Versatility and Efficacy of The Word- An Edible Weapon

UV 2874/10000 Versatality and Efficacy of the Word

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4 v 4

Jesus had fasted for forty days and nights. He was extremely famished but He rejected the suggestion of the evil one to turn the stones into bread. The same Jesus out of compassion for the hungry multiplied two barley loaves and five fish to feed a multitude. Jesus referred in this uni-verse to the Word of God as food for our souls and spirits. It shows that from His perspective that though our physical or material needs matter, it never matters as much as our spiritual needs- our need for a relationship with God, our need to be affirmed as children, our need to serve as servants of God, our need to sustain our hope of eternal life, our need for wisdom, our need for spiritual strength and stamina to withstand life’s great challenges and difficulties, our need for comfort. Jesus is underlining the fact that the word is more than necessary food. Jesus uses the specific uni-verse to deftly defend Himself from the temptation of satan as a veritable sword of the spirit. It is a rapier thrust to keep the enemy at bay. The word also acts as a defensive shield to prevent the second Adam as well as His descendants by faith from falling to suggestive temptation. The word is the only edible weapon that is useful for our inner battles as well as our outer or external battles and struggles. The whole spiritual armour of man is derived from the word- from the helmet of assurance of salvation to deal with all assailing doubts to the shoes of the readiness to go places as a messenger of the Lord. The word is also the lamp or light that shows us step by step our way back to the Lord, our way to victory in the battlefields of life. It is also effective medicine for our internal wounds and hurts.

Though the word is weapon, arsenal and armour, the word is also spiritual manna that does not spoil- bread from heaven, eternal bread to sustain us in life’s journey providing us energy, guidance, wisdom, power and strength. The manna that the Hebrew former slaves under the leadership of Moses gathered and ate for forty years in the wilderness was but a physical symbol of the manna for our spirits and souls. By feeding on the word all our lives, we strengthen ourselves to face life’s great battles, we are equipped with faith shields, helmets of assurance on different dilemmas and issues we face in life, girdles or belts of truth to support our lives with life- sustaining and life-enhancing principles derived from the word.

The infinite value of the words contained in the Bible are that these are not uttered by mere fellow beings but spoken through or written by men through the ages under the direction and inspiration of the Lord. The emphasis is on the words in this uni-verse “ every word”. Every word in the scriptures is valuable as every part of a loaf of bread is useful to satisfy physical hunger and provide energy and strength. What was spoken by God in time and space was reduced to writing by men under the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that we develop patience of character, obtain comfort and strength for our souls and hope of eternal life. Bread has to be eaten and digested. A sword has to be firmly held. A shield has to be worn. Boots or shoes have to be worn on the feet and tied securely to prevent losing it while walking or running. Hence, we have to eat what God has spoken for our benefit, wear and use what God has provided for our advance and our defence in the battles of life.



Prateep V Philip