WEAPONS OF WAR I
Weapons come in two flavors: defensive and offensive. Start with Paul in Ephesians:
Ephesians 6:1 Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward),
3 So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth.
4 And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord.
5 Servants, do what is ordered by those who are your natural masters, having respect and fear for them, with all your heart, as to Christ;
6 Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;
7 Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 In the knowledge that for every good thing anyone does, he will have his reward from the Lord, If he is a servant or if he is free.
9 And, you masters, do the same things to them, not making use of violent words: in the knowledge that their Master and yours is in heaven, and he has no respect for a man's position.
10 Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power.
11 Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
13 For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place.
14 Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet;
16 And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
17 And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 With prayers and deep desires, making requests at all times in the Spirit, and keeping watch, with strong purpose, in prayer for all the saints,
19 And for me, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make clear without fear the secret of the good news,
20 For which I am a representative in chains, and that I may say without fear the things which it is right for me to say.
21 But so that you may have knowledge of my business, and how I am, Tychicus, the well-loved brother and tested servant in the Lord, will give you news of all things:
22 Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, so that you may have knowledge of our position, and that he may give comfort to your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those who have true love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
(BBE)
This requires a detailed examination I usually don't do because of time restraints on me, but I want so much that we all understand this, please bear with me. There is so much here and so much truth, I feel overcome with it some times.
First, step back in Ephesians to the opening of Paul's letter:
Eph 1:1 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the purpose of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and those who have faith in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ:
4 Even as he made selection of us in him from the first, so that we might be holy and free from all evil before him in love:
5 As we were designed before by him for the position of sons to himself, through Jesus Christ, in the good pleasure of his purpose,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely gave to us in the Loved One:
7 In whom we have salvation through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, through the wealth of his grace,
8 Which he gave us in full measure in all wisdom and care;
9 Having made clear to us the secret of his purpose, in agreement with the design which he had in mind, to put into his hands
10 The ordering of the times when they are complete, so that all things might come to a head in Christ, the things in heaven and the things on the earth; in him, I say,
11 In whom we have a heritage, being marked out from the first in his purpose who does all things in agreement with his designs;
12 So that his glory might have praise through us who first had hope in Christ:
13 In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope,
14 Which is the first-fruit of our heritage, till God gets back that which is his, to the praise of his glory.
(BBE)
He writes to the "saints". There is Old Testament background for this word. "Holy ones." Hagioi. "In Old Testament times, the tabernacle, the temple, the Sabbath, and the people themselves were holy as they were consecrated, or set apart, for the service of God. People are not 'saints" in the sense by personal merit, (not earned office); they are set apart by God and in consequence are called to a life of holiness." (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Ephesians by Frances Foulkes)
The crux of this opening is that we have a specially designed place in God's plan, joined to him by the Christ sacrifice and that that sacrifice enabled the gift of the Spirit as the "first fruit" of our salvation.
7 In whom we have salvation through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, through the wealth of his grace,
Our sainthood is through Him but works itself out in the actions which reflect our belonging to Him. And that holiness has the consequence of warfare, as we begin to emerge with God's power in us and become seen as a Spiritual power by allowing the Spirit to work through us. We become the ship carrying the missiles of war, to use a current allusion, And, since Satan can't directly attack the Spirit and hope for any effect, he will launch attacks on the carrier.
John MacArthur in Ephesians: Our Immeasurable Blessings in Christ with an overview of the letter leading to the discussion of warfare:
"Paul's description of the true Christian, described in Chapters 1-3 and the faithful Christian life, 4:1-6:9, lead him to an exposition of spiritual warfare in 6;10-20. If we are walking worthy of our calling (emphasis mine, W.), in humility rather than pride, in unity rather than divisiveness,in the new self that than old, in love rather than lust, in light rather than darkness, in wisdom rather than foolishness, in fullness of the Spirit rather than the drunkenness of wine and in mutual submission rather than self-serving independence, then we can be absolutely certain that we will have opposition and conflict.
