The Word as a Weapon of Attack

Not merely does God’s Word, applied in the way we seen yesterday, give victory over sin. It is also the divinely appointed weapon that gives victory over Satan himself. The apostle Paul commands:

“And take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” (Eph. 6:17)

Thus, God’s Word is an indispensable weapon in the Christian warfare. All the other items of the Christian armour listed in Ephesians 6 – the girdle, the breastplate, the shoes, the shield and the helmet – are intended for defence. The only weapon of attack is the Spirit’s sword, the Word of God.

Without a thorough knowledge of God’s Word and how to apply it, a Christian has no weapon of attack, no weapon with which he can assault Satan and the powers of darkness and put them to flight. In view of this, it is not surprising that Satan has throughout the history of the Christian Church used every means and device within his power to keep Christians ignorant of the true nature, authority and power of God’s Word.

In the use of God’s Word as a weapon, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the Christian’s supreme example. Satan brought three main temptations against Jesus, and Jesus met and defeated each temptation of Satan with the same weapon – the sword of God’s written Word (see Luke 4:1-13). For in each case Jesus began His answer with the phrase “It is written” and then quoted directly from the Scriptures.