Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds
of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on
praying for all the saints.
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Take the...sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Now then, there are two schools of thought on what this 'sword' represents. One is, that it is the the Bible, which is the perspective we looked at yesterday. There is another perspective...
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth...what is the belt? The belt is truth...
...with the breastplate of righteousness in place...what is the breastplate? The breastplate is righteousness...
...the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace...what is the readiness? The readiness is gospel...
...the shield of faith...what is the shield? The shield is faith...
...the helmet of salvation...what is the helmet? The helmet is salvation...
Take the...sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Now then, there are two schools of thought on what this 'sword' represents. One is, that it is the the Bible, which is the perspective we looked at yesterday. There is another perspective...
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth...what is the belt? The belt is truth...
...with the breastplate of righteousness in place...what is the breastplate? The breastplate is righteousness...
...the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace...what is the readiness? The readiness is gospel...
...the shield of faith...what is the shield? The shield is faith...
...the helmet of salvation...what is the helmet? The helmet is salvation...
OK, sorry for the repetition, but necessary to make the point; following this same logic, and
from what I have read, this is grammatically true
in the original Greek, then...the sword of the Spirit...what is the
sword? The sword is the Spirit...
When we see the phrase "word of God" we nearly always assume it means the Scriptures...but John 1:1 also calls Jesus 'the Word'.
The phrase is also associated with the Holy Spirit in the fourth chapter of Acts, where we are told that the believers were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 1 John 1 says that Word of God lives in you.
And consider this image from the Revelation of John: His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
So is the sword the Bible or is it the Spirit? There are good arguments on both sides...that talk about linguistics, the original Greek, antecedents, verb/noun agreement and the like...but I don't want to argue.
To be honest, I do not see where there can be a separation. Jesus himself quoted Scripture while dealing with Satan, and was accompanied by the Spirit also. We need to know the written Word...we need to be empowered by the Spirit...we need the full armor. Father, Son, Spirit, distinct yet one. The believers make up a single Body. One message of the Gospel is that we are not, and cannot be, separate in Christ, but one with Him, in the Spirit.
Questions:
1. What do you think of the sword is?
2. Are you confident in using this sword?
3. Are we able to pick and choose from God's armory?
May we use His Word to the fullest. Pastor Jim
When we see the phrase "word of God" we nearly always assume it means the Scriptures...but John 1:1 also calls Jesus 'the Word'.
The phrase is also associated with the Holy Spirit in the fourth chapter of Acts, where we are told that the believers were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 1 John 1 says that Word of God lives in you.
And consider this image from the Revelation of John: His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
So is the sword the Bible or is it the Spirit? There are good arguments on both sides...that talk about linguistics, the original Greek, antecedents, verb/noun agreement and the like...but I don't want to argue.
To be honest, I do not see where there can be a separation. Jesus himself quoted Scripture while dealing with Satan, and was accompanied by the Spirit also. We need to know the written Word...we need to be empowered by the Spirit...we need the full armor. Father, Son, Spirit, distinct yet one. The believers make up a single Body. One message of the Gospel is that we are not, and cannot be, separate in Christ, but one with Him, in the Spirit.
Questions:
1. What do you think of the sword is?
2. Are you confident in using this sword?
3. Are we able to pick and choose from God's armory?
May we use His Word to the fullest. Pastor Jim
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