Armor UP! Standing in the Lord s Strength Week 5: Shield of Faith October 30, 2016
Welcome to Week 5: Up until now, Paul's description of the armor of God has been limited to items we wear. We put on the belt, the breastplate and the shoes, and they essentially hold themselves up. The shield is different. Paul tells us that the shield is something we must take up, something we are required to raise. Just strapping it to our arm won't do any good at all if we don't make the effort to hold it aloft and use it. Why do we have to use it? Because the enemies of God are constantly shooting fiery arrows at you! As a follower of Jesus, you have swift, quick attacks coming at you from all directions, all the time. So what kind of fiery darts are coming your way? Satan implants the following thoughts into your mind: Doubt. You start asking yourself, Did God really say? Can I really trust God? Isn t that just your interpretation? Discouragement. Satan tells you, You re never going to get any better. Your life won t change. Don t even try. Delay. You ask yourself, Why is this taking so long? Something you want to happen hasn t happened by now. Difficulty. You ask yourself, Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to make my marriage work? Why is it so hard to get a job? Depression. You tell yourself, It s not worth it. You don t even feel like making an effort. All these attacks come your way on a regular basis. They create uncertainty in your life. In times of great uncertainty like when you're out of work or going through a major family transition these fiery darts will fly at you even faster. You better be ready for them. Paul gives us the only proper antidote to these attacks: the Shield of Faith. You need that kind of certainty in difficult days. With the Shield of Faith, you have certainty that God s promises are true even when they don t appear to be true in your life. Armor up! Glad to be your pastor, Jeremy K. Bratcher
Ephesians 6:16 Key Notes from the Text: God s faithfulness or human belief? This is one of the few times that I believe the armor is somewhat ambiguous. Markus Barth writes, Above the absence of fear among the people and higher than their own faith and trust, stands the faithfulness of God, himself, and the faithful service of the one who is anointed by God. The good fight of the faith could not be fought by any man (1 Tim 6:12) if man had to rely on his own faith: I believe help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). (Anchor Bible Commentary, Ephesians 4-6, 772-773) As Andrew Lincoln writes, Faith takes hold of God s resources in the midst of the onslaughts of evil and produces the firm resolve which douses anything the enemy throws at the believer. (Ephesians, Word Biblical Commentary, 449). In addition to all this or In all circumstances? Andrew Lincoln writes, Although en pasin could mean in all circumstances, it probably has more force of besides or in addition to all (these). Why does Lincoln think this? Because the other pieces of the armor describe Christian virtues to be practiced as witnesses of faith: truth, righteousness, peace Lincoln wants to add faith as a virtue of Christian Faith. Markus Barth affirms the In addition to all this translation because the phrase holds the shield in common relationship to other pieces, not more important than the other pieces, but of equal importance. Shield of Faith (Sermon Notes from Ephesians 6:16)
Ephesians 6:16 MEMORY VERSE: In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one KEY WORDS and PHRASES for FURTHER STUDY: Use the following cross-referenced verses to help with understanding key words and phrases. Faith: The following article appears in Baker s Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. This is a comprehensive OT to NT explanation of faith. http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelicaldictionary/faith.html Further Scripture to Read: Hebrews 11:1-40
Group Reflection: 1. Talk About It Discuss the following: Describe a time when you felt you had to get behind something for protection an umbrella, your mother s apron, an excuse, etc. Why did you need this extra layer of protection? Did it work? Why or why not? 2. Dig Into It The following questions will help guide you through the passage for deeper understanding. Begin by reading Ephesians 6:16 1. The opening phrase of Ephesians 6:16 in Greek is evn pasin. This can be translated as In addition to these or In all circumstances. Which does your Bible use? a. Read the paragraph about this matter in the sermon notes. Do you agree or disagree with the article? Which do you like better? b. How does each meaning affect your discipleship to Jesus? 2. The word shield used in verse 16 is not the small buckler shield we might think of a Gladiator using but refers to the large Roman shield measuring approximately 4 tall by 2-1/2 wide. What role does a shield play? 3. What is the significance of wielding our faith as a large, Roman shield? 4. What does the text say the enemy throws at believers?
