Author, David Jeremiah abserves,
The biblical context for viewing all of life’s events is called spiritual warfare—the age-old conflict between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light…. Biblically and practically speaking, we are in a spiritual war. The Christian’s spiritual enemy is not in uniform, and he doesn’t meet us on an identifiable battlefield. He uses ruthless and unconventional tactics such as deceit, deflection, and disguise…. The church of Jesus Christ needs to know its enemies and his strategies. Above all, Christians need to know how to gain victory over this enemy. (The Spiritual Warfare Answer Book).
In this episode, we take a practical look at HOW YO USE the sword of the Spirit to resist thoughts and temptations that seek to entice us off of the path of life and onto the road of destruction. As we continue the series, Winning Spiritual Battles Because We Use Our Spiritual Weapons, we come today to Paul’s admonition to take up… the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph 6:17). One of the best things about this weapon is that unlike the others, we actually get to see Jesus using it in Scripture. We’ll dig into a study of Jesus’ combat with Satan, in a moment but lets first get to know a bit about this weapon.
This weapon is the Word of God, which is so powerful for transforming human minds and hearts that it is called “living.” For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb 4:12-13). As we will see, even Jesus did not battle Satan with his own thoughts but only by quoting Scripture.
The Greek word for sword, MACHAIRA does not describe the swash buckling kind of sword used by Zoro. Rather, it was quite short, more like a dagger. It was used by the Romans in close hand-to-hand combat. This weapon is for personal attacks. This truth is underscored by the Greek word Paul chooses for Word (of God). It is not LOGOS, which connotes broad, general principles. Rather, Paul chooses RHEMA, which refers to specific “utterings.” NT scholar W. E. Vine writes,
The significance of RHEMA as distinct from LOGOS is exemplified in the injunction to “take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual Scripture passages, which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture (An Expository dictionary of NT Words).
Identifying the word of God as the sword of the Spirit is consistent with what we know about the work of the Holy Spirit. Not only does He indwell Christ-followers so they have the presence of Christ with them at all times (abiding in Christ), the Holy Spirit’s work is to help us overcome our sinful nature and transform our hearts into Christ-like attitudes—love, Joy, peace, patience…etc. So, the Holy Spirit is right inside us to help us when thoughts come into our minds, designed by Satan to lead us away from Christ and his righteous path. He is there to help us recall the right truth in Scripture to combat Satan’s lies. But of course, we can’t recall, what we have never read or committed to memory. Let’s zoom in to the wilderness of Judea and watch Jesus wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
First Temptation: Use your power to command these stones to be bread
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matt 4:1-4).
Satan begins the temptation by appealing to Jesus’ power, If you are the son of God use that power to turn stones into bread. What many don’t realize is that Jesus’ hunger after a long fast meant that he was close to death. Those who have practiced long fasts point out that after 6 or 7 days, hunger pains go away. If they have water, a human can fast about 40 days, but when his hunger pangs return, he must eat soon, or he will die. Jesus was being tempted not to have to depend upon his heavenly father, but to use his spiritual power to take care of his own needs. The passage he cites is Deut 8:3. The verse before it provides important context.
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deut 8:2-3).
Dependency upon God for your daily bread reflects the humility that is vital for depending upon God’s moral law every day. Jesus refused the temptation to stop depending in humility upon his heavenly father. The first Adam refused to depend upon God to satisfy his hunger for food, failing to trust God’s instruction not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. Instead, he allowed the delicious fruit to entice him into rebellion against God. He violated God’s restriction and ate. The first Adam put his physical appetite ahead of obedience to God. The Second Adam, though at the point of dying because of his need for food—refused to take matters into his own hands. He humbled himself depending on God. In quoting Deut 8:3, man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord, Jesus is saying real life comes not just through physical sustenance but also by obedience to God. That is the lesson God wanted to teach the Israelites in the wilderness.
Second Temptation: Putting God to the Test
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matt 4:5-7).
In the second temptation Satan again appeals to Jesus’ power, If you are the Son of God…..The temptation is to throw himself off the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem proving that he was the messiah, and thus winning a following. In response, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. Here is what Israel did at Massah:
(Israel) camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord? But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me” (Exodus 17:1b-4).
God provides water from a rock that Moses strikes. Then Moses sums up what happened in the words, they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” The sin of the Israelites was demanding that God prove himself IN THE WAY THEY DECIDE HE MUST DO SO. Had Jesus thrown himself off the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, it is likely that the Jewish people, recognizing by this supernatural feat that Jesus was the Messiah, would have immediately risen up in rebellion against the Roman occupation. A bloodbath would have ensued, and the people would have coronated him the king of a political Israel. Instead, Jesus must defeat the more deadly triumvirate, Satan, sin, and death by going to the cross, inaugurating the spiritual kingdom of Israel—Christ’s Kingdom of Righteousness.
