An Interesting observation made by Jon Courson

“Jesus’ body was not spastic. Parts of His body were not going off in one direction or lurching off in another. So, too, the body of His church is meant to move in coordination. How? The same way our physical bodies are coordinated—by the body responding to impulses sent from the brain through the nervous system. Jesus is the Head (Eph. 1:22). The impulses that will guide us and direct us as a church will come from Him through the “nervous system” of the Holy Spirit. When we, the body, respond to Jesus through the leading of the Spirit, we will move in coordination and harmony.”
(relating to Commentary on Acts 6)

Praying for the Saints

I was reading Ephesians chapter 1 tonight…it starts out with a whole bunch of things we have in Christ (adoption, redemption, forgiveness, an inheritance, a hope, the holy spirit…) And then…”For this reason”… What we have in Christ should cause something in us: giving thanks and praying for the saints.

Pray for them that God will give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Pray that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened, that they may know the hope of His calling and the riches of glory of his inheritance, the surpassing greatness of his power toward those who believe… Eph 1:15-19a

Why We Should Give Thanks & Pray for Others

I was reading Ephesians chapter 1 tonight…it starts out with a whole bunch of things we have in Christ (adoption, redemption, forgiveness, an inheritance, a hope, the holy spirit…) And then…”For this reason”… What we have in Christ should cause something in us: giving thanks and praying for the saints.

Pray for them that God will give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Pray that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened, that they may know the hope of His calling and the riches of glory of his inheritance, the surpassing greatness of his power toward those who believe… Eph 1:15-19a

Ephesians Class Notes (wed 5/4/05) – Belt of Truth & Breastplate of righteousness

Review from first class
Ways Satan Attacks:
1. undermine god’s character and credibility (so you doubt god)
2. makes it hard to live the christian life (eg. persecution, opposition, lethargy, etc)
3. false doctrine (usually causes an emotional pull, often Satan will take a little bit of truth and twist it with a lot of lies)
4. hinders effective service to god
5. causes division w/in the body of christ (so the enemy is one another rather than satan)
6. leads us to trust our own resources (rather than god’s)
7. causes us to be hypocritical, phony, and wear a mask
8. make us worldy and materialistic (worship anything BUT god)
9. causes us to act in disobedience to god’s word

sword (the word) is *attached* to the belt (commitment to truth)

Satan infiltrates the church w/ Tares — Matt 13
non-believers = the tares among the wheat (look like the real thing but don’t give fruit)
satan infiltrates the church w/ these counterfits
sons of the kingdom (13:38) = the true believers

need counsel? how’s your walk? 😉
“beauty that is only skin deep will suck the brains out of a man”

Belt of Truth

Gird your loins was a common phrase at the time. the belt holds together your robes (loose material) so they stay in place and you’re ready to get up and go and won’t get caught on something and have your robes pulled over your head blinding you or the like.
ex. 12:11-14 – have a belt on your waits, be girded–committed & ready to go–how you’re dressed when you’re on your way out.
luke 12:35-40

What you do when no one is looking show who you really are.

2tim2:4 — no one engaged in warfare *entangles* himself with the affairs of the world. (belt ties up the loose material so it doesn’t tangle. Similarly we must gird up our loose thinking (our mind) 1pet1:13-16 (be sober minded). main thrust of belt = commitment to truth (be holy, obedient)

1cor9:24-27 persevere in not giving up.

heb12:1-3 sin and bulk — many who aren’t committed are sim. to those weighted down with sin (ties up your feet so you can’t move) and bulk (just slows you down whether or not its sinful). Anything that slows you down in seeking God is bulk, and you don’t need it.

“Rom12:1-2 Sacrifice: Most christians say they would be burned at the stake for Christ, yet, don’t likve their lives for Him here and now”

“Phil. 1:9-11 Abounding *more and more*. Knowing and partaking of that which is most *excellent*”

Breastplate of Righteousness (key to whole armor)

the “key” to the “whole armor” = breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness = having a right relationship with god
* regeneration john3:3, 1pet1:23 —> spiritual birth
* faith in jesus – rom 10:9, john1:12,eph1:13
* relationship john 17:3
* eternal transaction john3:36,heb10:14

The armor of God isn’t effective if you only put part of it on–how much of you do you want to protect? (“put on the WHOLE armor of god”). Many people today = wearing paper armor. Spend time with God (all day if needed) so he can point out any holes in your armor.

God doesn’t just want your heart, he wants *all* of your being (a sacrifice to commitment at that).

The belt of truth => commitment to integrity & discipline. w/ integrity you start building inside out (may take a while to show fruit, but its more important than outisde-in growth). But w/o righteousness there willl be no commitment.

* In (?? suffering), until you understand the depth of the love that god has for you, you will resort to the last thing that brought you pleasure. ”
* all that bible study is useless if you don’t apply it. * Your righteousness will not get you to heaven (saved by grace).
* Our conscience is our friend as believers…”suppression of the conscience is dangerous”

1John1:4–if you aren’t feeling god’s joy (your joy should be in full) something is probably wrong. (these things are so you will have joy!) Edify one another. Engage in exhortations

breastplate (in war) protects *vital* organs (eg heart lungs intestines)
Jewish thought: heart represents mind or thinking and intestines represents seat of emotion

Stan wants to attack our thoughts and emotions (the way we think & feel) Theological understanding is irrelevant to winning the spiritual battle. you will remain a loser in the war unless you properly apply the spiritual armor *daily*

imputed righteousness
jerimiah17:9 – self-righteousness != righteousness
imputed righteousness = gods veil of righteousness granted through salvation b/c of christs sacrifice (eph2:8, rom 4:5, rom11:6)
impute = “To consider or calculate as a value or cost” or to assign or attribute something to

“Even Christ righteousness *is only the basis* of the breastplate” (??)
phil 3:1-11
“the believer has to apply righteous principles given to him in christ, to the matter of daily LIVING. it does matter what we DO. James 1:22,2:20, Phil2:12”

2 types of sorrows
2cor7:8-11
1) worldly sorrow (leads to death)
2) godly sorrow (leads to repentance and salvation)
how we respond determines which of these it is.
the church = hospital for the spiritually sick

poor in spirit – surrender to god & begin to see our sin as god sees it

we can be sorry b/c we got caught OR because we sinned against god

1cor3 -> a judgment for (how much) rewards

2john8 — do not lose what we’ve work for, but see that we receive the full reward (don’t to start sinning)

1pet 2:11-12 confess, repent, and *turn* — we are aliens on this earth, passing through. Abstain from fleshly lusts b/c they war against the soul (breastblate of righteousness)

rom 13:12-13 – let us not walk in envy or jealousy!

if facing thoughts that are from satan it is good to pray “Lord, please purify my mind” and quote scriptures