Jessica's Ephesians Study Notes - Armor of GodJessica's Ephesians Study Notes - Armor of God| Part | Implication | ||
| 1 | Loins girded with truth | 6:14a | Living a life based on what is true (God's word) and filling our minds with what is true (scripture) so that we're not being deceived by the lies of Satan |
| 2 | Breastplate of righteousness | 6:14b | Being saved and pronounced righteous by God |
| 3 | Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel | 6:15 | Stability from being pulled away from faith by having the peace OF God (through faith in the son, not works), and peace WITH God (by communication and prayer). |
| 4 | Shield of faith | 6:16 | Having faith in God's promises so Satan's lies can't penetrate, its a protection against false guilt |
| 5 | Helmet of Salvation | 6:17a | Certainty of our salvation |
| 6 | Sword of the spirit, the word of God | 6:17b | Knowledge of and speaking scripture (both offensive and defensive) |
| 7 | Prayer | 6:18 | Rely on God's strength to win the battle by speaking to God continually in all ways at all times |
Component |
Vs |
Attack |
Description |
Girded with truth |
14 |
Deception |
Devil is going to tell you lies, deceive you in the areas you are most vulnerable. You don’t just stumble across truth, seek it. Read the word. |
Breastplate of righteousness |
14 |
Distractions |
Satan wants to attack you in the heart or core (distraction), fill you with other desires, leave you vulnerable to attack. |
Feet are shod |
15 |
Division |
Gives mobility and stability. Shod with the gospel of peace. Devil likes to sow division. Build peaceful relationships rather than stubbing your toe |
Shield of faith |
16 |
Doubts |
Satan loves to fire fiery darts of doubt (“problems”) Duck and cover so they don’t burn and linger. Get rid of all the material that’s not useful for making shields (faith in the wrong things) |
Helmet of salvation |
17 |
Discouragement |
Connotation of victory. It protects the mind & vision, communication tools (ears, eyes, etc). Satan: discouraging thoughts instead of the mindset of victory. You are not a victim at the mercy of circumstances or other people. Are you looking toward tomorrow with a mindset of victory? The world beats down on us when God says “you’re doing pretty good” |
Sword of the Spirit |
17 |
Dullness |
“well rounded has no point”. Is your life like a bowling ball or sharp like a point? Are you piercing through things or are you just dull? A sword is only useful when its sharp Everything sharp is extreme. There’s nothing extreme about a spoon. What’s the point of your life? |
6:11
Put on the full Armor of God...
Put on - almost always used with a literal (rather than figurative) meaning, its the same word used to describe John the Baptist being clothed in camel hair (Mk 1:6) or a man not dressed in wedding clothes (Mt 22:11). Here, Paul is using the word to put on in a figurative sense about putting on spiritual apparel rather than physical, similar to how in Galatians 3:27 we are "clothed with Christ" once we are baptized into him. The verb to put on is in the aortist imperative tense in the middle voice, implying putting on the armor is by choice and by our own initiation, and that there is a sense of urgency to putting on the armor (Precept Austin).
-> Choose to wear the armor of God
What is the significance of the command being to put on the full armor of God rather than the partial armor? .
How should we wear the armor of God? In full, completely, not missing any components.
What is the result of wearing the full armor? We'll be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (6:11b)
Why would we need to do that?
The devil is scheming against us. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle.
Gird your loins was a common phrase at the time. the belt holds together your robes (loose material) so they stay in place and you're ready to get up and go and won't get caught on something and have your robes pulled over your head blinding you or the like.
ex. 12:11-14- have a belt on your waits, be girded--committed & ready to go--how you're dressed when you're on your way out.
luke 12:35-40
What you do when no one is looking shows who you really are.
2tim2:4 -- no one engaged in warfare *entangles* himself with the affairs of the world. (belt ties up the loose material so it doesn't tangle. Similarly we must gird up our loose thinking (our mind) 1pet1:13-16 (be sober minded). main thrust of belt = commitment to truth (be holy, obedient)
1cor9:24-27 persevere in not giving up.
heb12:1-3 sin and bulk -- many who aren't committed are sim. to those weighted down with sin (ties up your feet so you can't move) and bulk (just slows you down whether or not its sinful). Anything that slows you down in seeking God is bulk, and you don't need it.
Rom12:1-2 Sacrifice: "Most christians say they would be burned at the stake for Christ, yet, don't live their lives for Him here and now"
"Phil. 1:9-11 Abounding *more and more*. Knowing and partaking of that which is most *excellent*"
the "key" to the "whole armor" = breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness = having a right relationship with god
* regeneration john3:3, 1pet1:23 ---> spiritual birth
* faith in jesus - rom 10:9, john1:12,eph1:13
* relationship john 17:3
* eternal transaction john3:36,heb10:14
The armor of God isn't effective if you only put part of it on--how much of you do you want to protect? ("put on the WHOLE armor of god"). Many people today = wearing paper armor. Spend time with God (all day if needed) so he can point out any holes in your armor.
God doesn't just want your heart, he wants *all* of your being (a sacrifice to commitment at that).
The belt of truth => commitment to integrity & discipline. w/ integrity you start building inside out (may take a while to show fruit, but its more important than outisde-in growth). But w/o righteousness there willl be no commitment.
* In (?? suffering), until you understand the depth of the love that god has for you, you will resort to the last thing that brought you pleasure. "
* all that bible study is useless if you don't apply it. * Your righteousness will not get you to heaven (saved by grace).
* Our conscience is our friend as believers..."suppression of the conscience is dangerous"
1John1:4--if you aren't feeling god's joy (your joy should be in full) something is probably wrong. (these things are so you will have joy!) Edify one another. Engage in exhortations
breastplate (in war) protects *vital* organs (eg heart lungs intestines)
Jewish thought: heart represents mind or thinking and intestines represents seat of emotion
Satan wants to attack our thoughts and emotions (the way we think & feel) Theological understanding is irrelevant to winning the spiritual battle. you will remain a loser in the war unless you properly apply the spiritual armor *daily*
imputed righteousness
jerimiah17:9 - self-righteousness != righteousness
imputed righteousness = gods veil of righteousness granted through salvation b/c of christs sacrifice (eph2:8, rom 4:5, rom11:6)
impute = "To consider or calculate as a value or cost" or to assign or attribute something to
"Even Christ righteousness *is only the basis* of the breastplate" (??)
phil 3:1-11
"the believer has to apply righteous principles given to him in christ, to the matter of daily LIVING. it does matter what we DO. James 1:22,2:20, Phil2:12"
2 types of sorrows: (2 cor 7:8-1)
how we respond determines which of these it is.
the church = hospital for the spiritually sick
poor in spirit - surrender to god & begin to see our sin as god sees it
we can be sorry b/c we got caught OR because we sinned against god
1cor3 -> a judgment for (how much) rewards