Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
September 4, 1958
NUMBER 18, PAGE 14b

Spiritual Swordsmen

Jere E. Frost, Newbern, Tennessee

Military parlance is often employed to depict Christians in God's word. Paul spoke of Epaphroditus and Archippus as being fellow soldiers and urged Timothy to war a good warfare. (Phil. 2:25; Phm. 2; I Tim. 1:18.)

They were spiritual soldiers, not carnal combatants, committed to do battle against "principalities" and "spiritual wickedness." Accordingly, they had a spiritual sword, the word of God, with which to contend in the conflict. (Eph. 6:12,17.)

The sword was drawn, raised and readied in the poise of anticipation of any other gospel that proposed to be God's word, or a spiritual sword, even if the new instrument should be only a perversion of the original. (Gal. 1: 6-9.) The spiritual sword, God's word, wielded by spiritual swordsmen, is the spiritual sword and stands diametrically opposed to any human creation that would either ape its excellence or mock its perfection.

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A special note to Brethren Deaver and Warren: If the paper published under the misnomer that is properly assigned to God's word alone is actually accepted by some as the spiritual sword, please excuse me from the number. It is doubtful that it can prove itself to be what it professes to be by its own standards. Yes, its own standard of syllogistic reasoning (illogical as employed!) is hereby challenged to show that the component parts and constituent elements constitute a total situation equaling the spiritual sword, the word of God. If you "prove" that your paper is the word of God (and perhaps your syllogism is equal to the occasion), please send me that issue and I'll promptly send the specified twelve cents. But I'll still keep my Bible.