Hypocrites and Backsliders Lesson 046

Operation Ocular Deforestation:

Retaining the Filling of the Holy Spirit through Resistance

AND

The Armor of God

The Best Part

• 1 Corinthians. 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

• How?

• The Word: Ps. 119.11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.

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The defense against temptation.

• Attitude of the fear of the Lord.• Appeal to Jesus as our victorious high priest.• The Holy Spirit.• Integrity.• Application of faith-rest prayer.• Apply doctrine of separation (Avoidance of

temptation situations)• Resist the devil.

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The Sequence of Resisting

• 1. Recognize Temptation.– Know what Sin is

• 2. Refuse to entertain the temptation– “I Resist that.” or “I reject that thought.”

• 3. Concentrate on the appropriate doctrine or scripture.– Run it through your mind

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The Armor of God• The armor of God: Eph. 6.10-18 Finally, be

strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

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The Armor of God

• 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE

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The Armor of God

• 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the word of God… 

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The Armor of God

• Ephesians 6:12 clearly indicates that the conflict with Satan is spiritual, and therefore no tangible weapons can be effectively employed against him and his minions.

• There is no listing here of specific tactics he will use.

• However, the passage is quite clear that when we follow all the instructions faithfully, we will be able to stand, and we will have victory regardless of his offense.

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The Armor of God

• “Christians in the first century were confronted with the Roman occupation forces and were only too familiar with the uniformed might of the Empire.

• Now the apostle was urging them to model their spiritual life after the military pattern of Rome.

• This they would accomplish, "after having buckled around" their "waist" (accusative singular direct object from OSPHUS) the foundation of their unseen equipment. (Thieme)

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The Armor of God

• The “Full armor of God" is:• The Belt of Truth• The Breastplate of Righteousness• The Boots of the Gospel of Peace• The Shield of Faith• The Helmet of Salvation• The Sword of the Spirit, The Word of God

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The Armor of God

• “What it really comes down to is that the "full armor of God" is simply this:

• Truth• Righteousness• The Gospel of Peace• Faith• Salvation• The Word of God

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The Armor of God

• “At first it was kind of a "DUH!" moment (a 'smack yourself upside the head' moment) for me when I realized that this whole passage really boils down to six simple truths!

• I had been so focused on all the imagery (again, not to take away from the God-inspired purposes of the imagery) that I hadn't really seen the substance. And what made this into more of a joyful, positive "Eureka!" moment is that as I looked at each word or phrase, something became even more clear.

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The Armor of God

• Here's the gist of what I exclaimed to myself as all of this came into focus:

• "Each one of these things is God's gift to us! • This is all stuff that He gives us freely and that

He Himself works in and through us! • This is all stuff that we can't conjure up on our

own! It's all HIM!” – (GraceRoots.com)

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The Armor of God

• The Belt: This was a very important piece to the Roman Soldier's armor. 

• The Roman soldier put around his waist a very wide belt which was the holder for a lot of equipment.

• There was a loop, for example, for the different swords.

• Other loops held ropes and a rations sack. When the legions conquered a city, the soldiers would empty out the ration sack to make room for gold, jewelry, and other loot they picked up.

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The Armor of God

• There were loops on the belt for darts. • The belt was tied in several places to stay in

place, so that no matter how the soldier moved about, fell down, climbed hills, etc., the belt was always in place with weapons at the ready. 

• If the belt were not on straight, then everything would be out of place for the soldier.

• This would cut down his efficiency in battle and may even cost him his life.

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The Armor of God

• Though not mentioned name, this refers to the basic and most essential item of Roman military dress - the BALDRIC, which consisted of a broad leather "girdle" (Latin: BALTEUS), which was worn around the waist, and a leather strap, which was slung across the chest and over the shoulder..

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The Armor of God

• There are many battles to be fought, and as the passage reminds us, the battle is not against people (flesh and blood) but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness, etc.

• “But there is something that is equally as important (or even more important) that, ironically, I think people of faith (those who say they trust the Lord, not themselves) tend to give lip service to: The battle is the Lord's, not ours.” – (Grace Roots)

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The Armor of God

• “The complete belt was used when heavy armor was worn, for to it was attached the bottom part of the breastplate.

• The wide belt around the waist sufficed when the armor was light.

• The baldric was studded with metal plates and fastened with an ornate buckle.

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The Armor of God

• Suspended from this belt were the scabbard for the sword and loops for ropes and rations; all were easily accessible as they were needed.

• Furthermore, thick strips of leather hung down from the belt to circle and protect the soldier's lower body.

• You must admit that it was a handy piece of equipment, and no soldier could go into battle without it!” - R.B. Thieme, Jr (Christian Warrior)

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The Armor of God

• Attached to either the BALTEUS or his waist belt were large coins; engraved upon them were the various battles in which he had fought.

• In addition to these "campaign ribbons," the Roman solider had fastened to his belt his most “valuable possessions”:

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The Armor of God

• Paul mentions the belt first and foremost because he understood its importance: the belt was the key to the rest of the PANOPLIA.; therefore, it paralleled Bible doctrine resident in the soul - the basic requirement for the full armor from God!

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The Armor of God

• Just as the soldier had his loin belt to put on every day to keep his armor together,  we must apply the Word of God to our lives on a daily basis or we will not be able to maintain our defenses. 

• The belt was the first thing that the soldier put on.

• Just as this is the first thing a Christian must put on.

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The Armor of God

• Much of the weaponry and protection depended on the belt being in place properly.

• If we do not use the word of God as our belt of truth, we have no foundation on which to base our warfare with the enemy.

• The belt held things in place where they needed to be.

• The truth of God's word does the same for us. – (Christian Arsenal)

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The Armor of God

• The first element of our armor is truth (vs. 14). • This is easy to understand, since Satan is said to

be the "father of lies." (John 8:44). • Deception is high on the list of things God

considers to be abominations. • A “lying tongue” is one of the things He describes

as “detestable to Him” (Proverbs 6:16-17). • We are therefore exhorted to put on truth for our

own sanctification and deliverance and for the benefit of those to whom we are a witness.

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The Armor of God

• Once the Christian Warrior has buckled on his waist the baldric God intended for him to wear, he is fully prepared for the charge of the unseen foe.

• And how does he get ready to stand? "Bv means of doctrine!"

• The preposition EN plus the singular from ALETHEIA does not mean "with truth" but signifies the means by which we reach our spiritual objective in life - doctrine, or that which is believed.

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The Armor of God

• Thus, the so-called "BELT OF TRUTH" comprises the entire realm of doctrine -- all its truths, all its categories as it is assimilated by the daily function of GAP.

• Therefore, the Christian who wants to attain the status of maturity, he must take up the challenge to expose himself to Bible doctrine on a consistent and daily basis, no matter what distractions or temptations would keep him from it!

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The defense against temptation.

• 2 Cor. 10.3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

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The Armor of God

• The Breastplate of Righteousness • Also in vs. 14 we are told to put on the breastplate

of righteousness. • A breastplate would shield a warrior from a fatal

blow to the heart and other critical organs. • This righteousness is not works of righteousness

done by men—rather, this is the righteousness of Christ, imputed and imparted by God and received by faith, which guards our hearts against the accusations and charges of Satan, and secures our innermost being from his attacks.

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The Armor of God

• The Romans had the ideas for armor design which provided light weight combined with ease of movement and protection from blows.

• This breastplate was attached to the belt by leather thongs passed through rings on the bottom to keep it solidly attached.

• It was anchored to the belt, and it was above the belt.

• Note: the belt had to be put on first, then the breastplate.

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The Armor of God

• One key area the Soldier's breastplate protected was the heart.

• While the heart is the one key organ responsible for sending blood through our circulatory system to keep us alive, in our spiritual lives the heart is the source for living out righteousness or evil.

• When we walk in the Reservoir of Righteousness of God, it is a weapon of defense against all slanderous accusations, and outrageous strategies of the devil.

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The Armor of God

• The Bible declares that the heart of man is prone to be tempted according to Matthew 26:41.

• Right thinking and doing from Imputed Righteousness (our authority) and the Right Thinking and Doing from the Imparted Righteousness in the R of R is that which we are to protect ourselves with.

• (And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and abstains from and shuns all evil?

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The Armor of God

• Vegetius noted that troops, defenseless and exposed to the enemy's arsenal of weapons, are more disposed to flee than they are to take their stand.

• The case was quite different when soldiers were protected by the complete armor and when they were instructed in the expert use of their weapons; they would then fight with great courage and confidence.

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The Armor of God

• Ancient Rome provided both the armor and the training for its fighting men.

• The basic body armor consisted of the belt and the breastplate.

• The term "breastplate" is somewhat of a misnomer.

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The Armor of God

• In the first century, Latin and Greek were equivalent languages. The Latin word for breastplate is LORICA; the Greek word, THORAX (literally, "door").

• This LORICA was usually constructed of leather and was often overlaid with metal strips or mail.

• Shaped like a sleeveless coat, the cuirass covered both chest and back; it fitted the shoulders and was fastened down the front by means of a series of studs and slots.

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The Armor of God

• Back hinges gave the body armor a degree of flexibility, and the metal offered added protection for the vital organs.

• The enlisted man's cuirass was sometimes reinforced with iron or bronze and had metal fringes over the shoulders.

• Often the basic metal on the officer's breastplate was plated with silver and gold.

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The Armor of God

• It was the belt which held the breastplate securely in place, even as it supported the heavy leather and metal kilt.

• In his epic, AENEID, Virgil calls the breastplate STADIOS (standing upright).

• So solid and sturdy was this ancient coat of mail, that it stood upright by itself and was frequently used as a campstool.

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The Armor of God

• Its primary purpose, however, was the protection of every part of the soldier's body, from his neck down to his knees.

• Certainly, it took constant practice to put on the breastplate and to become accustomed to the weight of the ancient armor.

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The Armor of God

• Neither Rome nor its army was built in a day! • So it is with the Christian Warrior. • We do not become mature believers overnight! • It takes time and persistence to "GAP it" to

super-grace, to buckle on the belt of truth. Ephesians 6: 14 takes this into consideration and states that "after having buckled on ... the baldric by means of doctrine," we must put on the piece of equipment which is an integral part of the body armor - the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

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The Armor of God

• The adjunctive use of the conjunction KAI connects the belt and the breastplate by the word "also."

• "Also, after having put on aorist middle participle _ 'to put on') the breastplate (accusative singular direct object from THORAX) of righteousness (descriptive genitive singular from DIKAIOSUNE)."

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The Armor of God

• The spiritual counterpart of the ancient LORICA, symbolizes the Christian's body armor and represents the righteousness of the believer in super grace status.

• It is not overt righteousness but righteousness in the sense of fulfillment of the divine standards - a way of life in the soul - which characterizes the mature Christian Warrior.

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The Armor of God

• Thus, the breastplate is synonymous with the fulfillment of living in the Reservoir of Righteousness.

• The Imparted R of R is God’s provision for the Righteousness described earlier in Job.

• It is the R of R plus Volition.• Such righteousness is totally divorced from self-

righteousness; rather, it is the product of doctrine resident in the soul and results in the surpassing-grace reward of the crown, or Wreath of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

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Next Week

• Conclusion of the study of The Armor of God:

• 3. The Combat Boots.

• 4. The Shield of Faith.

• 5. The Helmet of Salvation.

• 6. The Sword of the Spirit.

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