2. The origin and source of this hope. It is a grace of the Spirit, and the effect of a renewed heart.
3. The basis and ground of hope.
(1) The promises of the Father.
(2) The work of the Son.
(3) The influences of the Spirit.
II. The advantages he derives from it.
1. It animates for the warfare.
2. It supports in sufferings.
3. It will put us in possession of the victory and reward.
Application:
1. Cultivate and preserve this hope of salvation.
2. As your hope is, so will be your comfort and joy.
3. Address those who have not a good hope. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The hope of salvation
He (Knox) had a sore fight for an existence, wrestling with popes and principalities; in defeat, contention, life-long struggle; rowing as a galley slave, wandering in exile. A sore fight; but he won it. “Have you hope?” they asked him in his last moment, when he could no longer speak. He lifted his finger, pointed upwards with his finger, and so died. (T. Carlyle.)
The helmet of hope
No suit of armour could be complete without a protection for the head. This great ruling member, the very citadel of intelligence and vital energy, is too important to be left unguarded. Hence, from the remotest ages, the helmet has been in use amongst all martial nations. The champion of the Philistines had a helmet of brass upon his head, as had also the king of Israel who commanded the armies of the living God. The Persians and Ethiopians also wore this martial cap in the day of battle, as did likewise the warlike Greeks. The helmet of the latter was usually made of skins, rendered hard and impervious to the weapons then in use; but the glittering brass or iron helmet of the Jewish warrior seems the most fit type of that piece of panoply which the apostle places in the armour of the Christian soldier. With this brazen or iron casque upon his head, the Jewish warrior could stand unhurt under the strokes of the brandished sword, or come out uninjured from amidst the storm of arrows. With its “dazzling brightness, its horrific devices of gorgons and chimeras, and its nodding plumes which overlooked the dreadful cone,” his helmet struck terror into the hearts of his enemies. Hence the apostle very properly, when pointing out to us the panoply, designates the helmet as a piece of armour the Christian soldier must put on. In the letter to the Thessalonians, the nature of this helmet is more specially revealed, where we are exhorted to take for a helmet “the hope of salvation.” Hope, then, is the helmet of the Christian soldier; and as there was usually graven upon the ancient helmet some single word or sentence as a motto, so must the soldier of the cross have graven on his crest, as emblematic and descriptive of the spirit of his warfare, the word “Hope.” How aptly does this brief motto set forth his belief as to the ultimate result of his conflicts! This good hope of salvation is the helmet of the gospel panoply. Hope! how beautiful that word! how expressive and suggestive! How hope paints the future in bright and joyous colours! how it speaks in the hour of sorrow and trial, of the breaking away of the storm, and the sunshine to come after! Let me warn you, however, to be on your guard against availing yourself of false hopes in your onward march to eternity. See that you bind not on your brows such a helmet as the enemy’s sword may cleave in twain, or through which his arrows may enter to lay waste life’s citadel. You will beware, for instance, of taking for a helmet the hope of future repentance. A common refuge is this for the gospel-taught worldling. You must also be guarded against wearing for a helmet the hope of being saved by the mere general mercy of God. Nor must we pass from this part of the subject without warning you against wearing for a helmet the hope of being saved because you are in connection with the visible Church … The hope of the Christian has to do with better things than those which are confined within the bounds of time, or which derive their value solely from the estimate put upon them by a mere grovelling, earthly mind. But the hope of the believer stands on a firmer basis, rises higher, takes hold of better comforts, and speeds on the footsteps of the pilgrim soldier with the prospect of far brighter joys to come, than that mere common principle which cheers universal humanity on its march from the cradle to the grave. The hope of the believer has been well defined to be that grace “whereby, through Christ, he expects and waits for all those good things of the promise he has not yet received.” The helmet of hope and the shield of faith are intimately connected. The two pieces of armour are joined together, and serve a purpose to each other, much as their position would seem to separate them. Hope and faith are sister graces of the Spirit. Faith is in some sense the minister of hope. Had we no faith in things to come, how could we hope for them? Hope has not to do with things present, “for what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” Now, “faith is the substance of things hoped for.” Faith sits at home receiving the promise, whilst hope looks from the lattice for the approach of the blessing. Faith tells us the story of good things in reserve, and then hope quietly and peacefully expects them. Let us examine the qualities of the helmet of salvation. The believer’s hope is well-founded; unlike those refuges of lies to which your attention has been called. The hope of the Christian soldier is also reasonable. “Be ready always,” says the apostle, “to give to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” The spiritual warrior is supposed to be a social being; he is joined with others in the march from the city of destruction to the New Jerusalem; and it is to be presumed that these wayfaring warriors, in the midst of their long journeyings, and their night watches, will sometimes question each other as to their views and motives in joining the service. The hope of the Christian soldier has also a good object in view. How vain are oftentimes those objects which call out the hopes of the worldling. The difference between the hope of the Christian and that of the sinner, is worldwide in this, that the Christian has in his view objects which are always real, which never disappoint, and which are of immortal value. Then, once more, the hope of the Christian soldier is steadfast. “Which hope,” says Paul, “we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” We freely admit that, practically, the Christian’s hope is not always as steadfast as it should be, or as it might be. The hopes of most believers are extremely fluctuating. The infirmities of our physical nature have much to do with shutting out the light of hope from the soul. We are beings of a two-fold organization, and the physical and spiritual man have an intimate relation. A diseased or wearied body may make a dull and beclouded mind. But these temporary fluctuations of the believer’s hope do not destroy it. We need only observe further, that the helmet of hope is strengthened and brightened by experience. “We glory in tribulation also,” says the apostle, “knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed.” It is the nature of successful experience to impart confidence. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
The helmet of salvation
Thehelmet was necessary to the completion of the apostle’s military picture; and the grace to be symbolized by it we should suppose to be one vital to the soul’s prosperity. And such a grace is Hope. For it guards the vital parts; it enables us to exhibit a fearless front in the day of battle; it forbids the entrance of any unworthy and coward fears; saying to us in the thick of the spiritual encounter, “Lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.” And now we may proceed to take some other views of the Christian’s hope. For example, let us consider it in its source, as having God for its Author. And then, consider next, the strength of hope, as having Christ for its foundation. We must have something to hang such a hope upon, and this hope can come to us only through a Mediator, But take up another view, the victories of hope over all spiritual difficulties and impediments. Thus it is hope which makes us victorious over outward trials. And so, in like manner, hope makes us victorious over all difficulties and discouragements. “Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Again, Scripture notices as an especial attribute of hope, that it should enable us to overcome shame, that it should take away all foolish regrets, all ungrateful misgivings as to whether in entering upon the Christian course we may have made a right choice or not. “O Lord, let me not be ashamed of my hope,” said David. “They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me,” said the Lord by His prophet. “Hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost which He hath given unto us.” But consider, lastly, the blessedness of hope, as having life and immortality for its end. “Take the helmet of salvation,” says the apostle. Now, salvation takes in the whole circle of the Divine promise, the entire aggregate of blessings promised for both the life that now is, and for that which is to come. It includes salvation from the curse of the law, salvation from the guilt of sin, salvation from the power of the grave, salvation from the tyranny of spiritual and eternal death. (D. Moore, M. A.)
The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.--
The sword of the Spirit
I. Why the word is called the sword, etc.
1. The Spirit of God is the Author of the Word.
2. It is the agency of the Spirit that makes the Word effectual.
II. This sword is to be used.
1. For repelling Satan’s temptations.
2. For actually destroying Satan’s works.
(1) We are to aim, first, at the destruction of these works in ourselves.
(2) The works of the devil, wherever they appear, are to be the object of our opposition and enmity.