"The good news is that God does not leave His children unprepared or unprotected in this cosmic conflict. This passage is a heartening reminder of all that God has done and all that we must do to win the victory. In Christ, not only can we withstand the devil's assaults, but we can aso defeat the diabolical forces that are arrayed against God and His church, the gates f Hell cannot stand against us."
Let me stress some of what MacArthur wrote. Go back to the carrier analogy. See yourself as the captain of that carrier. you have a slew of Tomahawk missiles, all the missiles you will ever need for any battle. You can load up and fight any enemy all day and all night. You are invincible. Except for one thing: You may be the captain, but you have a Master Commander, a King you serve; you may not launch an attack without His Word, without His permission. He has left his Ambassador with you to give you orders on when and where to launch and that is your duty. You fight war, but at His beck and call. You are invincible but you work with the rest of the forces. If you do not follow orders, you may launch a missile that will hit one of your allies bombers or land amidst a battalion of ground troops rooting out enemies hidden under rocks. You doubt me? God wouldn't stop someone who was serving Him from doing something?
Paul:
Acts 16:5 So the churches were made strong in the faith and were increased in number every day.
6 And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia;
7 And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them;
8 And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help.
10 And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them.
(BBE)
And as he leaves the Ephesians, the ones he will later write our study letter:
Ac 20:20 And how I kept back nothing which might be of profit to you, teaching you publicly and privately,
21 Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
22 And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there:
23 Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me.
(BBE)
As you read more and more of Acts, you discover Paul had learned to move ONLY as the Spirit led him.
But we need to see something else from Ephesians 1:
For OUR part, we are to have faith, faith in all aspects of the Godhead.
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. {trusted: or, hoped}
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
(KJV)
Eph 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints,
16 cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
18 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
20 which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
(ASV)
1:14 (Since we are concerned with weapons here, I will dwell more on this aspect of the Trinity, but I wish to have you see that all aspects ARE deeply linked, each one an outpouring of God's plan and love, shown to us separately by the apostle even so we can begin to grasp the way they are functioning while linked eternally together. OUR minds cannot quite comprehend this connection. The allusion was made to 3-in-1 oil by a man who became the darling of the media as a new Christian and then went to Jehovah's Witnesses. Still, it is perhaps the best way for us to begin seeing that blend of the two Spiritual beings and the being of Final Flesh.)
From The Epistle to the Ephesians: A Study Manual by John H. Gerstner, Baker Books.
"The role of the Holy Spirit in the eternal purpose is here, for the first time, in this chapter introduced. The Third Person of the Godhead is the divine member who seals their hearts and gives them an earnest of their inheritance."
Gerstner then proceeds to discuss the working of the Spirit in giving the faith to believe and then sealing those who grasp the faith. The argument dwells on Calvin's point "Both (faith and sealing) I've said are the work of the Spirit." There are continuing arguments as to whether one can have faith and not be sealed by the Spirit, that the two are separate facts and acts. I side with the idea that one is sealed when one believes but let's discuss that idea of sealing a little as it is important in our weapons discussion.
"Sealing" has at least two points that I've seen made by various sources.
First, we have the idea of the King's Seal. An old friend years ago used to do this to her letters to me. She would take a bar of wax, melt some of it onto the envelope flap after she had glues it shut and them impress it with an ring that had the letter "E" for her name, Elizabeth. This gave her letters a flair and showed her personality as well as her personal writing of the letter. For centuries kings had had their "seal" whether it be in a ring or on the famous "nutcracker" of The Prince and The Pauper. That seal was usually impressed in wax of some sort but first that wax had to be melted in a flame (making the previously discussed connection of the Spirit and the flame begin to make even more sense here) and a large blob put on the document. Sometimes scrolls with secret messages were rolled and then sealed and they had to arrive with an unbroken seal so the King's secrets could be proven to be kept. All of this harks back to the King, our Lord, claiming us as His message to the world and as his messengers since that seal on the message indicated the carrier also belonged to the King.
Second, there is the idea of his workmanship, not coincidentally also in Ephesians:
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. {desires: Gr. wills}
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) {by...: or, by whose grace}
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. {ordained: or, prepared}
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
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 peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: {thereby: or, in himself}
(KJV)
Christ's work has created new people and these people are His craftsmanship, His models for life, but they are still made of this Fallen Flesh, this physically wounded stuff.
