Piece 6: Sword

Ephesians 6.17b, "and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The sword Paul is talking about is the Roman gladius. It's the sword carried by Maximus in Gladiator, and in this one case I choose the Roman weapon over the Spartan xiphos. The gladius was slightly longer, and very effective in combat. When combined with a shield, it's a great weapon.

The sword is a weapon both for offense and defense. It blocks and deflects incoming attacks, but it also enables the wielder to strike back. The sword is a crucial piece of the armor. It must be cared for, it must be sharpened and polished so it is kept ready for the fight.

The Bible refers to the Word of God as a sword. In Hebrews 4.12 it says, "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." The gladius had an edge on each side of the blade, it was sharp, it penetrated whoever got in the way of the blade. It was an effective tool for battle.

We are in a spiritual battle with Satan. And God has not simply given us defensive protection, but He has equipped us to be able to go on the offensive. He's given us a sword to use in combat. The Bible is our weapon.

Jesus showed us how to use it in combat against Satan in Matthew 4. Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tested, and after forty days of fasting Satan brings the assault. He attacks Jesus identity, and tries to get Jesus to stumble. But look at each of Jesus' responses, "Jesus answered, 'It is written:'... Jesus answered him, 'It is also written:'... Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written:'..." (Matthew 4.4a, 7a, 10a). With each attack Jesus wields Scripture. He blocks each attack and then attacks back and puts Satan to flight.

We cannot win a battle without a sword. We cannot win a Spiritual battle that is waged against God, and those who serve Him, without God's sword. Scripture memorization is a Spiritual discipline that seems to have fallen by the wayside in past years. One pastor friend suggested that the reason for this is possibly the number of translations that are in print today. There are so many ways to word each verse that there is no standard translation of memorization. But we must discipline ourselves to memorize scripture.

Here are some suggestions that I have. Find a translation that you like and understand. Note that The Message is not a translation, but a paraphrase. It's great for reading but for memorization use a translation that breaks up the verses. There are many so find one you that you understand. I use the NASB because it's the most literal translation of the text.

Second, take a few verses at a time. Don't set out to memorize an entire book the first week, you'll get overwhelmed and probably give up. But a few verses at a time, and over time you will have the entire book memorized. My suggestion is as you read make notes of the main verses of the chapter. Read and re-read it until you see the theme and can identify the main verse in that section, and memorize that. As you do this, you'll be able to identify the different themes of the different chapters of the Bible.

Third, find a good way to review. One way I've found that helps is writing each verse on a 3x5 index card. Put the reference in the top left and bottom right corners and in the lines of the card break up the verse by punctuation. Put one phase per line, and memorize the verse phrase by phrase.

Here's an example.

In church we're working through John, and each week I pick out the main verse from the text I'm preaching on. This week it was John 4.50

John 4.50

Jesus said to him,

"Go; your son lives."

The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.

John 4.50

The nice thing with index cards is that they are easy to stack and are easy to review with. We need to memorize as many verses as possible. If you remember from Gladiator, Maximus doesn't just have one sword when he goes into battle. The first sword, the one he carries on his belt, gets stuck in a tree after he attacks an opponent. You think, "Dang, what now?" And then he pulls out a second sword that is strapped to his horse and continues the battle. The more vereses we have memorized the more swords we have available for the battle. Jesus had many swords at his disposal, not simply John 3.16 and Genesis 1.1, those wouldn't have done much in His wilderness battle. The more swords we have available, the better equipped we are for combat.

Secondly, we have to keep our swords ready for battle. They need to stay polished and sharp. A dull blade isn't much use in battle. We need to review the verses we have memorized. After a while you'll notice that you spend more time reviewing than memorizing new verses, this is a good thing. It means we've learned the Word of God, that it's "Hidden in our hearts" as the Psalmist says.

I'll admit, this is an area I'm working on, Scripture memorization is something I've slacked at recently. But the steps I've just shared with you are my plan to memorize verses. We cannot march into battle with no sword, God has given us the most powerful weapon ever, lets train with it, learn how to use it, and then take the fight to the enemy.

We are protected by Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, and Salvation. Let's take up our swords, and take the battle to the enemy. Suit up, prepare for battle.

Peace be with you