In Frank Peretti’s book, Piercing the Darkness, [1] he emphasizes with his literary style the importance of prayer in our Christian lives. Peretti graphically depicts prayer as a powerful tool that impacts the outcome of spiritual battles between God’s holy angels who minister to God’s people and carry out the plan of God, and the fallen angels who want to do the will and plan of Satan. As Christians pray, God’s angels are strengthened and demons are hindered,resulting in victory over the rulers of the kingdom of darkness. Conversely, when there is a lack of prayer among God’s people, demonic forces expand their influence and achieve victory over the angels of God.
This brings to mind the Old Testament picture of prayer in Exodus 17:8-16 when Moses was leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, and they were camped at Rephidim. After the Lord solved a water crisis by having Moses strike a rock so that water came out of it for the thirsty Israelites to drink (Exod. 17:1-7), another crisis arose involving the Amalekites.
The people of Amalek came out to attack Israel (Exod. 17:8). Moses instructed Joshua to choose some men for battle (Exod. 17:9a). While Joshua led the troops, Moses stood on the top of a hill with his shepherd’s staff (“rod”) overlooking the battlefield with Aaron and Hur next to him (Exod. 17:10). When Moses held up his hand high holding his staff, Israel prevailed against the Amalekites. But whenever Moses let down his tired hands for a rest, Amalek prevailed (Exod. 17:11). What happened on the battlefield was inseparably connected to what Moses did up on the hill. Moses was making spiritual intercession while Israel’s soldiers were fighting. To prevail against enemy attack, Moses had to make contact with heaven (through prayer) and Joshua and his men had to take responsibility for their actions by fighting against the Amalekites. [2]
Eventually Moses’ hands and arms became tired, so they gave him a stone to sit on while Aaron and Hur stood on either side of Moses and supported his hands (Exod. 17:12). By doing this, they helped Moses keep God’s staff held high all day long, and Joshua and his men defeated Amalek (Exod. 17:13).
What a wonderful picture this is of intercessory prayer. Just as Joshua couldn’t defeat the Amalekites by himself, nor could Moses engage in spiritual warfare by himself. Israel was victorious because of intercessory prayer. God told Moses to write this victory down so he and the people of Israel (and us) would not forget that the Lord is the One Who can defeat their enemies and give them victory (Exod. 17:14-16).
This is what we have been learning in this series on spiritual warfare. We have focused on the victory that God has provided for Christians over the powers of darkness (Eph. 1:7-14, 19-23; 2:4-7; et al.). This is victory that we are to appropriate and use in our daily battle with the Devil and his kingdom of darkness.
Our union with Christ gives us the strength we need in this spiritual battle. [3] Repeatedly in the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul refers to our union with Jesus by using the phrases “in Him” (Eph. 1:4, 7, 10-11, 13), “in whom” (Eph. 1:13; 2:21-22; 3:12, 15; 4:16), or “in Christ” (1:3, 10, 20; 2:6-7, 10, 13; 3:6, 11; 4:32). The apostle Paul writes, “be strong in the Lord…” (Eph. 6:10a). Jesus has already won the battle over the kingdom of darkness. We are to daily appropriate this victory in our Christian lives.
The Person, power, and ministry of the Holy Spirit also gives us the enablement we need in spiritual warfare (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:18, 22; 3:5, 16; 4:3-4, 23-32; 5:8-9, 18-19; 6:17-18). Paul writes, “be strong… in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10b). Christians cannot experience the victory Jesus has already won for us apart from yielding to the control of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).
The Whole Armor of God
For the past year, we have looked at “the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:10-17). God wants every Christian to wear “the whole armor of God” so we may stand against the “wiles” or trickery of the Devil (Eph. 6:11). The first three pieces of armor we have with us all of the time [4] (“having girded… put on… shod…” – Eph. 6:14-15). [5]This is the state we are always in. But the last three pieces of armor we are called to take and use as needed [6](“taking … take…” Eph. 6:16-17), [7] especially “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13b) when all hell breaks loose and seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10a).
Paul describes the armor that Roman infantrymen wore in the order they would put it on. The soldier first puts on his belt which represents the Christian’s belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a). Since Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), this first piece of armor is essential to protecting us from Satan’s deceptions and lies. We learned that truth is God’s viewpoint on a subject. It is the absolute standard by which reality is measured in its original form. [8]Truth points us in the direction that God wants to lead us.
After putting on his belt, the soldier then puts on his breastplate which protects his vital organs in his chest region. “The breastplate” (Eph. 6:14b) we are to put on is “righteousness” (dikaiosunē) which refers to the quality of “being right.” [9]God’s truth is the informational base that tells us the right thing to do. The truth points our heart in the direction of God’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is our response to God’s truth or viewpoint on a matter.
When God’s truth and righteousness are operative in our lives, it will lead to the next piece of armor which is feet shod with the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). We are often faced with a myriad of choices and decisions in life, but how do we know we have made the right choices or decisions? How do we know we are moving in the right direction? How do we know we have the right perspective on a matter? God’s peace will confirm it. The Lord will give us a deep-seated calm to move forward (“feet” suggest movement) with a decision even though hell may be breaking loose in our lives.
