Eph 6:17b — The Armor of Christ, Part 4

We are finally drawing near to the conclusion of our study of the armor of Christ. The final piece of armor is actually not a piece of armor but a weapon. It is the sword of the Spirit. This one is perhaps one of the easiest to interpret, since Paul supplies the interpretation for us, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

However, in spite of the seemingly simplicity of these words, there is one thing that needs to be pointed out. In four of the previous five pieces of armor, Paul used the same genitive construction: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. In each case, the second word expounds the first. This is called the genitive of apposition or identity. So, for example, “the breastplate of righteousness” means the breastplate which is righteousness.

However, there are two cases where Paul breaks this grammatical pattern: in verse 15, when he called us to have our feet shod with the firmness of the gospel of peace, and here in verse 17, when he urges us to receive the sword of the Spirit. In both of these cases, the genitive is not a genitive of identity. In the case of the feet shod with the firmness of the gospel of peace, the genitive there is a genitive of source: the firmness which comes from the gospel of peace.

So what does the sword of the Spirit mean? First of all, we know that the sword is a metaphor referring to the word of God, because that’s what Paul explicitly states. The word of God, then, is the instrument which the Spirit uses as his powerful and sharp sword. Thus, the sword of the Spirit is a genitive of possession. The word is the Spirit’s sword.

But what more, precisely, is meant by “the word of God” in this context? The Greek term for word in this context is rhema not logos. Although these two Greek words are virtual synonyms, they do have somewhat different connotations. Logos brings to mind ideas like reason, rational thought, and argumentation. John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God.”

Rhema, however, connotes oral communication, the speaking forth of a specific word to another person. Thus logos is more abstract or general, while rhema is more concrete. Rhema then is not being used in this verse to refer to the canonical contents of our Bibles, both Old and New Testaments. It focuses, rather, on specific situations when we proclaim the truth of the gospel to others. In other words, it is Paul’s term for the speaking or preaching of the gospel of God.

The best cross reference is in 1 Peter 1 - at the end, verses 23-25:

For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All flesh is like grace, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word [rhema] which was preached to you.

Thus, the word of God that Paul is referring to, then, is the gospel message which is proclaimed to us, and by which we were born again.

And so putting it all together, the proclamation of the gospel is the effective instrument that the Spirit uses and employs in the extension of Christ’s kingdom. The Spirit here is not being viewed here in his role as the one who inspired the writers of Scripture, but as the one who gives to the preaching of the gospel its effectiveness, its cutting edge, its power and penetration.

Now it is important at this point to tie the sword of the Spirit back to verse 15, which also deals with the preaching of the gospel. Verse 15 is the third piece of armor - having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I believe that the sixth item, the sword of the Spirit, and the third item, the boots of the gospel, are directly linked together.

Notice the similarity between the structure of our text and the two triad structure of the days of creation in Genesis 1. Both Ephesians 6 and Genesis 1 contain six items arranged in two panels of three each. In both cases, the first three items seem to flow smoothly, but then the fourth item breaks the structural pattern, thus showing that it is a turning point. And just as there are parallels between the 1st and the 4th, the 2nd and the 5th, and the 3rd and the 6th days in Genesis, so here:

The belt of truth (1) and the shield of faith (4) are related since the Hebrew word for truth is emunah, which can also be translated faith.

The breastplate of righteousness (2) and the helmet of salvation (5) are related, since they are both taken from the same verse in Isaiah 59.

And finally, the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (3) and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (6) are connected even more closely, since these are merely different ways of referring to the same thing, namely, the gospel.

Now I don’t want to press this too far. I don’t believe that Paul was intentionally thinking of the creation account. I think this two-triad arrangement is simply a convenient structural device whenever there are six elements that need to be organized in some way.

The reason I bring this up is to focus on the third and the sixth elements. Notice the paradox. In the third element the gospel is described as “the gospel of peace.” In the sixth it is described as a sharp sword. The cutting, penetrating sword that gives us victory, according to verse 15, is one and the same with gospel of peace. What a paradox! Yes, we are at war, but the weapons of our warfare are not battle axes and chariots, but the spiritual weapon of the preaching of the gospel of peace, a sword that is sharp and powerful and effective in the hands of the Spirit.

