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War by its nature has an unceasing tension that creates a sense of dread whenever a thought of going to one arises. We have seen lives lost and hopes diminished in the face of the uncertainty that tomorrow may bring. Nothing about it is inviting or exciting.
As Christians, many scriptures speak about spiritual war to make us aware that we are on a battlefield. Spiritual warfare is always an attack on our faith, on what we believe to be true about God. This war began with humanity’s fall and continues to this day, changing in tone, face, and situation, yet always with the same goal: offering the deceptive lie that “there is something out there better than God.” A lie so deceitful that it led all of humanity into destruction by separating them from their Creator.
There is a difference between worldly war and spiritual war: our spiritual war has already been won by Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:15). In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul does not give us tips on “winning the war” but rather teaches us how to stand in the victory our Savior has already secured. The word stand is mentioned twice in just three verses, emphasizing the importance of resisting the devil and standing firm in the victory Jesus has won. It isn’t that there is no action required on our part, but our actions are not for victory but from victory by appropriating and applying what Jesus has already accomplished.
When a soldier is on the battlefield, it is obvious that he needs his armor properly worn for protection. Ephesians 6, provides the framework for what we must wear to be protected and to stand against the enemy’s attacks.
The full armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 is essential to help us live in the victory of Jesus, and one of the key weapons is the Word of God, the only weapon that is both defensive and offensive against the enemy.
There are two Greek words that define the “Word of God”: logos and rhema. Logos refers to God’s Word objectively recorded in the Bible, while rhema refers to the Word of God spoken to us at a specific situation. We can say that rhema is logos actively applied to a particular situation. The Bible is a collection of God’s sayings (logos), and from the 66 books of logos, revealed sayings (rhema) emerge to teach, heal, convict, guide, comfort and defend us.
The spiritual warfare that targets our faith often comes wrapped in shiny deception, but inside is a lie designed to deplete our faith and separate us from eternal life. In contrast, the Word of God is the only eternal truth that can discern, disprove, and destroy those lies. The only way to erase a lie is with the truth, and that truth lies in the power of the Word of God.
In the context of spiritual warfare, the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, demonstrating its divine ownership. When we go through times of temptation, it is the Spirit of the Lord who uses the Word by recalling it to our awareness, reminding us of its power. When we face a mental battle, thinking we are alone, the Spirit reminds us of God’s promise to never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). When the enemy brings up our past, the Spirit of the Lord reminds us of Romans 8:1. When we feel like we’re missing out on what seems good in life, the Spirit slays the discouragement with the truth of Jeremiah 29:11.
As we read, study, and meditate on the Word of God, we dive into the world of logos daily, engraving it into our hearts and minds. And when temptation arises, the Spirit gives us one of these logos as rhema to destroy the principalities and their deceitful schemes.
It is called the sword of the Spirit because it is the Spirit working through us by the power of the word of God. When we allow the Spirit to live and work in and through us, the Spirit of the Lord begins to bring the word of God into life and begins slaying the lies of the enemy.
This requires intentional time to cultivate the intimacy needed to be Spirit-filled so that when the enemy tries to sow a seed of lies, we get discernment and cling to the truth.
When David was about to fight Goliath, we see King Saul offering his own battle armor. But it was neither fitting for David, nor was he equipped with the right skills to enter battle with that armor (1 Samuel 17:38-40). So, he had to take it off and face the battle the way God had trained him in the wilderness. The same is true for us as Christians. Wearing the armor of God, specifically the sword of the Spirit, requires us to understand how to use it and to practice it in our daily warfare. And who better to teach us the “how’s” than Jesus, who was tempted in every way yet without sin? (Hebrews 4:15)
In Matthew 4, when Jesus was tempted and still resisted the deceitful temptation of the enemy, we see the sword of the Spirit being used to its fullest. One key takeaway from that conversation between Jesus and Satan is that Jesus knew the scripture well and understood its power. He knew that the only way to resist the devil wasn’t by telling him about His divine sonship declared 40 days earlier, but by speaking out the scripture. The only way to resist a lie is with truth. And the only place the lies of the enemy can’t stand is before the Word of God.
Jesus went into the wilderness being led by the Spirit, so He had the Spirit of the Lord recalling the truth and using it as a sword to cut through the deception of the enemy. Jesus was fully dependent on the Spirit and we see this in how the enemy’s tactic didn’t work on Him. Proverbs 20:4 says, “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing” (NLT). Jesus was well equipped with the sword of the spirit, He already knew the scripture and when it is time of temptation He could resist the temptation with the truth and win. We must learn from Him the importance of being readily equipped with the Word of God. What is written in the Bible should be in our hearts for we are in a never-ending war. We must always be equipped, as we never know what the next temptation will be. Otherwise, we’ll be like the hungry sluggard at harvest time, blaming God for the season of temptation without understanding our own responsibilities.
It is true when they say, “The flesh doesn’t care if we’re going to hell because it’s not coming with us.” We face many battles in life, but the most prominent one is the warfare within our own flesh. As Galatians 5:17 says, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.” Paul also speaks of this struggle in Romans 7:15-20, describing the difficulty of doing what we know we should, or not doing what we know we shouldn’t. Our flesh is what the enemy uses to pull us away from the path of righteousness.
If we are not intentional about feeding our spirit, our flesh grows stronger and battles us away from what God wants for us. Intentionality matters because it’s unlikely that we’ll choose to subdue our flesh, pray, or read our Bible by default. To win the war against the flesh, we must live by the Spirit, as Galatians 5:16 states: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” We must intentionally and consistently choose to spend time with God and learn about Him through His Word, because that is the only way we can open ourselves for the Spirit to lead our lives. When we live in the Spirit of God, the Spirit will use the Word of God to slay the desires of the flesh with evil intent.
If we understand the nature of the war we are in, we can’t afford to be lazy Christians. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” With a dedicated enemy looking for the opportune time to devour us, we cannot afford to take reading the Bible lightly.
From Jesus’ experience with temptation, we see that the enemy won’t come when we are fully equipped with the Word of God and in a good spiritual state. The tempter offered Jesus to turn stones into loaves of bread after He had fasted for 40 days without food—after such a fast, He would’ve been desperate for food. Similarly, the enemy will wait for our weakest points, looking for the right moment to strike. The enemy is prowling around for our vulnerabilities to take us down.
Being intentional about spending time on what nurtures our spirit, not our flesh, is required of us. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The story we highlighted in Matthew 4 is the perfect depiction of what resisting the devil looks like. Resisting the devil may look like praying aloud and commanding all evil to be erased from our lives. While it’s good to exercise our spiritual authority, the “It is written”s are the perfect way to confront the father of lies, who mimics his voices into ours. If we have the true Word of God within us, the Spirit will discern and slay the lies with truth, just as Jesus did.
Let this be a call to spend more time in the Word of God, so that when temptation comes, we will have as many “It is written”s as possible to fire back at the enemy’s darts.