The Sword and The Belt
ICS Daily Devotions

Ephesians 6:17 (NJKV) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

God has given the body of Christ the most offensive and aggressive weapon: the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. In the New Testament, the word Rhema refers to a “quickened word” or a word from the Lord that the Holy Spirit drops into one’s mind, causing it to come alive supernaturally and impart strength to the believer. The Rhema word creates faith in the believer. It will come directly from the Word you have been listening to, studying, meditating on, and praying until it becomes a part of you.

The loin belt and the sword are inseparable because we must have the Logos word in our mind before the Rhema word can drop into the heart through the work of the Holy Spirit. God speaks to us personally, and a verse that leaps off the pages of the Bible and into your heart carries life-transforming power. We can deliver a fatal “stab” at the enemy with this Word from God!

Ephesians 6:14 (NJKV) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Then what is the truth mentioned in the belt of truth? Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). The truth is the gospel. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. The truth is the written Word of God.

To truly understand Ephesians 6:14, we must go to the passage’s context. In Ephesians 1:17-18, the Apostle Paul told the believers that he was praying for them to have “the spirit of wisdom and revelation” and for “the eyes of their heart to be enlightened”. Essentially, he was praying for them to know the truth, specifically the message of truth, which is the gospel—the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, what God has done, said, and accomplished through Christ for us.

The belt is the central weaponry piece which holds the entire armour together. The redemptive work of Christ established us with the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the sandals of readiness of the gospel, and the sword of the Spirit. Without girding the belt—the written Word of God, the entire armour will come loose and fall off in the battle.

Therefore, there is no contradiction between the belt and the sword because they are attached to each other. The sword is the only offensive weapon in the armour. We liken the use of the sword to Jesus rebuking the devil in the wilderness when He said, “It is written” (Luke 4:1-13). Every time we quote scriptures, we are also drawing the sword and attacking the devil by saying, “It is written”. The sword of the spirit—the Word of God—is drawn from the belt because the scalper is hung on it. Therefore, what we quote must be from the written Word, whether the gospel or doctrine.

Sermon Series： The weapon of our spiritual warfare