As we experience God’s peace as a result of His truth and righteousness being operative in our lives, we can then see our faith in God renewed and strengthened. This leads to the fourth piece of armor which is “the shield of faith” which can protect us from “all” the flaming arrows of the evil one that he uses to cause us to doubt our Christian faith (Eph. 6:16). The shield is the object of our faith. And God is our shield (cf. Gen. 15:1b; Psa. 5:12; 18:30). As we rely on God’s presence, the substitutionary death and life of Jesus (Rom. 5:9-10; Gal. 2:20), and God’s holy angels to protect us, we can stand our ground when all hell breaks loose against us. As we worship the Lord by faith individually and corporately (as pictured by Roman soldiers interlocking their shields before and above them in warfare), our faith is renewed and strengthened so that the flaming arrows of the powers of darkness are extinguished.
The next piece of armor we are to take up is the “helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17a). This powerful piece of spiritual armor protects and directs our thoughts, so our lives are filled with hope. Satan wants us to lose hope about our past salvation from the penalty of sin (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9), our present salvation from the power of sin (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 1:21-22), and our future salvation from the presence of sin (I Thess. 1:10; 4:13-5:11; I John 3:2-3). But when we put on the helmet of salvation, our hope is renewed and we can stand in the victory God has already given us with regard to our past, present, and future.
The sixth and final piece of armor we are to put on or take up is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17b). This is the only offensive piece of spiritual armor God has given us and it is sufficient to overcome all the powers of darkness. This piece of armor is used by the Holy “Spirit” to cut and slice up the enemy (Heb. 4:12). It refers to the spoken “word [rhēma] of God” which has the power in Itself to do what it declares (cf. Gen. 1:2b-3). It is not enough to know the Word. We must declare it to the enemy. This is what Jesus did when He defeated the Devil who tempted Christ in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11).
This is also what God instructed Joshua to do before he led the Israelites to conquer the inhabitants of the land of Canaan: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but youshall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Josh. 1:8). The way for God’s word not “to depart from your mouth” is to “meditate in it day and night.”“To meditate on something is to roll it over and over in your mind in much the same way that a cow chews its cud. When you do, the Word of God is driven deeply into your soul so that your actions [and words] can be driven by God’s perspective rather than your feelings or cultural opinion.” [10][brackets added]
When Jesus prepared His disciples for coming persecution (Matt. 10:16-42), He encouraged them by saying, “19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (Matt. 10:19-20). Christ predicted that His followers would be brought before governing authorities (Matt. 10:17). And when they were, they were not to fret about what to say, because the Holy Spirit would speak in and through them about King Jesus. And the same Spirit will enable us to speak Christ’s message to those who oppose Him and His kingdom.
The “Allness” of Prayer
The apostle Paul concludes his teaching on spiritual warfare by emphasizing the “allness” of prayer (Eph. 6:10-18). [11]After addressing each piece of spiritual armor, the apostle writes, “…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Eph. 6:18). The implication is that we put on each piece of armor through prayer. When?
“Always.” We are to pray the armor of God when we feel like it and when we don’t; when life is smooth and when it is stormy. Pray the armor of God “always” on every occasion. If we are going to produce much fruit for the Lord, we must make prayer a top priority (John 15:7-8).
Notice the passion of prayer when Paul writes, “with all prayer and supplication.” There are many different kinds of prayer – praise, worship, doctrinal, resisting the enemy, supplication (bind oneself to the Lord for an answer), and intercessory prayers, etc.
We are to pray “in the Spirit” which refers to praying in the strength of the One Who comes alongside us to help us (cf. “Helper” [Paraklētos] in John 14:16, 25). This means we pray in harmony with the Spirit of God which is according to the will of God revealed in Scripture. The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17) and He never contradicts the teaching of Jesus Who is “the truth” (John 14:6) nor the truth of God’s Word (John 17:17). It also means we are under the control of the Holy Spirit Who prays according to the will of God on our behalf (Rom. 8:26-27).
Prayer is to be “watchful” (agrupneō). This is a military term in the context of spiritual warfare. It means “to be vigilant in awareness of threatening peril… be on the alert … be on guard.” [12] It is like a soldier on duty to protect the encampment of his fellow soldiers. He gives an advanced warning that the enemy is coming. His duty is always to be alert, never to go to sleep. He is to use his watchfulness to protect his fellow soldiers as they sleep.
Likewise, Christians are to use their watchfulness in prayer to protect one another. When we see the enemy attacking another brother or sister in Christ, we are to pray the armor of God over that person. There is really not much we can say to that believer when they are in the heat of battle. But we can bring him or her before the throne of grace (Heb. 4:15-16) and ask the Lord to intervene in his or her life to deliver them from the powers of darkness.
Paul then speaks of the perseverance of prayer when he says to pray “with all perseverance and supplication.” What does that mean? It means you don’t give up. You keep praying until God answers your prayers.
Remember when Daniel had been praying and fasting for three weeks and then he received an incredible vision of a glorious man (Dan. 10:1-9)? The angel of God that had been sent to Daniel when he first began praying and fasting three weeks earlier finally arrived (Dan. 10:10-12). The reason it took the angel three weeks to come to Daniel was because “the [demonic] prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood” him for three weeks – the entire time Daniel had been praying and fasting (Dan. 10:13a). This demonic prince of Persia was so powerful it took “Michael, one of the chief princes” [of the angels of God] to help this angel who had been battling the demonic “kings of Persia” (Dan. 10:13b). By virtue of his strength, the angel battling the kingdom of darkness prevailed and came to Daniel to strengthen him so he could receive the revelation that follows in chapters 11 and 12 of Daniel (cf. Dan 10:15-19).