By proclaiming Christ’s victory over the powers that have enslaved men and women in their sins, we are simultaneously extending to sinners the terms of Christ’s amnesty. As regards the powers and rulers, the gospel sounds the note of judgment. It proclaims their defeat. But, as regards the men and women who are under the grip of the powers and rulers, that very proclamation of judgment is at the same time the proclamation of their release from the power of sin and Satan. Ours is a religion of peace, not of war. And to the extent that we may describe it as a war at all, it is a war waged not with the sword but by the proclamation of peace.

In light of recent events, the contrast between the Christian religion and that of the Islamic extremists could not be more clear. The Islamic extremists shout Allah is Great as their suicide mission is about to be completed with the deaths of multitudes of innocent people. The holy warriors of the gospel pray for their enemies and their persecutors: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” The militant Islamic fundamentalists believe that their religion calls them to build an earthly kingdom, to extend the theocratic rule of Allah on earth, with bombs and machine guns as their weapons. The gospel calls us to a heavenly kingdom, one that will not come with any amount of human effort, but the New Jerusalem that will come down out of heaven, built by God himself.

Of course, it is easy for us as 21st century American Christians to condemn the Islamic extremists. We have a strong tradition in American Christianity of allowing religious liberty, of not using the power of the sword to advance our beliefs.

But it was not all that long ago that Christians finally gave up their 1500 years of flirting with the sword. It was Augustine who articulated the theological position that the church had the right to request the secular authorities to maintain the true religion. He appealed to the verse in Luke 14 where the king commands his servants to go out into the highways and the byways to “compel them to come in.” For centuries the church followed Augustine’s exegesis.

It took the religious wars that engulfed Europe after the Reformation to bring the church to see its colossal error. When Europe was finally exhausted after slogging it out for 30 years in a religious blood bath, in which Protestants killed Catholics, and Catholics killed Protestants - the majority of Christians slowly came to realize the benefits of making a clear separation between church and state. At the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the religious wars came to an end, and Europe began the gradual process of dissolving the centuries-old marriage of church and state. Throughout the eighteenth century, most European nations began to grant toleration to the religious minorities living within their borders. By the time the American colonies came to be called the United Stated in the following century, religious toleration and the separation of church and state were written into the constitution at the very outset.

But there are voices in the church today that yearn for the “glory days” when the church had political clout and was able to instruct the state in its religious duties of enforcing Christianity with coercive power. These medieval throwbacks come in many forms, from Theonomists or Christian Reconstructionists, to the Covenanters who want a constitutional amendment in which the America acknowledges the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And then there are those who simply desire Judeo-Christian values to shape our public policy. Sadly, these voices are responding to the current national crisis since September 11 with a shrill tone that totally contradicts the free offer of the gospel of peace that Paul has called us to here in our text.

On September 13, two days after the attacks, Pat Robertson interviewed Jerry Falwell on “The 700 Club.” Before the actual interview, Pat Roberston made the following comments introducing his topic:

PAT ROBERTSON: We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God’s eye and said we’re going to legislate you out of the schools. We’re going to take your commandments from off the courthouse steps in various states. We’re not going to let little children read the commandments of God. We’re not going to let the Bible be read, no prayer in our schools. We have insulted God at the highest levels of our government. And, then we say ‘why does this happen?’ Well, why it’s happening is that God Almighty is lifting his protection from us.

During the interview itself, Jerry Falwell said:

JERRY FALWELL: I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People. For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen’.

On September 18, the Sunday after the attacks, the Rev. Larry Ball, a theonomic PCA pastor in Tennessee said the following in his sermon to his congregation:

American history is rooted in the Christian faith. Church steeples still landscape our country … Our civil laws were based on the laws of God … A scant study of American history will reveal our Christian heritage. From the Pilgrims and Puritans to recent years, America shined as a bright light that reflected her Christian influence. To deny this is to deny history. Yes, history teaches us that America has been special to God. Yet, our leadership, including most of our churches, have betrayed that history. The Clinton administration revealed the character of our leaders to America … We elect Sodomites to occupy our halls of Congress and to make our laws. We have ejected the Christian God from our schools by denying prayer and refusing to teach His law. We legalized abortion and, therefore, legalized murder … America has become a cesspool of immorality and lawlessness … America has lost her peace because America has lost her righteousness …. Contrary to the media responses to the statements of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, there was truth in what they said. God has removed His protective shield from America.

