Bible studies |
March 15, 2021 Welcome! Armor Of God Ephesians 6:10-18 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Today, I want to discuss an overview of the subject. We can get into more detail on each individual piece of the armor in following weeks. Here is the plan for studying the Armor Of God. March 15- Overview March 22- Who or What Is The Enemy? March 29- Belt Of Truth April 5- Breastplate Of Righteousness April 12- Helmet Of Salvation April 19- Shoes of Readiness/ Peace April 26- Sheild Of Faith May 3- Sword Of The Spirit May 10- Prayer and Summary 🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡⚔️🛡 What does it mean to be strong in the Lord, in the power of his might as mentioned in verse 10? I ran across a couple articles online while researching the topic. They talk about how to be strong in the Lord, and I feel they have some good information in them. https://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/kelly-balarie/10-bible-verses-to-keep-strong-in-... https://www.slideserve.com/cullen/be-strong-in-the-lord-ephesians-6-10 https://naturallivingfamily.com/bible-verses-about-strength/ Where does our strength come from? (in the power of his might) Psalm 121 1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Ephesians 6 doesn't just tell us to be strong. It tells us to be strong in the Lord. It tells us to be strong In the power of his might. Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Philippians 4:11-13 11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Romans 12:1-3 12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. We are week without God's strength. We receive God's strength by asking him for it, by submitting to his will, and trusting completely in him. 2 Corinthians 12:9 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Are you feeling week? That's great! God's power and strength can now be made perfect. Ask him for his strength. This just gives us all the more reason to put our hope and trust in God and to rely upon him. This gives us a hope and reason to praise our Heavenly Father even when we are week. David was considered week when he faced Goliath. God got even more credit and praise for his strength because of David's weakness. (1 Samuel 17) We could also consider when Johnathan and his armor bearer gained a victory for the children of Israel. (1 Samuel 13-14) 1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. Who or what is our enemy? Why do we need armor? What are we fighting against? Ephesians 6:11-13 answers this. 1. The Devil 2. Principalities 3. Powers 4. The Rulers of the darkness of this world 5. Spiritual wickedness in high places 6. Our own flesh (lusts) 7. The world We need the armor to be able to fight and stand up against these enemies. This will enable us to fight with all we have and to the best of our ability. Our own flesh and the world are also two other enemies we have. 1 Peter 5:6-9 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. What does our armor consist of? 1. Belt of truth 2. Breastplate of righteousness 3. Shoes of readiness/ peace 4. Shield of Faith 5. Sword of the Spirit 6. Prayer We need to be ready to engage the enemy at all times. We must support and pray for ourselves and others. We must have perseverance. We must be bold. We also must have and exercise the love of God with our faith. We will be going into more detail over the next few weeks, and will study this more in depth as we go along. -------------------------------------- I used Google to do some research on this topic. There is a wealth of information on it. I love a lot of the visual aids I came across along with other articles written about God's armor. Here are some internet links I can share with you that I ran across during my own research on the topic. https://concordiaandkoinonia.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/the-whole-armor-of-god/ https://christianstt.com/prayer-clothed-in-the-full-armor-of-god/ https://www.thinkingkidsblog.org/the-full-armor-of-god-costume-craft/
Jesus is my permanent anchor! |