Post by M. Hawbaker on Sept 26, 2018 7:14:56 GMT
Here is an exerpt from a study I wrote on the season between Sukkot (Tabernacles, which just ended) and Pesah (Passover, which happens in the spring). This 5 month period is a time to focus on several things:
1. Spiritual Warfare
2. Sowing the seeds of the harvest
3. Being a tree planted by the Rivers of waters
here is the portion I wrote on the armor of God:
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The place that is most descriptive regarding the Armour of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Here the Armour of God is described as having several parts and aspects. The armour is likened to a defensive/offensive weapons system that has many aspects. Paul admonishes us in this passage to take all the weapons that are available whenever we go up to fight against the wiles (methods) of the enemy. This is why I don’t understand those who resist the Baptism of the Holy Ghost – the Baptism is something that God has made available for you to walk more effectively as a believer.
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Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:10-18
We are commanded here to take up everything that is offered by God in order to make a stand in the evil day. Which day is evil? If we flip back one page in our Bibles to the passage with which this study began, we see that every day is evil because of the fall of man (Ephesians 5:16). So then, of what does the Armour of God consist, and how can we apply this to our daily lives?
1. Loins Girded with Truth. The word translated ‘loins’ in this passage is the Greek word ‘osphus’, which means ‘the loins’, which is the center of your strength and balance. Here God tells us that we should have our balanced strengthened by truth. As believers, our balance and strength comes from the Word of God. According to Peter, these ‘loins’ are in our mind: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:13). This harmonizes with the idea of renewing our minds with the word of God (Romans 12:1-2) and washing our minds with the Word (Ephesians 5:26). Our source of truth is the Word of God:
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a. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. (Ps. 119:142)
b. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. (Ps. 119:151)
c. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: (Daniel 10:21a)
d. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17)
e. By the word of Truth (II Corinthians 6:7a)
The whole of the Word of God is truth: “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (I Thessalonians 2:13), and we are able to walk in the balance and strength of truth by continuing in the Word of God:
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Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31-32
We receive truth, and walk with a centered strength by continuing in the Word of God. In the ancient Roman armour, all the rest of the gear centered around and attached to this part of the armament. All the rest of our armour is contingent on this: the truth of the Word of God.
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness. In ancient armour, the breastplate was the devise used to protect the wearer’s vital organs. It was used to keep the heart, lungs and liver safe from attack. It covered from the throat area down to the lower belly, and was made of a metal plate (usually brass). This shows the vitality of walking in the Righteousness of the LORD whenever we face the attack of the enemy. Whenever we are saved, God removes from us our old stony heart and places within us a ‘heart of flesh’, which is open to His guidance (Ezekiel 11:19). Then God avails us of His righteousness, so that we can approach a holy God without dread and trepidation. Indeed the very purpose of Jesus here in the earth was summed up when Paul wrote “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousnessof God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21). We are righteous, not because of deeds we do and acts that we commit, we are made righteous just like Abram was – “He believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). The righteousness that God pours out freely from His throne is not earnable. We can do nothing to obtain right standing with God. That is what Paul was revealing when he wrote that “all have sinned and fallen short” of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). But look at the whole sentence from Romans 3:
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But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
It is because of faith. Look at what Paul says: ‘by faith’, ‘upon all that believe’ and ‘of them that believe in Jesus’. Even after coming into relationship with God – our works by themselves are not valid, unless offered in faith to God. Consider what Paul wrote about the Jews in Romans:
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What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone… for they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousnessto every one that believeth.
Romans 9:30-32, 10:3-4
It says here that Jesus is the end of the Law concerning righteousness for everyone that believes. It does not say that He is the end of the Law, but the end concerning righteousness. God knows our frame, that we are flesh – and because He knows, He made available justification through faith.
I said all that to say this – we have no righteousness of our own, with which we may face the enemy. If you approach h’Satan with your own righteousness, you will end up like the sons of Skeva written about in Acts 19:14-16 – “Paul I know, Jesus I know, but who are you?” Keeping this perspective will help protect your ‘vital organs’ in the Spirit as you enter into spiritual warfare.
Something that helps me keep my perspective on righteousness is the Jewish tradition of Betrothal. The Mishnah states that the days that nearly all the young women would become betrothed was either Av 15th or Tishre 11th. On both of these days, they would go out in borrowed white dresses and dance in the vineyards – and the young men would go out and choose their mates. The fact that the dresses were "borrowed" points to the fact that our righteousness is not our own, it is borrowed from the LORD.