What if Daniel had not persevered in prayer during those three weeks? He would not have received the incredible prophecy regarding the future. Brothers and sisters, we must not give up in praying for one another.
Next the apostle speaks of the panorama of prayer when he says, “for all the saints.” This phrase includes us, our spouses, our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our siblings, our Christians brothers and sisters in our local churches and around the world, our governmental leaders and world leaders across the globe. We begin to pray for fellow believers in Ukraine and Russia, in China and Iran, and wherever the Lord leads us to pray. Spiritual warfare praying has a very broad application.
Finally, Paul speaks of the projection of prayer when he writes, [praying] “for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Eph. 6:19). Observe that spiritual warfare prayer impacts the words (“utterance”) of a powerful “gospel” message which conveys the manifold grace of God (cf. Eph. 1:6-14; 2:4-9). He asks them to pray, “that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.” The powers of darkness want to silence the mouth of the apostle Paul (and all believers), but he asks his readers to pray for him to speak “boldly” so he can “make known the mystery of the gospel” to those he has contact with during his first imprisonment in Rome [13] while under house arrest chained to a Roman soldier (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20; cf. Acts 28:30). [14] This request from Paul suggests he may have been afraid to share the gospel at this time. Having boldness does not mean the absence of fear. It is overcoming fear by relying on the Holy Spirit to speak through us (cf. Matt. 10:18-20).
We can enter into the ministry of the Holy Spirit through spiritual warfare prayer. We are to pray this way for each other and for those who preach the gospel to the unsaved. We must pray this way for our spiritual leaders in our local churches and around the world, so the gospel is proclaimed clearly and boldly around the world.
Conclusion
Please join me now in putting on the whole armor of God through prayer. [15]
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I put on the whole armor of God with praise and thanksgiving. You have provided all I need to stand in victory against Satan and his kingdom of darkness.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I take the belt of truth and its stabilizing power and protection. Thank You that Satan cannot stand against the bold use of the truth. I cling to Jesus Who is the truth and is full of truth, as my strength and protection from all of Satan’s deceptions. Thank You Father God for the Holy Spirit Who is the Spirit of truth. I look to You, Holy Spirit, to lead me in accord with the truth of what Jesus taught and what the Bible teaches. I ask You, Spirit of truth, to warn me before I deceive anyone and to protect me always from believing Satan’s lies. Please show me any way in which I am being deceived. I ask that the Bible, the Word of truth, shall constantly gain a deeper place in my life. Thank You, Lord God, for making the local church a pillar and foundation for Your truth in my life. Help me relate to my church and give protection to others as well as receive it myself.
Thank You Father God for providing the breastplate of righteousness to guard my spiritual heart so it can pump Your life throughout my spirit, soul, and body. I praise You for declaring me to be totally righteous in Your sight apart from any good works I do when I believed in Jesus Christ. I praise You for freely crediting Jesus’ perfect righteousness to my account in heaven so Satan cannot successfully accuse me or condemn me of wrongdoing in Your courtroom. Thank You that my salvation does not rely on my good works, nor my ability to keep rules and regulations, but on Jesus alone Who died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead. I praise You for depositing deep down in my spirit all the righteousness that belongs to Jesus Christ. Help me to appropriate that righteousness by faith as I dig deep with Your Word of truth so my spirit can release Your righteousness to my soul, and my soul can release that righteousness to my body, transforming my spirit, soul and body into Jesus’ likeness. I know that Satan must retreat before the righteousness of God.
I joyfully put on the sandals of the gospel of peace. Jesus, I praise You because You not only brought me peace, but You are also my peace. Protect me from anything that would rob me of Your peace. Please help me to wear my sandals of peace every day so I may stand victoriously against the trickery of the Devil. I claim the peace with God that is mine through justification by faith alone in Jesus alone (Rom. 5:1). I desire the peace of God that touches my emotions and feelings through prayer (Phil. 4:6-7). Through my obedience, I seek the God of peace (Phil 4:9) Who makes even my enemies to live at peace with me. And I want to grow closer to You Jesus, because You are my peace.
Eagerly, I take up the shield of faith against all the blazing arrows that Satan fires at me. I know that You are my shield, O Lord. As I rely on Your presence, the substitutionary death and life of Jesus, and Your holy angels to protect me, I can stand my ground when all hell breaks loose against me. Help me to keep my shield of faith renewed and strengthened by worshipping You individually and corporately with other believers. Please grant me the grace to keep looking to Jesus no matter what I face or what I feel on my journey of faith.
Father God, I recognize that my mind is a particular target of Satan’s deceiving ways. Thus, I cover my mind with the powerful helmet of salvation which protects and directs my thoughts, so my life is filled with hope. Thank You for the assurance that my spirit is saved from the penalty of sin forever when I put my faith in the Lord Jesus alone for His gift of salvation. By Your grace I pray for my soul to be saved from the power of sin as I yield to the Holy Spirit’s power to obey what Your Word says. And thank You Lord for the hope that my physical body will be saved from the presence of sin when Jesus gives me a new glorified resurrection body when He comes back for His church.
Gracious Father, thank You so much for the sword of the Spirit, the spoken word of God which has the power in Itself to do what it declares. It is with great joy that I lift the sword of Spirit and choose to abide in its truth and power. Holy Spirit, please open my eyes to see wonderful things in Your Word! Please enable me to use Your Word to defend myself from Satan, and also to wield the sword well on the battlefield when the Devil attacks me, so his lies and deceptions are exposed, and he is pushed back and defeated.
Thank You, precious Lord, for the privilege of prayer. Help me to keep this armor well-oiled with prayer and to cover my brothers and sisters around the world with prayer. All these requests I offer to You through the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Frank E. Peretti, Piercing the Darkness: A Novel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1989, 2003).
[2] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 273-274.
[3] The following two paragraphs are adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “The Allness of prayer” in the Ephesian 6 series on the BRMinistry app.
[4] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[5] The first three verbs in Greek (perizōsamenoi… endysamenoi… hypodēsamenoi… ) are aorist middle participles which means they have already been put on by the soldier or Christian.
[6] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[7] The Greek verb translated “taking…” (analabontes) is an aorist active participle, meaning the Christian is taking the shield of faith as needed and the last Greek verb translated “take…” (dexasthe) is an aorist middle imperative which is used of the last two pieces of armor and means for oneself to take them up as needed.
[8] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 1820-1821.
[9] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 247-248.
[10] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 538.
[11] Much of this section is adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message entitled “The Allness of prayer” in the Ephesian 6 series on the BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.
[12] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 16.
[13] J. B. Bond, “Ephesians,” The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1352.
[14] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2629.[15] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s prayers entitled, “Prayer for Christian Unity” and “Prayer to Wear the Armor of God,” from Spiritual Warfare Prayers pamphlet (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1997).
As the celebration of Jesus’ birth approaches, I am reminded of that first Christmas which is recorded from a human perspective in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels (Matt. 1:21-2:12; Luke 2:1-20). It is presented as a very peaceful event involving Mary and Joseph, some angels, shepherds, wise men, and the baby Jesus. The angels praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). Hence, most Christmas celebrations today focus on the peace that surrounded the birth of Jesus, assuming He would bring peace “on earth” during His First Coming.
But at the beginning of the week before Jesus’ crucifixion when Christ triumphantly entered Jerusalem, a multitude of His followers praised God, saying: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). Notice they say, “Peace in heaven,” not “peace on earth.” The first coming of Christ would establish spiritual peace “in heaven” between God and humankind (Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:16-18). But it won’t be until Jesus’ Second Coming to earth that universal peace “on earth” will be established by King Jesus during His thousand-year reign on earth (Rev 20:4-6; Isa. 2:1-4; 9:6b-7; Mic. 4:1-5).
In Revelation 12:1-5, the apostle John shares a version of the Christmas story that is from heaven’s perspective, and it is the opposite of peace (see above picture). This version of the Christmas story involves three main characters: the woman, representing the nation of Israel who endured much pain in bringing the Messiah into the world (Rev. 12:1-2; cf. Gen. 37:9-11); the Child, representing the Lord Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:2, 5); and the dragon, representing the Devil (Rev. 12:3-4a, 9).
When Jesus is born into the world, Satan is there with his army of demons represented by “a third of the stars of heaven” (Rev. 12:4a), waiting to destroy Him: “And the dragon (Satan) stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child (Jesus) as soon as it was born” (Rev. 12:4b – parenthesis added). While shepherds are watching, angels are singing, and wise men are worshipping, Satan is waiting to make his move. The attempt to kill the Child John sees in this vision is probably a reference to king Herod’s brutal attempt to kill Jesus (cf. Matt. 2:16).
The next verse says, “She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.” (Rev. 12:5). In this version of the Christmas story Jesus goes from being born at Bethlehem, to ruling on the throne of the universe. John uses this one verse to summarize the birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and future reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan not only used Herod in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, but He would later use Judas to betray Him, Pilate to condemn Him, and the Roman soldiers to crucify Him. All the fury of hell would be released against the Child born on that silent night.
The rest of Revelation 12 talks about the last half of the Tribulation period when Satan and his fallen angels are cast down from heaven and persecute the people of God – the nation of Israel (cf. 12:7-17). Since Satan could not destroy the Christ Child Who is now on His throne in heaven, he is going to go after what is dearest to the Child – His own people. This is why there is so much opposition against God’s people today, especially His Jewish people, and it will only intensify as the Second Coming of Christ to earth draws near. If the Devil can destroy Israel before Jesus returns to earth with His Bride, the Church (Rev. 19:7-21), then there can be no triumphant return of Christ and Satan will rule the earth.
John’s version of the Christmas story reminds us we are in a struggle with a dragon. It is a struggle we can’t win; it is a struggle Jesus already won. You see, if you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, Satan is going to attack you. “Satan” means adversary. During this Christmas season (and all our lives), he wants to rob us of the joy and peace of Christmas by reminding us of our sins and shortcomings. He will accuse us of the times we have lied and been unfaithful, of the times we’ve lost our temper and broken our promises.
