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-====== Full Armour of YHWH ======
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-===== Introduction =====
-In this study I want to take a look at 'the whole armour of God' presented to us in the letter the apostle Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus. I want to look at all aspects and applicability, especially pertaining to spiritual warfare. There will probably be a heavy emphasis on context and the meaning of words.
-===== Disclaimer =====
-The intent of this study is not to go in depth on Pauline writings, but I do want to look at the full context of the contents of the epistle (formal letter ((https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epistle))) to the Ephesians.
-When you research this letter online you come across a lot of questions, like if Paul was the true author of the letter and if the intended recipients were the church at Ephesus. After some research into this I feel that adding this information to this study is beyond it's scope, and I feel like it wouldn't add much to the study of the contents of the letter itself. So I will continue this study with the assumption that the letter is truthful in the things it says. If at a later time I decide to continue the study into the history, intention and author of the letter this will be added and or referred to in this study.
-===== Ephesians in the Bible=====
-==== Paul and the Ephesians ====
-Paul starts the church in Ephesus
-++++ Acts 18:19-22 |
-They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch. (NASB 1995)
-++++
-Paul's second visit to Ephesus (Acts 19) he stays for 3 years (Acts 20:31)
-++++ Acts 19:1-10 |
-It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men. 8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-++++ Acts 20:31 |
-“Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-Paul says farewell to the elders of Ephesus
-++++ Acts 20:17-38 |
-From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. 24 “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. 25 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. 32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. 35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” 36 When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-Map of the region of Acts\\
-{{:maps:map_acts_apostles.jpeg?300|Source: https://assets.ldscdn.org/0c/e7/0ce7107a42585e294090f193e9e49162481f4e20/map_acts_apostles.jpeg}}
-((https://assets.ldscdn.org/0c/e7/0ce7107a42585e294090f193e9e49162481f4e20/map_acts_apostles.jpeg))
-==== John and the Ephesians ====
-In the book Revelations, the apostle John writes to the seven churches in Asia. The first of the seven churches is the church in Ephesus.\\
-\\
-Introduction
-++++ Revelations 1 | 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, 18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 19 “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. 20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-Directly toward the Ephesians
-++++ Revelations 2:1-7 |
-“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6 ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-Maps of the region of the seven churches\\
-{{:maps:map_of_the_7_churches_of_asia_revelation_2_3_1.jpg?300|Source: https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/map_of_the_7_churches_of_asia_revelation_2_3_1.jpg}}
-((https://www.conformingtojesus.com/images/webpages/map_of_the_7_churches_of_asia_revelation_2_3_1.jpg))
-{{:maps:7-churches-of-revelation.gif?300|Source: https://flatwoodschurchofchrist.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/7-churches-of-revelation.gif?181f46&181f46}}
-((https://flatwoodschurchofchrist.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/7-churches-of-revelation.gif?181f46&181f46))
-===== Letter to the Ephesians =====
-The epistle names the author as Paul the Apostle, writing to the the church in Ephesus.
-++++ Ephesians 1:1-2 |
-Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-He is writing this letter while being held captive for preaching the gospel.
-++++ Ephesians 3:1 |
-For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—
-\\ (NASB 1995)
-++++
-This makes me think he wrote it while he was a prisoner in Rome, which we read about in the last chapters of Acts.
-++++ Acts 28:11-31 |
-At the end of three months we set sail on an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. 12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found some brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. 15 And the brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. 16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. 17 After three days Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18 “And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. 19 “But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. 20 “For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” 21 They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. 22 “But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.” 23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. 24 Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. 25 And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, 26 saying,\\
-‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY,\\
-“YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;\\
-AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;\\
-FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,\\
-AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,\\
-AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES;\\
-\\
-OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES,\\
-AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,\\
-AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,\\
-AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”’\\
-“Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” 29 [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]30 And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.\\
-(NASB 1995)
-++++
-We saw in the book of Acts that Paul was close with the church of Ephesus, spending three years there teaching (Acts 20:31).