And an essential part of that crafting is seen in the illustration of God as the potter and us as the clay:
http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2011/07/05/The-Master-Potter-Pottery-Making-in-the-Bible.aspx
But finished pots were then burnished.
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-burnish-pottery-2746229
"Burnishing requires either a very fine clay body, of the use of terra sigilatta or similar very fine slip. Therefore, clay texture is very important. Do not attempt to use a clay body which contains grog or sand.
"Besides texture, you need to also realize that higher temperatures will roughen the outer surface of the pot. The best clays to use, therefore, are earthenware and low-fire clay bodies, whether or not an additional slip is used on the surface.
"Pots with clean, non-ornamented lines and smooth transitions work best. Otherwise, it becomes very difficult to get to all the areas of the pot to burnish them completely. In addition, fussy and complicated shapes detract from the subtle pleasures of the burnished surface.
(This makes me think of God's requirement for us to discard the worldly. It seems he can "burnish" us more precisely when we had[ve lost those "sophisticated" edges. Becoming like children.)
"The burnishing tools you prefer will depend on how you work and what is comfortable to you. Burnishing tools do need to be hard and very smooth. A jeweler's burnishing tool can be used, but most potters use the backs of spoons and polished stones.
"After the preliminary burnishing has been completed, you can get an even higher gloss by using your thumb or a finger.
"The burnishing tools you prefer will depend on how you work and what is comfortable to you. Burnishing tools do need to be hard and very smooth. A jeweler's burnishing tool can be used, but most potters use the backs of spoons and polished stones.
"After the preliminary burnishing has been completed, you can get an even higher gloss by using your thumb or a finger
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
"Burnishing is easiest when the clay is wet slightly with a lubricant. The lubricant allows the clay particles to lift and be re-deposited in an even tighter (read glossier here) matrix.
"Lubricants that work well are vegetable oils, lard, and solid vegetable shortening. I've used oil with good results,
(Recall that oil is also used as a reflection of the Spirit in the Bible. W)
"Burnishing is basically rubbing the surface of the pot until it becomes glossy. This requires a lot of patience. Take into account that burnishing even a small pot will take several hours.
"Work in very small areas, applying only as much lubricant as needed for that section. Lightly apply your lubricant. Begin rubbing the area, applying a fair amount of force but not enough to gouge the pot. You will notice that a thin slurry develops. As you work, the lifted clay particles will settle again.
(See here the process of refining us, God working to bring the shine of himself through our Fallen Flesh, our imperfections. W)
Peter, no doubt recalling those temptations of Christ we mentioned not long ago, in agreement with Paul in a different sense, takes the refining process to metal:
1 Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
(KJV)
And this reminder to a very carnal Church brings us round to another understanding of the Spirit in us:
1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. {defile: or, destroy}
(KJV)
In Solomon's Temple, the Holy of Holies existed in the central chamber and only the High Priest could go there to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people. This he did once a year, wearing a rope so his dead body could be dragged out of that place if the Spirit found him wanting. In Hebrews, the writer tells us that our High Priest, Jesus, offered the one perfect and only needed sacrifice that we ourselves might now exist in the presence of the Holy Spirit and that he might now dwell in us as Paul emphasizes. And that carries the responsibility to listen to Him in obedience that we might prove worthy of the gift. that we might be burnished to a heightened glow.
I spent so much time on that because we need to know that we are warriors, but we are under command. We are not John Waynes, going off with our Colt 45's blazing on our personal mission of redemption and revenge. Paul didn't travel alone. Barnabus, John Mark, Luke, Priscilla and Aquila just a sampling of the list. In the end, facing his execution, he longed to see his "son". Timothy, not to go forward to the beheading with a stiff upper lip. We are not standing alone nor are we meant to stand alone.
Ephesians is so powerful because it sums up a lot of Paul's teaching in other letters and distills it to one powerful shot of Spirit. Not the least of which is the idea of the Body.