The Armor of God
How can we deal with this intense spiritual battle whereby the enemy seeks to rob us of God’s peace? The apostle Paul instructs his Christian readers (including you and me) to “put on the whole armor of God” so we may stand against the “wiles” or trickery of the Devil (Eph. 6:11). Paul describes the armor that Roman infantrymen wore in the order they would put it on.
The soldier first puts on his belt which represents the Christian’s belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a). Since Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), this first piece of armor is essential to protecting us from Satan’s deceptions and lies. We learned that truth is God’s viewpoint on a subject. It is the absolute standard by which reality is measured in its original form.Truth points us in the direction that God wants to lead us.
After putting on his belt, the soldier then puts on his breastplate which protects his vital organs in his chest region. “The breastplate” we are to put on is “righteousness” (dikaiosunē) which refers to the quality of “being right.” [1] God’s truth is the informational base that tells us the right thing to do. The truth points our heart in the direction of God’s righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness is our response to God’s truth or viewpoint on a matter.
When God’s truth and righteousness are operative in our lives, it will lead to the next piece of armor which has to with our feet or shoes (Eph. 6:15). Why is this so important?
The Importance of Our Feet
In the 21st century, we have shoes for every occasion. There are dress shoes, casual shoes, work shoes, and many kinds of athletic shoes. There are shoes for cold weather, warm weather, and rainy weather. We have indoor shoes and outdoor shoes. There are specialty shoes like dance shoes (ballet, tap, etc.), work boots (steel-toe, waterproof, etc.), and orthopedic shoes. Some of you may have a closet full of shoes that are designed to adorn your feet. The fact that we have so many varieties of shoes today demonstrates the importance of our feet. [2]
It is also a very serious thing to have feet that hurt. Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to focus on an objective when your feet are hurting? When your feet hurt, you hurt are over. When our feet hurt, we do not make a good soldier. This is why our military places great emphasis on examining the feet of a soldier. They understand that a person’s feet need to be comfortable to be a good soldier. God understands this more than anyone. [3]
The Soldier’s Sandals
God wants His people to wear a certain kind of shoes all the time because they will address an important issue regarding spiritual warfare in our lives. After a Roman soldier put on his belt and breastplate (Eph. 6:14), he then puts on his sandals: “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Eph. 6:15). The Greek word translated “shod” (hupodeō) is a compound word meaning “under” (hupo) plus “to bind/tie” (deō)or “to bind/tie under or beneath”[4](sandals). [5] It refers here to what you are wearing on your feet at all times. [6]
The word translated “preparation” (hetoimasia) refers to the state of “readiness.”[7] If we are wearing these shoes, we will be ready for the Devil’s attacks against us. We will be prepared to deal with our enemy’s methods of deception.
To properly understand this piece of armor, we need to realize that the Roman soldier had what modern-day American football players have. They had cleats or spikes coming out of the bottom of their shoes. “Roman soldiers wore sandals with cleats built in to help them have firm footing and to stand their ground under attack.”[8] These spikes on the bottom of a soldier’s sandals gave him stability and mobility on the battlefield. They kept him from slipping and sliding when he was under attack.
If we were in a battle in Paul’s day, we had better be well-shod. There would be nothing worse than losing our footing with an enemy standing over us with a sword in his hand. [9]
Paul has already emphasized the need to be stationary in battle by using the word “stand” (stēnai) or a form of this word (antistēnai/stēte) four times (Eph. 6:11, 13-14). Why? Because the Devil wants to knock us off our feet. He wants to knock us to the ground and keep us there. He desires to remove us from our place of stability.
When Paul says to have our feet “shod,” he is talking about placing ourselves in a stationary position so that when all hell breaks loose “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13), Satan cannot knock us down or knock us out. Why? Because what we are wearing on our feet gives us stability and sure-footedness.
If you are like me, you know what it is like to be knocked over by the evil one. Our circumstances have knocked us over. Our finances have knocked us over. Our relationships with certain people have knocked us over. Our jobs have knocked us over. Our feet have slipped, and we are going down.
So, what this third piece of armor teaches us is that God wants to create stability or sure-footedness for us so that when we face a Satanic full-frontal attack, we can stand firm. Evans explains, “Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, victory is already won. The devil has lost. The only power he has is the power you give him. We are to stand firm in Christ’s victory. Paul tells the Ephesians over and over: stand (6:11, 13-14). In other words, stay in the area where victory has been achieved under the cover of God’s armor. When you stand under an umbrella, it doesn’t stop the rain. But it does stop you from getting wet. You have to dress for success in this thing called the Christian life.” [10][emphasis added]
The Purpose of Satan’s Attack
Remember that the Devil is a thief (John 10:10a). He knows he cannot take away our salvation because we are secure forever in Christ after we believe in Him for His free gift of eternal life which can never be lost (cf. John 3:16; 6:35-40; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:38-39; Eph. 1:13-14; I John 5:13). Since the evil one cannot keep us out of heaven, he wants to make us experience hell on earth.[11] How does he do this?
This third piece of armor teaches us that Satan wants to rob us of God’s “peace.” The opposite of “peace” is anxiety. The Devil wants God’s children to live with anxiety and fear. He knows that whatever we fear, we give control to. Hence, the purpose of the enemy’s attacks is to keep God from controlling our lives, so our salvation is not manifested through us. He wants to keep us defeated and discouraged.
