RULER
Wisdom Principle – Freedom │Piece of God’s Armor – Sword of the Spirit: the Word of God
Therefore, put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. “…and (take) the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…” Ephesians 6:17b
Paul’s Revelation of Jesus Christ
Paul saw Him; John the Beloved saw Him. The Risen Christ in all His glory, power, and brilliance. Their flesh could not maintain its measure when they beheld the One who had died and was now Alive forevermore!1 The intensity was such that it temporarily blinded Paul, the better with which to hear the Word of God (Acts 22:1-21).
Paul was enroute to Damascus to take into persecuting custody followers of The Way2 who lived there, ‘those believers’ in Jesus Christ. In his zealot’s mind, they were just more in his long line of the scum of the earth3 who now stood opposed to the Law of Moses. Their new religion was worthy only of being wiped out. He was about the religious business of the Law. It must be maintained in order to keep order. If living as an enemy of their Cross4 would preserve one’s self-righteous justification by keeping the Law, so be it. Their Jesus was crucified; he had no felt need for a sacrificial death. Practicing tradition was better than suffering reproach for that cross.
What a setup for a mind renewal – for Paul, and for us today.
Meanwhile, ‘those believers’ had received Jesus, who in the graces of the Sevenfold Spirit of God became the fulfillment of the Law. Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it!5,6 Having believed by faith that Jesus became sin to pay the price for their freedom, they in turn became His witnesses.
The rest of the story? So did Paul, who found himself at the tip of the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
Hebrews 4:12-16 TPT
For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts. There is not one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing that we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything is exposed and defenseless before his eyes, to whom we must render an account.
So then, we must cling in faith to all we know to be true. For we have a magnificent King-Priest, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who rose into the heavenly realm for us, and now sympathizes with us in our frailty. He understands humanity, for as a Man, our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are, and conquered sin. So now we come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.
A Believer’s Rule and Pattern: Christ, the Word of God
Paul lived to write the majority of the 27 books of the New Testament. The Kingship of Christ in his life became a pleasing fragrance to God as Holy Spirit’s vitality worked in his life.7 He longed and labored for the truth of Christ as Ruler to be known and embraced by those he was among and those who would follow.
Galatians is Paul’s passionate testimonial to the freedom by which Christ rules in the life of every true believer. In his commentary on Galatians (6:4 specifically), Adam Clarke observed the rule, indeed the Ruler, Paul embraced to walk in increasing freedom from conformity to the world as his mind was being renewed 8 –
The only rule for a Christian is the word of Christ; the only pattern for his imitation is the example of Christ.
He should not compare himself with others; they are not his standard.
Christ has left us an example that we should follow His steps.
The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
The sixth piece of the Armor of God, as Paul had illuminated to him by the Holy Spirit, is singly distinctive from the preceding five. Paul understood to “put on Christ” meant vital, protective defense in the critical areas of one’s being –
- Christ’s Belt of Truth
- Christ’s Breastplate of Righteousness
- Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from Christ’s gospel of Peace
- Christ’s Shield of Faith
- Christ’s Helmet of Salvation
To take the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, is to fasten one’s grip on Christ’s weaponry for offense. This same sword of the Spirit, sharper than a two-edged sword, cuts both ways – as Paul experienced firsthand.
Freedom always carries the essence of being set free from something, so that that freedom may rule in us.
Paul said it well in Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Movements abound, as does religion. Wisdom tests the yoke.
While we have to do with our natural surroundings and this world that we are in, but not of, we still need to be reminded and at times admonished to, “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves …” His Rule is freedom.
Paul had undergone such a renovation of his ways of thinking in the light of the Spirit of God, that he was resolute about this one thing: “Christ died to set us free. This is where you began. Who has bewitched you?” 9
Revelation of God to His Servants at Large
John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ while banished to the isle of Patmos, was a revelation of the Word of God. It opens with the unveiling (revelation, discovery) of events to come to pass, and the sequence by which the immutable Word was delivered, both for then and for now. The revealing was granted by God to Christ, from Christ to His angel, who was sent to give it to John, who was instructed to write it down and give it the Church.
Lest we place either accolades or disagreement at the feet of anyone who has discoursed on the Book of Revelation, it is wisdom to be mindful of this one thing. It is the Revelation of God, sent by these, His agents, to His servants at large. Blessing is granted to the one who reads, and to the one who listens to the words of the prophecy, laying to heart (keeps themselves true; embrace; guard from loss or injury) what is written in it.
The Risen Christ, Ruler-King
In Revelation 1:10, John heard behind him “a great voice like the calling of a war trumpet,” (Amplified). When he turned to see who it was that was speaking to him, he saw –
(Weymouth) “…seven golden lampstands, and in the center of the lampstands some One resembling the Son of Man,
- clothed in a robe which reached to His feet, and with a girdle of gold across His breast.
- His head and His hair were white, like white wool–as white as snow;
- and His eyes resembled a flame of fire.
- His feet were like silver-bronze, when it is white-hot in a furnace;
- and His voice resembled the sound of many waters.
- In His right hand He held seven stars,
- and a sharp, two-edged sword was seen coming from His mouth;
- and His glance resembled the sun when it is shining with its full strength.
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand upon me and said,
“Do not be afraid: I am the First and the Last, and the ever-living One. I died; but I am now alive until the Ages of the Ages, and I have the keys of the gates of Death and of Hades!”
Eyes That See and Ears That Hear
Paul and John both saw and heard the Risen Christ, the embodiment of the invisible God. It could not be one without the other, for Jesus had said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” And “I only do the things I see my Father doing, and say what I hear my Father saying.”
John recognized Jesus as He looked in the three years he lived and walked with Him – One resembling the Son of Man. And John was one of the three with Jesus when He was transfigured.10 Alone on Patmos, John saw revealed his beloved Jesus – equally, forever human in His form and identification with our humanity, and in ways it will take Eternity to fully know Him – in the brilliance of His glory, power, and majesty from Age to Age.
The Sword Coming from His Mouth
In Eden, the flashing sword guarded the way to the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life gave up His life upon a tree. Before He did, He spoke. John was there and saw and heard the sinless Word of God. He witnessed Jesus’ death with his own eyes; the only one of the Twelve who stayed at the Cross. To now witness His Life was more than his flesh could bear. Until the touch of the right hand of the Risen Christ upon him.
As the prophecy unfolded, John beheld the glorious Word’s sword coming from His mouth in all its prevailing. His name is Faithful and True. All will know there is nothing false in Him. (Revelation 19:11-21)
Wisdom’s House
Wisdom has built her house. Ruler, you are the sixth of Wisdom’s seven hewn-out pillars. In the letter to the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13, the Word of God promises a glorious reward to the overcoming, victorious believer:
“He who overcomes–I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he shall never go out from it again. And I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is to come down out of Heaven from My God, and My own new name.” (vs 12)
In the community of the human spirit, Ruler portion, do not be afraid in quiet or in persecution, for the sword of the Spirit keeps His word – “I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.” Isaiah 60:17
Ruler, you have been designed to stand as a pillar of testimony to the freedom in God’s powerful gifts of grace. The Christ to whom you now give your allegiance in increasing measure, will one day receive His own new name. How beautiful the inscription will be upon you; under whose Name and Kingship you were found faithfully fighting the good fight of faith. Stand firm, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony.
Make the most of the open door He has placed before you and let no one take your crown.
You will need it in the Days of Future Glory to cast at His feet in all worship, praise, and love that never ends.
~ Nancy
1 Revelation 1:18 2 John 14:6 – Jesus replied (to Thomas), “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” 3 I Corinthians 4 (vs 13 in full context) 4 Philippians 3:18 (in context)
5 Matthew 5:17 6 Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27 7 Galatians 2:20-21 8 renovation; regenerated; reversal; new in freshness 9 Galatians 3:1-6 (Greek bewitched = from affirm, profess, say that which → maligned / fascinated by false representation) 10 Matthew 17:2
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