Sword of the Spirit

Mathew 4:1 says that, ‘Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.’ And devil the tempter came to Jesus with 3 temptations.

1. “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
2. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. FOR IT IS WRITTEN:……
3. 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 you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

I noticed that Devil quoted the Word of God only at the second temptation, not in the first & the third temptation (as per the gospel of Mathew). But we can see that in all these 3 temptations, Jesus replied to the devil with the Word of God. (Mathew 4:4,7,10)

1. “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
2. “It isALSO written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”
3. “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

When Jesus answered the devil with the Word of God all three times, Mathew 4:11 says that, ‘Then the devil left Him, and behold, the angels came & ministered to Him.” We have only one enemy in common, i.e. satan. And the Word of God is the most powerful weapon to attack our enemy. Paul wrote to Ephesus church to put on the whole armour of God, to stand against the wiles of the devil. In that, he asked them to take the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, in Ephesians 6:17. Suppose that a soldier will put on the whole set of armour & go to fight a battle without a sword, will he be able to attack the enemy in the battle ground? Definitely not. Sword is as equally important as the belt, breastplate, shield, helmet and shoes to fight a battle.

Satan is a liar & the father of it. So when he speaks a lie; he speaks from his own resources.  And Word of God is the truth. We can defeat the lies of satan only by the truth that is in the Word. Many believers compromise/ignore in setting apart time to read & meditate the Word regularly. Sometimes they do not even hesitate to speak a lie for not attending a Bible study. They do not take any effort in knowing the Word. But when someone else grows in the Word, they compared him/ her with satan, saying that, even the satan knows the whole Bible. Ohh!! What a pitiable condition!! If our enemy knows the Word better, then how much more we have to be well equipped with it, if we are calling ourselves the Soldiers of Christ!! We should have the excellence of knowledge of the Word. No soldier can go to fight a battle without a sword.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” So what is the truth? Jesus is the truth. His Word is the truth. We can worship Him in truth by knowing His Word.  And when we know the truth, the truth will make us free from all the lies of satan.  John 1:1 & 14 speaks about Word & Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US (i.e. Jesus), and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Through His living Word, we can know Him more & more. As per Hebrews 4:12, ‘For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. It will pierce the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow. It is a discerner of thoughts & intents of the heart which means it gives discernment, wisdom & reveals the secrets of the heart.’

May God help us to always be well equipped with this sharp two edged sword to attack satan – our enemy.

 Anjali Jose