Lesson for August 1, 2021
The Book of Ephesians
Chapter 6:13-24
Verses 13-17
“Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
Our spiritual battles against Satan and his army of demons. Therefore, we need special supernatural equipment to win the victory. The analogy of the Roman soldier’s equipment describes our supernatural equipment. Stand your ground means to resist. The day of evil refers to the time when we are being attacked. Sooner or later, we will come under attack by Satan’s evil forces. When that time comes, we must be ready to use the full armor of God.
Demons are invisible and much more powerful than human beings. We must possess the inner resources of Bible doctrine to resist the attacks of these forces. We can stand our ground when attacked only by using the “full armor of God.” The belt of truth buckled around your waist means to have accurate Bible doctrine stored in your soul. The breastplate of righteousness refers to practical righteousness – righteous living based on the Word of God.
Your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace is a reference to the responsibility of believers to share their faith with others as Royal Ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Sharing our faith is communicating the Gospel to unbelievers on a personal basis by providing good news about Jesus Christ. What a person needs to know is what Jesus Christ did for them on the Cross and how they can have eternal life by believing in Him as Savior. The Holy Spirit makes the Gospel clear to an unbeliever when we present it clearly.
Taking up the shield of faith means that the Christian soldier prepares for action by picking up his own shield. How do you pick up the shield of faith and use it? Picking up the shield of faith would be using the Faith-Rest Technique in the various circumstances of life. When demon armies start throwing there “fiery darts” at us, if we have enough Bible doctrine in our souls and have put on the full armor of God, we will be able to withstand all of the attacks of Satan’s army successfully.
Using the Faith Rest Technique means that we have made a decision as to what our future action is going to be when being attacked spiritually. This means that we have predetermined in our minds what course of action we will take before the attack begins. By faith we apply the accurate Bible doctrine in our souls logically, while relying on the promises of God. (Hebrews 4:1-2)
The helmet of salvation is the piece of equipment that a person puts on when he/she believes in Christ for salvation. Salvation keeps Satan from dealing a fatal blow to us. It doesn’t matter what Satan and his demon army does to us they cannot take away our salvation.
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and is the only offensive weapon we have to combat Satan and his army. We go on the offensive against the evil influences of Satan, his demons, and his world system. This is exactly what Jesus did when Satan was tempting Him to go against the will of God in Matthew 4.
Before going to war, it is necessary to assess the enemy. Our assessment should be that God is the One Who fights this spiritual warfare for us. We are unable in our own power and strength to directly wage war with Satan and his demon army. Being equipped with God’s armor is the only possible way of gaining victory in this battle. God’s battle plan is perfect and found only in His Word. We just need to learn the plan and how to execute it!
Verses18-24
“With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts.Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.”
Prayer is the grace system of communication with God. The purpose of prayer is to communicate with our Heavenly Father. God communicates with us through His Word, and we communicate with God through prayer. God, therefore, expects us to have a prayer life. We are commanded to pray without ceasing, which means to have a consistent prayer life. There are correct principles and procedures for praying, and it is important that we learn and use these principles and procedures. (I Thessalonians 5:17; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Hebrews 4:16)
Prayer is for believers only. For a person to address God as father, they must first have a family relationship with Him. This relationship is possible only by placing our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Once this relationship exists, we have every right to communicate with our Heavenly Father. This, of course, is what God wants us to do. (Galatians 3:26; John 1:12)
All prayer is to be directed to the Father, in the name of the Son and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are praying and making intercession for us, therefore, we direct our prayers to the Father. This is how Jesus taught His disciples to pray. (Matthew 6:9; John 14:13-14; Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:26-27)
Long prayers are to be done in private. Public prayer should be short and to the point. The Pharisees were fond of lengthy prayers so that men would see and hear them being “holy.” The Bible says that they already had their reward (being seen of men). When we pray, it should be done in private to God. (Matthew 6:5-7)
There is an order for prayer. The first item of our prayer should always be to name or admit our sins, if necessary, to restore our fellowship with God. This means we are now in a position to be heard by God. This should be another encouragement to keep “short accounts” with God (name your sins immediately).
(I John 1:9; Psalm 66:18)
Second, we should give thanks for the spiritual and material blessings that God has graciously given to us. We should then pray for others (intercessory prayer). This means we must know the needs of others, which would necessitate an up-to-date prayer list. Prayer for an unbeliever is primarily for their salvation. Since God does not force a person to believe in Christ, our prayer should be that they will hear a clear Gospel message. We could also pray that God would provide us the opportunity to present the Gospel to them. (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:28; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:15-16)
Finally, we should pray for our own needs (petition). Remember that there are some things that you don’t have to pray about. For example, we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit when our fellowship with God is restored by naming or admitting our sins to God. So, we don’t have to pray, “Fill me with your Holy Spirit.” If there is not a direct solution to your need in the Scriptures, then take it to God in prayer. (Philippians 4:6)
That utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Sharing the Gospel of Christ should be natural and easy without pressure from any source. Our love for God should be all the motivation necessary. God does not want religious nuts running around getting in people’s faces and talking about “Jesus.” More harm than good has been done in the name of Christ by misguided and misinformed Christians. If we want to be effective witnesses for Christ (and we should), we need to learn how to share the Gospel effectively.
Being an effective witness for Christ begins with being an effective Christian. Since you are the best Christian that someone knows, it should motivate you to set an example of Christ-like attitudes and Christ-like actions. Failure to do so will limit our effectiveness as witnesses for Christ. However, no one ever accepted Christ as Savior by observation. It is therefore our responsibility to verbally share the Gospel when the opportunity presents itself. The Bible says that we are to be ready always to give reason for the hope that is in us. (Romans 14:21; I Corinthians 6:12, 8:13; Galatians 5:13; I Thessalonians 5:22; Titus 3:8)
Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. Tychicus was a member of Paul’s team according to Colossians 4:7-8. The beloved brother means admiration and respect. Faithful means stable, consistent, trustworthy, or reliable. There is nothing more important than to be faithful, doing what the Word of God requires. God requires and rewards faithfulness to Him. Those who are faithful in their responsibility to God will be rewarded.
Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. The word peace means spiritual prosperity. Incorruptible love is divine love which cannot be corrupted by human failings. The love we develop in our souls for our Savior through knowledge of God’s Word is to be demonstrated in our lives.