1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31 But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And moreover a most excellent way show I unto you.
(ASV)
This serves as an introduction to the other "weapons of God" to be discussed two posts from now. and as a reminder that ALL those weapons are from the Spirit and serve THAT Body. The corporate Spiritual body, To borrow a New Age term invented by Theodore Sturgeon in his book More Than Human: Homo Gestalt, a blending of people into a merged, interdependent body of existence this one formed by the Spirit and armed by the Spirit.
Well, I said we'd be getting into heavy detail. All this groundwork laid, next time, we will move to those weapons we highlighted at the beginning and emphasize what the mission is since that gets shoved to the background if we aren't careful.
Weapons come in two flavors: defensive and offensive. Start with Paul in Ephesians:
Ephesians 6:1 Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right.
2 Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward),
3 So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth.
4 And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord.
5 Servants, do what is ordered by those who are your natural masters, having respect and fear for them, with all your heart, as to Christ;
6 Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart;
7 Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 In the knowledge that for every good thing anyone does, he will have his reward from the Lord, If he is a servant or if he is free.
9 And, you masters, do the same things to them, not making use of violent words: in the knowledge that their Master and yours is in heaven, and he has no respect for a man's position.
10 Lastly, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his power.
11 Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
13 For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place.
14 Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet;
16 And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
17 And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 With prayers and deep desires, making requests at all times in the Spirit, and keeping watch, with strong purpose, in prayer for all the saints,
19 And for me, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make clear without fear the secret of the good news,
20 For which I am a representative in chains, and that I may say without fear the things which it is right for me to say.
21 But so that you may have knowledge of my business, and how I am, Tychicus, the well-loved brother and tested servant in the Lord, will give you news of all things:
22 Whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, so that you may have knowledge of our position, and that he may give comfort to your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all those who have true love for our Lord Jesus Christ.
(BBE)
This requires a detailed examination I usually don't do because of time restraints on me, but I want so much that we all understand this, please bear with me. There is so much here and so much truth, I feel overcome with it some times.
First, step back in Ephesians to the opening of Paul's letter:
Eph 1:1 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the purpose of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and those who have faith in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ:
4 Even as he made selection of us in him from the first, so that we might be holy and free from all evil before him in love:
5 As we were designed before by him for the position of sons to himself, through Jesus Christ, in the good pleasure of his purpose,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely gave to us in the Loved One:
7 In whom we have salvation through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, through the wealth of his grace,
8 Which he gave us in full measure in all wisdom and care;
9 Having made clear to us the secret of his purpose, in agreement with the design which he had in mind, to put into his hands
10 The ordering of the times when they are complete, so that all things might come to a head in Christ, the things in heaven and the things on the earth; in him, I say,
11 In whom we have a heritage, being marked out from the first in his purpose who does all things in agreement with his designs;
12 So that his glory might have praise through us who first had hope in Christ:
13 In whom you, having been given the true word, the good news of your salvation, and through your faith in him, were given the sign of the Holy Spirit of hope,
14 Which is the first-fruit of our heritage, till God gets back that which is his, to the praise of his glory.
(BBE)
He writes to the "saints". There is Old Testament background for this word. "Holy ones." Hagioi. "In Old Testament times, the tabernacle, the temple, the Sabbath, and the people themselves were holy as they were consecrated, or set apart, for the service of God. People are not 'saints" in the sense by personal merit, (not earned office); they are set apart by God and in consequence are called to a life of holiness." (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Ephesians by Frances Foulkes)
The crux of this opening is that we have a specially designed place in God's plan, joined to him by the Christ sacrifice and that that sacrifice enabled the gift of the Spirit as the "first fruit" of our salvation.
7 In whom we have salvation through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins, through the wealth of his grace,
Our sainthood is through Him but works itself out in the actions which reflect our belonging to Him. And that holiness has the consequence of warfare, as we begin to emerge with God's power in us and become seen as a Spiritual power by allowing the Spirit to work through us. We become the ship carrying the missiles of war, to use a current allusion, And, since Satan can't directly attack the Spirit and hope for any effect, he will launch attacks on the carrier.
