It Starts Small

We come to the last portion of Paul telling us vital information for the battle we are in the middle of. Paul has told us to:

¹³ For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. ¹⁴ Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, ¹⁵ and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:13-16

In the final instruction, he says, not only are we to put the helmet of salvation on, but also the sword of truth. No matter what kind of garbage comes to you from the world, remember the pagan Gentile nations’ darkened mentalities, depraved moralities. That is the world out of which we came. We had better live in the kingdom God has placed us into.

This last piece gets exciting! There are actually two types of Greek words for sword. There is rhomphaia, which in the Septuagint is the word for the sword David used to cut off Goliath’s head. It was a huge sword. It was almost 6 feet long. You also see that sword in Revelation, the sword of judgment that is going to fall on the earth.

There is another type of sword that they used in hand-to-hand combat and that is the sword used here. In the Greek is is the word machaira, which describes a much smaller sword.

We find it in the Old Testament when Joab went to avenge the killing of his brother at the gate. Abner came out to the gate and Joab coaxed him out of the safety of the gate, which was dumb because he was safe until he went to court to face trial for what he had done. As soon as Abner left the safety of the city, Joab stabbed him. SO we get the idea that this type of sword is smaller and easy to wield. (2 Samuel 3)

You have to have the shield of faith, which is the intention to obey God, before the sword ever becomes helpful. If all you have is the sword and no intention to obey it, forget it. You are dead int he water of warfare. This is why they must work together. That is why they are coupled together.

You’ve got to have the shield, then you have to have the intention of saying,

“God, I am going to look forward to the hope of your coming. I am not going to be found ashamed.”

Then you have the sword to go along with it.

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12
(Bold added for emphasis)

Macharia is used in this verse. Is the battle just the thoughts that come into our mind? Is that what our biggest struggle and problem is? No, that is a weapon of the enemy, but that is not our greatest problem in warfare.

Look deeper into verse 12. The word of God is sharper that any two-edge sword (machaira), piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The writer of Hebrews reveals three couplets. The spirit gives life to the soul. The marrow gives life to the bones. The intentions of man gives life to his thoughts. Do not wander…. What was the shield again? It is my intention to obey God. If I have purposed in my heart I am going to obey God, that is the shield Paul is talking about.

When we have thoughts that seem to lodge in our minds and stay, it is because we have not made up our minds. We have not decided to follow Christ at all cost and obey the Word of God; all of the Word of God! IF we have not decided this, then our loins are bare and without girding of the truth. We are intentionally not committed to Christ.

This is where I believe so many fellow brothers and sisters are. They are bare but holding a sword. They beat others over the head with it, but that flat blade has no cutting power until their shield is up, which is the intention in their heart to obey God.

Then when those thoughts come, we can nail that thought with the cutting edge of that sword and the point.

The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone.

1 Corinthians 2:15

A spiritual person examines all things in light of the Word of God. Is this what God says? Or is this another lie of the one who was a liar and a murderer from the beginning, Satan himself? Is this just simply a part of that infected darkness that is all around us?

IF we do not have our shield up, the sword means nothing. If you don’t have your shield up, your sword means nothing. In my heart I wanted to obey Christ. Therefore, my intention was right and I could stop the thought. If your intention is not there, the thought is going to lodge in your mind and you are going to wake up the next day feeling like that thought is really the truth. It hasn’t got a thing to do with truth. You haven’t made up your mind to gird your loins with truth. Therefore, you don’t have a shield. When you pick up the Word it doesn’t mean anything. It is like a rubber knife. It has no cutting edge to it whatsoever.

SURRENDER TO CHRIST AND GET INTO HIS WORD

If you put the last three (parts of the spiritual armor) together, they couple to the first three. It is a truth struggle all the way. You better have your loins girded about so that you can have your shield of faith. See how they fit? They are coupled together. That is our armor.