I’ve always loved movies about swordsmen – “Zorro”, “The Count of Monte Cristo”, “The Three Musketeers”. In these films swashbuckling heroes step boldly into the fray, confident in their skill with the blade, easily subduing their foes, gallantly saving the day. I can watch these movies over-and-over and never get tired of them.
As a kid I wanted to be Zorro, dressed in black, going out into the neighborhood to do good deeds. However, we lived in the country, so there weren’t a lot of fair maidens to rescue, and my parents would never let me have a sword anyway.
In Ephesians Paul calls on us to take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (6:17 NLT). Up until this point, the armor we’ve been told to wear has been primarily defensive in nature, given “so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.” (v. 13). But the sword is an offensive weapon. In this verse God is calling us to take the battle to the enemy, not to destroy and maim, but to set the captives free.
This is a powerful weapon God has put in our hands. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
God is calling us to take the offensive, to take the battle to the enemy. With the sword of the Spirit we are “to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke…” (Isaiah 58:6 NIV).
We need not be afraid to join the battle, because in 1 John 5:4 we are promised “everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”. Clad in the Armor of God and with the sword of the Spirit in our hand, we can step boldly into the fray, knowing, with God on our side, no power will be able to stand against us.
This Sabbath, and in this coming week, lift high the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, and join the battle, knowing this – with Jesus leading the way, victory is yours.