Month: August 2023

Praying At All Times For Others And Ourselves As We Face Spiritual Warfare. EXPOSITION ON THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS study #35 (Ephesians 6:18-20)

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Now that we have finished up our look with the pieces of the soldiers armor in spiritual warfare, I believe we come along to a very important weapon that is not listed in relation to a piece of the armor. This study will be about prayer which is the communication that we have with God who is our Commander in Chief. The idea of prayer is us speaking to God concerning things in our life but we must be sure that none of what we pray for needs to be about selfish wants. As we will see in this study, prayer is about us talking with God about personal matters but should never be that we come to God with selfish or sinful desires we want fulfilled. All of what we pray for should guide us to be victorious as we live and preach boldly the Gospel. This will be the next to last study in this great book of the Bible and will provide for us a direction we must have in every day living. Let’s look now at our first point for this study.

1.Prayer, petitions and being alert.
Look with me at Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

As I mentioned in the opening of this study, this is not listed in relation to a piece of the armor but this is highly important for our victory in battle. If we go around with all of the pieces of the armor on but have not listened to or communicated to God then there would be some confusion at times. Throughout our look in the pieces we notice that everything really points back to God. God is truth, His Word is Truth, He has given us righteousness through Christ, He helps us in practically living out that righteousness, the Gospel of God is peace, our faith is in God, our salvation or victory is because of God’s strength and instruction and then finally the piece that gives us the power to destroy our enemy in spiritual battle is the Word of God.

Every piece we have is connected to God and is learned from the Word of God. We know who God is to some extent from nature but we know God in a salvific way because of His Word. It is His Word that gives us instruction and stability in the battle. The Word of God is God speaking to us so that we can follow Him into victory. So we know we have Him speaking to us and here in our text for this study we have the opportunity to speak to God.

Now we know that a soldier in battle will not communicate some selfish desires. The focus will be on communicating the issues that they encounter as they approach their enemy or when they are approached by the enemy. So this is what we too must keep in mind as we look at this section of Scripture. Let’s look first at the first part of this verse. Ephesians 6:18a says praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit.

Notice the extent of our prayer time. It is not when we feel like it nor is it just at church but at all times. The original language really shows that we pray during all seasons. This does not indicate spring, summer, fall and winter but rather every season of life. This is not that we stay in a posture of prayer but that we simply pray at any time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 carries the same weight when it says pray without ceasing.

The idea is that we will be in constant communication with God. We first allow Him to speak to us through His Word then we come to Him. Notice that we do not come to Him for selfish reasons though. What does Paul say we must come to God with? prayer and petition in the Spirit.

Now please do not jump to the conclusion that this is speaking of some form of speaking in tongues because there is nothing that points to that whatsoever. What we see here is two different words that shows to us what we should be praying to God about throughout our life. Prayer is the communication of the general things in life like we see throughout portions of the prayer our Lord taught us in Matthew 6:9-13. He speaks of praying of adoration to God, thankfulness, God’s provision, forgiveness and protection. It is this prayer that is the model for our prayers that will lead us to also pray for petitions.

These are the more deep and heart felt prayers that come from a deep longing. This again is not pointed towards our selfish wants but rather points to something that is effecting us inwardly. So our prayers should be with a sense of adoration and worship to God and with heart felt emotion. These prayers and petitions are to be prayed in the Spirit. Nothing indicates some heavenly language nor does this give to us some special power in prayer. This is to show us that we need to be guided by the Spirit of God that lives in us even in our prayers. At times we all come to God in selfish and demanding petitions. To pray in the Spirit is to be guided by the Spirit with what needs to be prayed. Romans 8:26-27 says And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Again nothing in Romans points towards some gibberish type of prayer but simply shows us that we need the Holy Spirit to guide us into prayer because we are often deceived by our own selfishness.

Paul moves on to say in the remainder of verse 18 and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. Now that we have learned of how to be victorious in spiritual battle we are to not just stop there. Paul continues by guiding us into what we must do in helping others as well. He starts by saying that we are to be on alert. This Greek word, agrupneó (ag-roop-neh’-o), literally means to be vigilant, to stay awake, to be watchful. The idea is that we will be looking out and not just living life as if nothing is going on around us. But here this alertness is not just for us but really is pointed towards others as well. This alertness is founded in our perseverance and petition for all the saints.

Our perseverance shows our continual connection with God. It shows our stability and faith we have to continue in spite of the spiritual battles we have faced. This perseverance is to help others in their time of need. We watch out for others that may be falling into error or sin, and we stay strong to help them. We have already seen this word petition so we know that our heart felt prayers goes beyond what we pray for concerning ourselves but also for the needs of others. This brings us now to look at our last point for this study.

2.Praying for others boldness in sharing the Gospel.
Look with me at Ephesians 6:19-20 as well as on my behalf, that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel— 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains—so that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

I know often we look at the people in the Bible as if they are superhuman in a sense. We can easily think of people like Paul or any of the Apostles as people that had an extraordinary boldness in sharing the Gospel but often this was not the case. We must remember that they are human as well with struggles and the continual rejection that could bring discouragement.

