Ephesians Lesson 39 of 39 part 10

Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation*, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God."

*our whole process of thinking and believing it, taking it by faith. I have to ask, why did Paul use the helmet for the figure of Salvation, why not another part of armor? I think it is because of what we have been saying, our mind from our birth is the field where Satan works through our will, emotions, feelings, thoughts, imaginations, opinions and a host of other physical things. It is here that we are the weakest and most vulnerable, just look at the kids to day, they have social diseases of all kinds and descriptions, which they try to control with mind controlling drugs. Now we come to the only part of all that’s listed which is a weapon. and what is it?

I know we are all aware that when they came to arrest the Lord in the garden, what did Peter draw and strike out with? A sword. We don’t know if it’s still there or not, but when I was reading something a gentlemen who wrote back in the 1800’s, he stated that at that time in Rome there was a statue, supposedly of Paul, and it had on it's side this little Roman sword. It was not the big long battle sword, but rather what we would call a dagger. Then we happened to think of Peter the night of the arrest, so it must not have been unusual for these men to carry a defensive weapon or something they used in meal preparation on their person wherever they went.

Hebrews 4:12

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

We also know that from the book of Revelation, that we have the same analogy of God’s Word as the sword with which He fights. This is a true sword, a double edged, three foot long weapon that when used by the skilled hands of its owner, kills. Revelation is the realm of all spiritual war fare for the souls of mankind and is a picture of this war fare being conducted for us, in our behalf. It is with this understanding that we with Paul can profess his prayer at the closing of this Epistle. But the world under the deceit of Religion knows nothing of these truths or mysteries and therefore walks about in constant confusion of darkness, eating up all the sweet things of the prince of darkness, Satan and the prince of death, Molech.

Ephesians 6:18-20
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of this Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

This is our prayer also because those who have become disciples of Christ, are stewards and ambassadors of these mysteries, the hidden things of the kingdom of heaven and of God. These are the mysteries which Jesus told His disciples they were to understand and have knowledge of, once they learned of Him. The same mysteries Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 29:29 and are revealed through Paul's teaching and writing. The very things that Peter said were at times hard to understand and comprehend. So those who are in the same situation as Peter, James, John and even Jude may not have had Paul's comprehension and understanding of the LORD Jesus Christ, as we are attempting to bring out. I know that this is true because of those who have been friends and are now opposing us, or at least not agreeing with us. But this is okay because we still pray for their salvation's entry where in He makes us all one IN Christ, that is having Christ's nature of character restored.

From here Paul closes this Epistle with:

Ephesians 6:21-24

“But that ye also may know my affairs, how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: Whom I have sent to you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs, and he might comfort your hearts. Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.”          

Ephesians Lesson 39 of 39 part 9

This says it all doesn’t it? Even the Apostle Paul, had the Lord not opened Lydia’s heart, how far would he have gotten? As we say today, not even to first base. But you see as Paul was laying out this Gospel of the Grace of God and how that Christ died (we are counted as in Him by God the Father, the Father of spirits and by His doing made righteous, as Abraham was righteous) for the sins of the world, and how He rose from the dead in power, and glory by the Spirit of Holiness. And as Paul laid that out to her, the Lord opened her  for understanding.

Have you ever stopped to think when Apostle Paul began his ministry among these pagan Gentiles and the Hebrews, they had no knowledge of any of this. The pagans, had no knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures or the God of Israel. They had no knowledge of a promised Messiah and King to the nation. Oh they knew those Hebrews were different, but they knew nothing of Judaism or nothing of the Old Testament. And yet this Apostle can come into those pagan cities and proclaim the crucified Jewish Messiah who rose from the dead and they believed it by the thousands. It was to such an extent that it literally penetrated and turned the Roman empire upside down, now this is unbelievable. What about the heathens (as those addicted to idolatry, such as in Religion with the many rites or systems in the rule of self), those called wicked in the scriptures. These are none other than those who profess to be what they are not, not merely hypocrites but are the actual heathens. Because they by way of common core and usage abuse and profane God's name and Christ's Body. They by habit mock Christ's Gospel and the kingdom of heaven which is the true House of God's rule. Because Paul's Gospel is not what is proclaimed by the masses today nor is it known in Truth. Instead the worlds religion and its many fingers of deception are what are being brought out and received as truth. But many will ask what about the Jews, the Israelites and Islamist's or Muslim's they worship God. To this I would ask, do they? I ask this question, because of what Jesus implied to the Samaritan woman about true worshipers of God, who will worship Him in spirit and truth, because God is Spirit. Which is to imply that these kinds of people worship another spirit, and other god, they do not who or what he is. But those who become His disciples will know the true God of spirits, in His kingdom. This all takes us back to 2Corinthians 6 and the comment of Paul there stated dealing with the disciples of Belial, the infidel, the ones who disbelieves the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the divine origin of true Christianity.

