Eph-80-81 Lesson 37 Pt 1 - Ephesians 6: 10-17
Publication Date: 07-08-1981
On Ephesians 4:25 where I want to begin tonight, or where we will begin tonight , the first part of what the Research Team gave me is the work that Walter Cummins published in our wonderful Way Magazine on "The Spoken Word." Also, as we cover Ephesians 4:28 tonight, I had all the information in front of me from another article that Walter Cummins has in the... has had in the Magazine. The first article on Ephesians 4:25 is entitled "The Spoken Word." The one on Ephesians 4:28 is "Workers for God." Both of these pieces of work by Walter are absolutely superb. And I believe that they should appear and will appear in our research journal GMIR whenever we begin publishing that. {GMIR Aramaic word meaning ' to perfect, accomplish , mature, complete, arithmetically to be divisible without any remainder.}
And I noticed again that some of the things that were stated are just so beautifully and logically presented, I'm truly thankful for, not only Walter, but the whole Research Department. I think our Biblical Research Department is just second to none. And it' s even going to be better by God' s mercy and grace next year and in years to come than it is at this time. And right now I do not believe that our Biblical Research Department needs to take a back seat for any academic institution or work in the world.
And I thought today, I have never... I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity than to be my assistant. I know Vince Finnegan, you know, on the books is my assistant. And that' s great. But I've never thought of Walter Cummins in any other capacity for so many years as always being my assistant. And I think he' s just the most wonderful person that any president could have as his assistant. And also to be chairmen of the Department of Greek, and then the coordinator of the Biblical research of The Way International. For any one man to have that position and that responsibility is an awesome reality and I'm real proud of Walter and real thankful for him. But I am also thankful for the rest of our wonderful men and women in the Research Department.
I would like for the Corps all over the country to go to the Magazine and find "The Spoken_Word," that's the title of it, dealing with Ephesians 4:25 and other scriptures, and before the next Corps meeting next week, you endeavor to master that great piece of work by Walter Cummins. It's just, you know, the spoken Word. Over fifty Greek words are used in the New Testament in connection with the faculties of utterance. Over fifty. And then he takes the most important ones and he lists them and it' s just. .. it' s just a piece of research work that you should really as a Corps master in your heart and in your life.
Ephesians 4:25 in the King James reads, Wherefore put away lyin g, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.
The ' putting away' was interesting to me again because of the Greek word aniko, a-n-i-k-o.
And this word is ' the putting away,' this word ' put away,' aniko, is the same root word as in 4:22, where we use the word ' rest,' meaning ' to rest.' Is that right? Yep, that is right. I taught you that,
didn't I? Did I or didn't I? Doesn't look right to me. It is the same root. What chapter am I missing? Am I missing anything? I don't know. Right now I'm screwed up, ha ha. First time today. You check the word again and I'll do that, too and see what I'm missing here.
But a-n-i-k-o is the word for ' putting away from you. ' To put away. And it' s the same root as the word ' rest.' I don't know where the word appears, but it's got to be in there.
Now, that word ' speak,' every man speak. That word ' speak ' is from the Greek word
laleo, l-a-l-e-long-o. And that' s where Walter' s article on "The Spoken Word"_c omes in because that is.. .he uses that word laleo in here, which I teach in Corinthians when I teach the Foundational Class. And he says the word is employed 24 times in I Corinthians chapter 14. I had forgotten that.
This word is truly significant. I couldn' t quite understand it Research Department, what you said on page 26B 16, where you defined it ' to make vocal utterance,' ' to babble,' 'to talk,' 'to exercise the faculty of speech without reference to the words spoken.' I just wondered if there might not be another word that could be substituted or utilized at this point. I know that Zachariah 8:16 is the quotation that is used here, or spoken of. And that Zachariah 8:16 adds force to what is said by using a quote, a quotation. That' s why my question to the Research Department is, How can it be without reference to what is spoken if it is truth plus the quotation of the Word of God that's given. It doesn't quite fit for me.
'With his neighbor' has to be a believing neighbor. This 'speak truth with his neighbor' is a figure of speech gnome, g-n-o-m-e, which simply is a citation. And that' s a citation from Zachariah 8:16.
There are a series of figures of speech, Corps, in chapter four which just put the 00mph, the highlight, to the particular things that are set whereby you put off the old man. This phrase here 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' is one of them. The other one appears in verse 26, 'be angry and sin not.' ' Steal no more' is another one. 'Corrupt communication' is the fourth one. 'Grieve not the holy spirit' is the fifth one. ' All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking' is the sixth. And then ' be kind' and so forth, is the seventh.
You see, the last phrase in that verse, in King James, For we' re members one of what? [Another] And it' s relative to the neighbor. Now you just look at that. Wherefore put away lying, speak every man truth with his what? [Neighbor] For we are members one of another. That doesn't mean just a neighbor who lives next door, but it has to be a believing neighbor because we are members one of what? [Another]. You could not be a member ' one of another' ifhe was an unbeliever. That's how I know this is going to work. This tells me that the neighbor is a believer. And this ' we' re members one of another' continues the imagery of the Body of Christ.
The literal according to usage of this verse is as follows: Wherefore put away the lie... and I believe in my heart, before I go on with the literal that until man is born again, it's all a lie anyways. And that' s why I believe that this translation will fit in the light of that knowledge. Because when a man is not born again, his whole life is just a lie. Now you're born again, and that ' s why I think the text states it ' wherefore put away the lie,' the life you' ve been living , the screwed up life you have lived outside of God. It' s been just a life of a lie. It' s not truth. It' s just the opposite of truth and that's my reason for translating it this way... Wherefore put away the lie.
