Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
The Sword of the Spirit: Wielding God's Word in Spiritual Warfare
The sword of the Spirit stands apart as the only offensive weapon in God's spiritual armour. While the first five pieces provide critical protection, this final element empowers believers to actively engage in spiritual combat using the most powerful weapon available: the Word of God.
Drawing from military imagery familiar to his audience, Paul likens Scripture to the Roman gladius—a short, double-edged sword that quite literally conquered the ancient world. This fearsome weapon, about 20-30 inches long and weighing just two pounds, was designed for close-quarters combat with devastating effectiveness. In the hands of a well-trained legionnaire, it could penetrate armor and deliver lethal strikes with precision.
The spiritual application becomes crystal clear when we examine Jesus' own masterful wielding of this weapon during His wilderness temptation. After forty days without food, physically weakened but spiritually resolute, Christ faced Satan's strategic attacks with the perfect defense: "It is written." With each temptation—turning stones to bread, jumping from the temple pinnacle, accepting worldly kingdoms in exchange for worship—Jesus responded with accurate, contextual Scripture that dismantled the enemy's schemes.
The ultimate goal is moving Scripture from mere head knowledge to heart transformation. When God's Word becomes "sweeter than honey" as the psalmist describes, we don't just memorize texts—we internalize truth that reshapes our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. This heart connection transforms Scripture from information into effective weaponry for pulling down strongholds and bringing every thought into captivity to Christ.
Ready to sharpen your spiritual sword? Begin with consistent Bible reading that moves beyond familiar passages. Find a comprehensive reading plan, join a study group, or explore spiritually challenging sections you've previously avoided. The battle is real, but with proper training, your spiritual sword will become your most powerful asset in standing firm against every attack.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Here we are back again and we are going with the sword of the Spirit. This is the armour of God, part six, and it says and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God in Ephesians 6, 17. So what is the significance of a weapon being listed in the armor of God? Well, look at it this way the first five elements of the armor of God are defensive pieces, armaments the Christian can use to defend against a spiritual attack. So why would an offensive weapon be listed with other pieces of armor? Well, the truth of the fact is that we always need to make sure that we're able to fight back if we need to. So what should a Christian do with the sword of the Spirit, or, the other way of putting this, is with the Word of God? But what did the Romans do with that sword first?
Speaker 1:Well, the sword used to be the Roman soldier was a short sword, which is what I call a gallicias, and in the hands of a skilled man, it was a fearsome weapon. In fact, it became known as a sword that conquered the world. It was sharpened on both sides, making it lethal against unarmed foe. The point was also sharpened, enabling it to pierce armour. The point was also sharpened, enabling it to pierce armour. Now usually, you know, around 20 to 30 inches long, the Gallicus was not the medieval-style longsword usually associated with the armour of God. But when you look at it from another perspective, it is what was commonly known as a powerful piece of equipment. The Roman sword was light. It's around I don't know two pounds what's that? Three and a half kilos Short and designed to be wielded easily with one hand while the other hand grasped the shield. Its size meant it could draw in close quarters and its sharpened edges made it a threat to any enemy that got too close. An infantryman in the Roman legions would also go into battle with a dagger. The Roman legions would also go into battle with a dagger, which is a few spears and possibly a few darts or arrows. But the gladicus was the only offensive weapon listed by Paul, as it was the main weapon of the soldiers' arsenal. All the others were like supplements.
Speaker 1:So if we look at what the sword really is from us from a spiritual perspective, it's the word of God. Clearly, in Ephesians 6.17, paul defines the sword of the Spirit as the word of God. This isn't the only place where God's word in the Bible is described as the sword. If you look at the writers of Hebrews, it also makes reference to it. For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, and there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eye of him, to whom we must give account. Now, that's Hebrews 4, 12 to 13. And so it really basically is saying here that, from a spiritual perspective, the sword is able to pierce and cut deep into every single part of the body. It doesn't just go through skin and muscle and tissue, it all, goes through even the joints and the marrow, and so basically it will break through the bones as well. So it is very, very lethal. So the word of God is even sharper than the Roman sword. It is capable of piercing the deepest level of one's heart and attitude, and it's also a tool of discernment in the hands of a skilled user. And when I'm talking skilled user, let me put it this way See, many, many people will come to you as a Christian and they will ask a biblical question.
Speaker 1:And the thing is, there's nothing worse than not knowing the answer. You know, I remember J John used to tell these jokes about when we die, we go to heaven and we get to meet all of the people of the Bible. And you'd run up to someone like Obadiah and he goes Hi, my name's Obadiah, how are you? I go, I'm good. Did you like my book? He goes what book? You wrote a book? Okay, yeah, I did book okay, uh, yeah, I did. You know. And so when you look at it from that perspective, you know, like I've just mentioned the book of obadiah, I said do you know where that is? Do you know what the word of god is saying in that particular aspect of the word of See?
Speaker 1:People have their favorite passages or they'll stay in the Old Testament or they'll stay in the New Testament. I'm currently and I think I've said this before I'm currently going through 365 days of reading the entire Bible, from Genesis through to Revelation, and I'm doing that with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. They're the founders of Alpha but knowing scripture, scripture is your weapon, it's your sword. So, although you protect yourself with the other parts of the armor that is protecting you from an attack, but you need to be ready to be able to strike back.
Speaker 1:Another thing I used to do in my post-Christian days is I used to do martial arts, and I focused very strongly on all of the Japanese styles of arts, because when you're actually doing they do these things called Tadas, or some people call them forms or patterns, but basically they're set up in such a way that it's always about defending yourself. There are very few attacking techniques in these. So if someone was to attack you and you actually went into one of your cartas or your forms, 90% of all of the techniques that are used are for defensive purposes only. So martial arts was designed to defend yourself against attacks and then, after the attack was come, then you're able to actually fight back, and we fight back with the word of god. So the sword of the spirit helps defend us.
Speaker 1:See, while the gallicus you know the Roman sword was the primary offensive weapon available to the legionnaires, it was also invaluable for defense, being used to parry and deflect attacks of the opponent. It also is the word of God valuable in defending itself against spiritual attacks. To understand how to defend ourselves with the word of God, the sword of the Spirit. We don't have to look any further than the examples of Jesus Christ himself. Now, why do I say that? Jesus Christ himself? Now, why do I say that? Well, in one of the Bible's most iconic confrontations, jesus demonstrates how valuable it is to be grounded in the word of God. Satan the devil was eager for an opportunity to derail the plans of God and after Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness, satan thought he had found the perfect opportunity. Now. So, if we look at this from a natural perspective, first, okay, you do 40 days of prayer and fasting, whether you're in the wilderness or whether you're in the natural 40 days, you're depriving yourself of vital nutrients to give you strength. So, from this perspective, you are in a weakened state. And because you are in a weakened state, we use and same as Jesus did, we use the word of God to strengthen us. And this is what it says in Matthew.
Speaker 1:Hang on, wait a minute, lost my spot in the Bible. Matthew, mark, luke, john. Hang on, sorry, just a little hiccup there. Here we go. Ephesians, back a bit further, hebrews okay, and we go here. Matthew 4, 1 to 3. Excuse me, lost my place in the Bible. But you've got to see this is another thing that was done accidentally by flicking over the wrong pages. But the other thing is do you know the books of the Bible and the order in which they come in? From Genesis all the way to Revelation, old Testament, new Testament there's 66 books of the Bible and if you're looking for a particular passage, like I'm looking for Matthew, it's the end of the Old Testament, the very first book. In the New Testament, the part of the gospel is Matthew, mark, luke and John. So it's easier for you to be able to use the word of God when you know where to look for it. Okay, let's get back to this. Matthew 4, 1-3,.
Speaker 1:Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, and when he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterwards he was hungry. Now, when the tempter came to him, he said if you are the son of God, command that these stones become bread. Right, satan knew fully well that Jesus was the son of God, but he prefaced each of his attacks by saying if you are the son of God, emphasizing that this was something that he knew, but he wanted to pull Christ away from his dependence upon the Father and the realization that he was there to do the Father's will each time Jesus used Scripture to defend himself against Satan's temptations. See, satan tried to prey on Jesus his very real, natural, physical hunger, but Jesus replied. It is written. But Jesus replied. It is written man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. This is a quote from Deuteronomy 4.8 as well, and it shows where Jesus Christ prioritized what was right and true, and so the word of God gives us context.
Speaker 1:Satan continued to attack, thinking that, you know, okay, maybe one attack wasn't satisfactory, so he would keep attacking. This is another thing that Satan does. Attacking this is another thing that Satan does. He continuously badges you, attacks you because he's trying to wear you down, he's trying to weaken you. So the thing is, you need that word to keep you strong, because the devil used to. He didn't just stop there, okay, and he goes oh yeah, okay, I've been shut down. You don't want food? Okay, well, let's try something else. Then the devil took him up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacles of the temple and said to him if you are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he shall give the angels charge over you and in their hands they shall bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone. Now, that's verse 5 and 6.