3. In opposing error.
4. In seeking the conversion of sinners. (W. R. Taylor, M. A.)
The Christian’s weapon of offence
I. The aptitude of the similitude which likens the Bible to a sword.
1. The sword is useless so long as it is confined to the scabbard; and the Bible is useless if it rest idle in the intellect.
2. This sword is that by which the Christian defends himself, and that by which he cuts down all his foes.
II. The propriety of the description which designates the Bible the sword of the Spirit.
1. The Spirit dictated its composition.
2. The Spirit alone can unfold its meaning. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
The sword
I. The sword recommended. Observe--
1. The sword itself. Is “the Word of God.”
2. The description given of this sword--“Sword of the Spirit.”
(1) It is the production of the Spirit--“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2Ti_3:16. See also 2Pe_1:19-21).
(2) It is the instrument which the Holy Spirit makes use of in effecting His purposes.
(3) It is by the Spirit’s influence believers can profitably use the Word of God.
II. When the sword of the Spirit may be employed.
1. Satan’s assaults are to be resisted by it.
2. The world’s attacks are to be overcome by it.
3. When our own hearts would deceive us.
(1) By distrust and despondency.
(2) When in danger of self-complacency.
(3) When inclined to indolence.
III. Some directions for effectually wielding it.
1. Cultivate an intimate acquaintance with it.
2. Keep this sword polished and bright. This is only to be done by constant exercise.
3. Seek, by constant prayer, a renewal of spiritual strength.
Application:
1. Learn from this not to wage war with unhallowed weapons; such as human reason--such as human passion.
2. The weapon provided is all-sufficient.
3. Use it for all spiritual purposes. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The Word of God
I. The word of God. This denotes--
1. The importance of its contents (Psa_119:18; Mat_13:11).
2. The attention and reverence due to it (Isa_1:2).
3. The full credit which it demands (Joh_20:31).
II. The sword of the spirit.
1. As He is its Author (2Pe_1:21).
2. As it is His instrument in saving sinners.
3. As it has no power without His agency.
III. Take this. Learn to use it more and more. Show how God’s Word becomes victorious over all enemies.
1. It penetrates the most seared conscience (Act_2:37).
2. It lays open the evils and enemies concealed within (Heb_4:12).
3. It demolishes the walls of unbelief (2Co_10:4).
4. It cuts the sinews of error.
5. It repels Satan’s temptations (Mat_4:1, etc.).
6. It penetrates the storms of affliction (Psa_119:92).
7. It disarms death.
This sword has four peculiarities--
1. It decays not with use.
2. It cannot be broken.
3. It is suited to the strength and capacities of all. “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again,” etc. (Heb_5:12-13).
4. Thousands may use it at the same time. A Christian soldier is a terror to the powers of darkness. The destruction of those who neglect or reject this sword is inevitable. (H. J. Foster.)
The sword of the Spirit
I. Scripture is here represented as the Word of God. And is it not so in the strictest sense? Does it not throughout bear evident marks that God is its Author? There have appeared, indeed, in the world men who have denied this, and endeavoured to prove it false. But the Bible has survived all their assaults. And to this day it continues to be received as the unpolluted fountain of Divine truth. Indeed, its own internal evidences, independently of every other consideration, must ever convince every candid and unprejudiced mind that its pretensions to be the Word of God are just and amply substantiated. Among these evidences, we may notice--
1. The great antiquity of its history.
2. The prophecies of the Old Testament, and their exact accomplishment in the New, what a strong argument have we that the Bible is the Word of God! For who can foretell future things but God Himself?
3. We find many doctrines revealed in the Bible, to the knowledge of which we could never have attained by the mere light of nature or reason.
4. The same truth is confirmed to us by a consideration of the laws which are published in the Bible. Never yet was it in the power of men to frame and enact laws which could bind the whole family of man, or be equally suitable to them all. But in the Scriptures we find laws given to all mankind, equally suitable to them all, wheresoever they live, and howsoever they may be circumstanced. And they are not only suitable to them, but also binding upon them.
5. The Scripture appears to be the Word of God from the concurrence of its testimony, or its unity with itself. Whatever is laid down as truth in one place, is neither contradicted nor overturned in another.
II. The Scripture is represented in the text as “the sword of the Spirit.” Now, a sword, we know, is an instrument of war, by which the warrior not only defends himself, but also repels and overcomes his enemies. When, therefore, the Christian is exhorted to take such an instrument in his hand, it is implied that he is here in a state of warfare.
1. But why is the Scripture called the sword of the Spirit? One reason why it is called so may be, that it was given by inspiration of the Spirit. Indeed, it is this circumstance which makes it so sharp and powerful.
2. Another reason why the Scripture is called the sword of the Spirit is that it is the instrument which the Holy Spirit employs to wound the conscience and destroy the false peace of a sinner. (D. Rees.)
The Bible the sword of the Spirit
Edward the Sixth had a high esteem for the Scriptures. When, therefore, at his coronation, the swords were delivered to him, as King of England, France, and Ireland, having received them, he said, “There is yet another sword to be delivered to me”; at which the lords wondering, “I mean,” said he, “the sacred Bible, which is the sword of the Spirit, and without which we are nothing, neither can we do anything.”
The power of the Bible
This remarkable name of the Bible, “sword of the Spirit,” teaches us much of the way and wisdom of God in His dealings with the children of men. What gave the Jews their valour, their compact unity, their wonderful tenacity and fortitude as God’s witnesses both in grace and in apostasy? The sword of the Spirit alone. What was it in the hand of the apostolic Church which overturned the temples of Paganism, smote to the dust the gorgeous systems of superstition, consecrated by time, and cemented by wealth, interest, and victory; and finally planted the cross on the palace of the Caesars? Nothing but the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. See these men! They seem poor, and despised, and forsaken, but they are the heroes of the faith and the chosen instruments of God! (W. Graham, D. D.)
The Word of God likened to a sword
I. It has many of the properties of a sword.
1. It has the brightness of the sword. It is like the flaming falchion at Eden’s gate, which turned every way to preserve the garden from the unhallowed intrusion of fallen man. Even so the Bible blazes before the everlasting doors of the celestial paradise, so that “there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.”
2. It has also the keenness of a sword. “For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit. When John saw the Son of man in vision, he tells us that “out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.” This is a symbol of the penetrating power of the cutting reproofs and denunciations which issued from His lips.
3. The Word of God is like a sword because it is pointed. Common weapons can only smite the body, but this of the Spirit pierces far deeper, even to the inmost soul.
4. It may be added that a good sword will not easily break. It is even so, and more, with the Lord’s good sword. Oft has it been rudely struck by those who would parry its thrust or ward off its stroke. Oft has it crime down with cleaving force on hearts harder than flint. But it has never been shattered, nor can it be. It thus resembles a sword in the qualities of brightness of blade, sharpness of edge, keenness of point, and power of endurance.
II. It also resembles a sword in many of its uses.
1. It is a terror to evil-doers. How many have been deterred from sin, by seeing it sweeping in threatening circles over the path of transgression. How readily they would have run in the ways of iniquity but for the salutary restraints of the Book of God. It has flashed conviction like lightning, and struck the soul into submission like a bolt from heaven.
2. The Word of God is also like a sword in its cleaving energy. “It divideth asunder the soul and spirit.” It is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” It cuts right and left, with double edge, among all the false hopes of the self-deceived, and lays them in the dust.
3. The sword of the Spirit demolishes the defences under which the sinner shields himself. The spiritual weapons of our warfare is “mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds.”
4. Moreover, the sword of the Spirit defeats the enemies of God. Every time the Spirit strikes with it, Satan’s empire totters, and the dark coasts of hell tremble at the blow. Wherever this burnished blade is guided by the hand of Omnipotence, it scatters light over the dark places of the earth.
