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What Is the Sword?
Description
The sword, the Word, is a powerful way to explain how the Word of God pierces our hearts, exposing us for who we are.
I've come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God (Matthew 10:34–35, MSG).
Gentle Jesus—meek and mild. “Jesus loves me,” we sing to children. If that is your image of Jesus, you probably have a tough time reconciling it with His statement that He came to “make a sharp knife-cut.” The verse before it is even more pointed: Jesus said He didn't “come to bring peace, but a sword” (v. 34, NASB).
Relax. Throughout the New Testament, the word sword is used to describe the Word of God, not a military weapon. Ephesians tells us of “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (6:17). And again in Hebrews, God’s Word teaches us about itself: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (4:12).
The sword, the Word, is a powerful way to explain how the Word of God pierces our hearts, exposing us for who we are. It is so powerful that it exposes our real desires, our real thoughts, our sinfulness. Now that is the power of the Word of God. It is even sharper than a two-edged sword, for it doesn't just expose our sins, but like a scalpel in the hands of the Great Physician, it shows us the way of ultimate healing and salvation from sin. That may not always bring us peace with our fellow man, but it sure brings peace with God and peace within.