John MacArthur in Ephesians: Our Immeasurable Blessings in Christ with an overview of the letter leading to the discussion of warfare:
"Paul's description of the true Christian, described in Chapters 1-3 and the faithful Christian life, 4:1-6:9, lead him to an exposition of spiritual warfare in 6;10-20. If we are walking worthy of our calling (emphasis mine, W.), in humility rather than pride, in unity rather than divisiveness,in the new self that than old, in love rather than lust, in light rather than darkness, in wisdom rather than foolishness, in fullness of the Spirit rather than the drunkenness of wine and in mutual submission rather than self-serving independence, then we can be absolutely certain that we will have opposition and conflict.
"The good news is that God does not leave His children unprepared or unprotected in this cosmic conflict. This passage is a heartening reminder of all that God has done and all that we must do to win the victory. In Christ, not only can we withstand the devil's assaults, but we can aso defeat the diabolical forces that are arrayed against God and His church, the gates f Hell cannot stand against us."
Let me stress some of what MacArthur wrote. Go back to the carrier analogy. See yourself as the captain of that carrier. you have a slew of Tomahawk missiles, all the missiles you will ever need for any battle. You can load up and fight any enemy all day and all night. You are invincible. Except for one thing: You may be the captain, but you have a Master Commander, a King you serve; you may not launch an attack without His Word, without His permission. He has left his Ambassador with you to give you orders on when and where to launch and that is your duty. You fight war, but at His beck and call. You are invincible but you work with the rest of the forces. If you do not follow orders, you may launch a missile that will hit one of your allies bombers or land amidst a battalion of ground troops rooting out enemies hidden under rocks. You doubt me? God wouldn't stop someone who was serving Him from doing something?
Paul:
Acts 16:5 So the churches were made strong in the faith and were increased in number every day.
6 And after they had gone through the land of Phrygia and Galatia, the Holy Spirit did not let them take the word into Asia;
7 And having come to Mysia, they made an attempt to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them;
8 And going past Mysia, they came down to Troas.
9 And Paul had a vision in the night; a man of Macedonia came, requesting him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia and give us help.
10 And when he had seen the vision, straight away we made the decision to go into Macedonia, for it seemed certain to us that God had sent us to give the good news to them.
(BBE)
And as he leaves the Ephesians, the ones he will later write our study letter:
Ac 20:20 And how I kept back nothing which might be of profit to you, teaching you publicly and privately,
21 Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
22 And now, as you see, I am going to Jerusalem, a prisoner in spirit, having no knowledge of what will come to me there:
23 Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me.
(BBE)
As you read more and more of Acts, you discover Paul had learned to move ONLY as the Spirit led him.
But we need to see something else from Ephesians 1:
For OUR part, we are to have faith, faith in all aspects of the Godhead.
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. {trusted: or, hoped}
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
(KJV)
Eph 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints,
16 cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
18 having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 and what the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
20 which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
22 and he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.
(ASV)
1:14 (Since we are concerned with weapons here, I will dwell more on this aspect of the Trinity, but I wish to have you see that all aspects ARE deeply linked, each one an outpouring of God's plan and love, shown to us separately by the apostle even so we can begin to grasp the way they are functioning while linked eternally together. OUR minds cannot quite comprehend this connection. The allusion was made to 3-in-1 oil by a man who became the darling of the media as a new Christian and then went to Jehovah's Witnesses. Still, it is perhaps the best way for us to begin seeing that blend of the two Spiritual beings and the being of Final Flesh.)
From The Epistle to the Ephesians: A Study Manual by John H. Gerstner, Baker Books.
"The role of the Holy Spirit in the eternal purpose is here, for the first time, in this chapter introduced. The Third Person of the Godhead is the divine member who seals their hearts and gives them an earnest of their inheritance."
Gerstner then proceeds to discuss the working of the Spirit in giving the faith to believe and then sealing those who grasp the faith. The argument dwells on Calvin's point "Both (faith and sealing) I've said are the work of the Spirit." There are continuing arguments as to whether one can have faith and not be sealed by the Spirit, that the two are separate facts and acts. I side with the idea that one is sealed when one believes but let's discuss that idea of sealing a little as it is important in our weapons discussion.
