‘…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…’
Saint Philaret (Drozdov) writes...
‘…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…’
Saint Philaret (Drozdov) writes: ‘A soldier girds himself to bind his clothing, brace his body and thus act with greater strength and freedom. Truth must be your girdle. Come to know the truth, hold fast to the truth, bind your thoughts, inclinations and desires with the truth. Girded in this way, you can act spiritually with strength and freedom, without growing weak through sloth, stumbling over temptation, wavering because of false teachings, or falling into sin and vice. A soldier puts on armour so that the enemy's weapon cannot wound him even if it strikes him. Let righteousness, honesty and virtue be your armour. An upright conscience will keep you inwardly unharmed even if slander or injustice assails you outwardly. By putting on his footwear, a soldier becomes ready to advance against the enemy without injuring his feet. In place of footwear, let yours be a readiness to go forth not to attack and strike—for that is not what your warfare consists in—but to proclaim the good news of peace: the peace of Christ that overcomes all enmity and strife. A soldier takes up a shield to keep the enemy's arrows from reaching his body. The invisible enemy also directs arrows at you, sharp and wounding, fiery and burning: sometimes the less visible arrows of thoughts that oppose God, of doubts, of inflamed passions and lusts; sometimes the more visible arrows of false accusations, insults and even persecutions at the hands of the enemies of truth and virtue. But if your heart is covered by the shield of faith, even the sharp arrows will not pierce it, and the burning ones will be extinguished without doing harm. A soldier protects his head with a helmet against wounds, especially dangerous in this part of the body. You too must protect your mind with the helmet of salvation or, as the apostle explains more fully in another epistle, the helmet of the hope of salvation (see 1 Thess 5:8). Whatever difficulties or dangers you may encounter, hope in God must not let the spirit of despondency enter your soul, for deadly despair could follow it. By striking the enemy with his sword, a soldier renders both the enemy's strength and the power of his weapons ineffective. In this same way, and still more victoriously, acts the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With this weapon our Commander Himself, the Lord Jesus, fought a battle that is an example for us and won a victory over the prince of evil that brings us good. It is written, He said, man shall not live by bread alone... It is written: you shall not put the Lord your God to the test... It is written: you shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone (Mt 4:4, 7, 10). And, pierced three times by the sword of the Spirit, the enemy left the battlefield exhausted. Arm yourself too, Christian, with the sword of the Spirit, with the word of God; keep it in your memory and in your heart; train yourself to turn its point against every word of lawlessness—and no evil will be invincible for you, no power of the enemy fearsome, no stratagem of his impenetrable, and all his weapons will be shattered and brought to nothing.’
6
6:16 Above or over all - As a sort of universal covering to every other part of the armour itself, continually exercise a strong and lively faith. This you may use as a shield, which will quench all the fiery darts, the furious temptations, violent and sudden injections of the devil.