3. Our Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace. There are many
aspects to this item of the armour of God – feet, shoes, preparation, Gospel and peace. While there isn’t enough time to teach thoroughly on them all here, let me touch on each one briefly:
a. Feet. The feet speak of two things; guidance and subjugation. The Word is Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 199:105). God guides us through His Word. This also looks back to the passage from Joel on the Army of God – they shall walk everyone in his own path. Regarding the subjugation of the enemy, Paul wrote “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you Amen” (Romans 16:20).
b. Shoes. Shoes protect our feet. In armour and warfare, there is advantage to having special shoes to prevent injury – hence the combat boot of today. In ancient warfare, one of the common weapons of retreat was the jack. The game ‘jacks’ is played with a type of an ancient weapon that armies (he Roman army did this commonly) would drop on the ground when they were in retreat. Now consider this promise to Moses; “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25). This is a promise of the Spirit – by being prepared with the Gospel, the jacks the enemy drops in mind of the person we are witnessing to will not be able to trip us up!
c. Preparation. Just three verses: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and beready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15). “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6).
d. Gospel. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7). “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Isaiah 61:1-2a). While these are Messianic prophecies, they apply to us because we are the Body of Christ, and been given the ministry of reconciliation.
e. Peace. And this is the very purpose of the ministry of reconciliation which God has given us – to proclaim that man can have peace with God through the propitiatory death and shed blood of Jesus the LORD. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). See also Ephesians 2:13-18:
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But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 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; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peaceto you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
KevCornette October 16th, 2004 06:54 AM
4. The Shield of Faith (to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one). The reason God has given us the shield of faith is so we may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. These fiery darts come at us in two ways: First, as temptation or trial. In I Peter 4:12, the problems of life that we face are equated to fiery trials – and when we face temptation or trial, the shield of Faith will empower us to find the way of escape promised in I Cor. 10:13. The second way the enemy attacks us is by the words of others that are not walking in the Spirit. “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:5-6). The Roman legions were the first army that was successful against the Greek army. The Greeks used fire as one of their common weapons, and until the Romans, no army figured out how to resist the Grecian Fire. The Romans made brazen shields, just as the other armies, but covered their shields with a layer of leather. Before going up to battle the Greeks, the Roman armies would soak their shield in water. Then when the Greek armies used weapons of fire, the fire was quenched by the wet leather. As long as the leather stayed wet, the soldier was protected. This is similar to the way faith works. We dampen our faith with a daily application of the Word of God – and as long as our faith shield stays wet with the Word, we are protected from much of the fiery darts of the wicked one. However, if we ignore the Word, our faith will run dry, and we will be vulnerable to attack.
The enemy walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. By keeping the shield of faith wet with the Word of God, we are showing the devil, “I am not who you would want to attack.”
5. The Helmet of Salvation. A helmet serves one purpose – to prevent and easy kill. The word translated ‘salvation’ in the New Testament is the Greek word ‘soteria’. It has a lengthy definition[1] which may be summed up in saying total and complete deliverance. In I Thessalonians 5:8, the helmet is further defined as being ‘the hope of salvation’. We have a promise that God will completely deliver us – whether in this life or the next – through the mighty power of His salvation:
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For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 8:24-25
The promise of deliverance and peace protects the mind of the believer – and the blessed hope of eternal deliverance gives us peace of mind. One other interesting aside – when Isaiah describes the Armour of God – it calls this item ‘the Helmet of Yeshua’.
6. The Sword of the Spirit. The final piece of armour mentioned in Ephesians is the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God. Greek has two words that are translated ‘word’ in the New Testament – rhema and logos. Logos means the written thought. It conveys the idea that God had thoughts and ideas, and conveyed these ideas to a man who wrote them down. The Bible that we hold in our hands and read each day is an example of the Logos. It was this Logos, the thought of God, that was made flesh and dwelt among men when Jesus was here on earth (John 1:6).
However, these written thoughts are not the Sword of the Spirit, according to the Greek text. The text of Ephesians 6:17 says that the Sword of the Spirit is the spoken Word of God. The Rhema[2]. Through this understanding, we see why Jesus responded to the attack of HaSatan by speaking the Word of God. Every time Jesus was attacked, He responded by speaking the Word. This proclamation of the Word of God is the offensive weapon God has given in order for us to have consistent victory over the enemy in every area. Our own words do not have the power needed to fight a 6000-year-old spiritual being. So we must resort to words that are higher than ours! It is by hearing (Greek ‘akouon’) the spoken word that our faith is exercised and developed (Romans 10:17). It is by speaking the Word that we renew and wash our minds (Ephesians 5:26). It was by the spoken Word that God framed creation (Hebrews 11:3).
It is by the spoken Word of God that we are able to invade the kingdom of darkness and push back the gates of hell in prayer. This is why we must pray the Word of God – when we pray the Word we set ourselves in agreement with the perfect will of God. We should never venture into the arena of praying our will for others. This is the essence of witchcraft – enforcing our will over the will of others. Praying the Word of God will help us avoid this error.
As an example of praying God’s Word, I will include here a prayer that I compiled from the Word of God which I pray for my wife (especially during times when I am frustrated or don’t have specific direction on how to pray for her:
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Father, i give praise for the glory of Your grace, through which You have made Renee accepted in the beloved, that she is redeemed through his blood, that her sins are forgiven, according to the riches of Your grace, Lord; Father, i thank You that You have abounded toward Renee and me in all wisdom and prudence; That we know the mystery of Your will, according to Your good pleasure which You have purposed in Your Word, therefore, because of Renee's faith in the Lord Jesus, i will not cease to give thanks for my loving wife, making mention of her in my prayers; that You, the Great God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give unto her the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You,and Your will: that the eyes of her understanding, already being enlightened, will know what is the hope of her calling, and what the riches of the glory of her inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Gods power toward her as a believer, according to the working of Your mighty power.
For this cause I bow my knees unto You, Lord; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that You would grant Renee, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in the her inner man; that the annointing of God will dwell in my wife's heart by faith; that she, being rooted and grounded in love, will comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that Renee is filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto You and You alone be glory in our house by Christ Jesus.
You are my record, God, how greatly I long after Renee all in the depths of compassion in Jesus Christ. and this I ask, that Your love may abound yet more and more in her heart in knowledge and in all judgment; that she will approve things that are excellent; that she may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ; that my wife is filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. For this cause I will not cease to pray for Renee, and that she is filled with the knowledge of Your will, God; in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that she walks worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to God's glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Father, I give You thanks, because you have made Renee and me partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: that You have delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of Your dear Son: In whom we have redemption through Jesus' blood, and the forgiveness of sins: Father, it is my desire to walk in wisdom in all that i do, so i make the words and proclaimation of wisdom my proclaimaltion:
Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Lastly, Lord, i know it is Your will that I walk in love toward my wife. I make the confession of love and the proclaination of love to be my confession and proclaimation...I am patient and kind; i do not envy; i do not brag about myself, I am not puffed up, I do not behave unseemly or shamefully, I do not seek my own fulfillment, am not easily provoked, and I think no evil; i do not rejoice in sin or unrighteousness, but rejoice in the truth; Through Your love, God, i can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. And as i stay in Your love, i will never fail. I acknowledge Renee is a gift from you, my good thing, and ask for your annointing to be the husband that you would have me to be for her...a godly husband and loving partner to my precious gift that you have given me. By the Blood of Jesus, and through His Grace i ask in Jesus name...AMEN!
This concludes Paul’s writings on the armour of God – but we will look at one more passage describing that armour before finishing.
The Final Two Pieces
With all of the other pieces of armour in mind, consider this passage from Isaiah 59, where we will find the last two items of the Armour of God:
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And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Isaiah 59:16-17
7. The Garments of Vengeance. In ancient armour, there was clothing that was worn under the armour to help keep the person warm and prevent chaffing. It is through this custom that underwear was developed. That is why I call this the Holy Underwear (which is completely different from the Mormon holy underwear)… and what goes underneath our armour – the underlying attitude, is vengeance. Toward whom? When Moses prophesied of God’s vengeance, he said “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). Here, the nations (the goyim – those without a covenant with God) are to rejoice. The unbeliever is not the enemy! (We wrestle not against flesh and blood – Ephesians 6:12). In dealing with people that have offended, we are to have forgiveness and compassion: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:18-21). “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh” (II Corinthians 10:3). Now look at the rest of the sentence Paul wrote, and you will find the Garments of Vengeance right there in II Corinthians 10:
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For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Here we see the proper balance of vengeance – if I want to be used to correct someone else, I must first be willing to receive rebuke and ‘vengeance’ against my sin. And our vengeance should only be toward the Devil and his works – not against another person (whether saved or unsaved).
Finally, consider that the act of vengeance carries the idea of hatred. We should first hate the sin in our own lives before mote hunting in our brothers’ lives. So then, if we are going to hate, we should find out what God hates and emulate Him!
1. Evil. (Proverbs 8:13)
2. Pride (Proverbs 8:13)
3. Arrogance (Proverbs 8:13)
4. The Evil way (Proverbs 8:13)
5. The Perverse mouth
6. Imagining evil in your heart against your brothers in the LORD. (Zech. 8:17)
7. False oaths (Zech. 8:17)
8. Burning incense to other Gods (Jeremiah 44:3-4)
9. A proud look (Proverbs 6:17)
10. A Lying Tongue (Proverbs 6:17)
11. Hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17)
12. A heart that devises wicked imaginations (Proverbs 6:18)
13. Feet that run to mischief (Proverbs 6:18)
14. A false witness that speaks lies (Proverbs 6:19)
15. One who sows discord among the brethren (Proverbs 6:19)
These are attitudes we should hate in our own lives – and avoid like the devil. Secondly, if we see them in the lives of our brothers in Christ – we should earnestly pray for them to see the error of their attitude and repent. As we examine this list, we need to remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood – and that people who are caught in these sins are not the enemy. They need to be freed. When our obedience is fulfilled, we show others how God freed us from the sin that easily beset us – and help them to obtain deliverance.
KevCornette October 16th, 2004 06:55 AM
8. Zeal as a Cloak. The final piece of armour mentioned in the Bible is the Cloak of Zeal. To understand this item, we simply need to examine what a cloak is used for: Warmth and concealment.
Warmth points to the idea that we need to maintain godly zeal so we will stay hot about the things of God. The words translated zeal in both the Old and New Testaments have roots that mean ‘fervent envy’, ‘jealousy’ and ‘earnestly covet’. Just like godly ‘hate’ is removed from the emotion of hate, godly envy is removed from the fleshly coveting that is condemned in the Word. Romans 10:2 says that zeal can be without knowledge, so we need to keep our zeal firmly focused on the Word of God. So then, how and what are we to covet? What should our zeal be focused on? There is only two places in the Bible where we are commanded to covet:
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But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
I Corinthians 12:31
Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues
I Corinthians 14:39
Our coveting, therefore our zeal, should be for the gifts of the Spirit and the things of God. Desiring to be used in the gifts of the Spirit so that we are a conduit of the Presence God should be the motivating factor to our zeal. This desire will keep us in the church of Philadelphia and out of Laodicea! That is the essence of the whole Christian life: The Word and the Spirit!
One last aspect of the spiritual battle to which we are called, is the fact that the armour of God is all facing forward. There is not any provision for going back. That looks back to the prophecy by Moses that we would have’ shoes of iron and brass, and as our days, so shall our strength be.’ We should be stronger this year than last. We should be better off now than we were 5 years ago. The higher our number of days, the higher our strength should be!
So then, what about when the enemy comes in for a sneak attack? Here is how God make provision for us: When we read about the fasted life, and how God calls us to fast, there is a little promise that is given to people who fast. Because the King James uses a dead word, the power of the statement is lost. Let me read to you the benefits of fast from the KJV:
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Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
Isaiah 58:8-9a
Now let me quote that verse from the New King James: “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8). HalleluYAH! God’s Spirit will be our rear guard. So what good is a rear guard when your armour only faces front? “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). The voice of the Holy Ghost will say, ‘TURN AROUND, the enemy is at hand!” and then, when we turn around, our armour is facing the right direction! Immunity from sneak attack!
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Footnotes:
[1]swthri,a soteria {so-tay-ree'-ah} AV - salvation 40, the (one) be saved 1, deliver + 1325 1, health 1, saving 1, that (one) be saved + 1519 1; 45 • 1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation 1a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies 1b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation 1b1) of Messianic salvation 2) salvation as the present possession of all true Christians 3) future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.
[2]r`h/ma rhema {hray'-mah} • from 4483; TDNT - 6:69,505; n n • AV - word 56, saying 9, thing 3, no thing + 3756 1, not tr 1; 70 • 1) that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word 1a) any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning 1b) speech, discourse 1b1) what one has said 1c) a series of words joined together into a sentence (a declaration of one's mind made in words) 1c1) an utterance 1c2) a saying of any sort as a message, a narrative 1c2a) concerning some occurrence 2) subject matter of speech, thing spoken of 2a) so far forth as it is a matter of narration 2b) so far as it is a matter of command 2c) a matter of dispute, evidence for a case at law
1. Spiritual Warfare
2. Sowing the seeds of the harvest
3. Being a tree planted by the Rivers of waters
here is the portion I wrote on the armor of God:
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The place that is most descriptive regarding the Armour of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Here the Armour of God is described as having several parts and aspects. The armour is likened to a defensive/offensive weapons system that has many aspects. Paul admonishes us in this passage to take all the weapons that are available whenever we go up to fight against the wiles (methods) of the enemy. This is why I don’t understand those who resist the Baptism of the Holy Ghost – the Baptism is something that God has made available for you to walk more effectively as a believer.
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Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:10-18
We are commanded here to take up everything that is offered by God in order to make a stand in the evil day. Which day is evil? If we flip back one page in our Bibles to the passage with which this study began, we see that every day is evil because of the fall of man (Ephesians 5:16). So then, of what does the Armour of God consist, and how can we apply this to our daily lives?
1. Loins Girded with Truth. The word translated ‘loins’ in this passage is the Greek word ‘osphus’, which means ‘the loins’, which is the center of your strength and balance. Here God tells us that we should have our balanced strengthened by truth. As believers, our balance and strength comes from the Word of God. According to Peter, these ‘loins’ are in our mind: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:13). This harmonizes with the idea of renewing our minds with the word of God (Romans 12:1-2) and washing our minds with the Word (Ephesians 5:26). Our source of truth is the Word of God:
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a. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth. (Ps. 119:142)
b. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. (Ps. 119:151)
c. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: (Daniel 10:21a)
d. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17)
e. By the word of Truth (II Corinthians 6:7a)
The whole of the Word of God is truth: “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” (I Thessalonians 2:13), and we are able to walk in the balance and strength of truth by continuing in the Word of God:
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Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:31-32
We receive truth, and walk with a centered strength by continuing in the Word of God. In the ancient Roman armour, all the rest of the gear centered around and attached to this part of the armament. All the rest of our armour is contingent on this: the truth of the Word of God.
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness. In ancient armour, the breastplate was the devise used to protect the wearer’s vital organs. It was used to keep the heart, lungs and liver safe from attack. It covered from the throat area down to the lower belly, and was made of a metal plate (usually brass). This shows the vitality of walking in the Righteousness of the LORD whenever we face the attack of the enemy. Whenever we are saved, God removes from us our old stony heart and places within us a ‘heart of flesh’, which is open to His guidance (Ezekiel 11:19). Then God avails us of His righteousness, so that we can approach a holy God without dread and trepidation. Indeed the very purpose of Jesus here in the earth was summed up when Paul wrote “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousnessof God in him.” (II Corinthians 5:21). We are righteous, not because of deeds we do and acts that we commit, we are made righteous just like Abram was – “He believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). The righteousness that God pours out freely from His throne is not earnable. We can do nothing to obtain right standing with God. That is what Paul was revealing when he wrote that “all have sinned and fallen short” of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). But look at the whole sentence from Romans 3:
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But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
It is because of faith. Look at what Paul says: ‘by faith’, ‘upon all that believe’ and ‘of them that believe in Jesus’. Even after coming into relationship with God – our works by themselves are not valid, unless offered in faith to God. Consider what Paul wrote about the Jews in Romans:
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What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone… for they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousnessto every one that believeth.
Romans 9:30-32, 10:3-4
It says here that Jesus is the end of the Law concerning righteousness for everyone that believes. It does not say that He is the end of the Law, but the end concerning righteousness. God knows our frame, that we are flesh – and because He knows, He made available justification through faith.
I said all that to say this – we have no righteousness of our own, with which we may face the enemy. If you approach h’Satan with your own righteousness, you will end up like the sons of Skeva written about in Acts 19:14-16 – “Paul I know, Jesus I know, but who are you?” Keeping this perspective will help protect your ‘vital organs’ in the Spirit as you enter into spiritual warfare.
Something that helps me keep my perspective on righteousness is the Jewish tradition of Betrothal. The Mishnah states that the days that nearly all the young women would become betrothed was either Av 15th or Tishre 11th. On both of these days, they would go out in borrowed white dresses and dance in the vineyards – and the young men would go out and choose their mates. The fact that the dresses were "borrowed" points to the fact that our righteousness is not our own, it is borrowed from the LORD.
