Bishop Keith Butler
Jun 1
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16-17)
The Amplified Bible describes the sword of the Spirit in Ephesians 6:17 this way: take the sword that the Spirit wields. All the other armor of God is defensive, but the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, is offensive. With it, we advance and take ground from the enemy.
I believe Paul used the sword to describe God’s Word because in his day, it was the most advanced weaponry available. Swords had become sleeker, more dangerous, and more effective than they were about 200 years before Paul wrote this. Paul used the illustration of the best weapon of his day to depict how powerful and effective the Word of God is. If he wrote Ephesians 6:17 today, he probably would have used a high-powered piece of weaponry like an automatic rifle. He wanted people to know that God’s Word is effective and accurate. Hebrews 4:12, which I believe Paul also wrote, put it this way: “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
How do we use this weapon? Word in Ephesians 6:17 is rhema in Greek, which means the spoken Word of God. Speaking God’s Word is an effective offensive attack against the enemy, and one of the most powerful words that you can speak is the name Jesus. Declaring the name of Jesus is the most powerful rhema we have at our disposal. Every time the name of Jesus is spoken in faith, the enemy trembles. Use your weapons and change things!
Meditate on the power of the supernatural weapons at your disposal. Ask yourself, “What is coming out of my mouth today?” Are you speaking with authority and power and demonstrating kingdom purposes and power, or are you speaking doubt, condemnation, and worry? Your words matter. Wield your weapon well.