The Sword of the Spirit

“And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . . .” (Ephesians 6:17, ESV)

Illustration by Paul Agner

Soldiers used much of their armor to protect them from the enemy’s attacks. But some of their armor they used to actually attack the Enemy. The sword was one of those pieces—it was used in close, hand-to-hand combat.

The weapon we use to attack our Enemy is the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God, the Bible. Over a period of 1,600 years, the Holy Spirit gave over 40 different men the words He wanted them to write. These writings have been collected into the 66 books that make up our Bible—39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

Because the Bible is from God, it is the best way to defeat the Enemy. Jesus gave us this example when He quoted Scripture to make Satan go away (Matthew 4). We need to read it, study it, memorize it, and quote it whenever we can!

Illustration by Paul Agner