In an earlier post, I talked about word studies. In this post, we will look at the value of phrase studies. In some cases, the greater meaning is in the phrase rather than in the individual words. One such example appears in the Armor of God list in Ephesians 6. In verse 17, Paul says to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Most commentaries are written by non-Pentecostals, and thus most commentaries explain this reference to the word of God as a reference to Scripture--the Bible. In spiritual warfare, we should quote Scripture against the devil and his temptations just as Jesus did. Seven times, Paul uses the phrase logos of God (word of God), and uses this term to refer to the Scriptures and the Gospel message. In Ephesiasn 6:17, however, Paul uses the phrase rhema of God (word of God).
The only other place this phrase appears in the New Testament is in Luke 3:2 where the word of God came to John the Baptist, and this marks the start of John's prophetic ministry. This phrase also appears many times throughout the Old Testament in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Here also the phrase "word of God" or "word of the Lord," using the the word "rhema" relates to the prophetic word coming to the prophet.
The result of this study indicates that Paul is not admonishing believers to quote Scripture in the midst of spiritual warfare, but rather to come in line with the Spirit of God and speak to the situation in a prophetic voice--a "Thus saith the Lord." Genesis 15:1 is the first occurrence of this phrase in the Septuagint where the word (rhema) of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision, and God assured Abraham that He was Abraham's shield and very great reward. Here was the prophetic word encouraging Abraham to move forward in the way God had been leading him.
Certainly quoting Scripture is an effective weapon in spiritual warfare, for Scripture has been given by the inspiration of the Spirit, but I believe Paul has something much more Pentecostal in mind when he admonishes the church to take up the sword of the Spirit.
