THE SWORD OF THE LORD IS ONLY EFFECTIVE IN THE HANDS OF GODLY MEN

Ephesians 6:17: “Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

God’s Word is not the sword of man, but the sword of the Holy Spirit. Preachers may quote Scriptures in cleverly crafted sermons and yet not effect change the lives of their hearers. A prayerless man cannot accomplish any real and lasting damage towards God’s enemies because the Sword of the Spirit does not fit properly in his hand.

Just as David could not go against Goliath using Saul’s armor and sword “for he had not proved it,” even so we cannot use God’s Word as a sword to bring down our 21st century Goliaths if we are not spiritually equipped to use it (1 Samuel 17:38, 39).

David could not have overcome Goliath with Saul’s sword, but the sling and stones, spiritually speaking, became the Sword of the Lord in the hands of this spiritual young man. David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). He was a great lover and worshipper of God and loved to seek the Lord. The sword of the Lord was in David’s mouth when he denounced the proud Goliath.

1 Samuel 17:45, 46: “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts; the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” David was also anointed to one day replace King Saul.

The children of Israel proved the ark a great a sword against their enemies (Joshua 6:6-20). However, when Israel and its spiritual leadership were corrupted, the ark of the Lord was no longer the Sword of the Lord (1 Samuel 4:1-11).

The simple truth is that God’s Word, which is the Sword of the Spirit, can only be truly effective when in the hands of Holy Spirit filled men and women.

When Gideon came against the vast Midianite army, he instructed his 300 men to shout at the right moment “THE SWORD OF THE LORD, AND OF GIDEON” (Judges 7:18). We must beware of making the Sword of the Lord our own sword. This is a sacrilegious way to bring glory to ourselves. Rather, we must see the Sword of the Lord as the only sword we can trust to save and deliver us, for our own swords will fail us. In a sense, Gideon confessed that his sword was one with the Sword of the Lord. It was through carefully following God’s strategy that he won this great battle.

2 Corinthians 4:2: “Not handling the word of God deceitfully (as a counterfeit), but by manifestation of the truth.”

1 Corinthians 2:1: “And I brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell