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Lesson 28 – Our Armor, Part 2 Read Ephesians 6:10-17  We look at the last three pieces of our armor in this lesson. Our armor so far is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and shoes of preparedness of the Gospel of peace. We begin in verse 16 for our next item – our shield of faith. A shield is something that is moved as needed to block incoming weapons. It is attached to us but remains movable.

  Hi Dini, Being in God’s family brings certain privileges. No Longer Strangers  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 2:19-22 ...you are...fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief Cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19b-20 Paul says that you who have come to Christ are no more strangers and foreigners. First, you are "fellow citizens with God's people." You have entered a new kingdom. You have changed your citizenship; you are now under another authority. We take for granted the rights of American citizenship so much that we have almost forgotten the fact that we are under authority. The government has certain powers over us. We are under authority—that is the first mark of citizenship. But the thing that makes us rejoice in our citizenship is that we have certain privileges. When I travel abroad I am always glad that I am an American citizen. Protection is extended...

  Hi Dini, I think this lesson will be helpful to your recent emails to me. Relevant Prayer  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 6:18-24 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests Ephesians 6:18a There is a strong and powerful relationship between putting on the armor of God and praying. These two things belong together; in fact, one grows out of the other. It is not enough to put on the armor of God; you must also pray. It is not enough to pray; you must also have put on the armor of God. It is impossible to divide these two. Putting on the armor is essentially something that is done in the realm of your thought life. It is an adjustment of the attitude of your heart to reality, to things as they really are. It is thinking through the implications of the fact that revelation discloses. This is always the necessary thing to do in trying to face life.

  Hi Dini, I got ahead of myself. Here is a lesson on Ephesians telling about the weapons we have to resist the devil and live a godly life. The Sword Of The Spirit  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 6:16-17 ...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:17 In this verse, "the word of God" does not refer to the complete Bible. There are two words used in Scripture for "the word of God." There is the familiar word, logos, which is used in the opening verse of John's gospel: "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God" (John 1:1). Then there is another word, rhema, which is different in meaning. Logos refers to the total utterance of God, the complete revelation of what God has said. Rhema means a specific saying of God, a passage or a verse that has special application to an immediate situation; to use a modern term, it is the Word of God applied to experience, to our existen...

  Hi Dini, This lesson is an important reality. The Breastplate Of Righteousness  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 6:13-15 ...with the breastplate of righteousness in place... Ephesians 6:14b Christ is the ground of your righteous standing before God, your acceptance before Him. If you are wearing that "breastplate," you can rest secure that your heart, your emotions, are securely guarded and adequately protected against attack. This is perhaps the most frequent ground of attack against Christian faith. Christians often feel they lack assurance. They feel unworthy of God. They feel they are a failure in the Christian life and that God is certain to reject them, that He is no longer interested in them. They are so aware of their failures and shortcomings. Growth has been so slow. The first joy of faith has faded, and they feel God is angry with them or that He is far off somewhere. There is a constant sense of guilt. Their conscience is always stabbing them, making them unhappy. ...

  Hi Dini, There is pleasure , satisfaction, and honor in work. Bringing Christ To Work  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 6:5-9 ...not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart... Ephesians 6:6 RSV Several times the idea is put forth: never work for men, you Christians; work only for God. You can work under a person's direction, but remember that you are working unto the Lord, that your daily task is work that He has given you to do, and you do it unto Him. What a glory this gives to every task. If you approach your work like this, you will never have another dull day. You will never be bored stiff with the routine and humdrum of what you have to do if you recognize that you are doing it with the eye of the Lord upon you and with the recognition that one day it will be made open and clear to all whether you did it as unto the Lord or unto men. What are the signs of the failure to do this?

  Hi Dini, Here is a beautiful illustration of what God intends in marriage. It is sad that so few can achieve it. Husbands And Wives  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Ephesians 5:31 This verse is not simply an example of beautiful, poetic language. There is a fundamental reality behind this: Husband and wife are not just two people rooming together. Their lives actually do blend into one another. They actually become one. It is, therefore, true that what hurts the wife damages the husband. It cannot help but do so. If he is bitter toward her, it will eat like a cancer in his own life and heart. That is why, if you have had a squabble with your spouse, you may find yourself unable to do your work properly that day.

  Hi Dini, Here is a beautiful illustration of what God intends in marriage. It is sad that so few can achieve it. Husbands And Wives  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:22-33 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Ephesians 5:31 This verse is not simply an example of beautiful, poetic language. There is a fundamental reality behind this: Husband and wife are not just two people rooming together. Their lives actually do blend into one another. They actually become one. It is, therefore, true that what hurts the wife damages the husband. It cannot help but do so. If he is bitter toward her, it will eat like a cancer in his own life and heart. That is why, if you have had a squabble with your spouse, you may find yourself unable to do your work properly that day.

  The Cure For Conflict   Hi Dini, God wants to be involved in our lives. Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 In saying this, the apostle is dealing with the basic remedy for all the conflicts in our day. Paul will apply this principle as he discusses the relationship of husbands to wives, which brings in the whole realm of marriage and divorce and the problems that arise there. Then he will take up the matter of children and parents, which brings in the whole issue of juvenile delinquency, causes and what can be done about it. Then he will take up the issue of management and labor. In each case, the remedy is always the same: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

  Hi Dini, We often don’t understand the power the Holy Spirit has for us who believe. Live Overflowingly  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:15-20 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 It is interesting that Paul puts these two things in contrast, one against the other. Don't get drunk with wine, he says. This recognizes there are things in life that tend to drive you to drink. There are pressures in life, there are demands made upon you so severe that you will feel the need of some stimulation, something that will undergird you a bit, give you some confidence and add help and strength. "But don't let it be wine or any other artificial stimulant, because," he says, "the trouble with that is, it so easily leads to lack of control." The word here translated debauchery is the Greek word that means "without any limits, with reckless abandonment." It refers to escapism and the tendency to t...