What is the difference between having faith that God will work supernaturally to answer our prayer (thus pleasing God), and sinful presumption, which puts God to the test? Genuine faith always includes humility. Consider the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel. When told by Nebuchadnezzar that they must fall down and worship his statue or be cast into the fiery furnace, they answered,
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (3:14-18).
In contrast, the arrogant Israelites in the wilderness, demanded that God give them water when and where they wanted it. Their arrogance is revealed in demanding that God prove himself to them THEIR WAY instead of God’s way. Jumping off the temple pinnacle would have demanded that God prove Jesus was the Messiah and win a following JESUS’ way rather than God’s way.
Third Temptation: Achieving a great goal but making one small compromise
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him (Ma
In this temptation, Satan offers to give Jesus rulership over every kingdom of the world if he would just hit his knees and worship Satan once. At this point in Jesus’ sinless life, his heart was full of perfect love for humans. Jesus must have thought back over all the centuries of human suffering caused by Satan’s rule of the earth, since Adam’s rebellion. Imagine all the suffering Jesus could relieve, all the healing he could perform, all the good he could do, if he were in charge of Adam’s kingdom, instead of Satan. It would just take one small compromise. Just genuflect once—and he could avoid the horrible agony of the cross and rule Adam’s kingdom for good. But thanks be to God, Jesus resisted Satan’s enticing offer. Satan tempted the first Adam and Eve to become LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil. They chose rebellion rather than submission. Satan tempts the Second Adam to be LIKE THE GOD of this world—ruling all the kingdoms of earth—and Jesus fought off the temptation with God’s word, Deut 6:13, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only
Jesus parries every blow Satan attempts, by citing a relevant specific passage of Scripture. Jesus grew up in an oral culture where practicing Jew’s like Joseph and Mary had their children memorize much of the Torah. Certainly, this is strong motivation to stay devoted to reading and study Scripture ourselves—a vital weapon in our arsenal. Is there some way in our culture to train ourselves to wield the sword of the Spirit, when temptation strikes? David Jeremiah, founder of Turning Point, answers that question from his own life. He writes,
Years ago, my friend Swen Nater and I got together at a restaurant. We talked about the areas where we thought the enemy would come after us, and we took a concordance and researched the Scriptures. We came up with about forty “swords” (i.e. specific verses for specific temptations) for each of us, which we stored in the armories of our minds. I suggest you do the same. Think of the areas in which you know Satan will tempt you, find some Bible verses relating to those areas, write them out on little cards, and put them where you will see them often. Memorize them. Internalize them. Learn them by heart--and be ready to use them when the enemy attacks.
Even Jesus, did not try to fight Satan’s temptations without quoting Scripture!
A List of Temptations and Correlating Combat Truths from Scripture
1. When I doubt that following Christ is worthwhile:
Ps 34:10 Even) the young lions suffer want and hunger; but Those who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.
2. When inwardly bored, the temptation to indulge in lustful pleasure strikes:
Matt 5:6: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for THEY shall be SATISFIED.
3. When God wants me to give more generously than I want to:
Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
4. When I am angry because of my wife’s critical words:
Prov 12:1 Whoever hates correction is stupid.
5. When I am repelled by my wife’s selfishness feeling like I work at meeting her needs way more than she works at meeting mine.
Eph 5:25: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
6. When anger seeks to control my decisions.
James 1:20: The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
7. When I have more month left than money, and am tempted to worry.
Phil 4:19: My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
8. The temptation to get a better deal by bending the truth a little.
Prov 10:2 Ill-gotten gains do not profit, but righteousness rescues from death.
9. When I am envious of a friend’s new house, car, or other possession.
Matt 6:19-21: Don’t pile up treasures on earth, where moth and rust can spoil them and thieves can break in and steal. But keep your treasure in Heaven where there is neither moth nor rust to spoil it and nobody can break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too!”
10. When everything is going wrong, and I want to murmur against the Lord.
Romans 8:28: For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
11. When my pain and suffering send the message that God doesn’t love me.
Heb 12:6: For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.
12. When I want more sugar and don’t feel like working out.
1 Cor 6:19-21: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, …. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.
13. The temptation to spin the truth so I am in seen a more favorable light.
Prov 12:19: Truthful lips will endure forever, but a lying tongue is only for a moment.
The result of yielding to Satan’s temptation is always destruction. But wielding the Sword of the Spirit fends off the thoughts and impulses that The Enemy plants in our minds to lead us into death. The Word of God brings LIFE. This truth led King David to write Psalm 19 and sing:
The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. THEY ARE MORE DESIRABLE THAN GOLD, YES, THAN MUCH PURE GOLD; SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND DRIPPINGS OF THE HONEYCOMB. (Ps 19:7-8,10).
For Further Prayerful Thought:
- Do you think this is a fair statement? If a man is not winning his own spiritual battles, he won’t be very effective helping his wife and children win theirs.
- Describe in your own words the power of the Word of God.
- What did you learn from our examination of the way Jesus wielded the sword of the Spirit?
- Of the 13 temptations, listed, which 2 or 3 do you most need to be able to parry, by quoting Scripture?