I could multiply quotations such as this, but I won’t test your patience. What we are seeing here is a fairly typical reaction among many evangelical Christians, including those who are Reformed. The thing that concerns me is this: the more the church responds with this “see, I told you so” attitude, the farther we stray from the gospel message that has been entrusted to us. The tone is increasingly one of judgment, of condemnation. Notice that the constant theme is America’s corporate sins against God’s law - the sin of abortion, the acceptance of homosexuality, and so on.

How differently the Bible speaks. In spite of man’s sinfulness and rebellion, the primary message that God wants to convey to the world is not how much man has violated God law, but how, in spite of that violation, God loves the world of fallen humanity and desires the salvation of lost sinners. Listen to the following texts:

Luke 15:2-7: Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. John 3:17. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Romans 5:5-8: Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1 Timothy 2:3-6: This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

The infinite love of God toward sinners, the infinite condescension of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who when we were sinners died for us to save us from God’s wrath - this is the church’s proper message. What is the church but an ambassador of the cross? And what does the cross proclaim? It does not proclaim the judgment of the law. It proclaims that, apart from the law, God extends his offer of grace to all sinners, freely, and without cost.

And it is this message of grace, this gospel of peace, that according to Paul is the sharp and effective sword of the Spirit for advancing the kingdom of Christ. Not the yearning for the good old days of Christendom. Not when the church points the finger of blame, accusing people of sin as the cause of their suffering. Not agitating for school prayer or posting the ten commandments in public places. Not passing laws preventing same sex partners from receiving spousal benefits. None of these things are the Spirit’s sharp sword. Only the good news of those who proclaim peace to the enemies of God through the cross of Christ.

Isaiah did not say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who harangue sinners, and point the finger at them, and shout about their impending doom,” but “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news, who preach the gospel of peace!”

So returning to our text. Even though this whole section of Ephesians is dripping with military metaphors, yet our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers and the rulers of darkness. We do not have a mandate to go out and wage war against unbelievers. We do not go out and threaten them.

What Paul has done, you see, is to completely turn the concept of holy war on its head. In a previous epoch of redemptive history, God’s people were commanded to go out and slay unbelievers with the sword. Under the joint command of Joshua and the captain of the Lord’s hosts, Israel crossed the Jordan River and took possession of the promised land by force. This waging of holy war was called cherem warfare - the term charam means to devote something to destruction. Israel was commanded to devote all of the Canaanites, men, women, children, and livestock to total destruction. In this way, Israel was to execute God’s judgment against the Canaanites for their idolatry, their sexual sins, and other abominations such as child sacrifice.

In Ephesians 6, the church of Jesus Christ is depicted as having a parallel function in the new covenant age, as the church militant goes forth against the enemy under the command of our greater Joshua, the Lord Jesus Christ. But there is this major difference: the enemy is no longer flesh and blood, human beings. Our enemy is the principalities and the powers who have enslaved human beings in the bondage of sin. To be sure, all people are willfully enslaved to Satan, and unless they turn to Jesus Christ and put their trust in him, they will be judged and banished to eternal hell at the end of history.

Yet Paul does not want us to regard our fellow human beings as the enemy, at least not yet. In this intermediate time before the coming of Christ in judgment, Paul says that it is not people who are our enemy but Satan and his hosts. And therefore, the way we wage holy war now in the new covenant age has been radically transformed.

How do we wage holy war now? In two interconnected ways: by being the reconciled community and the reconciling community. The church is the reconciled community - that is, we are the community of those who have been reconciled to God and to one another, through Jesus Christ. As we embody this gospel of peace in our own lives as a community, we also become the reconciling community. As we proclaim, with both life and lip, the message of reconciliation to the world, we invite men and women to be reconciled to God by turning in faith to Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:18ff: Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain - for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “The acceptable time,” behold, now is “The day of salvation.”