[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″]God has given us an extremely powerful weapon by which we defend ourselves against the attacks of the enemy, – the sword of the Spirit.[/x_custom_headline]
[x_blockquote cite=”Ephesians 6:17 KJV” type=”left”]“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”[/x_blockquote]
We must keep in mind that Satan is a spirit being. Therefore only spiritual weapons will be effective against him and his kingdom. And the sword God has given to us is the Word of God!
The word “word” in this verse is the Greek word rhema. A rhema word comes when the Holy Spirit takes a “word” from the Word of God, and makes it come alive in the heart of the believer. A rhema is a specific word which the Holy Spirit quickens in our hearts and minds at a specific time and for a specific purpose.
We receive a rhema word from God when the Holy Spirit specifically reminds us of a particular Bible verse or promise, and drops that “word” into our heart. He speaks this word to us in such a way so that our heart is filled with faith.
This kind of word from God gives us “sword power” in the spirit realm. It enables us to withstand the mental, emotional, spiritual, physical and financial attacks arrayed against us, and to defeat the enemy. When you speak this word, things change! God’s Word does not return void or empty.
However, you cannot separate the loinbelt and the sword (see Ephesians 6:14), because the loinbelt is the written Word of God. The written Word of God is the source for receiving the rhema word from God.
There will be times when as you are reading the written Word of God that the Holy Spirit will cause a specific word to jump right off the pages of your Bible and into your heart. This rhema word from God provides you with a mighty sharp sword in your hand, by which you can mortally wound the works of the devil in your life. In fact, in several places in the New Testament we see that this is what Jesus did while in combat with the devil.
[x_blockquote cite=”Revelation 1:16 KJV” type=”left”]“And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”[/x_blockquote]
When the Apostle John received this vision of Jesus, he saw Him with a two-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth.
[x_blockquote cite=”Revelation 2:12 KJV” type=”left”]“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;”[/x_blockquote]
As John is dictating a letter from Jesus to the church at Pergamos, Jesus refers to Himself as having a sharp sword with two-edges. Interestingly, the word “two-edged” in the Greek actually means, two-mouthed.
Here is how this works. When Almighty God initially spoke forth the Word from His mouth it was a single edged sword. But when you and I declare that same Word of God from our mouths, the second edge is added to the sword.
[x_blockquote cite=”Hebrews 4:12 KJV” type=”left”]“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”[/x_blockquote]
Once again in this verse we find the phrase, “two-edged sword.” Here is how this works. When you purposely meditate God’s Word and feed your spirit with its incorruptible seed, and then proclaim that Word out of your mouth, you give that sword its second edge. The Word of God is always powerful. But it is doubly powerful when you begin to speak God’s Word. This is why confessing God’s Word is so vitally important to every believer.
When you are under attack from the kingdom of darkness, the Holy Spirit will begin to bring up from within you that reservoir of God’s Word that you have been storing up within your spirit. Then as you begin to speak God’s Word and those Bible promises, they become a sharp two-mouthed, or two-edged sword, wreaking havoc on the enemy. God’s mouth adds one sharp edge; your mouth adds the other.
The Word of God knows what no human can know. It can see what no human can see. It will cut through the clutter inside of you, and penetrate directly into your heart, your spirit man. Also, when you receive the Word of God, it begins immediately to fix and to set in order those areas of your soul, (your mind, will and emotions), that are off base and wrong.
Allowing the Word of God to take root within you causes you to be inwardly changed. Now as you begin to declare the Word of God from your mouth, there is great power at work as you speak. Your words have become a two-edged sword against your adversary, the devil.
Reading, studying and meditating God’s Word allows it to work inside of you, producing the necessary changes in your life. But speaking the Word that you have meditated and received, causes that Word to defeat your enemies and changes your circumstances.