At least we, when we share this Gospel with people, hopefully they have a certain amount of knowledge but what about the understanding of these things? They at least know the story of His birth and death with its accompanying resurrection and ascension if nothing else, but those people had none of that. So the Lord opens their understandings, and immediately they could embrace it, they could believe it, and of course Lydia’s house, became the very first congregation on the European Continent. But it took the Lord supernaturally opening the hearts mind and the thinking processes of this lady so that she could comprehend what Paul was talking about. So always remember, whether it’s us, or anybody else, we are just beating the air unless the Lord opens the heart and the mind to receive the illumination in those we are witnessing to.

Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"   

Ephesians Lesson 39 of 39 part 8

Philippians 2:5-8

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." 

We emphasized this before our death on the cross, yes our death through trusting His word and our receptivity of His activities (this is our following Him and our doing as He has done) by faiths receptiveness. What made the death of the cross so unique so far as we are concerned? Is this, it was not just another crucifixion, because the Romans crucified people by the thousands back in Jesus’ day. But His is unique because it was on His terms, and on Him that all the sins of the world were placed. It was while He hung upon that stake that the sun turned blood red, the moon and the stars did not give off their reflective light. So the stars it could be said, fell heaven, and the day became dark as night, the world was in judgment (Ezekiel 32:7-8). That is our death and judgment of the cross. That is our flesh which houses sin and sins voice. It was there that our sin was laid on Him (Isaiah 53 and 1Peter 2 tell us that by His stripes we are healed or restored to right standing, to free from error and made the righteousness of God), and that is why Isaiah could write that He was more disfigured than any man that had ever lived. Because of the judgment of the curse of man’s sin along with the curse which the Law carried, were laid upon Him as He died that vicarious death of the cross. Not for Himself but for all humanity from Adam until the last baby born of woman. In what Paul Harvey calls, the rest of the story, the revelation of the Lord's Last Supper (the first part of His marriage feast a betrothal of promise) coupled with the cross's death, burial, resurrection and His ascension. The full sequence of events laid out and hidden within the framework of the Old Covenant came to it's desired end with Christ's ascension. All of this serves as the bases of this Gospel of God's Grace and the New and Better Covenant of which we are to believe and by the action of Faith receive within us. Jesus emptied Himself of His Glory to take on our shame, our humility and our humanity to became of no reputation. This is that which Israel never did because of the heart of stone within mankind during that 3000 year period in mans history.

The point I want you to see here is that it all comes to us through the mind of the heart. When the Spirit gives us understanding (illumination, revelation, just as Peter revealed when asked who Jesus was in Matthew 16:13-15) and we with our mental capacity except these things by trusting His faith. These revelations do not have to make sense or be some great illumination but they do have to be Light and Truth which heals from within. Now for a moment let’s follow the mind by looking at Romans chapter 12, because we cannot take the mind out of this equation. It is part and parcel of our makeup, and it is through the mind that we function, spiritually as well as physically.

Romans 12:1

"I beseech (beg) you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your (physical) bodies a living sacrifice (not as a burnt offering), holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service*. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed** by the renewing of your mind,..."

*There is nothing unreasonable or bizarre about this request at all is there? Because burnt flesh is good for nothing, of no value to God. He requires our life be His, through love and trust. **our love and trust make us totally different from the world around us. By taking on, in receptiveness of the mind of Christ. Because as He emptied Himself, to take on our humanity, He now fills us with Himself. Because He did the first He is able to do the second and we must also do the first to be able to receive the second thing. This is being a doer of the word and is required by our having done the other first, the denying of all self and resisting the voice of our own flesh-self.