A good example of this was in Acts 4. At this time Peter and John had been arrested for speaking about Jesus. At their release from prison they were threatened by the Sanhedrin, the council, and told to not speak about the name of Jesus. Of course Peter and John told them that they could only speak about what they knew to be true. They were released and then went to their friends and recounted what all was said. In their time of prayer listen to what they said from Acts 4:29 and what happened in Acts 4:30-31 And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your word with all confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders happen through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed earnestly, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with confidence.

This shows us that they knew what they needed to do but there would be the struggle because they knew their own weakness. Paul speaks this of himself often as he does in here in Ephesians 6:19-20 but also with words like we see in Colossians 4:2-4 that says Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been bound, 4 that I may make it manifest in the way I ought to speak.

The request Paul makes here is not for some selfish gain or to build up his ministry but it is in sharing with boldness the Gospel. We too need boldness and confidence that comes from what we know to be true about salvation. Paul never seemed to have a problem with being bold as you can find him often speaking to kings and religious officials all throughout the book of Acts. I believe though that Paul knew that he needed this support seeing that he was imprisoned during the writing of the book of Ephesians. Even though we do read in Acts 28:30-31 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 confidence, unhindered, I believe that he knew it would be easy to get discouraged and look negatively at his situation. Therefore he needs the prayers of those that are his fellow workers in the ministry and also from those that look at him as their spiritual guide or pastor.

This helps us to look at our own leadership of our church. Are you praying for your pastor, your elders, deacons, leaders in small groups? The people that are being used in spreading the Gospel may be able to help and guide others but they may be struggling at times with spiritual battles that keeps them from have the boldness to want to continue in what they are doing. These leaders need our prayers because just like Paul says at the end of Ephesians 6:20 so that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak, this too needs to be the goal of every teacher, preacher, pastor or group leader in our churches. But they need our prayers and support so that they can continue to speak with boldness the Word of God in spite of the pressure from our culture to change Christianity.

As we move to our last study what I want to focus on will be in what he says at the end of verse 22 concerning the encouragement towards the Ephesians in helping them to have a heart that is established in spite of the difficulties, the persecution and the executions that were happening right before them. We will look at how this entire book of Ephesians has encouraged us and how we can apply these principles to our life so we can live in victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Bible Passage For The Day 8-31-2023

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1 John 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Bible Passage For The Day 8-29-2023

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Job 42:2-6

“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too marvelous for me, which I did not know.
4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You make me know.’
5 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
6 Therefore I reject myself,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

A Sinful Woman Is Forgiven By Jesus. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE study #63 (Luke 7:40-50)

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We come now to the final section of this 7th chapter in the book of Luke. As we come to these last 11 verses we need to remember the context in which this section is spoken. Jesus was invited to the house of a Pharisee, who we will learn in this study is Simon, to join in a dinner. Remember we have often talked about how most religious leaders would never associate with anyone other than those that were in their circle. We may assume that this Pharisee wanted to bring Jesus to his house so that he could show off how religious and “godly” he really was. I made the point in our last study that often we see that the Pharisee were doing nothing other than trying to bring accusations against Jesus to try to prove His disobedience to the law. They looked around God’s law to their own traditions so that they could find some type of accusation against our Lord but it back fired every time.

As we will see there will be no difference in that here. The context shows us that while they were eating, there came along in the house a sinful woman, most likely a woman that was a known prostitute, came to Jesus with a repentant heart. This was shown in her crying and also in her humiliation of washing and kissing the feet of Jesus. But as always the Pharisees looked to accuse Jesus so we see in Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee, who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, saying, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

This statement was a slam towards this woman in a sense but much more an accusation of Jesus’ knowledge of who this woman was. In other words he was saying if this man is who he says he is, he would not let a woman that commits such sinful acts to touch him. This would bring about some impure thoughts from this Pharisee about Jesus’ purity. This sets the stage for how Jesus responds to this Pharisee’s inner thoughts. This will be a moment of teaching and forgiveness that we will learn in this section. Let’s look now at our first point.

1.Jesus responds to Simon with a parable.
Look with me at Luke 7:40-43 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

The start of this verse makes it look as if Simon had asked Jesus a question but in reality verse 39 said that Simon had said what he said to himself. It is possible that he spoke this verbally but usually this is referenced as speaking to himself inwardly with no verbal communication. So with that we see again that Jesus knows the very thoughts of this Pharisee and looks to expose his hypocrisy.

The word answer in the Greek can also mean to take up a conversation so it is clear that Jesus is replying but is also that Jesus is wanting to talk with Simon about what he just thought. In amazement Simon accused Jesus of not knowing what sort of woman was touching Him but Jesus proved that wrong by knowing the very thoughts of Simon. Jesus tells a parable of two debtors that can easily be represented of the Pharisee which would be the debtor with 50 denarii in debts and the sinful woman with 500 denarii in debts. Notice that even though there is a distinction in the amount, these two are both debtors. The one with less debt did not get a pat on the back for not being as bad as the other but that they both had debts. This of course is representative of the sins of each person. We are all sinners but we may not be committing the same sins or the same amount of sins as others but that does not lessen the fact that we are still sinners.