Hi Dini, One of the great blessings of being a Christian is to be able to see life as it really and to see truth. Light In The Darkness  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:7-14 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11 Sexual looseness is incompatible with the Christian faith, because the Christian is directed to expose the true character of sexual evil. You cannot expose something and indulge in it at the same time. It is utterly inconsistent. The church of Jesus Christ is directed by the Holy Spirit to be a source of correct information on matters of sex. Paul says the church is "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). I do not hesitate to say today that it is only the church that can teach the world the true nature of sex. Even the serious worldling, intent in utter sincerity on trying to alleviate the problems of society, does not see clearly. Therefore, we cannot accept statements from the world in thes...

Hi Dini, This lesson speaks to what we were just talking about.New Morality Or Ancient Foolishness?  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:3-6 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Ephesians 5:3 That charge to Christians must have seemed even more unrealistic and incapable of fulfillment to the pagans of Ephesus than it does to Americans today. Why is it there? Not because Christianity is negative and prudish. The whole of Scripture is written for the welfare of humanity. God's purpose in telling us the truth is that we might fully enter into life. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and to have it to the full" (John 10:10).

  Hi Dini, Paul gives us a big order: be Godlike. It is the path toward having a life filled with meaning and purpose. Be Godlike  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 5:1-2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children... Ephesians 5:1 Paul puts it flatly, bluntly, openly: "Be imitators of God." That is a great declaration. The word for imitators is the Greek word that means "to mimic." Mimics are those who follow the pattern or the example of God. If you want to put it simply, you can say it this way: "Be godlike." That is the goal of Christianity. It is to produce men and women, boys and girls, who are godlike in the midst of an ungodlike world. That is what it is all about.

  Hi Dini, This lesson is so important because our actions are determined by what goes on in our mind. Put Off And Put On  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 4:22-32 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self... Ephesians 4:22-24a Putting off the old and putting on the new is the principle by which the possibilities that are in Christ can become evident in our experience. Notice there is a recognition of the pull of the old life on the Christian. The admonition of the apostle is to be constantly recognizing and rejecting these false, underlying assumptions that come from the old self, the old way of living. It is not merely deeds, you will notice, but outlooks and attitudes. This is what causes the problem, and this is what we must reject.

  Hi Dini, We can live in the spiritual Kingdom of God today in the midst of a world of chaos and decay. The Great Mystery  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 3:1-6 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3:4-6 In these verses, in brief form, is Paul's statement of the mystery that lies at the heart of all life. It consists of this great truth: When they come to Christ, Jews and Gentiles together are joint heirs, joint members of one body, and joint partakers of the promise. In those three terms you have the answers to the greatest struggles with which we humans are engaged today:

Hi Dini, In this chapter Paul is telling the Ephesians that Christians have a different world view from non Christians. We must acknowledge that and be thankful that God has shown us truth. A Radical Change  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 4:17-21 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. Ephesians 4:17 In the opening verses of the fourth chapter of Ephesians, the apostle has been dealing with the nature of the church and the part each Christian has to play in its operation and growth. But now, with verse 17, he turns to the Christian in relationship to an unbelieving world. Though this account was written almost two thousand years ago, it is impossible to read this thoughtfully without seeing that the world today is exactly the same, and the Christian's reaction to it must be exactly the same.

  Hi Dini, This lesson is a perfect response to our discussion earlier in the day. Slow Growth  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 4:13-16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:16 Growth is God's method. That tells us two encouraging things about this matter of becoming mature, not merely mature as a religious person, but mature as a human being: First, maturation is something that does not take place suddenly. It is a process. I know many Christians who are greatly disturbed when, having become Christians, they do not find themselves suddenly, remarkably, completely transformed into angelic creatures. They are greatly disturbed when they find the old life still very much present. They wonder if they are even Christian at all. Of course they are Christian if they have exercised faith in Christ and are resting upon Him, but there is a process of growth that must foll...

Hi Dini, Have you ever thought about the gifts God has given you to use to help others know him? What Is Your Gift?  It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up... Ephesians 4:11-12 Your gift may fall in one of the two major divisions within the body. There are certain gifts that might be called general support ministries, from which the whole body receives benefit. There are four of these. Then there is another division of gifts, which might be called working gifts.

  Hi Dini, Have you ever thought of the gift God has given you to use in his kingdom? Open Your Gifts!  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-10 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. Ephesians 4:7 How is the church expected to demonstrate the power of God and thus influence society? The apostle suggests clearly that the power of the church lies in all Christians discovering and intelligently exercising the spiritual gift that was given to them when they became a member of the body of Christ. That is largely a forsaken principle today, and that is why the church is so weak. If we ever recover the strength God intended the church to exert in human society, it will be by a return to that simple thing, the exercise of each person's spiritual gift.

  Hi Dini, Christians have the same devotion to Jesus and our faith binds us together. A Cry For Unity  Read the Scripture: Ephesians 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called... Ephesians 4:4 This verse sets forth the nature of Christian unity. It is not a union to be produced, but a unity that already exists. These are not articles of theological agreement. No, these are areas of mutual experience. These are things that lay hold of us, not we who lay hold of them. All these are immediately experienced by all who are in Christ. Therefore, the way to create unity is simply to bring people to Christ, and the unity of the Spirit will be produced in them by the Spirit.