October 30, 2018

The Sword of the Spirit is The Word of God. The Word of God is Jesus Christ Himself. How are we choosing to wield the Power of The Sword which is the Power of the Holy Spirit?

Ephesians 6:17-20 – And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

The Sword of the Spirit is the word of God (it could be that the helmet combined with the Sword is the Word of God but for now I will keep it as is because I have not sought it out, YET). The Word of God is Jesus Who was born with and by The Holy Spirit of God (knowing and believing that Jesus was conceived by and filled with Holy Spirit is a building block of our faith. Without it the entire foundation crumbles and the house will not stand but will fall).

John 1:1-5 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Revelation 19:11-16 – Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
 LORD OF LORDS.

The question is how do we wield the Power of the Sword? The Sword is so sharp that it separates soul from spirit and joints from marrow. Bone marrow is held in the cavities (hidden place, cave, womb, etc.) of bones and is the place where new blood cells are created (so many Bible verses come to mind).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_marrow

[The design of our human bodies is a guide to The Body of Christ or do we not believe that God does everything for a purpose?]

Hebrews 4:11-13 – Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

This passage calls the word of God “Him” meaning Jesus. The word (The Bible) contains The Word (Jesus) Who (by His Spirit-Holy Spirit) shows us things in the word (The Bible) to understand The Word (Jesus).

Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

“Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” which comes in waves of growth (kind of like from glory to glory).

God is eternal meaning forever, never-ending, always going, yet always resting. The process and progress of The Word manifesting in our lives is eternal meaning forever, never-ending, always going, and always growing to the point of always resting. There is another part of the word (or wielding the Sword) which we all have done, are doing, or will do because it is part of the never ending story; using it for personal gain even if unintentional. How can we learn if we never make mistakes?

How many times have we cut down a brother or sister by using the word (The Bible/Scriptures)? Jesus used the word (the scriptures) to show others it was speaking directly about Him. Some of the people at the time and throughout His ministry considered Him blasphemous that He would dare call Himself the Son of God to the point of killing Him in flesh. He knew what He knew what He knew AND He understood it by THE Holy Spirit.

[Side lesson: without the Old Testament there is no New Testament and without the New Testament there is no way to fully understand the Old Testament. Without the Jewish nation there is no Gentile nation adopted into the Kingdom of God: patterns-order. It’s ALL The Word of God! Pssst! The Devil knows the words of The Bible also but He is unable to comprehend The Word of God because “…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:5) Satan used the letter of the Law to tempt Jesus but Jesus had the Spirit of the Law inside Him because He (Jesus) IS The Law (a lesson for another time).]

What is the point? The point is too often we use our belief to isolate ourselves in a way that comes across as “we’re better than you” and to control others or to push our way to be around those who hold top positions in the faith. I have done it/do it, been/am a victim of it, and watched/watch others do it. It is time to learn how to use our words effectively. For us believers this comes by knowing The Word of God (developing an intimate relationship with the God-Head to where He is the joy set before us and not any person or group of people) so we can come to understand The Word of God so we can spread the gospel to those that are lost who cannot yet understand THE WORD OF GOD (Jesus The Christ/Yeshua HaMashiach). (Proverbs 9:10)

The Bible is full of patterns and mysteries. I am not going to share with someone I cannot trust the deepest parts/secrets of myself (I share a lot but most of what I have shared thus far with any human being is still only on the surface of my entire being one way or another). The deeper my relationship becomes with the Holy Trinity the more I am able to share because deeper parts grow within me which pushes other parts to the surface (I’ll let that catch up to you-eternal). God Almighty will not share those deep mysteries of Himself with those He sees He cannot trust (think of Abraham and Isaac). To get to that part of God requires sacrifice which looks different to each of us but the same to God: suffering with Christ; taking up and bearing our cross.

Are we using The Word of God to smite our brothers and sisters (clearing my throat…Democrats vs. Republicans…black vs. white…elders vs. children-naturally and spiritually…Jewish vs. Gentile?). Again, I am guilty of all these and more same as we all are because:

Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

Another passage that fits this thought is:

Numbers 11:26-30 – But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, forbid them!” 29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

Joshua believed he was doing a godly deed but was corrected and learned. If he didn’t learn, God would not have placed him in the place of Moses for the sake of the people.

The Word and The Blood work together for the purposes of God and His Kingdom (🤔 water and fire? The Genealogy of Jesus? Just thinking out loud).

Romans 3:24-26 – being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

I do NOT believe we can lose our salvation UNLESS we renounce the Lord by confessing He is not our Lord (which is done in more ways than just through our speech) AND renouncing the Power of Holy Spirit. I also do NOT believe we need to re-apply the Blood of Christ because doing that continuously kills Jesus continuously. I DO believe there are times we forget Who He is and what He has done. In these instances we just need to repent (turn our hearts back to God), re-confirm ourselves to Him and His Voice, re-acknowledge Who He is and who we are in Him, and re-member/yield (get it…re-member?) ourselves to Who He is and His Voice. Do we see how it is us that need to do some things but Jesus does not? Jesus already did His part; it is finished. The manifestation in our reality (on earth as it is in Heaven) is a continuous thing as we come to know Jesus by each and every name/title He was, is, and forever will be to, for, and through us on an individual level and on a corporate level.

As Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me” speaking of eating His flesh and drinking His blood (communion) because they hold The Word of God Who is Jesus Christ imbued with the Power of Holy Spirit. I DO believe that everything that has come before is absolutely necessary for the present. Again, we can’t learn anything without being messy and learning from our mistakes (mercy and grace). The manifestations of whatever the present time is determines the future based on what we focus on. What are we looking at and what are we seeing? If we trust God in ALL His wise and infinite ways, then we only need to ask to see as He sees. There is a price just as their was a price for Christ (The Anointed One). The price is nowhere as steep as it was for Jesus because He was, is, and will always be the first.

Matthew 11:25-30 – At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. 26 Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. 27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 – But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

Ask, Believe, Seek, Find, Be Filled, Empty Out, repeat continuously (maybe in that order and maybe not-I’m still growing also).

Stay tuned for some beautiful worldly/soulish/spiritual manifestations which were created in my personal secret space with the Lord and have helped me spend even more time in the secret place. (Remember, new blood cells are created and stored in the cavities of the bones!)

Alicia R. Shipe