But God wants His people to have feet that are not hurting in the area of “peace.” The Lord understands that one of the Devil’s strategies is to rob God’s people of His peace. Satan wants to promise us peace through his “wiles” or trickery. He will promise us peace through counterfeit religions, drugs, education, entertainment, materialism, the occult, and sex outside of marriage. Often times we discover that we have less peace than we did before we pursued the enemy’s counterfeit peace. It is that way with everything Satan promises to use to give us peace. Instead of giving us peace, Satan’s ways lead us into bondage and death.
What is Peace?
But God’s “peace” is real, and it protects us from the activities of the kingdom of darkness. But what is this “peace” God wants us to wear all the time? The Greek word for “peace” (eirēnē) in Ephesian 6:15 refers to a “state of concord, harmony, or well-being”[12] between Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14-15) and between God and humankind (Eph. 2:16-18).
Jesus used this word for “peace” (eirēnē) twice in John 14:27 when He referred to two types of peace. The first kind refers to His work on the cross. “Peace I leave with you.” (John 14:27a). The word “leave” (aphiēmi) implies something that Jesus does. Christ’s death on the cross would provide eternal “peace with God” (Rom. 5:1) for us because all our sins would be forgiven (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14). The meaning of “peace” in this case “is the spiritual well-being that results from being rightly related to God through Jesus Christ.” [13]
The second type of peace in verse 27 is the kind that Jesus enjoyed on earth. He says, “My peace I give to you” (John 14:27b). In the context (cf. John 14:21, 23), this peace of Christ’s is given to obedient believers. It arises from a life of faith in God. It refers to a calmness “that would come to their hearts from trusting God and from knowing that He was in control of all events that touched their lives.”[14]
Christ distinguishes His peace from the kind of peace the world can give – “not as the world gives do I give to you.” (John 14:27c). The world cannot offer eternal peace with God. The world denies that people need to be reconciled to God. The world says that people are inherently good because they are created in the image of God. “Because God loves everyone,” the world says, “There is no need for reconciliation with God.” The world offers a false peace to people. Sin has distorted God’s image in people. Some churches deny this because the world has influenced them to believe that people are inherently good and do not need a Savior.
The peace the world offers depends on one’s circumstances and is temporary. Itis deceptive and misleading. But the peace Jesus offers is the calm and tranquility of the soul that is independent of our external situation. [15]
This peace is much like the painting above.[16] The sky is black with storm clouds. The waves are violently billowing up and down against the rocky shore. There is turmoil and chaos all around.
But on the right side of this portrait about halfway up the rocky cliff at the edge of this horrific circumstance of life, was a mother bird sitting on her nest protecting her young. One little light piercing the darkness of the clouds was shining down on the bird as it sat peacefully on its nest.
This picture portrays biblical peace. Biblical peace is not the absence of problems. It is not “when nothing is wrong, I am calm.”Biblical peace is when everything is wrong, and we are still calm. It is when circumstances or situations are not conducive to rest, but we are able to chill. Biblical peace is when there is calm on the inside while there is nothing but chaos on the outside. We do not know we have biblical peace until circumstances are not peaceful.
When Jesus spoke of His peace in John 14:27, it was the night before His crucifixion. There was nothing peaceful about Jesus’ situation. He knew it would involve terrible darkness when all hell would break loose against Him and He would experience separation from His heavenly Father for the first and last time when the sin of the world would be placed upon Christ as our Substitute for sin (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 3:18). Yet Jesus could speak with confidence about giving His peace to His disciples the night before His brutal death on a cross. Christ lived this peace, and He wants to empower us to do the same.
Where Do We Find this Peace?
This third piece of armor speaks of standing in “the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). The “peace” that Jesus gives us is found in “the gospel.” This peace is not found in a pill or an injection or in entertainment or in the accumulation of wealth. It is not found in our favorite television program or movie. Nor is it found on a vacation or in an image on the computer screen. This peace is not found in a better job or in a counseling session. That’s the world’s kind of peace which is momentary.
The peace that God wants us to continually wear on our feet is found in “thegospel.” To understand the “peace” that the apostle Paul is talking about, we need to understand the gospel. The Greek word for “gospel” is euangelion, which means “good news.”[17] So, what is the good news?
The apostle Paul defines the “gospel” or good news by which we are saved today when he writes, “3 that Christ died for our sin according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once…” (I Cor. 15:3-6). The gospel is that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. We are saved from an eternity in hell when we believe in the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection as our Substitute for our sins (Acts 16:31). At that moment of faith in Christ, we receive both the complete forgiveness of all our sins (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14) and the gift of eternal life (John 3:14-16). Jesus says we are born again (John 3:3). But you may say, “I am born again but I still have anxiety and worry – the opposite of peace.”
One reason we may still have worry after we are born again is because we do not understand or believe the gospel. Most Christians apply the gospel only to what it takes to get to heaven. But that is just part of the gospel. The gospel also has a lot to do with living a victorious life on earth. [18]
The apostle Paul writes, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10). Notice that “the death of” Jesus “reconciled” (past tense) us to God so we could go to heaven (justification), but Jesus’ “life” “shall” (future tense) save us from the power of sin and its consequences (sanctification) on earth (cf. Rom. 1:18-32; 5:9). [19] Most of us know the gospel because of Jesus’ death, but we have missed the gospel of His life which progressively gives us victory over the power of sin as we learn to walk in the Spirit (cf. Rom. 6:1-8:39).
