The Sword of the Spirit

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Print This Article

“The Sword of the Spirit… is the Word of God” (Eph. 6: 17).

Of all the spiritual armor which believers are told to “put on” in Eph. 6:11-18, there is only one offensive weapon. This is “the Sword of the Spirit… the Word of God.” The Bible is called “the Sword of the Spirit,” because the Spirit of God is its Author. It is called “the Sword of the Spirit” because, thus written by God who knows all, it can cut deeply. This makes it, for the believer, a formidable weapon against Satan and the forces of evil. We are told in Heb. 4:12,13:

“The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

As David said long ago:

“O Lord, Thou hast searched me, and known me.

“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psa. 139:1,2).

It is because God knows and understands us so thoroughly that His Word can sometimes cut us so deeply. How wise, then, to bow before that Blessed Book, acknowledge its condemnation of sin and trust the Savior it presents! And, having done this, how wise to “put on the whole armor of God” in our stand against Satan and sin, not forgetting to “take… the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”!

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.


Two Minutes with the Bible lets you start your day with short but powerful Bible study articles from the Berean Bible Society. Sign up now to receive Two Minutes With the Bible every day in your email inbox. We will never share your personal information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.