Tag: evil one

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Armor of God

Faithful Protector

Posted on by

based on the LGG Study, The Armor Of God / w4d4

Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 / SOAP: verse 3

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

Sometimes you can pull one verse out of a passage and SOAP it without the others, but sometimes it is made so much richer with the others. I find this to be true of these five verses. While each one has a distinct message, each one also highlights the next as well.

  • Paul starts off asking for prayer, “Finally,” he says, “pray for us, brothers and sisters, that the Lord’s message may spread quickly and be honored as in fact it was among you.”
    • It is an example that reminded me that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not only to pray for one another but we are to share our needs or the needs of the body with one another.
    • It is also a reminder that, like Paul, we are to understand and be concerned about the Lord’s message spreading quickly.
  • Paul continues with the prayer request in verse two with the concern for the dangers they faced in spreading the message. He continues, “and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil people, for not all have faith.” As we know from Paul’s letters to the churches, his life and those he served with were often in great danger from those who opposed the message of the cross. Such danger led to countless imprisonments and beatings by those not of the faith.

 His enemies were hardened unbelievers.

Bibleref.com
  • Now, our SOAP verse –

 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. – 2 Thessalonians 3:3

  • I love this verse because it starts with the word “BUT.” The word ‘but’ in Scripture is an ‘alarm’ word. Not only does it mean looking back and seeing what came before, but it typically means something is coming we don’t want to miss. In this case, what follows is ” the Lord is faithful.” Can’t you hear the collective sigh of relief for Paul among the church as they read this part of the letter naming the urgency of spreading the Gospel and the danger that comes with it? Paul knew they would need to be reminded and encouraged that – “The Lord is faithful! He understood that remembering the truth of God’s character would help them to pray with hope, knowing the Lord would hear and answer their prayers. Paul added even more hope with the reminder, “The Lord will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 

Paul had confidence from the Lord that their faith was strong and they were living it out well.

  • Paul’s encouragement to the Thessalonians continued in verse four, where he wrote “And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you.” This had to bring them great encouragement to know that not only would they know the Lord’s protection from the evil one but Paul had confidence from the Lord that their faith was strong and they were living it out well.
  • Finally, verse five – which really stood out to me and is why I realized that the five verses were a package deal. For in order for them to continue to know the hope and encouragement and faithfulness to live the righteous life they would have to have their hearts directed toward God’s love and the endurance of Christ, or they would fail miserably. Their faith, had to be set firm in God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and not in Paul, his ministry, or anything, or anyone else; and so Paul prayed: “Now may the Lord direct your hearts toward the love of God and the endurance of Christ.”

Note: Applications (underlined text) are laced throughout the observations of this SOAP

Prayer of Response to the Word

Father, thank You for Your teachings through men like Paul. His letters and examples of the faith encouraged those in his day and all the generations of believers to this day and beyond. They are living and active, and I pray for strength and faithfulness to apply them well. Grace me with the daily reminders of the truths of Your character, as we find in Paul’s words that You are faithful and will strengthen us and protect us from evil. We are now and forever more dependent on You, and these truths fill us with the hope we need to use the Shield of Faith well – to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. I bless Your Name and the name of Jesus through whom I pray. Amen!

Worship of Praise Response
Going Further in the Journey

Check out these But God verses

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Quiet Time, The Armor of God

Faith Is The Victory

Posted on by

based on the Love God Greatly Study, The Armor of God, w4d1

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18 / SOAP: verse 16

and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:18
Dressed and Ready – Well, Almost

Ok, so you have your belt of truth in place which is securing your breastplate of righteousness and your feet are readily fitted with the Gospel of peace – but don’t forget your shield of faith. According to gotquestions.org, FAITH is a protective barrier that helps us stay grounded in the TRUTH. It is the VICTORY we know that overcomes the world! (1Jn 5:4 and Hebrews 11:1) In reference to “overcoming the world”, we would do well to remember that Jesus Himself referred to satan, our enemy, the evil one, as the “ruler of this world”. When talking about His own impending death, Jesus announced: “The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.” John 12:31.

Bigger and Better than We Can Imagine

Check out this word picture of our “Shield of Faith”. It makes me tired just thinking about how I will lift it and hold it in place but then I remember that, if I followed Paul’s instructions from the beginning – my strength and power come from the Lord! – Ephesians 6:10

The Roman shield of the time was called a scutum (/ˈsko͞odəm/). This type of shield was as large as a door and would cover the warrior entirely. Such a shield was not just defensive but could also be used to push opponents. When fighting as a group, a phalanx of soldiers could position their shields so as to form an enclosure around themselves, called a testudo (“tortoise”). This was especially helpful to protect against arrows launched from the walls of cities they were attacking. Shields, often made of wood and then covered in hide, when wet, could extinguish flaming arrows.

gotquestions.org

If that word picture isn’t enough, Scripture’s is even better, our faith is one of the greatest gifts we have, abiding right along side hope and love – 1 Cor 13:13; Paul goes on to write that faith is the way we receive grace, Eph 2:8-9 and that it is the means of our justification, Rom 5:1 and Col 3:24.

So take heart, in those moments when you feel like you are the enemy’s target practice, like he just launches one flaming arrow after another, God’s armor includes a sure and powerful shield that is ours through faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer of Response to God’s Word

Father, some days or even seasons of life it can seem like the enemy hurls one flaming arrow after another but we have this hope through faith in Christ – that no weapon formed against us can stand. We have access to Your Armor that is surely able to defeat the enemy! Help us to heed Paul’s opening word of instruction concerning the armor – to be strengthen in You and in Your power, for I am convinced that we cannot wear this armor with Your Power and strength. Help us to suit up in the full armor, including the shield of FAITH that can extinguish all the flaming arrows of evil one. Help us to stay alert, remembering that our enemy prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour and he uses all kinds of tactic, from fruit of a tree in the garden to the challenge to

Worship Through Song
Reflections from the Journey
  • What does Ephesian 6:16 teach us about the importance of taking up the shield of faith?
  • How does the shield of faith protect us from the attacks of the enemy?
Going Further in the Journey

Don’t forget to check out the LGG Blog Post for today’s study, The Armor of God/w4d1

Christ Temptation on the Cross

Posted in Bible study, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Quiet Time, The Armor of God

Prepare Yourself

Posted on by
Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-18; SOAP / vs. 10-11

10 Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10-11

Paul has been giving instructions to the Church of Ephesus on obedience, giving specific instructions to children, parents, slaves, and masters. As he wraps up the teaching on obedience, he tells them how to remain faithful and obedient to God, or to use Paul’s words, “how to stand firm.” He starts with the reminder that their strength and power must come from the Lord and there is one that plots against them. However, it’s the next phrase that captured my attention:“Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand [against the schemes of the devil].” If I were teaching this in the classroom, I would undoubtedly be writing this on a whiteboard, underlining and circling and highlighting every word of this sentence. Why? Because it is crucial to the rest of the passage and to living obedient lives and surviving the battle that Eve, and every person on the face of the earth has faced since the garden.

Please note the personal responsibility Paul places on every believer. We are to “clothe ourselves”, in other words to “put on” our own protection. We cannot dress others in the armor nor can they ‘clothe’ us. Neither are we to pick and choose which pieces we want to wear. No, if we wish to win the battle(s), we are to put all of the armor on; and it is clear that we are to not only put each piece on but we are to know what the pieces are and how they protect us. Don’t miss the added key to all of the armor is prayer and alertness. While he doesn’t say to put these on he gives clear instruction to “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Paul testifies, and all of Scripture supports, that the devil schemes against the children of God; and that without being properly (ie fully) clothed with God’s “armor” we will not be able to stand. Instead, we will, like Eve, succumb to his tricks and deceitfulness. Make no mistake, as children of God, the devil is our number one enemy and we must learn to live fully armed and ready.

There is much to learn in the weeks ahead. Many, if not all of us, have already heard or studied this section of our soldier manual (the Bible), and yet good soldiers never stop training. They continually prepare for battle, they make sure their equipment is in order, and that they are well versed in using it. They know what is expected of them, they have drills, and training sessions to assure that they are ready. We must do no less and we must start with the wisdom packed into these two little verses.

  • (You) Look to [the Lord for your strength] (10)
  • (You) Depend on [His power] (10)
  • (You) Put on [the full armor of God] (11)
Let’s Reflect
  • What is the armor of God?
  • Why is it important?
Going Further

The devil, as Paul calls him here, has many other names – including the evil one [Matt 6:13,John 17:15; Eph 6:16; 2 Thes 3:3; and Matt 13:19] and the father of all lies (John 8:44). You will find 10 others at the following link: 10 Different Names for Satan and What They Mean

For more insight to today’s passage read Today’s Love God Greatly Blog Post