You've got to go with that translation. You have no other text to go by both from Aramaic and Greek it's 'lie.' Not 'lying.' If the Research Department has anything to share in the light of that, I'd be blessed to hear, but you' ve heard my reasons for translating it, Research Department, this way.
Now since they're born again, their whole life is changed, so the life of lying, and living a lie, and being a lie, and being false, is to be put away.
And every man... this is the translation ... and everyone, everyone. The word ' man' you could use because it's an inclusive noun, but I prefer to use the word ' one.'
Wherefore put away the lie and everyone speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. That is literal according to usage.
Now for the expanded according to understanding. It's not bad. Because of this... What we coughing for? Everybody sick?...Because of this... and the reason I went in the expanded along this line is because verse 24 last week told us that we are created by God in righteousness and in true purity, through holiness. Twenty four.
That's why 25, Wherefore ... 'wherefore' can be translated 'because of this.' Because of this what? Being created in righteousness and truly pure. See it's an inside job.
Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure by the grace and the love of
God.. .Because of this being created in righteousness and truly pure, you put away, completely lay to rest the lie that you have been and were living and each one of you speak the truth using a quotation from the Word with his believing neighbor for we are members one of another in the Body of the Church.
Robinson {Edward} said, he translated, 'speak every man truth with his neighbor' and he said it's from Zachariah 8:16 which adds force to what is said by using a quote. That's why I translated that. I think that' s great. It adds force to what is said. If you're speaking to someone, it adds force to what you say by using a quote, a quotation from God's Word. In other words, ' you share the Word with them.' That' s why I went with that translation. I want to give it to you again in this sense.
Speak the truth using a quotation from the Word, which means 'share the Word.' Quote the Word to them. Tell them what the Word says, with his believing neighbor. Why? For we are members one of another in the Body of the Church. This verse is just mind blowing.
Here, you have a born-again believer neighbor who needs to grow up a little more. So what do you do? Each one speak the truth to that neighbor, that believer, using the Word, quoting the Word because we' re members one of another in the Body of the Church. It's a real positive thing to do.
Verse 26 in King James reads, Be angry.. .ha ha... we like that one, don't we. Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Here is a verse of Scripture that' s very, very difficult for most people. And it' s not too easy for us either. But I think we are able to share the truth of the greatness of this and it's been burning in my heart for a long time to do this with our people.
Everybody has problems with ' how can you be angry and not sin?' You know, how can raise hell with something and not be sinful in doing it? Teed off and not be sinful. And how can you go... and what does it mean 'don't let the sun go down upon your wrath?' See.
In the context, here, verses 26 and 27 deal with your believing neighbor, specifically. Then the Greek word for ' anger' which is from the root orge, o-r-g-long-e means 'anger together with the desire of revenge .' That' s bad. That' s a heavy. The Hebrew word means ' to kill, and all the tumults of passion that terminate in killing.' So it's a real heavy word when it said ' be angry.'
And the way I believe it's used in God' s Word, ' be ye angry' means ' it's a long time anger with your believing neighbor until a change has ensued.' The desire to... of revenge is a change. And I, knowing the Word in the light of the new birth, it's where a change finally comes about. Until that time, you just, long-term, you just stay put witnessing the Word, sharing the Word. You do not dislike the believing neighbor; you simply dislike that he is not fully accepting the Word and walking on it. So it' s a long-term anger until a change has ensued. You just stay faithful.
I don't know what else to do with those words. It is a righteous anger. Yet it is a righteous anger without sin.
Among the scholars, there is a disagreement on these words. Well, I don't know about my being a scholar; that I don' t anything about being about. But it's simple to me because righteous anger is commanded by God's Word when it says ' be ye angry.' Well, the scholars can fight about it. I don' t care. It' s a command. Not just permitted to get teed once in a while when somebody' s off of God' s Word, a believer is off of God's Word. You' re always teed off righteously at any believer, born-again believer, who is off of God' s Word. And for those of us in the Way Ministry, it' s been a lifetime.
Get into it with them on... Oh what subject do you want to talk about? Baptism? Food? One God? See. All that stuff.
The Aramaic is accurate in the words ' and sin not.' It literally translates ' and you will not sin.' Again, this ' be angry and sin not' is that figure gnome. Quotation. A citation from the Old Testament. It' s from Psalm 4:4. But in King James, Psalm 4:4, it's translated 'stand in awe.' The real sense of the Hebrew is ' one of admonition;' sin not. Where we' re admonished to not sin. Sin not.
' Let not the sun go down on your wrath. ' Ha ha. That again is beautiful. People went to bed when the sun went down, when it got dark. That's when they went to bed. So what that simply is saying, ha ha, ' don't go to bed teed off.' Don' t let the sun go down on your wrath. In other words, go to bed; don' t go to bed mad. ' When you go to bed' is what it means. Let not the sun go down when you go to bed. And they went to bed when the sun went down. When it got dark, they went to bed, see.
' Upon your wrath.' And the word ' wrath' here is basically ' irritation.' Ha ha. Previously when I taught Ephesians, I made mention of this fact, ' don' t let righteous anger shake you, wondering if it was right on. When you go to bed, go to sleep.'
Now, this is what we have done with it in the literal, ha ha, according to usage. I got more papers up here than Carter has liver pills, or something. Then, I can' t find my... whatever it is I take off of it.
Okay, verse 26. You be righteously angry.. .this is literal according to usage.. .and you will not be sinning. Don't go to bed even with a momentary irritation, ha ha.
I don't think you get nearly as much fun out of this as I do. It's neat. It's absolutely scrumptious, see. At the opening, is that heavy word, remember? Anger. So it's a real heavy time. So what he is saying, in the heavy time, when your standing on God' s Word and sharing that with the believing neighbor, you' re righteously angry... you're not sinning. And you don't even go to bed with a momentary irritation. In other Words, when you go to bed, thank God the day is over. Say your last prayer and start snoring.
Boy, that would save a lot of sleeping pills, wouldn' t it? Practicing that principle. Boy, oh boy, what a tremendous Word. And hardly anybody understands verse 26. They argue about it, but they don' t get the understanding.
Now this is the expanded one according to understanding, I hope. And again, I would like to just lay some things before the Corps, and especially before the Research Department. I translated the first part of verse 26, You always stay angry with an all-out desire to have them to change which anger will not be sin on your part.
Then I have another translation of that first part of it: You be righteously angry, 'teed off' with sin... 'Teed off' I put in quotes. But don't you sin by acting ' holier than thou' vaunting yourself by acting so righteously like you never sin.
I do not know which one of those two the Research Department feels would be the better. The last part of the phrase that I translated which would go with both of these that I have given you here on the expanded one for understanding. This, the last part, goes with that first one and with the second ... also.. .even if it is only a momentary irritation. When you go to bed, go to sleep. That's what I did with it.
Now, verse 27. King James says, Neither (or neither) give place to the Devil. The word 'place' is simply a portion, a part. No believer will give full place to the Devil, but he may be giving a part, a portion. He' ll mark off a spot, ' this is Devil' s permission over here, over here, no permission, you know. And you really give the Devil a portion or a spot if you stew about it after you go to bed and you toss and you tum and can' t sleep.
This word 'the Devil,' ' the Devil' in the Aramaic is a very interesting and exciting Word to me and it blesses my heart. It' s a compound word where the first part means ' to eat' or ' to devour.' The latter
' to slander' or ' to accuse. ' So when I got to translating this, literally according to usage, verse 27 reads: Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil. So I used those three words synonymously: portion, space, opportunity. Do not give any portion or space or an opportunity to the Devil.
The expanded according to understanding: And you will not give a toehold, an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. Ha ha. I get more fun than you ever will out of working this stuff, huh.
You see, and to me, that communicates to my understanding. John 10:10. The thief cometh not but for to what? [Steal, kill, and destroy] Right. To eat you out. To beat you. And that's why that Aramaic word, on the word ' Devil' really thrilled me.
And that ' s why I put it into the expanded translation: And you will not give a ' toehold.' Now, at L.E.A.D., you know how important it is to get a what? [Toehold] Ha ha. And when you' re really climbing in, you' re blessed for a toehold. How thankful you are when you get a foothold. Now the adversary can never get a foothold in a believer' s life until he first has a toehold. That's why I translated it that way.
Do not give... and you will not give a toehold ... shave all the rocks off... an opportunity or an occasion for the Devil to eat you. And that' s exactly what he likes to do to believers.
Now we go to verse 28. King James says, Let him that stole steal not more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. And here again, is another great work that I believe should be in our research journal GMIR, Walter' s work on " Workers for God."
It' s just tremendous where he... you know... he just goes into God' s men are called many things in the Word. They' re called: fellow workers, ministers, or servants, slaves, fellow slaves, partners, messengers, soldiers, fellow soldiers, athletes, fellow athletes, stewards, ambassadors, witnesses, all of those. And he covers them so beautifully. And I love very much how he covered the word ' slave,' because it' s a much stronger word than to be a minister, or to be a servant. It is to be one who is branded, marked out, sold out. And baby, from that day on, there are no ifs, and' s, or but' s. You never budge on it. You are branded. Most believers are never branded. They may be servants, they may be ministers, but they are not branded. When you' re branded, you stay faithful. You do not budge. You do not change. You stay put. If all hell breaks loose, you still live the believing Word.
I think the prophet once said, If I was in the midst of hell, God I know you' d be there. (Psalm 139:8) He' d be there. That' s the doulos. That, of course, is just a tremendous piece of work.
And the other great part that I think... and this is a second piece that I want the Corps to master before next Wednesday night, " Workers for God," the work on ' witness.' You see, it's the same word basically that's translated ' martyr,' see. And we got a lot of those canonized. That's not at all what a witness is. A witness is a living example, not a dead one. The word 'martyr' simply means that you lay down your life in witnessing. And boy, when you put the doulos together with ' witness,' then you' ve got power for abundant living. It's just a fantastic work by Walter and I' m real grateful that it was published. Because once it' s in print, people can take a look at it if they want to.
I'd like a cup of coffee, please.
Now, we are in verse 28. The Aramaic translation is ' and he who was stealing.' I understand it from the English, ' let him that stole,' past tense. The Aramaic is real simple, real strong. ' And he, the one who is born again, who was, past tense, stealing.'
Thank you.
His whole life was one of those before he was born again.
Whenever you bring a cup of coffee to a right-hand man, you put the handle to the right. When you serve a cup of coffee to a left-hand man, you put it on the left-hand side and put the handle to the left. Corps principle number seven or something, ha ha. Mrs. Wierwille would say, Well, be thankful you even get a cup of coffee. [Laughter] Ah, you're wonderful.