3. Think About It The following questions engage your thoughts about the text. What do you see or feel from what you ve read? Which of the enemy s arrows hinder you the most? Doubt. You start asking yourself, Did God really say? Can I really trust God? Isn t that just your interpretation? Discouragement. Satan tells you, You re never going to get any better. Your life won t change. Don t even try. Delay. You ask yourself, Why is this taking so long? Something you want to happen hasn t happened by now. Difficulty. You ask yourself, Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to make my marriage work? Why is it so hard to get a job? Depression. You tell yourself, It s not worth it. You don t even feel like making an effort. How does faith help you to stand firm when these attacks come? 4. Apply It The following questions will help guide you in applying the text in your life today! 1. Think of an area in your life right now where you need to focus on standing in God s faithfulness. What is that area? 2. How will God s faithfulness in this area take a stand against the devil? 3. Take time to pray for each other to be strengthened by God s faithfulness.
Personal Growth Study: PART ONE: Ephesians 6:16 Pray for God to guide your reading today. Then, read the passage through 3 times slowly. Summarize the passage. SUMMARY: Further Reflection: How do we get faith? Romans 10:17, Jude 20-21, 2 nd Timothy 3:16-17
Personal Growth Study: PART TWO: Ephesians 6:16 Pray for God to guide your thinking today. Then, read the passage through one time slowly. As you are reading the passage, write down the facts. Make a verse-by-verse list of all of the outstanding facts. Don t get caught up in the details, just pinpoint the most obvious facts. Who is speaking? What is the subject? Where is this taking place? What is happening? When did it happen? What is the passage saying to the audience? NOTE: Be LITERAL in your answers try to use the exact words from the verses to write your facts. Five Facts from the Passage: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Further Reflection: What's the importance of our faith? 1st John 5:4, Hebrews 11:1-3, Luke18:35-43
Personal Growth Study: PART THREE: Ephesians 6:16 Pray for God to give you wisdom today. Then, read the passage through one time slowly. Re-read your summary from Part One and your facts from Part Two. Today we want to engage meaning. What does the fact in your passage mean? How can the truth be rightly interpreted? What commands are in the passage? What lessons are in the passage for Christians to learn? NOTE: Think SPIRITUAL as you answer. 1. Interpreted Meaning from the Passage: 2. 3. 4. 5. Further Reflection: How do we use our faith? Mark 11:22-24, Romans 10:6-13
Personal Growth Study: PART FOUR: Ephesians 6:16 Pray for God to give you insight today. Then, read the passage through one time slowly. Looking back at lessons you wrote from yesterday, turn the lessons into question form that you might ask a co-worker, a classmate, a neighbor, a family member, or a friend. Don t rush this. Take your time and listen to God s lead. NOTE: Be THOUGHTFUL with the questions you write. 1. Questions from the Passage s Lessons: 2. 3. 4. 5. Further Reflection: What can hinder our faith? Hebrews 12:1-4
Personal Growth Study: PART FIVE: Ephesians 6:16 Pray for God to give you conviction today. Then, read the passage through one time slowly. Review your questions from yesterday, then answer your own questions. NOTE: Be PERSONAL with the questions you write. 1. Answering My Questions from the Passage s Lessons: 2. 3. 4. 5.
Personal Growth Study: PART SIX: Ephesians 6:16 Pray for God to give you courage today. Then, read the passage through one time slowly. Review the five previous days of your interaction with the passage. Then write down what you think God is leading you to do as a result your encounter with His word this week. How will you respond to God s word? Pinpoint what God is saying TO YOU from this passage. Write down what you will do now about what God has said. NOTE: Be Intentional with your response today. To Follow Jesus through this passage I will respond by Your Name Today s Date
Helpful Online Tools and Apps for Personal Bible Study On the Web: www.bible.org: Home of the NET Bible and incredible background study resources. The NET Bible is full of notes from some of the best Hebrew and Greek scholars of our day. Bible.org offers self-paced theological studies, outlines and study guides for each book of the Bible. Bible.org is key word searchable. www.openbible.info: Features include a searchable topical bible, interactive cross referencing and Biblical lands geocoding. The topical search tool is worth your interest. www.biblestudytools.com: Features several tools for study (as the name suggests): concordances, language tools, maps, commentaries...it even has an interlinear Bible (that is searchable and provides pronunciations and root word guides for those who desire to know more about Biblical Greek and Hebrew). www.biblemap.org: Created using Google maps, this site offers a satellite view of Bible lands. The map is linked to Bible references and is searchable by book and verse. www.biblegateway.com: This site offers a dozens of translations that are searchable by book, chapter and verse. Thru the App Store: The Bible App by Life.Church: The best single app for Android and ios users featuring daily bible studies, devotions and numerous free to download translations. Echo Prayer: Keep your prayer life moving forward with organizers and reminders of when to pray, for whom to pray and for how to pray. Life Conversation Guide: Using the three circle conversation, this app is easy to use for telling others about God s great love for them.