In the parable Jesus says that the moneylender graciously forgave them both because they were unable to pay their debt. Just like us, we too can never pay our sin debt whether you sinned once or a million times. Now understand that Jesus is laying out a parable to get Simon to think and in no way is saying that this Pharisee has repented of his sins and is forgiven. He is speaking this in a parable to make a comparison when he says that they were both forgiven. He moves now to the point of why He spoke this to Simon by asking him So which of them will love him more?

The answer seems obvious because of the reality of the debt so we see what is said again in Luke 7:43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”

This answer shows us that Simon knew logically who would show a love more outwardly and expressively. He knew that the one that had the most debt would be more loving and gracious. I think about it this way, if I owed someone 50 dollars and another 50,000 dollars and they both wiped that debt clean, I would be thankful for both of those people but the one that forgave that big debt would be someone I would look to pay back in some form through acts of service etc…

This brings us now to the real lesson as we move into our next point.

2.The forgiveness of the sinful woman.
Look with me at Luke 7:44-48 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”

In the 1st century it was usually common courtesy to provide water to wash the feet of a guest or provide someone to wash the feet of a guest. Some wealthy people would have servants do this for their guest. As we know they had dusty roads and this was a gesture of respect and honor to your guest. Here in our story we see that Jesus just showed Simon that he was as much in need of forgiveness as this sinful woman even though she had a quantity of sins that could have been viewed as greater. We all need forgiveness and it is with that we see Jesus turned toward the woman and then showed Simon how this woman expressed her gratitude for Jesus.

This statement Jesus speaks in verses 44-46 really exposes the hypocrisy of this Pharisee because he is condemning this woman for her actions, he is condemning Jesus for allowing her to touch him and yet he has not even done the most basic thing to show his respect for the guest he invited to his house. Now some might suggest that yes Simon maybe failed at being courteous but does this really show his sinfulness? We need to understand that Jesus shows us the contrast between the two by then saying in Luke 7:47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.

There is no indication that Jesus tells this Pharisee that he too is forgiven but rather shows Simon that forgiveness comes to those that have expressed the need to be forgiven. This Pharisee, like all other Pharisee’s, did not see themselves as people that needed forgiveness. They felt like they had reached the pinnacle of the religious ladder and that if someone was from God, then they would surely be accepted. In reality they were so far from being able to receive forgiveness because their hearts were corrupt and callous. Their agenda was so corrupt that they failed to show love and compassion in the simplest things like providing water for the guest to wash their feet.

This point is clear here and then we see Jesus say to the woman in Luke 7:48b “Your sins have been forgiven.”

This statement gives to us a clear picture that this woman was saved at this moment. This forgiveness was not because of some personal act she had done toward Jesus but it is the forgiveness that is associated with redemption. Ephesians 1:7 says In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace.

Colossians 1:11-14 says being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The forgiveness of sins is in connection to God’s great mercy and grace as seen in Isaiah 43:25 that says “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.

Then also Psalm 32:5 says I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not cover up; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

God is a forgiving God, but to those that do not have an attitude of the need of forgiveness will not receive forgiveness. This woman showed her need for forgiveness in spite of all that she had done. She may had been a person that lived in unadulterated sin, she may have exposed her sin in front of others which brought about shame but here she has shown her need to be forgiven and that is exactly what she receives.

This moves us to see the last two verses that first shows us the reaction of the people that heard Jesus speak to her that her sin had been forgiven. Look at this response from Luke 7:49 that says And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 

We have heard this type of question before from the scribes and Pharisee after Jesus heals a paralytic in Luke 5. In Luke 5:20 Jesus says And seeing their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Then the response at that time was recorded in Luke 5:21 that says The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

The thing is they had their question right in a sense. No one other than God can forgive sins but sadly they did not make the connection that Jesus is indeed God, that He is the Son of God, that He is the incarnate God. They missed the mark and continued to find a reason to accuse instead of submitting to the Lordship of Jesus as God. So again in our Luke 7 text this same thought resurfaces which brings this question of who is this man that even forgives sin?

We do not see any dialogue concerning this question but we can only assume that some of the same conclusions are drawn here about Jesus. We know that the Pharisees do not stop at their attempts to trip Jesus up so therefore we can conclude that none of them at this point starts to follow or accept His teaching.

Lastly we see that Jesus expresses to the woman how she received this forgiveness in Luke 7:50 that says And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Now do not take out of context that Jesus says anything like what we hear the prosperity preachers in our time speak. He does not say if you have more faith then you will receive more forgiveness. He simply says that her faith is what saved her. Faith is not a work of the human will but the proof of the work of God in a person. Ephesians 2:8-9 says For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, so that no one may boast.

It is this faith that a person must have in order to be saved. We can not on our own muster up this faith. Our own faith makes us think we have done enough to get the attention of God to give to us salvation but true faith is seen in the fact that the sinner recognizes their own sin and knows that they are unworthy of any forgiveness. At that point faith is birthed, grace and mercy is given and salvation is secured. Sinner, have you done this? Do you recognize your sin or are you like the Pharisee that thinks himself to be better than others? I hope that you will be as this sinful woman and receive today the forgiveness of sins needed for eternal life in Christ.