See, ' let him who stole, steal no more.' 'Stole and steal,' that' s a figure of speech and is polyptoton p-o-l-y-p-t-o-t-o-n. It' s a repetition of the same root word in different parts of speech or reflections. But, that's not earth shaking right now in my heart.
You see, in some Eastern culture, it was not considered a sin or a shame to steal because that's the way they lived, the only way they lived. Somebody told me... or not only told me, one of our people, but it was in a national magazine, that the basic culture of Russia today is to steal. And in some respects I can understand this. If you don't have anything and you're starving to death and there' s a loaf of bread you can get a hold of... steal the dam thing. I understand that.
So this verse is really sharp, really sharp. Let him who stole, even though that man previously considered it the way to live and there was no shame in it, no sin in it. He said, Well, let that fellow who stole, steal no more. Something has happened on the inside of that man. Something that happened, where He is able to meet all of our need according to His riches in glory. Christ in you, the hope of glory. More than conquerors.
A record in the Old Testament, I forget where it is, but it's in there, that it' s never, you never need to borrow or steal bread or... what is that in the Old Testament? Begging bread. One person stand and tell me. {Psalm 37:25, I have been young and now am old; yet have I seen the righteous forsaken, nor His seed begging bread.} Psalm 27:25 who? {Psalm 37:25} 37:25. All the years, he's never seen the righteous to have to do what? {Beg bread} Beg bread.
First of all, I wish the Christian world could hear this. Secondly, I wish our government in the United States could understand it. The Word says, If you don't work, you don' t eat. A lot of that stuff. Well, what we've been doing is stealing from the people who are willing to work to give to the people who don' t want to work. That's a bunch of crap. That's stealing. That's why this verse is so hot in my soul tonight. Let him who stole, quit stealing, dang it. See.
Many years ago I was really knocked for a loop along some of this line in India, from Dr. Williams. I think he loved India maybe like I love the United States, I don' t know. Because only a man knows how much he loves his own country, I guess.
But... as we were traveling together, he said to me, Dr. Wierwille, I hear you have whores in the United States.
You know, I never had given it a thought. I just took it for granted. [Laughter] And I said, yeah. He said, Why does a rich country like the United States have whores?
And I said, I don't know.
And he said, I can't understand it. Cannot your women make enough money to live? Yeah, but they figure that' s cheaper and more pleasurable or something, I don' t know. And he said, Well, I think it's sinful that the United States has whores.
And I said, What do you mean?
And he said to me, why, I can understand India. He said we don' t enough food, we don' t have enough of anything hardly for a lot of people. And we have whores because that' s the only way they can continue to live physically.
And I thought to myself, well boy, that' s slapping me in the face good. And I took it as a wonderful lesson. There is no excuse in the United States for any women being a whore because she doesn' t need to get screwed and paid for it in order to get money so she can live. There's plenty of work available and if there isn' t she ought to get born again, then there' s a guarantee of work. ..other work, available. I tell you, when you' re honest, some of these men in other countries have some real logic behind their thinking. How would you have liked to have handled that? I just simply admitted, Well, I think we' re wrong in the United States. But I said, I think you' re wrong in India, too, because no reason to have whores here if you get them born again.
So I don' t know. But this verse today as I worked the final working on this verse 28 is when my heart really went back and burned with that truth that Dr. Williams had stated. Because in many Eastern cultures, it was not considered as sin or as shame to steal, if it was a matter of livelihood. You sometimes wonder who will live in the greatest condemnation before God and justice and judgment when the time comes.
For in most of what are called poor countries even, there is sufficient money, food, and other things for the people to live if those in positions of authority were not so selfish and egotistical, and want it for themselves , and let the rest of the world die... or a country die.
The word ' labor' in verse 28 is the word which literally means ' hard work resulting in fatigue.' That's how I felt coming from the woods last night. And I didn' t do anything. It was just hard work being there with the rest of you. Today I got so tired of being with some, I came home. Ah, you' re wonderful.
' Working with his hands' is an Eastern cultural type of thing. Today in our culture, you could have it, you know, the truth is working with your mind or working with your hand, whatever you' re working at. But in Eastern culture, every son was to be trained to work with his hands, even if he was the son of a king. Had to learn a trade, a profession of business.
Jesus Christ was a saddle maker. He made them to ride, I guess, what do you want? Tennessee Walkers , or? See. I think not only did he do that, Paul did it, too, you know. Someday I'm going to find a...or Walter, or some of those, are going to find me a manuscript to prove it. .. and a wonderful carpenter by trade. Many times doing carpentry work and being a saddle maker were sort of in the same household, because building carpentry and having saddles to use for their business and carrying on, were very, very closely aligned. Well, I won' t argue the point, but I wish we' d keep looking.
II Thessalonians.. .Do your hands ever get so dry you can hardly hold anything? Golly, mine are so dry tonight, I wonder why? II Thessalonians, chapter 3:10... this we commanded you that if any would not work, neither should he what? [Eat] Right. Even unemployment is no excuse for stealing. He just doesn' t eat. Goes and gets work. Boy, when I first saw the greatness of these principles many years ago, and then of course, I uniquely by God' s grace, inculcated that into our W.O.W. program and very dynamically in the Corps leadership.
I'd like for you to take your Bibles and turn to Romans eight. At the apex of all inspired Scriptures representing the length, the breadth, the depth, and the height, we come on this occasion to the finale of Ephesians. We' ve gone back before the overthrow and continued on to the ages to come, with all the rewards for the believers throughout all eternity.
