Paul told us to put on the full armor of God so that we will be able to stand against all the attacks of the enemy. Most of the armor Paul described is defensive in nature, pieces of armor that come alone through Jesus and in response to Him- a helmet (salvation), a belt (truth), a breastplate (righteousness), feet properly shod (the gospel of peace), and the shield (faith). With these in place, we are well prepared defensively. We can even “extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16).
However, we have not taken new territory; we have only protected who we are and what we have. Only one piece of armor is offensive, and do remember that no game of sport, no duel, no war was ever won by simply protecting yourself and even defeating the onslaughts of the enemy.
Keeping the other team from scoring touchdowns or goals is excellent, but it does not win the game.
The sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) is ours for the offensive. With it, we can confront and defeat the enemy.
Move confidently forward – finding lies of the enemy and piercing them, shattering them with both our words and our actions, taking territory from him.
Our “Christian culture” supplies us with lots of swords lying around on coffee tables. We may even take out our swords on occasion and look at them admiringly, or polish them up a bit. But, swords are not made for polishing. They are made for duels, battles and wars, for finding the lies of the enemy and piercing those lies, destroying them, shattering them, with both our words and our actions, taking new territory for our King.
Get well acquainted with your sword. Know how to use it.
Know how to wield it and win.
And while in the battle, don’t forget to stay constantly in touch with headquarters – “pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests,” and “with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).