how the sword fits into the theory of the armor being about keeping us from being separated from God. We tend to think of swords as piercing or cutting flesh and blood, but what comes to mind is sneaky tentacles that wrap around a person and drag them into the deep, or ropes that bind a person. Swords are useful to sever what pulls us away from God.
But since the sword is the Word of God & the Spirit, we should also keep in mind that the sword is also all that God is: truth, love, righteous, peace-loving. In other words, it is a means for us to bring to bear all that the rest of the armor is, in a very pointed and direct manner.
           One final idea comes to mind. Self-defense is described as being a response to an immediate threat that brings only as much violence as is necessary to prevent harm or allow escape. Self-defense is not revenge. A martial artist who could have walked away, but chose instead to beat an assailant into unconsciousness is not exercising self-defense. Neither is the person who pulls a gun in response to verbal abuse. The goal isn’t to harm anyone, it is to prevent harm to ourselves. The same can be said of the Sword of the Spirit. It’s not designed to harm anyone. If you use it to do damage to someone, you’re misusing it. However, if you’re using  (properly) to refute lies and errors, you’re swashbuckling.

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