Using Your Offensive Weapon

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!

Practical Application

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.

1 John 5:4; Psalm 56:11

Fight the Right Battle

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:11-12)

Christians often exhaust themselves by putting too much energy into the wrong battles. They fight people who attack them, use them, or try to keep them from succeeding, but warring against people won’t accomplish long-term results because our enemy is not flesh and blood.

People who try to hurt you or trip you up are being used by the devil. They are his puppets; so, if you want victory, you need to attack the puppet master. That’s what Paul told us in Ephesians 6:11-12: we shouldn’t wrestle against flesh and blood. I believe those words of instruction apply to fighting anyone about anything, but they would also include arguing with a person because of their skin color.

You are not called to wrestle against your in-laws, white folk, black folk, red folk, yellow folk, brown folk, rich folk, or poor folk. That’s all flesh and blood. That’s not where the actual battle is. Paul described the real enemy as four classifications of demonic spirits: principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. The lowest class is principalities, and the highest is the spiritual wickedness in high places.

We must fight against demonic forces at work in our world. The word against in the Greek is pros, which means face to face. In other words, don’t turn your back on them, and don’t make someone else fight them. You need to get in the enemy's and his forces’ face and intimidate them. Demand that they come in line with God’s Word by using your authority in the name of Jesus.

Practical Application

When people are getting on your nerves, or when you feel you are being attacked, realize that people are being used and manipulated by the enemy. Pray for them to be set free and don’t fight back at someone who is just a puppet.

2 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:8

The False Prince

Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. (John 12:31)

Satan, also known as the accuser and our adversary, acts and operates as the god of this world’s system. Jesus called him the prince of the world. Those titles don’t mean that Satan has ultimate control or authority. However, Satan is the mastermind behind the world's messed-up systems and the chaos and pain we see around us. He uses the authority Adam gave him to multiply darkness and death on the earth.

Some Christian mistakenly say things like, “Well, God is in charge and in control of everything.” They don’t understand that Satan is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). Our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, gave authority to Adam, but when he chose to obey the serpent instead of God, he sold his authority to the devil; that’s when he became the false prince of this world. Understanding this changes everything. It helps us see that when bad stuff happens, it's not God throwing lightning bolts at us or orchestrating tragedies to teach us a lesson.

God is not in charge of this world the way most think He is. He owns the entire world and the fullness thereof, but He has given authority and responsibility to us as human beings. We, who are in Christ Jesus, have authority and dominion, but we must take it. When believers don’t operate in their authority and dominion, the enemy takes what he can and manipulates and harms others with the system of the world he runs. 

The enemy is the god of this world’s system, but he is not god over believers in Jesus. We have been redeemed from his destruction and power. We’re not powerless in the face of the prince of this world. Through Jesus, we've been given authority over all the works of the enemy. The devil has a temporary title as prince of this world, but Jesus is the King of kings and He shall reign forever and ever!

Practical Application

One of the most effective ways to combat the schemes of the enemy is to pray in the Spirit. When you pray in the Spirit, you tap into the power of God and the enemy cannot understand you or stop you. Pray in the Spirit every day and defeat the schemes of the enemy.

John 14:30; 1 John 4:4