meditation on "the sword of the Spirit"

(Eph. 6:17)-"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

If the word of God is the sword of the Spirit, then the Spirit can be said to be the master of the sword and the only one that can wield it properly for us in our internal battle of sin mortification. The Spirit has access to His sword in the life of the believer only as the believer has access to the word. Therefore, it would follow that the only way for the Spirit to have constant access to His sword to fight for and in us is through the means of Scripture memorization. And if the sword is not hidden away in the mind and heart, then the believer is in fact limiting and grieving the Spirit's efforts of conforming them to Christ in their own heart, thereby limiting their own joy and satisfaction in God, coming as a result of increased holiness. In this sense it would seem that we can grieve the Holy Spirit of God by limiting His power to sanctify and wash us through the water of the word.
(Eph. 5:26) - "so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word."
(1 Cor. 6:11) - "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."
(John 15:3) - "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you."
Therefore, the disciples are described here as being clean through the washing of the word of Christ.
(John 17:17) - "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
The word of truth is the Spirit's tool of sanctification, so may He not be limited by our laziness of forsaking the great privilege of memorization.
(Ps. 119:11) - "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against you."
Our ability to treasure His word in our heart is dependant upon how much of His word is in our minds to treasure. You can't treasure what's not there! Therefore, not treasuring His word in our hearts more through the act of memorization is a conscious weakening of our ability to fight sin through the enlightening and effectual power of the Spirit. Now just because the word is in our minds and memory does not mean that we will treasure it with our hearts, yet we can never treasure any truth about God with the heart that had not first been enlightened in our minds by the Spirit. Therefore, the more Scripture that is in the mind, the more there is at the Spirit's constant access to use.
(Ps. 37:31) - "The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip."
The law of God in the heart is his prevention against slipping. If the Spirit's way to the human heart is through the human mind, and if out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34), then the more the word is known by memory and accordingly delighted in through the heart, the more our mouths should speak the praise of God. The more scripture we have in our minds to meditate on, the more likely the Spirit is to beget Christ-exalting affections for God through the revelation He has given us of Himself in His word. Now, the Spirit is still sovereign to work in us that which is acceptable in His sight, yet this is a practical way He has given us to join Him and walk in step with Him in His revealed purpose of transforming us to the likeness of Christ.
(Ps. 40:8) - "I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart."
(Ps. 119:15-16) - "I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word."
You can't forget with the mind, if there's nothing there to forget! So how does the psalmist plan on delighting in the statutes of God; by not forgetting (memorizing) His word. So God help all of Your children to memorize as much Scripture as possible and as often as possible to the glory of Jesus Christ through the sanctifying work of His Spirit.