It is the full magnificence of God' s grace that has abounded toward us in Christ raised above all, who has filled all of us with all the fullness of God; who both descended and ascended above all; whose love surpasses all knowledge; whose riches are untrackable; who has given us a liberty beyond the liberty of anything man could ever have conceived. And has given us this Mystery, the great good deposit of ' Christ in you the hope of glory' to guard, as well as ' the unity of the spirit' to keep. We are already seated in the heavenlies as fellow citizens with all the saints and yet we' re down here upon the earth walking in this wilderness of sin and evil, but we are sealed until the day of the return.
With all of this greatness from God' s Word and the truth of that Word , we must feel like Joshua of old, according to Numbers 13:30: Let us go up at once and possess the land, for we are well able.
{Numbers 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.}
And the portions of Joshua 14:10 and 11. And now behold the Lord hath kept me alive as he said these forty and five years. I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me.
{Joshua 14:10,11 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years , even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.}
There would be nothing for any man were it not for the truth of what God wrought in Christ Jesus for us. There would be nothing to be clothed with, nothing to be trained for, or nothing to be disciplined to, if it were not for that which the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished for us in the power of His might.
The strength that fills us in the contest of life is the strength that is ours in the Lord. Verse ten of Ephesians six begins the topping section of God' s dessert of the greatness of His Word like the clarion call of Romans 8:35, where the Word of God says: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
:37 No, in all these things we are super conquerors, more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
8:38 For I have been persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
' Finally,' Ephesians 6:10 or ' from henceforth,' does not mean ' that we' re now getting to something.'
It means ' we must take note and to be fully cognizant of the total superb revelation given previously.' ' To be strong' is a command that requires continuous action, moment by moment, day by day.
The believer must be strong in the Lord, otherwise everything else is worthless. You do not trust the knowledge you have of the Word, or your ability to speak the Word, or your wonderful personality. Your continuous action of trust must be strong in the Lord and what he accomplished for you. It has to be a sold out total commitment.
The Greek word endunanoo, e-n-d-u-n-a-n-o-o , long-a , occurs eight times in the New Testament which should indicate to us the, the number eight, as a new beginning. Namely, it occurs in Acts chapter nine. Acts chapter 9:22: But Saul... this is Paul ... increased the more in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt... Judeans which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ.
Confounded the Judeans, he increased the more in strength. This is that word endunanoo which occurs as I said, eight times. He increased the more in strength, got strong in what capacity? The Word and the greatness of the Word that was revealed to him.
In Romans 4:19, we read: And being not weak in believing... talking about Abraham . .. he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old. Neither yet the deadness of Sarah' s womb:
4:20: He staggered not at the promises of God through unbelief, but was strong, endunanoo , in believing, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what God had promised, God was able to perform.
Having no doubt about the integrity of the Word, even as the integrity of the Word was in total conflict with the senses reality in the world. He did not believe the senses facts, he believed the integrity and accuracy of the Word.
In Ephesians 6:10 which we will handle a little later on is the third one. The fourth is in Philippians, Philippians chapter 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me. Strengthen me.
Another translation of that verse is: I am ready for anything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength... infuses inner strength into me. That' s what equipped him to be ready for anything and made him equal to anything in the world situation.
I Timothy chapter 1:12: And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who enabled me. The word ' enabled' is this word endunanoo. Made me strong, who strengthened me, enabled me... strengthened, same word. For that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Without that strength of the Lord, you would never amount to anything in the ministry.
Has to be His strength and your commitment to the integrity of that Word that makes you a faithful minister of God and that will keep you moving in the ministry.
II Timothy 2:1: Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This was written to a young minister, strong in the grace. Again, that word that' s used in Ephesians 6:10.
And II Timothy 4:17: Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me. The Lord stood with me and the Lord did what? [Strengthened] Strengthened me, he said: That by me the preaching might be fully known, that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
Verse 18: And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly Kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever.
In the light of Ephesians six, which we will be working on, this word ' strengthened ' and these verses that I'm sharing it here with you are absolutely electrifying.
And in Hebrews chapter eleven is the last usage of the eight. Hebrews 11:34: Quench the violence of· fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong... out of weakness, because God knows men' s frailties. He looks upon the heart and when a man or a women commits himself to the integrit y of God' s Word, no matter what the senses may say, He, God, will make you strong... waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the army of the what? [Aliens] Aliens.
It' s always a new beginning for every individual who is strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. In Ephesians six, that verse ten says: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the what? Power of His might. And Ephesians 6:10 takes me back to Ephesians 1:17: The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
What for? Verse 18. That the eyes of your understanding being what? [Enlightened] Enlightened, illuminated , lit up. That you may know, may know, not question or doubt, but that you may know what is the riches of the glory of God' s inheritance in· the saints.
Verse 19: And what is the exceeding greatness of God' s power to you also who believe, according to the working of His mighty power. Working of His mighty power.
Verse 20: Which God wrought in Christ, when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and set Jesus Christ at His, God' s, own right hand in the heavenlies.
Verse 21: Far above, verse 21, Far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in also in that which is to come.
Verse 22: And hath put all things under Christ' s feet... God put all things under Christ's feet, and gave him, Christ, to be head over all things in the Church.
Verse 23: Which is his body... which is his body, the fullness of God who filleth all in all.