3. Our Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace. There are many
aspects to this item of the armour of God – feet, shoes, preparation, Gospel and peace. While there isn’t enough time to teach thoroughly on them all here, let me touch on each one briefly:
a. Feet. The feet speak of two things; guidance and subjugation. The Word is Lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 199:105). God guides us through His Word. This also looks back to the passage from Joel on the Army of God – they shall walk everyone in his own path. Regarding the subjugation of the enemy, Paul wrote “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you Amen” (Romans 16:20).
b. Shoes. Shoes protect our feet. In armour and warfare, there is advantage to having special shoes to prevent injury – hence the combat boot of today. In ancient warfare, one of the common weapons of retreat was the jack. The game ‘jacks’ is played with a type of an ancient weapon that armies (he Roman army did this commonly) would drop on the ground when they were in retreat. Now consider this promise to Moses; “Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25). This is a promise of the Spirit – by being prepared with the Gospel, the jacks the enemy drops in mind of the person we are witnessing to will not be able to trip us up!
c. Preparation. Just three verses: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and beready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (I Peter 3:15). “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6).
d. Gospel. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7). “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Isaiah 61:1-2a). While these are Messianic prophecies, they apply to us because we are the Body of Christ, and been given the ministry of reconciliation.
e. Peace. And this is the very purpose of the ministry of reconciliation which God has given us – to proclaim that man can have peace with God through the propitiatory death and shed blood of Jesus the LORD. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). See also Ephesians 2:13-18:
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But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 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; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peaceto you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
KevCornette October 16th, 2004 06:54 AM
4. The Shield of Faith (to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one). The reason God has given us the shield of faith is so we may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. These fiery darts come at us in two ways: First, as temptation or trial. In I Peter 4:12, the problems of life that we face are equated to fiery trials – and when we face temptation or trial, the shield of Faith will empower us to find the way of escape promised in I Cor. 10:13. The second way the enemy attacks us is by the words of others that are not walking in the Spirit. “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” (James 3:5-6). The Roman legions were the first army that was successful against the Greek army. The Greeks used fire as one of their common weapons, and until the Romans, no army figured out how to resist the Grecian Fire. The Romans made brazen shields, just as the other armies, but covered their shields with a layer of leather. Before going up to battle the Greeks, the Roman armies would soak their shield in water. Then when the Greek armies used weapons of fire, the fire was quenched by the wet leather. As long as the leather stayed wet, the soldier was protected. This is similar to the way faith works. We dampen our faith with a daily application of the Word of God – and as long as our faith shield stays wet with the Word, we are protected from much of the fiery darts of the wicked one. However, if we ignore the Word, our faith will run dry, and we will be vulnerable to attack.
The enemy walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. By keeping the shield of faith wet with the Word of God, we are showing the devil, “I am not who you would want to attack.”
5. The Helmet of Salvation. A helmet serves one purpose – to prevent and easy kill. The word translated ‘salvation’ in the New Testament is the Greek word ‘soteria’. It has a lengthy definition[1] which may be summed up in saying total and complete deliverance. In I Thessalonians 5:8, the helmet is further defined as being ‘the hope of salvation’. We have a promise that God will completely deliver us – whether in this life or the next – through the mighty power of His salvation:
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For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
Romans 8:24-25
The promise of deliverance and peace protects the mind of the believer – and the blessed hope of eternal deliverance gives us peace of mind. One other interesting aside – when Isaiah describes the Armour of God – it calls this item ‘the Helmet of Yeshua’.
6. The Sword of the Spirit. The final piece of armour mentioned in Ephesians is the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God. Greek has two words that are translated ‘word’ in the New Testament – rhema and logos. Logos means the written thought. It conveys the idea that God had thoughts and ideas, and conveyed these ideas to a man who wrote them down. The Bible that we hold in our hands and read each day is an example of the Logos. It was this Logos, the thought of God, that was made flesh and dwelt among men when Jesus was here on earth (John 1:6).
However, these written thoughts are not the Sword of the Spirit, according to the Greek text. The text of Ephesians 6:17 says that the Sword of the Spirit is the spoken Word of God. The Rhema[2]. Through this understanding, we see why Jesus responded to the attack of HaSatan by speaking the Word of God. Every time Jesus was attacked, He responded by speaking the Word. This proclamation of the Word of God is the offensive weapon God has given in order for us to have consistent victory over the enemy in every area. Our own words do not have the power needed to fight a 6000-year-old spiritual being. So we must resort to words that are higher than ours! It is by hearing (Greek ‘akouon’) the spoken word that our faith is exercised and developed (Romans 10:17). It is by speaking the Word that we renew and wash our minds (Ephesians 5:26). It was by the spoken Word that God framed creation (Hebrews 11:3).