Evans writes, “The death of Jesus reconciled us to God, but Jesus didn’t stay dead. He’s alive right now. And He’s interceding for us (see Heb. 7:25) in order to give us victory over the power of sin and its consequences. Think about it. If Jesus could take you from hell to heaven by dying, what He can do for you by living is even more exciting. Many believers who have accepted the saving death of Christ have yet to understand and access the saving life of Christ, which gives us victory in history.”[20] [emphasis added]
Let’s look now at what our sandals of peace include. [21]
Our Position that Protects our Mental Peace
These sandals of peace include our POSITION THAT PROTECTS OUR MENTAL PEACE: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:1). The Greek word translated “justified” (diakaioō) means to be declared totally righteous [22] by our holy God [23] in heaven’s courtroom. The perfect righteousness of Christ in us has been imputed or credited to our account in heaven by virtue of our position in Jesus.[24]
“Justification is a legal concept meaning that in God’s courtroom, He pronounced us innocent of all charges. He does this through what theologians call ‘imputation’—taking Jesus’s perfect record and crediting it to our accounts.” [25] [emphasis added]
Notice in Romans 5:1 that we are “justified” not by our good life, prayers, or religion, but “by faith.” Peace with God is “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The moment we believe in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for all our sins, we are “justified” or declared totally righteous before God as if we had never sinned.
The preposition “with” (pros) in the phrase “peace with God” (pros ton Theon) is very important (Rom. 5:1). This preposition used with the accusative case (ton Theon) refers to being “friendly with” God. [26] It is the promise that through justification by faith in Jesus, the enmity and hostility that existed between a holy God and a sinful people is totally removed. The war has ended between the Christian and his or her God! And we have peace “with God.”
How does the Christian know he has peace “with” God? There is only one way to know this, and it is through faith in God’s promise. Justification before God is not a feeling or experience. It is a judicial, legal declaration from a holy God.
“The nature of this peace is of course judicial, since justification is the act of God as our Judge. We should avoid understanding the idea as inner tranquility. The peace involved here is like that which results when two warring nations are no longer in a hostile relationship to each other.”[27] [emphasis added]
That is why Romans 5:1 begins with the word “Therefore…” It is as though God is pointing His finger back to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (cf. Rom. 4:24-25). “Therefore,” because of what Jesus has done, you have “been justified by faith” and you “have peace with God.” The war with God is over! The battle has ended!
But Satan will try to rob Christians of this peace. He will attempt to make us think that God is angry with us. That God could never forgive us. That God is against us. He may whisper in our ears, “The reason you have so many troubles is because God is mad at you. Hekeeps punishing you because He is against you.”
While it is true that God disciplines His wayward children (Heb. 12:5-11), His discipline of us is not evidence that He hates us or is mad at us. It is evidence that He loves us: “5 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens.” (Heb. 12:5-6).
Thus, putting on the sandals of peace means we have an intellectual understanding of what God’s Word says – that the believer in Jesus has “peace with God.” If we are to “stand” against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11), we must know this positional truth, review it, and abide in it daily, never turning aside from it even during Satan’s most vicious or subtle attacks.
The Possession of Peace
But our sandals of peace also include our POSSESSION OF PEACE. This can be seen in Philippians 4. “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7). This aspect of our sandals of peace protects our emotional peace (“anxious”). God wants the Christian to not only have legal or mental peace (“peace with God”), but to also have emotional peace (“peace of God”).
How do we gain this relationship of peace? It comes through the practice of prayer. When Paul writes in Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing…” (Phil. 4:6a), he is saying not to lose your emotional peace even though you may be facing a worrisome situation. Don’t try to resolve your anxiety by worrying about the situation. Instead, he says to resolve this worrisome situation with “prayer” (Phil. 4:6b). Talk to God about what makes you anxious. When was the last time we got alone with God and talked to Him about what we are worried about? Talking about it helps to diffuse the power of worry. But it does not stop there.
Then God says, “in everything by… supplication” (Phil. 4:6c). The word “supplication” means to tell God what you need. Few people ever identify what they need because they are so busy worrying.
For example, some of us may be worried about our health. So, we talk to the Lord about that. And as we do that, ask God to help us identify the underlying need. Perhaps we need protection from illness especially during the aftermath of COVID. Or perhaps we are afraid of death because we are not prepared for it. So, we need assurance of life after death. Ask God to give you the assurance that there is everlasting life both now and after death through believing in Jesus (cf. John 11:25-26). Thus, talk to the Lord about what you need from Him.
Next, God says, “with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6d). One of my mentors taught me that the word “requests” refers to our heart’s desires which align with God’s will. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” The Hebrew word for “delight” (anog) can mean “to be soft” [28] or lean toward God. Just as a house plant leans in toward the sunlight coming through a window to get nutrients from the sun, so we need to lean into God during these challenging times to nourish our souls, and He promises to give us the desires or dreams of our hearts. So, talk to God about your desires or dreams. Ask God what He wants to do in your life.
