“May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you, my Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
If you’ve not read the previous blogs in which we breached the topic of critical thinking, have a looksy. We’ve been setting the stage as to why a blog about spiritual warfare would begin with discussing language and thinking.
We recall that Satan, the adversary, has dominion over this world. I want to make clear that I am not saying the world IS Satan’s - it certainly is not - for God is the Creator and is the Most High. “The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it - the world and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1) He has the final say, and He has said it already: “it is finished.”(John 19:30) But for a reason God has established, which is playing out according to His plan, we are in a state of time and space on this created planet, which was Lucifer’s domain before his fall from heaven. When he did fall, his dominion was not taken from him.
In the Bible, another name for Satan is the “father of lies,” and ever since humans came on the scene, he has made it his pet project to deceive us, leading us away from Truth: God, His Word, and through it, our understanding of the divine order of things, with which we participate; losing truth is losing our bearings, like getting lost in a dark woods.
To “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7) is the true illumination, through wisdom and understanding within His will. “Thy word is a lamp on to my feet and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
Just how thick is this deception? The Jewish leaders themselves, even though they knew the prophecies of the coming messiah, did not recognize Him when Jesus stood right in front of them and spoke to them! That’s thick, yo. Jesus rebukes them for their clouded perception, which he attributes directly to the lies of Satan.
“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!…” John 8:43-45
As mentioned, sometimes we do not intentionally speak false information, which doesn’t necessarily have to be a flat-out lie, but could be something misleading, slightly askew, rude, or incomplete - the ever so gray “lie of omission.” Regardless of intent, our goal should be precision and uprightness in our speech. Learning to spot logical fallacies isn’t just a way to protect ourselves from being deceived - it’s also a great way to become aware of ways we might use language imprecisely without realizing.
Christ, the Lord Jesus, is referred to as The Word, or the Logos, which in Greek is translated as discourse, speech, and reason. It is a word/concept used in philosophy, religion, and rhetoric. We know that God spoke the world into being. Clearly, words are sacred, which is why the father of lies loves to spin them. It was his misinformation that led to Adam and Eve’s devastating folly, and it is his one-liner, repeated ad nauseam in different forms.
It is the false perception of reality that keeps us from truly seeing and experiencing God in this world. In a way, when we live in a world of lies, we are living in a simulation. When Jesus talks about “eyes that see and ears that hear” (see Matthew 13: 9-16) it is as if he is calling us to WAKE UP our senses, and truly comprehend this Logos… “I am the way, the truth, the life.” (John 14:6)
JESUS CHRIST THE LOGOS: PUTTING THE WORD IN SWORD
Certainly we understand spiritual warfare against diabolical deception, combating it with Truth, and as it turns out, we have an actual weapon of truth: the words of our Lord - scripture itself:
Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus tells us about this weapon as part of the armor of God with which we are equipped:
“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” - Ephesians 6:17
This is referenced again in the book of Hebrews:
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12
The book of Revelation speaks of what will happen when Christ returns, Christ himself using this sword:
“In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” - Revelation 1:16
“Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” - Revelation 19:15
BibleRef.com commentary explains:
“When Jesus first appeared to John in a vision at Patmos, a sharp two-edged sword proceeded from Jesus' mouth (Revelation 1:16). Once again, according to this verse, John sees a sharp sword proceed from Jesus' mouth. The returning King of kings and Lord of lords uses this sword to "strike down the nations." Since the sword of the Lord represents His Word (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17), it is reasonable to expect Jesus to mow down His foes with just a spoken word. He brought the world into existence by His speech (Hebrews 11:3), and He can assuredly destroy His enemies with just a word from His lips.”
I love the way they phrase that: mowing down His foes with just a spoken word!
Truly this hammers home three things:
We are engaged in spiritual warfare against deception.
We are given a spiritual weapon with which to enter combat.
Words matter! (The Truth matters.)
Save me, Lord,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.
- Psalm 120:2
So this does beg the question: how do we apply it? Coming up next, we’ll take a look at a handy chart on proper discourse, which I connect to scripture, giving us both a practical and spiritual examination of speech, particularly in conversation. Lots of fun with words in subsequent posts, illustrated via my original cartoons; stay tuned, beloveds, and God be with you!
SOURCES:
I'm not so sure the "word of God" referred to in Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12 should be interpreted as "scripture". From the context it seems to referring to the "Logos" as the creator and sustainer of all things.