It is by the spoken Word of God that we are able to invade the kingdom of darkness and push back the gates of hell in prayer. This is why we must pray the Word of God – when we pray the Word we set ourselves in agreement with the perfect will of God. We should never venture into the arena of praying our will for others. This is the essence of witchcraft – enforcing our will over the will of others. Praying the Word of God will help us avoid this error.
As an example of praying God’s Word, I will include here a prayer that I compiled from the Word of God which I pray for my wife (especially during times when I am frustrated or don’t have specific direction on how to pray for her:
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Father, i give praise for the glory of Your grace, through which You have made Renee accepted in the beloved, that she is redeemed through his blood, that her sins are forgiven, according to the riches of Your grace, Lord; Father, i thank You that You have abounded toward Renee and me in all wisdom and prudence; That we know the mystery of Your will, according to Your good pleasure which You have purposed in Your Word, therefore, because of Renee's faith in the Lord Jesus, i will not cease to give thanks for my loving wife, making mention of her in my prayers; that You, the Great God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give unto her the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You,and Your will: that the eyes of her understanding, already being enlightened, will know what is the hope of her calling, and what the riches of the glory of her inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of Gods power toward her as a believer, according to the working of Your mighty power.
For this cause I bow my knees unto You, Lord; the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that You would grant Renee, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might by the Holy Spirit in the her inner man; that the annointing of God will dwell in my wife's heart by faith; that she, being rooted and grounded in love, will comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that Renee is filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto You and You alone be glory in our house by Christ Jesus.
You are my record, God, how greatly I long after Renee all in the depths of compassion in Jesus Christ. and this I ask, that Your love may abound yet more and more in her heart in knowledge and in all judgment; that she will approve things that are excellent; that she may be sincere and without offence until the day of Christ; that my wife is filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. For this cause I will not cease to pray for Renee, and that she is filled with the knowledge of Your will, God; in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that she walks worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to God's glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Father, I give You thanks, because you have made Renee and me partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: that You have delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of Your dear Son: In whom we have redemption through Jesus' blood, and the forgiveness of sins: Father, it is my desire to walk in wisdom in all that i do, so i make the words and proclaimation of wisdom my proclaimaltion:
Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
Lastly, Lord, i know it is Your will that I walk in love toward my wife. I make the confession of love and the proclaination of love to be my confession and proclaimation...I am patient and kind; i do not envy; i do not brag about myself, I am not puffed up, I do not behave unseemly or shamefully, I do not seek my own fulfillment, am not easily provoked, and I think no evil; i do not rejoice in sin or unrighteousness, but rejoice in the truth; Through Your love, God, i can bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. And as i stay in Your love, i will never fail. I acknowledge Renee is a gift from you, my good thing, and ask for your annointing to be the husband that you would have me to be for her...a godly husband and loving partner to my precious gift that you have given me. By the Blood of Jesus, and through His Grace i ask in Jesus name...AMEN!
This concludes Paul’s writings on the armour of God – but we will look at one more passage describing that armour before finishing.
The Final Two Pieces
With all of the other pieces of armour in mind, consider this passage from Isaiah 59, where we will find the last two items of the Armour of God:
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And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Isaiah 59:16-17
7. The Garments of Vengeance. In ancient armour, there was clothing that was worn under the armour to help keep the person warm and prevent chaffing. It is through this custom that underwear was developed. That is why I call this the Holy Underwear (which is completely different from the Mormon holy underwear)… and what goes underneath our armour – the underlying attitude, is vengeance. Toward whom? When Moses prophesied of God’s vengeance, he said “Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). Here, the nations (the goyim – those without a covenant with God) are to rejoice. The unbeliever is not the enemy! (We wrestle not against flesh and blood – Ephesians 6:12). In dealing with people that have offended, we are to have forgiveness and compassion: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:18-21). “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh” (II Corinthians 10:3). Now look at the rest of the sentence Paul wrote, and you will find the Garments of Vengeance right there in II Corinthians 10:
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For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Here we see the proper balance of vengeance – if I want to be used to correct someone else, I must first be willing to receive rebuke and ‘vengeance’ against my sin. And our vengeance should only be toward the Devil and his works – not against another person (whether saved or unsaved).
Finally, consider that the act of vengeance carries the idea of hatred. We should first hate the sin in our own lives before mote hunting in our brothers’ lives. So then, if we are going to hate, we should find out what God hates and emulate Him!
