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 (Part 4)
宝剑和腰带
以弗所书6:17 并戴上救恩的头盔，拿着圣灵的宝剑，就是上帝的道。
神已经赐给基督肢体最具攻击性和侵战性的武器就是圣灵的宝剑，即上帝的道。在新约圣经中，‘瑞玛 (Rhema)’这个词指的是“被激动的话”，或者圣灵将来自神的话放在人的心里，使它超自然地活跃起来，并赋予信徒力量。‘瑞玛 Rhema’这个词使信徒有信心! 它直接从你所听到、所学习、所默想的道和所祷告而来，直到它成为你的一部份。
腰带和宝剑是不可分割的，因为我们必须先把神的话语记在心里，然后瑞玛话语才能通过圣灵的动工进入你的心里! 神亲自对我们说话，一节经文可以从圣经中跳出来进入你的内心，并带来改变生命的大能。我们可以用神的话语给仇敌发出致命的一击!
以弗所书6:14 所以要站稳了，用真理当作带子束腰，用公义当作护心镜遮胸，
那么，“真理的腰带”所提到的真理是什么? 耶稣就是道路、真理和生命 (约翰福音14:6)。真理就是福音。耶稣是神的话所道成的肉身。真理指的是所写下来的神的话语。
要真正地理解以弗所书6:14，我们必须参考这段经文的上下文。在以弗所书 1:17-18，使徒保罗告诉信徒们，他常为他们祷告能有’智慧和启示的灵’并他们心中的眼睛被照明’。从本质上讲，他是为他们能认识真理代求，尤其是有关真理的信息，也就是福音——关于耶稣基督的救赎工作、神藉著基督为我们所作、所说和、所成就的。
腰带是将全幅军装连接在一起的核心军装装备。基督的救赎工作使我们有救恩的头盔，公义的护心镜，信心的盾牌，把福音当作预备走路的鞋和圣灵的宝剑。如果不系腰带—即所写来的神的话，整个盔甲就会在战斗时松动脱落。
因此，腰带和宝剑之间是不冲突的，因为它们是相连的。宝剑是军装中唯一的进攻性武器。我们把使用宝剑比喻成耶稣在旷野时用来斥责魔鬼的，祂说:“经上记着(Luke 4:1-13)”。每当我们引用经文时，我们也是在拔剑并攻击魔鬼说:“经上记着”。圣灵的宝剑，就是神的道，是从腰带里拔出来的，因为剑挂在其上。所以，我们所引用的任何话，都必须是根据经上记着的话，无论是福音还是教义。
讲章系列：我们属灵争战的武器 （第四部分）
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