EPHESIANS 6
Ephesians 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 6:24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Links to my sites here and the bottom of every post- https://ccoutreach87.com/links-to-my-sites-updated-10-2018/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43BeMlJ2uI&t=3s
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xecoai78k9ljdbx/2-15-18%20Ephesians%206.mp4?dl=0
https://1drv.ms/v/s!Aocp2PkNEAGMgSBcVgotin-An03X
ON VIDEO
.The commandment with promise
.Thoughts from a child
.Overview of Ephesians
.The sovereignty of God
.Slavery
.Abolitionists
.Spiritual armor- warfare
.Reductionism- Soteriology https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soteriology
.What are those lights in the sky over Texas and New Jersey?
.The Reformation and church history
.Did Jesus teach the doctrine of justification by faith?
.Yes
.Balanced spiritual warfare
.How do we love Jesus?
.I spoke on Melanchthon- Cardinal Cajetan and Eck- and the debates Luther had during the Reformation- I added my past teachings on them below
Ecclesiastes 8:1
Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
TEACHING [Past posts- Verses below]
As we end the Ephesians study- Paul gives more practical instruction- some of it will become controversial some 1800 years after he penned it-
Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Ephesians 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
Ephesians 6:7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
Ephesians 6:8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Ephesians 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
There it is- from the bible itself- instruction for slaves to obey their masters.
Why is this in the New Testament?
There are other bible passages- both in the Old and New Testaments, that speak about slavery- rules given to how it should be applied-
And teaching that says slaves should obey their masters.
In the 19th century- both in Britain and the states you had an uprising- primarily from White Christian men- against the institution of slavery- we call these men the abolitionists.
In the United States- you had a debate- and then a war- over the issue [as well as states rights]-
There were good sincere men- Christian men- and yes- some Black men- who simply saw these verses as the bible teaching us that slavery is permitted- and as Christians- you should not seek to rebel against it.
Now- I do not agree with their position- but an honest reading of this passage can lead dedicated bible students to take it this way.
Overall- God’s will for man was to free him for bondage- all types.
And it’s possible that the apostle Paul simply did not want the New Christian movement to be associated with the zealot mindset-
People who advocated a violent rising up against their oppressors.
So- he- by the anointing of God- wrote what was intended for God’s people to hear.
Today there is still application to these verses- employers and employees- yet at the time- it was speaking about slavery.
There’s much more to teach on the subject- how the enslaving of Africans by the West was not the same type of slavery spoken about in the bible-
But for us today- with a clear conscience we can reject all forms of it- no matter where we find it.
Now- the famous armor of God passage-
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Just a few points- the only offensive piece of armor is the word of God.
Jesus wielded it in his Temptation in the wilderness-
Matthew 4 King James Version (KJV)
4 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
He quoted scripture 3 times- and dispatched the adversary for a season.
Paul also talks about the shield of faith quenching [putting out] the flaming arrows of the enemy.
In the first century the Roman shields were covered with leather and dipped in water prior to the battle.
If a flaming arrow struck one of the shields- the shield would be able to extinguish it.
So our faith can also stop the flaming arrows of the enemy- when he shoots accusations against the children of God.
On the video I mentioned these last few verses- which are often not seen as part of the spiritual armor-
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Ephesians 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Yet Paul asked the church to pray for him- that he would be bold in speaking the truth- that he would not step back from the task at hand.
I applied this [on the video] to the life of the reformer Martin Luther- and spoke about his own battles while standing firm for truth.
Paul the apostle was making known the mysteries of the gospel in the first century- and at the time- the message was radical and revolutionary.
Now- it was the unfolding of the mysteries of God which had been hidden for ages-
But he was a revolutionary in the proclamation of it.
And there were times where he stood alone- where others questioned his motives- and where other believers disagreed with him strongly [the Judaizers].
2Timothy 4:16 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Timothy 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
Yet he realized to truly fulfil the mission- he needed to be bold in the proclamation of the truth.
Today we are able to read his letters- which are indeed received as the Canon- we regularly teach them in our church meetings-
We make copies of them and send them out to the world-
Yes- we are beneficiaries of the apostle’s early ministry work.
And as we saw his story this last year as I covered the book of Acts- as we went thru some of his other letters these past few years-
We are grateful that Paul remained faithful to the task at hand- he had the boldness of a true apostle.
And for that- we are truly grateful-
1I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; 2Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 5But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: 8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
2nd Timothy 4 [Some sites- see the rest here https://ello.co/ccoutreach87/post/2wzijl47lqxz9iqxm5lacg ]
PAST POSTS- [Past teaching that relates to this post- Verses below]