"Sealing" has at least two points that I've seen made by various sources.
First, we have the idea of the King's Seal. An old friend years ago used to do this to her letters to me. She would take a bar of wax, melt some of it onto the envelope flap after she had glues it shut and them impress it with an ring that had the letter "E" for her name, Elizabeth. This gave her letters a flair and showed her personality as well as her personal writing of the letter. For centuries kings had had their "seal" whether it be in a ring or on the famous "nutcracker" of The Prince and The Pauper. That seal was usually impressed in wax of some sort but first that wax had to be melted in a flame (making the previously discussed connection of the Spirit and the flame begin to make even more sense here) and a large blob put on the document. Sometimes scrolls with secret messages were rolled and then sealed and they had to arrive with an unbroken seal so the King's secrets could be proven to be kept. All of this harks back to the King, our Lord, claiming us as His message to the world and as his messengers since that seal on the message indicated the carrier also belonged to the King.
Second, there is the idea of his workmanship, not coincidentally also in Ephesians:
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. {desires: Gr. wills}
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) {by...: or, by whose grace}
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. {ordained: or, prepared}
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
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 peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: {thereby: or, in himself}
(KJV)
Christ's work has created new people and these people are His craftsmanship, His models for life, but they are still made of this Fallen Flesh, this physically wounded stuff.
And an essential part of that crafting is seen in the illustration of God as the potter and us as the clay:
http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2011/07/05/The-Master-Potter-Pottery-Making-in-the-Bible.aspx
Isaiah learned the illustration of the potter well, for near the end of his book he uses it to describe the proper relationship between God and man.
But now, O Lord, thou art our father, we are the clay, and thou our potter, and we all are the work of thy hand (64:8).
In the New Testament, as well, the theme of God’s sovereignty is illustrated by the potter.
You will say, “Then why does God blame a man? For who can resist His will?’ Who are you, sir, to answer God back? Can the pot speak to the potter and say, “Why did you make me like this?’ Surely the potter can do what he likes with the clay. Is he not free to make out of the same lump two vessels, one to be treasured, and the other for common use? (Romans 9:19–21, NEB)
God’s sovereignty over man is one of the great doctrines of the Bible and its truth can no better be illustrated than by the example of the potter. As the clay yields itself to the potter, so the Christian must submit to the authority of God. When clay is first brought in from the field it is unusable; it is hard and full of impurities. As the clay must be refined, so too must the Christian be refined before he can be shaped into a useful vessel by the Master Potter. Impurities have to be removed and tempering agents added; the Christian has to be softened and kneaded. After the Master Potter has formed and shaped the Christian according to His will and pleasure, he must then be “tried by fire” in order to be strengthened for the function God wishes him to perform.
We must learn to be content with the way the Master Potter has made us and with the task He has called us to perform. In the final analysis, this is in our own best interest because God knows each of us better than we know ourselves and His plan for our lives is tailor-made to our individual needs and abilities. He knows the end from the beginning and can direct our paths much better than we can ourselves.
Put yourself in the hands of the Master Potter and allow Him to make you into a beautiful vessel fit for His service.
But finished pots were then burnished.
https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-burnish-pottery-2746229
"Burnishing requires either a very fine clay body, of the use of terra sigilatta or similar very fine slip. Therefore, clay texture is very important. Do not attempt to use a clay body which contains grog or sand.
"Besides texture, you need to also realize that higher temperatures will roughen the outer surface of the pot. The best clays to use, therefore, are earthenware and low-fire clay bodies, whether or not an additional slip is used on the surface.
"Pots with clean, non-ornamented lines and smooth transitions work best. Otherwise, it becomes very difficult to get to all the areas of the pot to burnish them completely. In addition, fussy and complicated shapes detract from the subtle pleasures of the burnished surface.
(This makes me think of God's requirement for us to discard the worldly. It seems he can "burnish" us more precisely when we had[ve lost those "sophisticated" edges. Becoming like children.)