Notice that God wants us to pray with “thanksgiving.” He wants us to have a thankful heart. Why? Because when we trust God to supply our needs and wants in advance during difficult times, we can accept those circumstances and respond more appropriately. Also, gratitude stimulates the release of dopamine (happy chemical) in our brain which decreases our stress and enhances our sleep.
As we talk to God about our anxiety, needs, and desires with thanksgiving, He promises that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). The “peace of God” is like a deep calmness in the midst of life’s storms. For example, the water underneath the surface of the ocean remains calm during a storm (see above pic). We can experience a deep-seeded calmness in our souls when we surrender to God in prayer as we face these challenging times.
The phrase “will guard,” pictures an armed soldier walking back and forth in front of the city gate, protecting the occupants inside the city from intruders. God’s peace constantly protects those who choose to talk to Him about their worries and ask Him for what they need and want.
Do we know this experientially? Are we practicing this kind of prayer? We live in a day of cell phones. If someone wants to get a hold of us, they send us a text or call us on our phones. Our phones alert us through vibration or a distinct sound that someone wants to talk to us.
This illustrates how God sometimes wants us to talk to Him in prayer. One of the ways God may alert us to His desire for us to talk to Him is by allowing us to feel uneasy or anxious about something. This may be His way of inviting us to spend time alone with Him in prayer. Putting on the sandals of peace includes practicing this kind of prayer.
The Protection of Peace
Our sandals of peace also include THE PROTECTION OF PEACE. The apostle Paul writes, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9). Paul is not talking about the “peace of God” in this verse, but “the God of peace.” This aspect of peace results when believers walk in obedience to God (“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do…”). Paul says that when we follow the godly example of another believer, we can experience “the God of peace” being with us.
Bubeck suggests that “the God of peace” refers to the protection of our will. The strong powerful nearness of God to us (“the God of peace will be with you”) will protect our will. It is that “peace” which God brings to us when our enemies greatly outnumber us and are about to destroy us, and the God of peace says, “No more! You cannot touch him! He is mine!”[29]
There are many examples of this in the Old Testament when God’s people, Israel, are surrounded by their enemies who greatly outnumbered them and were about to destroy them with no apparent way of escape. And God’s people cried out to Him, and “the God of peace” showed up and put their enemies to flight or destroyed them. Sometimes He did this with hornets or sounds in the treetops (or heavens) which frightened them and caused confusion or fear, so they fled and were defeated (cf. Exod. 23:22-28; Deut. 7:17-22; Josh. 24:11-12; I Sam. 7:10-11; 2 Sam. 5:22-25; 2 Kgs. 6:8-23; 18:1-19:37; I Chron. 14:13-17; 2 Chron. 31:1-22). And at other times God caused Israel’s enemies to turn against each other so they could be defeated (cf. 2 Chron. 20:1-24).
God is so powerful that “when a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7). God is able to make our enemies be at peace with us quickly when we live in a way that pleases Him. They will have to flee simply because of Who God is.
It is not surprising that the phrase “the God of peace” is used in the New Testament in the context of obedience and Christian growth (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; I Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20-21). If we are hurting in our peace, it is important to examine our obedience to God. Are we trying to walk our own way instead of God’s way? Are we seeking our own pleasure instead of God’s?
The Lord may let us walk our own way, but please know that “the God of peace will be with” us. He wants us to be near to Him but that cannot be our experience if we are walking our own way instead of His way.
The Person of Peace
These sandals of peace also include THE PERSON OF PEACE. “13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph. 2:13-14). Our sin not only separates us from God, but it also separates us from the people of God. The Ephesians were Gentiles who were called “Uncircumcision” by the Jews who are referred to as “the Circumcision” (Eph. 2:11).
In their unsaved condition before the Cross, Ephesians 2:12 tells us that Gentiles “were without Christ,” having no corporate national hope centered on the promise of a coming Messiah, as the Jews did. They were “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” in that God excluded them in having a part in what He planned to do in and through the nation of Israel. The Gentiles were “aliens” from Israel in this sense. [30] Nor did Gentiles have a direct part in the “promises” of God to Israel contained in the biblical covenants (e.g., Abrahamic – Gen. 12:1-3; 13:15-17; 15:17-21; 17:1-22; Mosaic – Exod. 19:1-24:8; and Davidic – 2 Sam. 7:12-17; I Chron. 17:3-14; 2 Chron. 7:17-18; 13:5; 21:7; Psa. 89:1-4; et al.). As a race of people, the Gentiles had “no hope” of a corporate future promised by God to which they could look and in which they could hope, as Israel did. [31] And worst of all, they were “without God in the world.” The Greek word translated “without God” (atheos) is where we get our English word “atheist” from. Before the cross, Gentile unbelievers may have worshiped many gods, but they were without the one and only true God. [32]
“But… the blood of Christ” not only brought us “near” to God, but it also brings Jews and Gentiles (“you who once were far off”) near to one another (Eph. 2:13). How did this take place? “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph. 2:14). Jesus is “our peace” Whose atoning sacrifice on the cross has made Jew and Gentile “both one,” having “broken down the middle wall of separation.”
What is this “middle wall of separation”? The next verse tells us: “…Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” (Eph. 2:15). