SPIRITUAL-WARFARE-WEAPONS-BIBLE
The preservation of our joy in God takes work. It is a fight. Our adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, and he has an insatiable appetite to destroy one
thing: the joy of faith. But the Holy Spirit has given us a sword called the
Word of God for the defense of our joy. Or, to change the image, when Satan
huffs and puffs and tries to blow out the flame of your joy, you have an
endless supply of kindling in the Word of God.
John Piper
Desiring God, 1996, p. 123, Used by
Permission, www.desiringGod.org.
Satan’s
number-one objective is to destroy our joy of faith. We have one offensive
weapon: the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). But what many
Christians fail to realize is that we can’t draw the sword from someone else’s
scabbard. If we don’t wear it, we can’t wield it. If the Word
of God does not abide in us (Jn. 15:7), we will reach for it in vain when the
enemy strikes. But if we do wear it, if it lives within us, what mighty
warriors we can be!
John Piper
Desiring God, 1996, p. 129, Used by
Permission, www.desiringGod.org.
Out of all
the armor God gives us to fight Satan, only one piece is used for killing – the
sword. It is called the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). So when Paul says,
“Kill sin by the Spirit” (Rom. 8:13), I take that to mean, Depend on the
Spirit, especially His sword. What is the sword of the Spirit? It’s the Word of
God (Eph. 6:17). Here’s where faith comes in… The Word of God cuts through the
fog of Satan’s lies and shows me where true and lasting happiness is to be
found. And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make
me happy, and instead entices me to trust in God’s promise of joy (Psm. 16:11).
John Piper
How Redeemed People Do Battle with Sin,
Decision, Jan. 1990.
If my thirst
for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence of the promises
of Christ, the power of sin is broken. We do not yield to the offer of sandwich
meat when we can see the sizzling steak on the grill… At first lust tricks me
into feeling that I would really miss out on some great satisfaction if I
followed the path of purity. But then I take up the sword of the Spirit and
begin to fight… And as I pray for my faith to be satisfied with God’s life and
peace, the sword of the Spirit carves the sugar coating off the poison of lust…
And by the grace of God, (lust’s) alluring power is broken.
John Piper
How Redeemed People Do Battle with Sin,
Decision, Jan. 1990.
The challenge
before us then is not merely to do what God says because He is God, but to
desire what God says because He is good. The challenge is not merely to pursue
righteousness, but to prefer righteousness. The challenge is to get up in the
morning and prayerfully meditate on the Scriptures until we experience joy and
peace in believing “the precious and very great promises” of God (Rom. 15:13;
2 Peter 1:4).
With this joy set before us the commandments of God will not be burdensome (1 John 5:3)
and the compensation of sin will appear too brief and too shallow to lure us.
John Piper
How
Dead People Do Battle With Sin, Sermon, January 1, 1995, www.DesiringGod.org. Used by
Permission.
As sin
lures the body into sinful action, we call to mind a Christ-revealing word of
Scripture and slay the temptation with the superior worth and beauty of Christ
over what sin offers.
John
Piper
Why Memorize Scripture? September
5, 2006, www.DesiringGod.org. Used by Permission.
Deliverance
from Satan’s oppressing, darkening, and deceiving work in the life of the
Christian comes most often by the power of truth, and
only rarely by exorcism.
John Piper
Does
Unconfessed Sin Clog our Joy taken from When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John
Piper, 2006, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton
Illinois 60187, www.crosswaybooks.org. p. 58.
It is the
sword of the Spirit that pierces [Satan] and conquers him. It is that great and
strong sword with which God punishes Leviathan, that
crooked serpent. It is that sharp sword that proceeds out of the mouth of Him
who sat on the horse, with which He smites his enemies. Every text is a dart to
torment the old serpent. He has felt the stinging smart thousands of times.
Therefore, he is engaged against the Bible and hates every word of it.
Jonathan
Edwards
Distinguishing
Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, 1741.
Modern language courtesy of Archie Parrish, The Spirit of
Revival, Crossway Books, 2000, p. 95.
This weapon
is good at all points, good for defense and for attack, to guard our whole
person or to strike through the joints and marrow of the foe. Like the seraph’s
sword at Eden’s gate, it turns every way. You cannot be in a condition that the
Word of God has not provided. The Word has as many faces and eyes as providence
itself. You will find it unfailing in all periods of your life, in all
circumstances, in all companies, in all trials, and under all difficulties.
Were it fallible, it would be useless in emergencies, but its unerring truth
renders it precious beyond all price to the soldiers
of the cross.
C.H. Spurgeon
Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life,
Sermon Matthew 4:4.
Now, if our
Lord and Master selected this true Jerusalem blade of the Word of God, let us
not hesitate for a moment but grasp and hold fast this one true weapon of the
saints in all times. Cast away the wooden sword of carnal reasoning. Trust not
in human eloquence but arm yourselves with the solemn declaration of God, who
cannot lie, and you need not fear Satan and all his hosts. Jesus selected the
best weapon. What was best for Him is best for you.
Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life,
Sermon Matthew 4:4.
“It is
written.” Stand upon it, and if the devil were fifty devils in one, he could
not overcome you. On the other hand, if you leave “It is written,” Satan knows
more about reasoning than you do. He is far older, has studied mankind very
thoroughly, and knows all our weak points. Therefore, the contest will be an
unequal one. Do not argue with him but wave in his face the banner of God’s
Word. Satan cannot endure the infallible truth, for it is death to the
falsehood of which he is the father.
C.H. Spurgeon
Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life,
Sermon Matthew 4:4.
The Bible
will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
D.L. Moody
With such
adversaries, growing in the fear of the Lord will not be a smooth process.
Instead, it will be the path of warfare. We must hate the evil and ungodly
assumptions of the world, we must hate our own sinful
nature, and we must hate Satan. To accomplish these tasks demands the most
powerful resources we have: The Word, the Spirit, and the body of Christ.
Edward T. Welch
When People are Big and God is Small, P&R
Publishing, 1997, p. 101. Used by Permission.
Our enemies
are demonic, but the warfare against them isn’t waged by commanding them,
mapping their physical location, invoking magic words to subdue them, claiming
authority over them, or any of the other common tactics some people usually
refer to as “spiritual warfare.” We are not fighting demons in a face-to-face
confrontation, or by spirit-to-spirit conversation, or with voice-to-voice
communication. We attack them by tearing down their fortresses of lies… What,
precisely, are our weapons? The only power that will destroy such things is the
power of truth…“the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph.
6:17).
John MacArthur
The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 140-
141.
The simple
fact is that you can’t fight spiritual warfare with magic phrases and secret
words. You don’t overpower demons merely by shouting at them. I don’t have
anything to say to a demon anyway. I’m not interested in talking to them. Let
the Lord do that (cf. Jude 9). Why would I even want to communicate with evil
spirits? But I have a lot to say to people who have barricaded themselves in
fortresses of demonic lies. I want to do everything I can to tear down those
palaces of lies. And the only thing that equips me to do that
well is the Word of God. Spiritual warfare is all about demolishing evil
lies with the truth. Use the authority of God’s Word and the power of the
gospel to give people the truth. That is what will pull down the fortresses of
falsehood. That is the real nature of spiritual warfare.
John MacArthur
The Book on Leadership, 2004, p. 141.
The
sword of the Spirit is first of all a defensive weapon, capable of deflecting
the blows of an opponent. It is the believer’s supreme weapon of defense
against the onslaughts of Satan. Unlike the shield, however, which gives broad
and general protection, the sword can deflect an attack only if it is handled
precisely and skillfully. It must parry the enemy weapon exactly where the
thrust is made. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, His defense
for each temptation was a passage of Scripture that precisely contradicted the
devil’s word (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10). The Christian who does not know God's Word
well cannot use it well. Satan will invariably find out where we are ignorant
or confused and attack us there. Scripture is not a broadsword (rhomphaia) to be
waved indiscriminately, but a dagger to be used with great precision.
John MacArthur
Ephesians, Moody, 1986, p. 370.
In
opposition…to all the suggestions of the devil, the sole, simple, and
sufficient answer is the word of God. This puts to flight all the powers of
darkness. The Christian finds this to be true in his individual experience. It
dissipates his doubts; it drives away his fears; it delivers him from the power
of Satan.
A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians,
Baker Book House, 1980, p. 389.
There is
no new ministry or means of spiritual warfare. We are called to keep on with
what Christians have always been called on to do – believe, proclaim, pray and
live the gospel.
Melvin Tinker
Wisdom to Live By, Christian Focus
Publications, 1998, p. 181. Used by Permission.
When you
willingly or unknowingly are under the control of any power other than God’s
Holy Spirit (e.g., drugs, alcohol, sex, another person, your peer group, a
false religion, a self-centered habit such as gossip or laziness, or a
self-oriented desire for power, food, or wealth), you are in bondage to sin.
However, God has broken the power of sin through the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
can overcome sinful habits by depending on His strength and being obedient to
His Word.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 20, Page 1,
Used by Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
God has
defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Through this overwhelming victory, God has also empowered you to overcome any
temptation to sin and has provided sufficient resources for you to respond
biblically to any problem of life. By relying on God’s power and being obedient
to His Word, you can be an overcomer in any
situation.
Biblical Counseling Foundation
Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 21, Page 2,
Used by Permission of the Biblical Counseling Foundation.
It is hypocritical
to pray for victory over our sins yet be careless in our intake of the Word of
God.
Jerry Bridges
Copied
from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 75. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com.
All rights reserved.
Our
reason, enlightened by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, stands in the
way of sin gaining mastery over us through our desires.
Jerry Bridges
Copied
from The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, © 1996, p. 64. Used by
permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights
reserved.
The chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is
the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three
times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, “it is
written” (Mt. 3:4, 7, 10).
J.C. Ryle
Commentary:
Matthew 4.
Consider
how our Lord Himself resisted Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness (see
Matthew 4 and Luke 4.) Jesus did not "bind" Satan. In all three
instances of Satan's temptations, our Lord quoted Scripture, and the devil was
repelled ("he left Him for a season.") We should follow our Lord's
example when attacked or tempted. And let's not forget that if we are going to
quote Scripture, we must know Scripture! Our Lord quoted three times from the
book of Deuteronomy. How many of us can quote three verses from the book of
Deuteronomy? Knowledge of the Word of God is important for repelling Satan, and
is crucial for Christian growth and living as well. As He was growing up, the
Lord Jesus must have spent a lot of time memorizing the Word of God (see Luke
2:52). What an example for us to follow!
David Reid
Binding Satan, XXIV-2 1998/99, www.growingchristians.org.
Fly from all
occasions of temptation, and if still tempted, fly further still. If there is
no escape possible, then have done with running away and show a bold face and
take the two-edged sword of the Spirit. Some temptations must be taken by the
throat as David killed the lion; others must be stifled as David hugged the
bear to death. Some you had better keep to yourselves and not give air. Shut
them up as a scorpion in a bottle. Scorpions in such confinement die soon, but
if allowed out for a crawl and then put back into the bottle and corked down,
they will live a long while and give you trouble. Keep the cork on your
temptations, and they will die of themselves.
Author Unknown