Speaker 1:But the thing is see, satan uses the word of God, but he distorts it or changes it or leaves bits out. This is why you've got to be very, very careful. So, if someone's, supposedly under a false directive, supposedly quoting scripture to you and a classic example Freemasons, do this for a fact. I know, um, because my brother was into freemasons and he was saying, oh, help me memorize this passage for him to go to another level, and because he said, oh, it's all the word of god and it was, but it was twisted and distorted to follow their doctrine. So this is what you need to be aware of. All right, see, because this was an incomplete quote from Psalm 91, 11 to 12,.
Speaker 1:Satan leaves out a very important thought, or part of it here. Here's verse 11, with the missing part in italic. Okay, so I'll emphasize it for you guys. Okay, for he shall give his angels charge over you to keep all right, here we go, you in all your ways. Psalm 91.11. The idea being conveyed is that God will send angels for protection when it's needed, not that you should throw yourself from great heights just to see if God will save you. See, jesus threw his tactics and he saw what the devil was trying to do, and so, once again, he said it is written you shall not tempt the Lord, your God, matthew 4.7. And also quoting it from Deuteronomy 6.16.
Speaker 1:See, we also must be wary of anyone taking quotes from the Bible out of context. To properly wield the sword of the Spirit, we must study the Bible carefully, recognizing that it is all of it Old Testament, new Testament. It all fits together. If two scriptures seem to conflict each other, we must study further to understand what God's intention was by each of them. Now, and that's another thing that a lot of people do I'll give you an example. Each of them now, and that's another thing that a lot of people do. I'll give you an example.
Speaker 1:If you just um quote something from the bible, um see money being the root of all evil. So if you read that you, it implies that um, having money is bad, you and we should be poor in spirit and poor in our physical sense. That's not true. See, that scripture is only part of what God's word is actually saying. If you read the whole scripture, it says the love of money is the root of all evil. So if you love money more than you love the Lord, then you are idolizing money and that is your number one priority. And there's a lot of people that do that. They think that the way to be successful, the way to be happy, is to make money, more, more, more, more, more money.
Speaker 1:God wants us to actually have money, have finances, so that we can continue to grow the kingdom. It says give and it shall be given unto you. Press down, shake it together and running over man will give into your bosom Everything that we want to do for the kingdom of God. Unfortunately, it needs finances Now, before you get carried away and tune out, I am not doing a thing for tithes and offerings and I'm not hitting you up for money or anything like that. You've got to do what your heart tells you to do. But what I'm saying here this is one of the most overused scriptures in the Bible where people see that, oh, if you've got money, that's a bad thing. It's not. If you've got money, that's a bad thing, it's not. God wants us to be healthy, wealthy and wise, and so this is why the Word of God is so important. The Word of God sets our standards for us.
Speaker 1:Satan made one final attempt with Jesus when he was out in the wilderness, in Matthew 4, 8 and 9. And he said again the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him all these things I will give to you if you will fall down and worship me. It was a gambit, or in other words, the point of all of these attacks was to have Jesus worship Satan instead of God, and in exchange for that worship, satan was offering all the kingdoms of the world which he did not possess, and he could not follow through with what he said. Jesus had come to the earth to offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, forever shattering Satan's power over the world.
Speaker 1:In Hebrews 2.14,. Satan was offering a shortcut Worship me, he was saying, and I'll give you the world. For the price of that one compromise, that one sin, jesus could take the easy way out, but the Son of God would be tarnished forever, powerless to truly save anybody. It was an assuming Satan, that Satan was basically showing that he was the father of all lies. He would actually fulfill his offer, which is a momentary victory but not an eternal loss. It would have destroyed basically the foundation of our faith, destroyed basically at the foundation of our faith.
Speaker 1:So if we turn once again to Scripture, this is what Jesus said Away with you, satan, for it is written you shall worship the Lord, your God, and him only you shall serve. That's verse 10, and it's quoted from Deuteronomy 6.13. So you notice that there's a parallel between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was God talking or through the prophets, they were actually foretelling what was going to happen in the New Testament, and so basically it's a type of shadow. The New Testament is a type of shadow of the Old Testament. This is why you'll see scriptures appearing in a different context, but basically they're saying the same thing, right? So have a look at that. Are saying the same thing, right? So have a look at that. Read through Hebrews okay, and then go back to Deuteronomy. So this was the end.
Speaker 1:On this particular occasion, the devil had officially given up, because his efforts to unseat Christ as the ruler of the world to come. In each case, jesus skillfully used a thought, knowledge of the scriptures to parry or to deflect the attack. Now the word parry is used in fencing or fighting, sword fighting. So what do we attack with the sword of the Spirit. How do we put this in practice for ourselves? We have seen from examples of Jesus Christ that the enemy of the Christian is Satan, the devil, and as he tries to separate us from God and you look at 1 Peter, 5, 8 through to 9, the Apostle Paul used a military analog, a military analog or an analogy, when we talk about the Christian fight.
Speaker 1:He describes thoughts and attitudes that we must defeat, just as a soldier would use his weapon to defeat the enemy. 2 Corinthians 10, 3-5 puts it this way. For, though we walk in the flesh, we do not war against according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Now, I personally have that highlighted. I strongly recommend that you do it also. These are our targets. These are the things we must defeat on the battlefield. We are to use the word of God to discern thoughts and attitudes that are contrary to God's way and use the sword to bring our own attitudes and thoughts into captivity. That is the Christian battle and that is how we use the sword of the Spirit.
Speaker 1:We cannot use the sword of the Spirit without training. Just like a Roman soldier needs to learn how to use his sword on the battlefield, otherwise other people that are more skilled in in sword fighting would defeat them very quickly. We are in the same situation, you know. First you must use the shield okay, to protect you, until you have the opportunity to use the weapon or the sword which is the word of God. See, only after extensive training with like pretend swords can you actually go on to using the real sword. And it's the same with us, the real sword. And it's the same with us when we are training, we need to learn and have an understanding of the word of God. So you can't just learn a few scriptures and think that, okay, they're good enough, because unfortunately we are surrounded by ungodly people in an ungodly world.
Speaker 1:So as Christians, we must also try to be skillful in the use of the word of the Spirit. See, the author of Hebrews tells us that we must become gradually more knowledgeable and skilled in. The author of Hebrews tells us that we must become gradually more knowledgeable and skilled in the word of God until we are able to use it to discern good from evil. Now, sometimes you may find yourself that you think that what you've learnt is good enough. I'll give an example Hebrews 5.12 through to 14, it says this.
Speaker 1:For, though, by this time you ought be teachers, you need someone to teach you again and the first principle of the oracles of God. And you have come to need milk and not solid food, for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who, by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. See the level of our skill. This proficiency with the sword of the Spirit comes by reason of use. We have to be familiar with the Bible. We must have our spiritual senses sharpened, if we don't have them sharpened, in order to make us able to fully use the weapon God has given us. So how to trade with the word of the spirit.
Speaker 1:See the desire to become knowledgeable in God's word, skilled in the use of the sword has to come from within. Do not, see, you've got to let me put this another one you've got to understand how valuable it is and the desire to have a high level of skill. Now see, the thing is I'm not looking at this from a knowledgeable perspective. Okay, a lot of people out there will think, okay, well, I'll study the Word of God, I'll learn it and I'll get all this head knowledge. No, no, what you need to do is you need heart knowledge. You need to get the Word of God down into your heart so that when you speak out, you know there is a greater emphasis on the word of God coming out of you rather than things of the world.
Speaker 1:See, notice the attitude shown by the psalmist when it came to God's word. Psalm 119, 101 to 104 says this I have restrained my feet from every evil way that I may keep your word. I have not departed from your judgment, for yourselves have taught me how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. This is the attitude and the approach of God's word that can make a skilled spiritual warrior. See, the psalmist shows us the attitude a good swordsman needs a hatred of evil, a love of God's word and a continued desire to understand and obey his judgment, his way of life. See, we can't use the word of God to repel Satan's attack unless we ultimately and intimately familiarize ourselves with it. The more we dedicate ourselves to studying and living our lives according to God's word, the better we will be able to handle the sword of the spirit on the battlefield.
Speaker 1:The soldier of the Roman Empire couldn't hope to survive a war without the proper training. Neither can you or I. The good news is that we have access to all the training we need. We just have to be willing to engage it.
Speaker 1:So pick up the Bible and start reading it, or find a study aspect through different apps that you can actually get to do a study plan to learn the Bible in 365 days of the year, or just mainly focus on things that you feel led to do right. Are you led to read through the Gospels? Or Acts and Romans, or Ephesians and Philippians, or Galatians, or 1 and 2 Corinthians? Look at where you feel time in prayer and be led by the Holy Spirit to start, you know, digesting the word of God and get it down inside you so it becomes part and parcel of you and your life. All right, we'll be summarizing next week and then, as we all know, the most important event on the calendar is coming up, and that'll be easter. So we'll follow up with that later. All right, god bless you for now and talk to you soon. Bye, for now.
