The Sword of The Spirit
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:17
Scripture
17And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Sermon Description
How do Christians use the “sword of the Spirit”? In this sermon on Ephesians 6:17 titled “The Sword of the Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the sword of the Spirit differs from the other pieces in three ways: it does not protect any part of the body, it is a defensive weapon, and it is also an offensive weapon. The devil can terrorize people into hopelessness but the sword is the antidote. It is possible to resist the devil and cause him to flee. The Spirit is not the sword but provides the sword—the biblical Scriptures—and enables the Christian to use it correctly. A general attack upon the truth is a strategy of the enemy to shake God’s people from the truth. This is done in many ways, including philosophy (humanity can encompass truth and find God out of their own ability and intellect) and knowledge (any knowledge that humanity has, but science in particular). The more one understands Scripture, the better they can identify the errors lobbed at them. If one doubts the truth and authority of the Bible, it is like having a broken sword in hand and they are already defeated by the enemy. Knowing Scripture in a detailed manner and being soaked in the whole of it is necessary to effectively reply to someone who calls truth into question.
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.