I just revealed another mystery of Genesis 1 through 3 and the law of the first therein concealed. 

 

Now we can couple this with the ordinance of Deuteronomy 6:4-7 which states: “ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, will be in your heart: And you will teach them diligently to your children, and will talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

And now the rest of the story in Romans 12, picking up at verse 2-5; “And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that we may prove what that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God is. For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, many, are One Body in Christ, and every one members one of another*.”

*The mystery of marriage to Him as One. Our being bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh through our surrendering of self and self-centeredness to Him.

This is how we have to start. We have to analyze it, and have to think of all these things that God has done on our behalf, and it has to be done through the thought processes, we cannot do it any other way. So again turn with me to Acts chapter 16. This is when Paul and Silas went to Philippi. Keeping in mind that this is the first time this Gospel had been on the European side of the Aegean Sea.

  

Acts 16:13-14

"And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spoke to the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us: whose heart* the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul."

*now here’s the part I always pray for. “Oh Lord give me Lydia’s today” people with open and receptive hearts.

 

Ephesians Lesson 39 of 39 part 7

In the book of Ephesians chapter 6. We have so many with questions because of what they have heard, many from their Sunday school teachers, who teach from their denominations printed literature. Like the stuff my wife and I used back in the day we assisted the adult Sunday school teachers. We would spend the week going over the printed materials and our Bibles trying to put them together and make sense of the printed materials. They just did not agree with each other and that was the problem, the Bible said and pointed to one thing and the school materials another which caused confusion and disharmony which they should NOT have. When people ask, most of these questions, we usually asked them a question in reply. "Can you find it in your Bible?" And most of the time the answer is no, this is why we are saying."Well if you cannot find it in your Bible in the Age of Grace teachings, and especially with Paul teachings, then run from it, because it is a deception. It is part and parcel of the end time scenario where people are believing men, and what they read in books instead of coming to the Bible! 

We are not going to condemn good authors or good books, but we are living in a day now where good Christian books are hard to find. Even the Bible based Commentaries often mislead because the author allowed his particular denominations standard of ordinances to get in the way. It is like one lady e-mailed, from one of our major cities where they have the largest Christian book stores in the country. And she said, "until about 5 or 6 years ago the whole front of that store was Bibles, but today, they are all gone, they are at the back of the store, and nothing but New Age materials are up in front, and people are buying it by the case load." Well what is that? It is that wave of deception, and they can make it sound so good. The problem is they are putting the Bibles at the back of the store, and they are putting these other books up front, and that is exactly what we have told everyone to be aware of. 

Back to Ephesians and the shield of faith, we know that all these false statements can come at us and how are we going to deflect them? What does the Bible say? What does this book say? If it does not, agree then deflect it as a false teaching, and that is the only thing we can tell people. The next step is in verse 16.

 

Ephesians 6:16b

"...wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

Here again it is in defense. We do not attack him or those that he uses, but rather we defend against the onslaught of verbal slanders brought against God and us, and we do it with the Word of God and His faith and faithfulness. We trust not yourselves because the flesh man of sin is still active within us, until we lay it aside and leave this place of hostility toward God. We are to know and use the things revealed in 2Timothy 4:2 and as Jesus did in the wilderness and throughout His ministry to Israel. Where His greatest opposition was from the religious leaders, not the nationalist's of His day though they wanted Him to lead a national up rising, He would not and indeed could not side with them either. He resisted evil just as John the Baptist did when he saw the establishment approach him. (Matthew 3:7, 12:34, 23:33, Luke 3:7)

Ephesians 6:17

"And take the helmet of salvation,..."

What does the helmet protect? The head and ears, and what is in the head? The brain, and what is in the brain? The house of our intellect and reasoning powers, powers of perception and to look at the mind, turn ahead to Philippians chapter 2, and then we will go back to Romans chapter 12.

Philippians 2:5-8

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross."