Ephesians 6:17b PODCAST
Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17)
Today, we come to the final piece of the Christian's spiritual weaponry, the sword of the Spirit. Paul's use of the metaphor "the Sword of the Spirit" harkens to the Roman armies who developed a short sword, the Machira, which, enabled them to conquer the world. It was only 24 inches long and was sharpened on both edges. It was a double edged sword. This reminds me of Hebrews 4:12 which reads, "The word of God, you see, is alive and moving; sharper than a double-edged sword; piercing the divide between soul and spirit, joints and marrow; able to judge the thoughts and will of the heart."
This phrase, "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," is not referring to the complete Bible only. As we have considered before in our study of Romans, there are two words used in the New Testament for "the word of God." There is logos, which is used in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God." And, there is rhema, which means a specific saying of God, a passage or a verse which has special application to an immediate situation. It is the spoken word of God.
Rhema is the word used here. We have all read passages of Scripture when the words suddenly seemed to come alive, leaps off the page at us, and becomes a voice that echoes in our hearts until we cannot get away from it. This is Rhema! It is when we know God is speaking to our hearts.
As the sword of the Spirit, Rhema is useful both for defense and for offense. This, by the way, is the only part of the armor designed for offense. It both defends and protects us, but also pierces other hearts and destroys the lies of the enemy. Rhema keeps our hearts close to Him and it enables us to speak the word which we have learned from Him as Jesus did in Matthew 4:1-11.
The closer we walk with the Lord and the more we are in His word, we recognize His voice which speaks deeply into our souls. And, when we hear His voice (Rhema), we experience the comfort of His presence and His defense in a given moment. This is essential for our on-going fellowship with God which is different than our relationship with Him. Our relationship with Him, a spiritual DNA word, is a gift garnered only through the cross of the Lord Jesus. Our fellowship is garnered through us following Him daily through the circumstances in life, through His word and learning to hear His voice with our hearts.
Rhema gets Him closer to the home of our heart. The better way of understanding this is Rhema gets us closer to His heart. The greater our exposure to the Scriptures, the more the Spirit can use this mighty sword in our lives. If you never read or study your Bible, you are terribly exposed to defeat and despair. You have no defense, you have nothing to put up against the evil forces that are at work to destroy you. When we neglect the reading of the Scriptures, we miss out on the deepening of our familiarity of His voice. I find so many Christians dealing with things that they should not be dealing with, things like fear, despair, disillusionment, and distraction, primarily because we have not learned to hear the Rhema of God.
The Lord Jesus said, "It is they [the Scriptures] that bear witness to me," (John 5:39). This is the way we come to know Christ. There is no way apart from the Scriptures. And there is no way to come into full maturity in our fellowship with Him apart from the Scriptures and Rhema. The Scriptures frame up His Rhema. It enables us to get more intimate with God, and it is this intimacy which gets us through the most intense battles for our hearts.
Finally, what do we do when the Spirit speaks Rhema in our mind? The apostle Paul says, take it! Heed it! Obey it! Do not reject it or treat it lightly. Take it seriously. The Spirit of God has brought it to mind for a purpose; therefore give heed to it, obey it, even when it does not make sense.
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