5. The Word of God is used as a sword in defending His kingdom on earth.
Concluding reflections:
1. We learn how ministers of the gospel should arm themselves.
2. We learn that Christians are ever to act on the aggressive.
3. We learn that the Word of God is no mortal weapon, but the sword of the Spirit.
4. We learn from our subject that God has enemies in the world. Would you know, my hearers, where that enmity to God is found, against which He will fight with the sword of His mouth? Alas! you will find it strongly fortifying itself in that revolted and disobedient heart of yours. Your soul is opposed to God. Your only safety is in instant submission.
5. The impenitent must again meet the sword of the Spirit in the day of doom. It will be the sword of justice at the judgment of the great day. Then will its slightest warnings come up in remembrance against you. Its testimony will convict you of having despised its reproofs, and your awful doom is already pronounced in its threatenings. Ah! is there no shield? Yes, one; and only one. See it on the Saviour’s arm! Let Him hold it over thy head. Then the uplifted sword will lose its terrors. Thou mayest cry aloud with confidence, “Behold, O God, our Shield; and look upon the face of Thine Anointed!” (A. W. McClure.)
God’s Word a sword
One of Cromwell’s knights, a man zealously attached to his party, was sued by the minister of the parish for his tithes. While the dispute was pending Sir John fancied that the parson preached at him, as he called it, every Sunday; whereupon he made complaint to the Protector, who summoned the minister to appear before him. The poor man denied the charge, saying he had done nothing but his duty, and had only preached in general terms against vice and immorality, against drunkards, liars, thieves, and robbers, and defied Sir John to instance any particular allusion to himself. After Cromwell had attentively heard both parties he dismissed the knight, with this memorable reprimand, “Sir John, go home, and hereafter live in friendship with your minister; the Word of the Lord is a searching word, and I am afraid it has now found you out.” (Paxton Hood.)
Power of God’s Word
“What is the meaning of this?” said a minister, coming into a house and taking up a tattered copy of part of the Scriptures. “I don’t like to see God’s Word used so,” for, indeed, the book had been torn right in two. “Oh, sir,” said the owner of the half Bible, “don’t scold till you hear how it came to be thus. This was my mother’s Bible; and when she died I couldn’t part with it; and my brother could not part with it; and we just cut it in two; and his half has been the power of God unto salvation to his soul; and my half the power of God unto salvation to mine.” What a change came over the good man’s countenance after this more than satisfactory explanation! And he left more than ever convinced that there is a mighty transforming power in God’s Word.
The sword of the Spirit
It is to be supposed that all true Christians admit the truth of that military maxim--the best defence is a swift attack. When our Lord was tempted in the wilderness, He did nothing more than just quote Scripture. He pressed Satan so vigorously that he began to quote Scripture too. Three texts of Deuteronomy--a book which sceptics are trying their best nowadays to get rid of--defeated the adversary finally. Jesus might have used any other form of deliverance, but He chose that in order that we who were to come after might know the devil could be certainly defeated with that. Apollos was an experienced and adroit swordsman; he was “mighty in the Scriptures.” To have a weapon in one’s band that is certain to pierce the scales of Apollyon every thrust, is of itself enough to make everyone valiant. Most of us have been told the child’s story about a mysterious sword which had in its construction a kind of life of its own. It was put in the hand of a coward in order to work his cure. When he tried to run away, it kept him right up to the front of the battle. Whenever he attempted to fling it from him, it clung to his grasp. Whenever he sought to slink out of sight and hide the bright blade in the folds of his uniform, of itself it would leap from the scabbard, and begin smiting the first foe it could touch. By and by, he learned to put confidence in it; for he perceived he never could be beaten so long as that invincible hilt was in his hand. Such