It Is Written

Last night at church camp we were talking about how when you give your life to Jesus, it doesn't mean life will all the sudden gets easy.

Infact, you've just entered into a war.

Paul tells us our struggle isn't against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. So there really is a war going on.

As I was sharing, I challenged our students that the Word of God is the only weapon in the Armor of God we're told to wield.

We talked about how Jesus is being tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 and even though He had the power to do all the things that Satan was telling him to do. His response was not arguing with Satan. It was literally using scripture in response.

I'm pleading at this point that Jesus used scripture to battle Satan therefore so should we, but we definitely can't do that if we never crack our Bibles.

Everything else in Ephesians 6 is armor for standing firm. But the Sword of the Spirit? That's the weapon.

So this morning, while I was "arming up" for the day by getting in my Bible, I thought, I better go reread Ephesians 6 and make sure I said that correctly.

Man… I love these kinds of rabbit trails.

I started in Ephesians 6, but one cross reference after another led me all over the Bible.

The first thing that I read was the reference to Isaiah 59:17.

So back in Ephesians Paul tells us to put on the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness, but those weren't originally written about us.

In Isaiah he apparently said it first and he was prophesying about Jesus.

So hundreds of years before Christ came, Isaiah saw the Warrior putting on the helmet of salvation and the breastplate of righteousness.

So Paul isn't just handing us a list of Christian virtues. He's telling us to put on Christ. Literally.

We don't manufacture righteousness… we wear His righteousness.

We don't create salvation… we stand in His salvation.

Then I dug into the "sword" reference. Love me some Blue Letter Bible for looking up original language.

The Greek word is machaira, and it isn't a long battlefield sword like I've been picturing in my mind this whole time. It's a short sword used in close combat. A dagger if you will.

How fitting.

Because most of our spiritual battles don't happen from a distance. They happen right up in our minds, our thoughts, and the lies we're tempted to believe.

Then Paul doesn't use the Greek word logos for "word" in Ephesians 6. Which means like the whole word of God or whole story.

He uses rhēma.

Which means a specific spoken word.

A truth applied to a specific moment.

So think about Jesus in the wilderness.

He didn't quote random Bible verses.

For every temptation, He answered with the exact Scripture needed for that temptation.

"It is written…" He would say then spit some scripture out.

So then I'm thinking that makes Psalm 119:11 meaning more powerful:

"I have hidden Your word in my heart…"

But guess what? You can't speak what you haven't stored.

And my favorite rabbit trail of all… back to Isaiah 59…

The Hebrew word for "salvation" in Isaiah 59 is yeshuah. Yall that's the same Hebrew root from which we get the name Yeshua (Jesus).

The Warrior in Isaiah didn't just wear salvation.

He IS Salvation.

So maybe putting on the whole armor of God is even more beautiful than I realized.

It's putting on Christ.

Standing in His righteousness.

Walking in His peace.

Thinking with His salvation.

Speaking His Word.

Jesus said,

"Take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Then John wrote,

"Everyone born of God overcomes the world." (1 John 5:4)

Why?

Because we don't fight for victory.

We fight from the victory Jesus has already won.

That's why I keep encouraging our students to get in the Word. Not because checking a Bible-reading box makes you a better Christian, but because when the battle comes… and THE BATTLE WILL COME… you can't say, "It is written," if you've never taken the time to know what was written in the first place.

Go read your Bible. It's not a book.

"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."

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

Ok that is all…