1. Evil. (Proverbs 8:13)
2. Pride (Proverbs 8:13)
3. Arrogance (Proverbs 8:13)
4. The Evil way (Proverbs 8:13)
5. The Perverse mouth
6. Imagining evil in your heart against your brothers in the LORD. (Zech. 8:17)
7. False oaths (Zech. 8:17)
8. Burning incense to other Gods (Jeremiah 44:3-4)
9. A proud look (Proverbs 6:17)
10. A Lying Tongue (Proverbs 6:17)
11. Hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17)
12. A heart that devises wicked imaginations (Proverbs 6:18)
13. Feet that run to mischief (Proverbs 6:18)
14. A false witness that speaks lies (Proverbs 6:19)
15. One who sows discord among the brethren (Proverbs 6:19)
These are attitudes we should hate in our own lives – and avoid like the devil. Secondly, if we see them in the lives of our brothers in Christ – we should earnestly pray for them to see the error of their attitude and repent. As we examine this list, we need to remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood – and that people who are caught in these sins are not the enemy. They need to be freed. When our obedience is fulfilled, we show others how God freed us from the sin that easily beset us – and help them to obtain deliverance.
KevCornette October 16th, 2004 06:55 AM
8. Zeal as a Cloak. The final piece of armour mentioned in the Bible is the Cloak of Zeal. To understand this item, we simply need to examine what a cloak is used for: Warmth and concealment.
Warmth points to the idea that we need to maintain godly zeal so we will stay hot about the things of God. The words translated zeal in both the Old and New Testaments have roots that mean ‘fervent envy’, ‘jealousy’ and ‘earnestly covet’. Just like godly ‘hate’ is removed from the emotion of hate, godly envy is removed from the fleshly coveting that is condemned in the Word. Romans 10:2 says that zeal can be without knowledge, so we need to keep our zeal firmly focused on the Word of God. So then, how and what are we to covet? What should our zeal be focused on? There is only two places in the Bible where we are commanded to covet:
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But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
I Corinthians 12:31
Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues
I Corinthians 14:39
Our coveting, therefore our zeal, should be for the gifts of the Spirit and the things of God. Desiring to be used in the gifts of the Spirit so that we are a conduit of the Presence God should be the motivating factor to our zeal. This desire will keep us in the church of Philadelphia and out of Laodicea! That is the essence of the whole Christian life: The Word and the Spirit!
One last aspect of the spiritual battle to which we are called, is the fact that the armour of God is all facing forward. There is not any provision for going back. That looks back to the prophecy by Moses that we would have’ shoes of iron and brass, and as our days, so shall our strength be.’ We should be stronger this year than last. We should be better off now than we were 5 years ago. The higher our number of days, the higher our strength should be!
So then, what about when the enemy comes in for a sneak attack? Here is how God make provision for us: When we read about the fasted life, and how God calls us to fast, there is a little promise that is given to people who fast. Because the King James uses a dead word, the power of the statement is lost. Let me read to you the benefits of fast from the KJV:
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Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
Isaiah 58:8-9a
Now let me quote that verse from the New King James: “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8). HalleluYAH! God’s Spirit will be our rear guard. So what good is a rear guard when your armour only faces front? “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). The voice of the Holy Ghost will say, ‘TURN AROUND, the enemy is at hand!” and then, when we turn around, our armour is facing the right direction! Immunity from sneak attack!
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Footnotes:
[1]swthri,a soteria {so-tay-ree'-ah} AV - salvation 40, the (one) be saved 1, deliver + 1325 1, health 1, saving 1, that (one) be saved + 1519 1; 45 • 1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation 1a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies 1b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation 1b1) of Messianic salvation 2) salvation as the present possession of all true Christians 3) future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.
[2]r`h/ma rhema {hray'-mah} • from 4483; TDNT - 6:69,505; n n • AV - word 56, saying 9, thing 3, no thing + 3756 1, not tr 1; 70 • 1) that which is or has been uttered by the living voice, thing spoken, word 1a) any sound produced by the voice and having definite meaning 1b) speech, discourse 1b1) what one has said 1c) a series of words joined together into a sentence (a declaration of one's mind made in words) 1c1) an utterance 1c2) a saying of any sort as a message, a narrative 1c2a) concerning some occurrence 2) subject matter of speech, thing spoken of 2a) so far forth as it is a matter of narration 2b) so far as it is a matter of command 2c) a matter of dispute, evidence for a case at law