"The burnishing tools you prefer will depend on how you work and what is comfortable to you. Burnishing tools do need to be hard and very smooth. A jeweler's burnishing tool can be used, but most potters use the backs of spoons and polished stones.
"After the preliminary burnishing has been completed, you can get an even higher gloss by using your thumb or a finger.
"The burnishing tools you prefer will depend on how you work and what is comfortable to you. Burnishing tools do need to be hard and very smooth. A jeweler's burnishing tool can be used, but most potters use the backs of spoons and polished stones.
"After the preliminary burnishing has been completed, you can get an even higher gloss by using your thumb or a finger
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
9 Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.
"Burnishing is easiest when the clay is wet slightly with a lubricant. The lubricant allows the clay particles to lift and be re-deposited in an even tighter (read glossier here) matrix.
"Lubricants that work well are vegetable oils, lard, and solid vegetable shortening. I've used oil with good results,
(Recall that oil is also used as a reflection of the Spirit in the Bible. W)
"Burnishing is basically rubbing the surface of the pot until it becomes glossy. This requires a lot of patience. Take into account that burnishing even a small pot will take several hours.
"Work in very small areas, applying only as much lubricant as needed for that section. Lightly apply your lubricant. Begin rubbing the area, applying a fair amount of force but not enough to gouge the pot. You will notice that a thin slurry develops. As you work, the lifted clay particles will settle again.
(See here the process of refining us, God working to bring the shine of himself through our Fallen Flesh, our imperfections. W)
"Firing gives the burnished pot a lovely, buttery soft feel. In ancient times, animal fat , oil, and wax were often used as sealants to make it more waterproof and to bring the pot back to the pre-firing high gloss.
(And every one of those stressed objects has Holy reference, the animal fat from the sacrifices and the wax and oil a Holy Spirit comparisons. The wax, again, as a sealant used with fire. W)
Peter, no doubt recalling those temptations of Christ we mentioned not long ago, in agreement with Paul in a different sense, takes the refining process to metal:
1 Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
(KJV)
And this reminder to a very carnal Church brings us round to another understanding of the Spirit in us:
1Co 3:14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. {defile: or, destroy}
(KJV)
In Solomon's Temple, the Holy of Holies existed in the central chamber and only the High Priest could go there to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people. This he did once a year, wearing a rope so his dead body could be dragged out of that place if the Spirit found him wanting. In Hebrews, the writer tells us that our High Priest, Jesus, offered the one perfect and only needed sacrifice that we ourselves might now exist in the presence of the Holy Spirit and that he might now dwell in us as Paul emphasizes. And that carries the responsibility to listen to Him in obedience that we might prove worthy of the gift. that we might be burnished to a heightened glow.
I spent so much time on that because we need to know that we are warriors, but we are under command. We are not John Waynes, going off with our Colt 45's blazing on our personal mission of redemption and revenge. Paul didn't travel alone. Barnabus, John Mark, Luke, Priscilla and Aquila just a sampling of the list. In the end, facing his execution, he longed to see his "son". Timothy, not to go forward to the beheading with a stiff upper lip. We are not standing alone nor are we meant to stand alone.
Ephesians is so powerful because it sums up a lot of Paul's teaching in other letters and distills it to one powerful shot of Spirit. Not the least of which is the idea of the Body.
1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally members thereof.
28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, divers kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
30 have all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
31 But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And moreover a most excellent way show I unto you.
(ASV)
This serves as an introduction to the other "weapons of God" to be discussed two posts from now. and as a reminder that ALL those weapons are from the Spirit and serve THAT Body. The corporate Spiritual body, To borrow a New Age term invented by Theodore Sturgeon in his book More Than Human: Homo Gestalt, a blending of people into a merged, interdependent body of existence this one formed by the Spirit and armed by the Spirit.
Well, I said we'd be getting into heavy detail. All this groundwork laid, next time, we will move to those weapons we highlighted at the beginning and emphasize what the mission is since that gets shoved to the background if we aren't careful.
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