The Word of God in Ephesians in verse 17 is described as a Sword, a sword of the Spirit when Paul is outlining the armour of God; and because we do not use swords nor are we familiar with this imagery, it is easy at times to miss out on what this means.
The sword in my opinion is a fascinating weapon; one whose use I hope to someday master but it is important to remember that primarily, it is a weapon to kill, to maim and to destroy. It is not so much for defense as it to inflict grievous bodily harm on your enemy and you should not wield it until you are prepared to or else you will be ineffective.
A sword has its greatest and most useful home in the hands of a fearless warrior; in the hands of one ready to weild it to the death in defends of his nation or in the plunder of his neighbours–for there it swiftly becomes the instrument of death to the enemy and victory to it’s wielder in the manner it is supposed to—anywhere else it is either just a decoration, or unnecessary excess luggage that may look good but ineffective towards accomplishing what it is supposed to.
And it is in the context of this that we as believers are to wield the sword if the Spirit–the Word of God. It is a weapon to use to would, destroy and crush the enemy the devil. It is a weapon to use to annihilate and remove his influence where it does not belong, in our families, in our health, in our finances and in all our relationships. It is a sword we must wield by believing and speaking for it is by design fatal to the enemy and his devices.
Often, the devil has done a job in making so many afraid to speak the word, in removing it from mainstream media and the like. But my friend, awaken to who you are and what you possess. You have a sword, a warrior’s weapon in your hands to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy so be fearless; let no one stop you and like the beat of the warriors, never put your sword down—it is yours to use that you may win.
Be blessed my friend.