In Ephesians 6:10, you have the words, this word, endunanaoo , meaning ' strong.' Be strong in the Lord.
Then you've got the word ' power' in that verse. See it? Then you got the word ' might' in that verse.
The word ' power' is the word kratos, k-r-a-t-o-s. And the word ' might' in Ephesians 6:10, is the Greek word is ischus, i-s-c-h-u-s.
Now in Ephesians 1:19, you have the word ' power' and that' s the word dunamis. You have the word ' mighty ' ... well, you have the word ' power,' also. Greatness of His power. You have the word mighty.' ' Power' is dunamis. ' Mighty' is ischus.
Thus here at the conclusion of Ephesians, we are taken back to the beginning of Ephesians. Every contestant in the game of life as a believer has to be taken back, and is taken back, to the risen and the ascended Christ as the source of the power whereby he may stand before the bema, victorious in the contest of the running in this contest of life.
The Book of Romans, as the Book of Romans basically dealt with the law of sin and death, as it's stated in Romans 8:2. And the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus reaching the glorious climax that I read to you from Romans 8:37-39. You have the same basic truths laid down which are the essential basis of Ephesians 6:10 and following.
In Christ, by virtue of his resurrection and ascension, and being seated at the right hand of God, and having shed forth this which you now see and hear, according to the Book of Acts, we are in possession of the more than abundant life. We are more than conquerors over all principalities and power. We go forth into the contest of life in the power of his resurrection.
As the Lord himself stripped off from himself the principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it, according to Colossians 2:15, so we participate in the contest of this life in the power of the risen Christ to experimentally and experientially demonstrate that we are more than conquerors.
As the Lord said of Caleb in Numbers 14:24, ' He hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land' is the exact same truth in application in us today, for those of us who follow him, Jesus Christ, and His {God' s} Word fully, He will bring us into the land with all the rich rewards flowing with milk and honey.
Not necessarily however, will every believer be numbered among the ranks of those successful to the end of competing in the contest and winning the crown, although it is made available to everyone.· But not everyone may avail himself of this fantastic opportunity.
The armour must be the disciplined training of both physical and mental knowing our spiritual completeness that is required to compete as a contestant and athlete in every contest in life, putting on everything that God made available in Christ Jesus. And it' s all done to receive the crown, the prize, the rewards that are laid up for us. Everything for the disciplined training making us complete as contestants has been made available through Christ Jesus.
Now, there' s absolutely no military terms in use regarding the contest in Ephesians six, for we' re told to stand, to withstand, to wrestle. And no sensible person would ever think of wrestling in a heavy military armour.
It is common knowledge that all wrestling was done naked. Our very word ' gymnasium' is derived from the Greek word gymnos, spelled g-y-m-n-o-s, transliterated into our word ... or translated into our word, English word ' naked.'
We cannot go by men' s usage of the word ' armour. ' We must go by the Word ' s use and usage. The Word of God must be our absolute guide to its meaning and not man' s tradition which has been drawn from the military.
In Roman's 13:12, the armour is called ' light.' In Roman' s 13:13, the whole thought of armour is dropped for the word ' walk.' And the opposition is never an external foe, a soldier; but the opposition is the lusts of the flesh. The putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ of Roman ' s 13:14 is that armour of light.
In I Thessalonians 5:7 and 8, the armour is again spoken of in a very similar context. But let us who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith, believing and love ; for an helmet, or crown, the hope of salvation.
The only foes we have are the foes within, of Romans thirteen: the lusts of the flesh and the works of darkness within.
In II Corinthians 10:4, the word ' weapons' is the same word that is previously translated ' armour. ' There are military terms in II Corinthians 10:4, like weapons, warfare, pulling down of strongholds. But in verse five of II Corinthians 10, the ' fortress ' that is being besieged is that of the mind. It is the battlefield of the mind: the imaginations , the reasonings. The ' captives' taken are the thoughts which have to be brought into obedience to Christ. There is not one iota of an indication in Ephesians 6:10 of a warfare in a military sense.
When we look at the only remaining reference to hopla, h-o-p-l-a is the Greek word translated 'armour' or ' weapons,' we look at Roman' s six for a moment here. Roman' s 6:12: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies...' Reign' is ' to lord it over you' .. .in your mortal bodies, that you should obey in the lusts thereof.
{Verse 13} Neither yield ye your members as instruments, armours, weapons, instruments, weapons of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those who are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments , as weapons, as armour of righteousness unto God.
The word ' instruments ' is ' weapons,' or ' armour' in both instances. Thus, you can clearly see, if you have ears to hear and if you have eyes to see, that Ephesians six which has the last occurrence of the word ' armour' has been adequately explained by the Word of God in all of its earlier usages in the Word.
The fight we have in this life is the contest of living life; living the greatness of God's Word.
And the conclusion is concerned with the prize. Life is a contest, but it is never a war, a campaign, or a conquest of physical enemies.
In II Timothy 2:4 and 5, the ' strive for masteries ' is ' contend in the games.' The verb athleo, a-t-h-l-e-o, athleo, is the very word from which we get our word ' athlete ' and ' athletics. '
The ' soldier' is only mentioned in connection with endurance.
In II Timothy 4:7 and 8, we have the ' fight' and the ' crown. ' As the word ' fight' is agon, a-g-o-n which is translated ' race,' r-a-c-e , in Hebrews 12:1, it would be difficult to translate II Timothy 4:7, ' I' ve fought a good race.'
The best translation would be ' I have contended in the good race of life' or ' I have contended or contested a good contest.' This is its true setting in II Timothy.
The word ' armour ,' Biblically concerns itself solely with ' putting on' the Lord Jesus Christ. And Ephesians six takes us back to Ephesians four, where we' re told to ' put on' the new man.
Every athlete striving for the crown will keep his flesh, his body under, disciplined. The attack of our spiritual foes upon the grounds of the battlefield of our minds is never directed against our salvation, our standing in the Church of the Body. For all of these attacks would be outside of his possibility for success. The attack of the adversary is always against the believer's opportunity, the battlefield of his mind, of winning a prize, a crown, a reward.
There's absolutely no campaign or conquest in view in Ephesians six. We are ordered to stand, stand against, and withstand. And for a believer to exceed his orders is as much disobedience as to refuse to obey the orders.
The most conspicuous word here in Ephesians six is the prominent description of the contest in regard to the word ' stand.' We must stand against the craft, the cunningness, the snares, the wolves in sheep's clothing, ministers of Satan who represent themselves as ministers of righteousness. Men who claim to know God' s Word, but don' t. Yes, stand against the wiles of the Devil. Also, withstanding in the evil day. And having worked out, having the renewed mind, we just stand. The Word of God repudiates all craftiness and the deceitful handling of the Word of God in the battle for truth.
In II Corinthians 4:2, we read, But have renounced the shameful, secret things, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God how? [Deceitfully] Deceitfully. But by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man ' s conscience in the sight of God.
{Verse 3} But if our gospel be veiled, it is veiled to them who are perishing.
In whom, verse 4, the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the resemblance, the likeness of God, should shine into them.
And in chapter six of II Corinthians, in verse seven, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the what? [Left] Left.
The days in which we live are evil according to Ephesians 5:15. And the evil days will continue to increase according to II Timothy 3:13. We are at this moment being trained for the final, the Rose Bowl, the Super Bowl, the final finals of the mighty contest that lies ahead. So we must thoroughly work, expand ourselves in our workouts, so that we may be fully equipped for the contest. And that of course includes the great practical knowledge and realization of your standing position in Christ.
' The whole armour of God,' your putting on of the whole armour of God. That word ' armour' is the word spelled p-a-n-o-p-l-y, panoply, occurs one other place in the New Testament and that ' s in the Gospel of Luke chapter 11.
Chapter 11:18 {Dr. Wierwille reads Luke 10:18 through :21 and then corrects himself.} And he said unto him, I beheld lightening falling from heaven.
Verse 19, Behold, I give unto you the power to tread on serpents and scorpions, over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Verse 20, Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Verse 21, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank Thee O Father, Lord of heaven and earth that Thou hast hid these things. ..thou has hid these things ... That's ten ain't it? Aw, it ' s good though ... Chapter eleven. ..find it... thought it didn't fit here, but it's good,
Okay, {Luke 11:18} If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
Verse 19, And if I by Beelezebub cast out devils, by who do your sons cast them out? Therefore shall they be your judges,
Verse 20, But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
Verse 21, when a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
Verse 22, But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divided his what? [Spoils] Spoils, see.
The adversary is well armed and it' s only when a stronger comes upon him and overcomes him that he takes the armour with which the adversary is fully armed and wherein he trusts and he ruins him. This is used of the whole armour of Satan.
Here in Luke, you had the same words used as in Ephesians six, namely ' strong,' ' armour,' and ' stand.' Satan is totally clothed in his whole armour in which Satan trusts. Unless we put on the whole armour that God makes available, we just cannot succeed and we will not succeed in the
contest of running the race of life. ' The whole armour of God' is all inclusive. And that statement is made in II Corinthians 6:7 and Romans 13:12.
Since there are two gods, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the god of this world, the armour of the true God is set over against the armour of the adversary. It' s the armour of righteousness from the true God which suggests the armour of unrighteousness of the adversary.
' On the right hand and left hand' suggests completely armoured from head to toe. So the adversary is completely armoured with his armour from head to toe. It also suggests ' throughly furnished' of II Timothy 3:17. The armour of light of Romans 13:12 suggests the ' power of darkness' which is so strongly stated in II Corinthians 10:4.
We have an armour of right, we have an armour of light and might which is the whole armour of God.
There are six references to the Mystery in the Book of Ephesians. Because the Mystery is in operation in this evil, ' number six,' world, dealing with Satan whose final number is 666, the perfection of the Christ within implies the utilization of it in the imperfect times in which we live.
The grace of God did not come into being with the day of Pentecost. The grace of God has been extended to all men from the beginning.
The girdle of truth in Ephesians is already stated in Isaiah 11:5.
The breastplate of righteousness and the crown of salvation is in Isaiah 59:17.
The feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel, the good news of peace, is Isaiah 52:7. The javelin of the spirit, the Word of God, is Isaiah 49:2.
The discus of believing is Psalm 91:4.
Yes, what we lost in the first Adam, we completely regained in the second Adam, plus. The girdle is truth.
The breastplate is righteousness.
The feet are shod with the gospel of peace. The discus is believing.
The crown of salvation is wholeness.
All those are built on the javelin of the spirit which is the Word of God.
The heart and head of a believer are represented by the breastplate and the crown. The breastplate and crown are brought together in I Thessalonians 5:8, where the breastplate is believing with love. and the crown is the hope of salvation.
The ' preparation' is that of ' a firm footing' used for a base.
The peace that is referred to in Ephesians six, seems to take me back to Ephesians 2:15, where you read in Ephesians 2:15, Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making what? Peace.
And in chapter four of Ephesians verse three: Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of what? [Peace] Anything that breaks the unity of the spirit, or anyone or anything that introduces the first small element of faction to break that unity, and we believe it, is going to trip us up in the contest which the adversary is fully knowledgeable of.
Clothed with God' s righteousness is the initial act of preparation for serving because you are girdled and held in tightly by believing. In our vocabulary today, we might say ' buckle up' or 'strap in. ' And the reference in Isaiah 11:5, speaking of righteousness and faithfulness in connection with the girdle, is for one to be sincere.
It is interesting to note that practically every word translated ' believing' or ' faithfulness' in the Old Testament is derived from the Hebrew word amen, a-m-e-n, which basically means ' truth.'
There can be no doubt that truth, sincerity, and faithfulness are basic and absolute essentials to the athlete of the spirit.
The shield of believing is our believing in the Lord's promises and His faithfulness. In Psalm 91, He is our shield and buckler. And we are not afraid of the terror by night or the arrow that flieth by day.
Senses-men soldiers are equipped by the methods of Satan to destroy rewards. We must put on everything God made available now or it will be too late when the evil day is upon us. And we will be like the foolish virgins, for to withstand in the evil day, we must stand in the present day. We must prove the efficacy of our being clothed before the necessity of the evil day arises.
David endeavored to prove the armour of Saul, but it didn't fit him, it didn't work, so he put it away. The thing that did work were the stones taken from the brook because those he had proved. We must prove the efficacy of our clothing. Our Lord defeated the adversary, the Devil, in the wilderness by believing and by saying 'It is written.'
The present contest in which we are engaged is not the final one. It is the believing, staying faithful day by day, in the grinding endurance of running the race, rather than just a brilliant charge for a short moment.
Flesh and blood controlled people, possessed people, and those operated by the adversary will often be bitterly opposed to us, God' s true believers. But the only flesh we are called upon to fight against is our own: the battlefield of the mind. For we make no provisions for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.
The foes we wrestle against are spiritual. They are the ' world holders.' The Greek word is
kosrnokrator , k-o-s-m-o-k-r-a-t-o-r. That' s the ' world holders.' The title of our Lord is
pentakrator , p-e-n-t-a-k-r-a-t-o-r . That's the title of our Lord, meaning ' omnipotent and all mighty.'
The world holders of this darkness are those born again of the wrong seed, and unbelievers influenced and possessed by devil spirits. These principalities, powers, and world holders are the spiritual forces of wickedness present upon this earth today. Were it not for the truth of Romans 8:38 and 39, that I tonight know whom I am or whose I am in Christ Jesus, I'd give up the contest. But we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And we are strong in the Lord and the power of His might. And we stand and withstand, knowing for a truth that the God of peace shall bruise Satan under our feet quickly, Romans 16:10.
As Israel was told to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, for the Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace, Exodus 14:13 and 14, so we must stand still and watch the Lord fight for us as He did for Israel against Pharaoh.
Thus our present contest is not a battle, a war, but it' s a contest of wrestling. Let us remember that Joshua, who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land, was a man of the literal Word of God, Joshua 1:8.
The foes of lsrael were the foes of their own household. For instance, the Amalakites who were direct descendants of Esau. And today many times yet, the greatest foes we have are those foes that split out who were once in the household, then they split out.
As the will of God for Moses was ' Go pray,' the will of God for Joshua was ' Go fight,' so ' Stand and withstand' is God' s will for us in the contest of running the race of life, today.
God' s born-again sons and daughters , the Church of the one Body are God' s people who are at the great center of the Satanic attack. Satan will endeavor to destroy the very Word that makes known the will of God. And the world holders of darkness will continue to oppose God' s purposes of the ages.
As Sihon, S-i-h-o-n, refused Israel the privilege of passing through their land, so the unbelievers won' t allow us to pass through their religious lands and hold forth the greatness and the truth of God' s Word.
God knows our frailties. God knows we are weak in the flesh. So all we can do is to walk by believing and look unto him who is the author and finisher of faith. And we do not walk by sight.
Having done all, we just stand upon the promises of God' s Word, believing God to bring it to pass as we act upon that believing Word . And we declare everything else - but God' s Word - null and void. And we watch the glory of the Lord come to pass.
For us every day is a new day, Corps. You've not passed this way before. As the ark of God, which was with the people of Israel, was an indication of the Lord' s presence, so this speaking in tongues is your absolute proof of the presence of God in Christ Jesus within you. And He will not fail to drive out from before you the enemy in your running of the race of life.
Perhaps we need to again read and reread and believe and renew our minds to Hebrews eleven and what God wrought. Yes, it is in the power of His might which is both God' s triumph and ours. Only strength in the Lord is our strength for a consistent victory. All believers will be beset by foes. The greater the believer perhaps, the greater the foes attack. But in all these things we are more than conquerors.
As children of lsrael, in the church in the wilderness, were in journeying for 430 years, let us remember it is God who brought them into the Promised Land. As we, the Church of the Body, are in the wilderness of sin and evil of this world in our day and time, let us always remember that it is our God who gives us the deliverance now and will bring us into the Promised Land of the gathering together for all eternity.
And now I'd like for Craig Martindale to give us an overview of the things here for which I have just set some of the background. Craig, come in, move your chair up here, please, and share your beautiful heart of this great section. You think we will ever be able to teach it as big as we know it in here?