a weapon is this “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” It will of itself fight, it will of itself conquer, and in the end it will defend and deliver every brave man who trusts it. “I will fight you,” said a hard-fisted man once to the saintly Hewitson. “Very well,” replied he, quietly, taking his Testament from his pocket; “just wait till I get out my sword.” It seems to me that this is what so interests us in the private Bibles of experienced and old veterans of the Cross. Marked and worn, bearing tokens of use, they fall into our hands; how reverently we look upon them! Anybody would touch Whitefield’s Bible gently, and turn over its pages with tenderness. Then there is the old family Bible, and our mother’s Bible. All these make us think of those days when Scandinavian heroes hung up their historic swords as symbols of prowess among the statues of the demi-gods in the halls of the Walhalla. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
The sword of the Spirit
Whatif it were possible to gather together the swords of all the great and famous princes and generals that have ever lived; what if we had found the sword of Julius Caesar, or Alexander, or the great and mighty heroes of ancient and modern times? And what if, taking them up in our hands, we could recount the mighty battles that have been fought, and think of the plains of Marathon, and other famous places where distinguished heroes have fought, and where soldiers have bled? Yet here is a sword for you, Christian people, that would make all other swords look little: it is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” You ask, What has it done? Ask among the enemy; and they will tell you what it has done. Go to the chief enemy, the devil; if he could be honest enough to answer the question, and tell you what it has done in his dominions in putting to the rout his forces, he would have to tell of mighty battles, and deeds of valour and of blood, and of success beyond description. What are the three principal features of the character of Satan? I answer, pride, malignity, and deceit: his kingdom and his cause in the world have been maintained by pride, malignity, and deceit. But the sword of the Spirit has been drawn to oppose them. How many a proud, stout-hearted sinner has become humbled and abased: how have the malignant passions of man been put to the rout and the flight by it. Why it has given a clear evidence, that “the fruit of the Spirit was love, and joy, and peace”; all that was fair, all that was peaceful, all that was true, all that was sacred, heavenly, and blessed. Ask again among those enemies of the Christian, the world and the flesh. Well has it been said, that “the world, the flesh, and the devil, are the devil’s triumvirate”; and so they are; but they cannot stand against “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (T. Mortimer, B. D.)
The Bible a sword
There are many things in which the Bible is like a sword.
1. The Bible was not made by one man, and one man cannot make a sword. Moses, we may say, made the handle; Joshua, Samuel, David, the prophets, etc., made the blade; and the evangelists and apostles made the sharp edge and point, without which, the rest would not be of much use.
2. The Bible is like a sword because it took a long time to make it complete and fit for use. It was intended to last.
3. As a sword is used by a soldier in battle to kill his enemies, so the Bible is able to kill sin, which is everybody’s greatest enemy. How does the Bible kill sin? By telling about God’s love to us.
4. Why does St. Paul here call the Bible the sword of the Spirit?
(1) Because the Holy Spirit taught men to write it. If you were a sword merchant, and knew how to prepare the iron and make it into steel fit for a sword, you would not make the swords with your own hands, but you would tell the workmen what to do, and they would make the swords. But when the swords were made, they would be called after your name.
(2) Because the Holy Spirit must teach us how to use it rightly.
Concluding lessons:
1. Remember that God has given you this sword to use. The Bible is a fighting sword. It is given to you that you may kill sin with it. Otherwise sin will kill you.
2. If this sword of the Spirit was used by everybody there would be no need to have other swords. The more the Bible is used to kill sin, the less fighting there will be. (W. Harris.)
