God has established 2 swords for His glory and the benefit of His fallen creatures, mankind. The first is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. It is the only offensive weapon in the armor of God granted to the church to wage a successful battle in spiritual warfare. It is the duty of all Christians to unsheathe it and wield it faithfully against the principalities and powers to set the captives free. The church is primarily to be an administration of grace that is concerned about the spiritual welfare of men and nations. This sword helps to accomplish this godly mission.
The second sword is the symbol of God’s authority in civil government. Civil government’s sacred trust as a delegated authority is to restrain evil. It is a sword that is to administrate justice, whereby evil doers are punished and those who are good in God’s sight are protected. Its ultimate calling is to protect life and stop the shedding of innocent blood (Genesis 9:6). Civil government is to be primarily concerned with the physical welfare of men and nations. This sword helps to accomplish this godly mission.
These 2 swords are separate and distinct. They represent 2 different delegated governmental entities, church and state. Neither of them, however, is separate from God’s supreme authority.
What is desperately needed in this modern era of moral confusion, tyranny in civil government, and licentiousness in our culture of death is a proper understanding on how these 2 swords are to compliment each other in the real world in which we live.
The authority of the state to enforce lawful decrees is based upon the sword granted by God. This sword was given to them by Christ, which means its authority is limited by Him and His Commandments as it relates to the civil sphere. As God’s servants or in the Greek, deacons, the magistrate is not to bear the sword in vain. The magistrate is to wield the sword justly.
For instance, the civil sword is NOT to be used to force people to worship Christ nor compel people to believe and obey the Gospel. This ruse is used by God haters who love to “cry wolf.” They complain of a Christian theocracy being set up and how dangerous that would be to America and the world. No, it is the sword of the Lord, the word of God, that the Lord established to compel people to worship, love, serve, and obey the Lord by means of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
This does not mean, however, that the State is not duty-bound to obey God in specific administrations of justice, i.e. to establish and maintain those laws that God has placed within the magistrate’s jurisdiction.
All law and morality are based upon religion and someone’s definition of morality. Justice is always a religious issue. Mankind cannot escape that foundational truth. The question is whether we are building upon the sinking sand of man’s religions and subjective definitions of morality or God’s objective truth and His Holy unalterable commandments that are binding upon all men, at all times, and in every nation. We would do well to choose wisely.
To help clarify these concepts, this brief article was written. In summary, there are 2 God ordained Swords in the earth, whether we like it or not, believe or not. Mankind has confused them and misused them to either promote tyranny or anarchy throughout man’s bloody history. It is only in God’s Word that we can bring the 2 swords together in harmony without destroying their distinctions and their God ordained purposes. I hope this helps clarify these extremely important concepts as it relates to our future and hope in this poor fallen world.