The Christian warrior’s sword
The Bible is the sword of the Christian warrior. The very fact that you have the Bible today is an irrefutable argument to its divinity. Despised, and spoken against, assailed by more than a legion of powerful foes in every generation, it has still survived the attacks of malignity, the wreck of successive empires, and the ruin of every other production contemporaneous with itself. In the Word of God as the sword of your warfare, you are provided with an implement of heavenly workmanship. This weapon, as you may also perceive, is called “the sword of the Spirit.” In the great scheme for conquering the powers of darkness, all the persons of the Godhead are united. Christ, the Captain of Salvation, purchased the efficacious cooperation of the Holy Ghost, whose agency is indispensable to the triumphs of the Cross. The communication of the will of God to man was a most important work of this Person of the Trinity. The Spirit takes “the things which are God’s, and shows them unto us.” “The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The Word of God was indited by the Spirit. This appellation appears still more appropriate, too, when you remember that the agency of the Spirit alone can give such efficacy to the Word as to render it an available weapon. Of itself, the Word of God would remain a dead letter. Unless moved by the Holy Ghost, none would be disposed to use it; and if so disposed, it would not be effectual in putting to flight the armies of the adversary. “‘The natural mind discerneth not the things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually discerned.” How many are there, who have possessed the Bible all their lives long, had it in their houses, and been taught it from their childhood, in whose hearts the enemy is still unsubdued, and who are still led captive by the devil at his will! To such this sword has always been a sheathed weapon. Hence the Holy Ghost must accompany the truth, to give it power and energy. He must open the eyes of the spiritually blind to behold the excellence and utility of this weapon, and incline the affections to take pleasure in using it for vanquishing the powers of darkness in the soul and in the world without; he must bend the will to determination and perseverance in using it to push forward the aggressions of the armies of light. Without this agency, none would ever be disposed to enlist as soldiers of the Cross, and when enlisted, their puny efforts would be fruitless. A most important weapon is the sword of the Christian soldier, in promoting the great ends of his warfare. It is the chief instrument by which the work of extending the kingdom is accomplished. Some of its offices in this regard, we may examine in the present chapter. The Word of God is the primary instrument, as we have just seen, by which recruits are won to the armies of salvation. Other instrumentalities the Master does indeed use for making conquests to His cause from the ranks of the enemy, but these are all subordinate to that of the Word. The Captain of Salvation sends out the Word, thundering the curses of Sinai, holding up the wrath of an angry God, uncovering the evil and loathsomeness of sin, displaying the peace-speaking, blood-stained banner of the Cross, until, under the power of the Spirit, the hostility of those who have been His enemies is subdued, and they are brought to His feet as willing trophies of His grace. Thus, by the truth are recruits won from the kingdom of darkness to that of God’s dear Son; and thus also does the Word of God prove to be “the sword of the Spirit.” The ‘Word of God is also the great agent in the sanctification of the Christian soldier. “Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth,” was the prayer of the Saviour for such as had believed on His name, and whom He was about to leave in this world; and the prayer also for as many as should afterwards believe on His name. (J. Leyburn, D. D.)
The arm that wields the sword
It is reported of a great person, that being desirous to see the sword wherewith Scanderbeg had done so great exploits, when he saw it, replied, he saw no such great matter in that sword more than any other sword. “It is truth,” quoth one, standing by; “you see the sword, but not the arm that wielded it.” So, when we look upon the Scriptures, the bare Word, whether printed in our Bibles or audible in the pulpit, we shall find no such business in it more than in other writings; but when we consider the arm of God’s power that joins with it, when we look upon the operation of His Holy Spirit working therein, then we shall change our thoughts and say, “Nec vox hominem sonat, O Deus certe!”or as Jacob did of Bethel, “Surely, of a certain, God is in this Word!” (Spencer.)
The sword unsheathed by the Spirit
The Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit. It is the instrument by which the Spirit worketh. He does not tell us anything that is out of the record; but all that is within it He sends home with clearness and effect upon the mind. He does not make us wise above that which is written, but He makes us wise up to that which is written. When a telescope is directed to some distant landscape, it enables us to see what we could not otherwise have seen; but it does not enable us to see anything which has not a real existence in the prospect before us. It does not present to the eye any delusive imagery--neither is that a fanciful and fictitious scene which it throws open to our contemplation. The natural eye saw nothing but blue land stretching along the distant horizon. By the aid of the glass there bursts upon it a charming variety of fields, and woods, and spires, and villages. Yet who would say that the glass added one feature to this assemblage? It discovers nothing to us which is not there; nor out of that portion of the book of nature, which we are employed in cultivating, does it bring into view a single character which is not really and previously inscribed upon it. And so of the Spirit. He does not add a single truth or a single character to the book of revelation. He enables the spiritual man to see what the natural man cannot see; but the spectacle which He lays open is uniform and immutable. It is the Word of God which is ever the same; and he whom the Spirit of God has enabled to look to the Bible with a clear and affecting discernment sees no phantom passing before him; but, amid all the visionary extravagance with which he is charged, can, for every one article of his faith, and every one duty of his practice, make his triumphant appeal to the law and to the testimony. (T. Chalmers, D. D.)
The sword a chief weapon
Thesword was ever esteemed a most necessary part of the soldier’s furniture, and therefore hath obtained a more general use in all ages and among all nations than any other weapon. Most nations have some particular weapons proper to themselves; but few or none come into the field without a sword. A pilot without his chart, a scholar without his book, and a soldier without his sword, are alike ridiculous. But above all these, absurd is it for one to think of being a Christian, without knowledge of the Word of God, and some skill to use this weapon. The usual name in Scripture for war, is the sword, “I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth,” i.e., I will send war. And this because the sword is the weapon of most universal rise in war, and also that whereby the greatest execution is done in the battle. Now such a weapon is the Word of God in the Christian’s hand. By the edge of this his enemies fall, and his great exploits are done--“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.” (W. Gurnall, M. A.)
The sword of the Spirit
We now come to the last part of the Christian’s armour, or “the sword of the Spirit.” Let us, first, observe on the fitness of the metaphor here employed by the apostle. Thus, the sword is a weapon common to all soldiers, of whatever rank, or however employed. In a battle, there may be some without the helmet, and some without the greaves; but there are to be none without the sword. So, likewise, the Word of God is to be put into the hands of every Christian, soldier. The Captain of our salvation wielded it first, and He would have it used by the meanest subaltern that fights under His banner. In no position, and under no circumstances, can the Christian be saved without his sword. Again, the sword is a sharp, piercing weapon: with one thrust it may enter into the seat of life. So also “the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, of the soul and spirit, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” See what effect this sword wrought on the day of Pentecost, when Peter was addressing himself to the crucifiers of the Lord of glory: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart.” And now, for the further illustration of the apostle’s meaning, let us direct our attention to two points: first, our experience of the power of the sword; and, secondly, the enemies whom we are to slay by the sword.
I. First, with regard to our experience of the power of this sword. I put this down as an indispensable prerequisite to a compliance with the apostolical injunction. For the apostle is not supposed to be addressing a company of undisciplined recruits. He is speaking to soldiers, to believers, to veterans, who have had some experience of the use and power of the weapons they are to employ. I cannot see how a man can use the sword of the Spirit to resist the assaults of sin, who has not felt the power of that sword to awaken in himself a sense of sin.
II. But I come to our second point, or, the enemies to be slain by the sword. Of course, the great enemy is Satan himself, the father of lies, who therefore must be opposed by the Word of Truth. But, then, Satan has under him a large army of deceivers and impostors, who are ever on the watch to beguile unstable souls; and it is only by the power of God’s Truth that we shall be able to dissipate the illusions which these gather around us. Again, by the edge of this sword we are to slay false fears. Every Christian knows on entering the service of his Master that great trials are appointed for him; that the rightful and only entrance into the kingdom of heaven is through the gate of tribulation; and that, though his Master has given him armour enough to protect him against sin, He has given him no armour to ensure him against suffering. Again, it is to the sword of the Spirit we must look to preserve us from all false guides, false influence, false dependence, whether the example of the world, the persuasion of friends, the fear of men, or the dominant tendencies and desires of our own heart. (D. Moore, M. A.)
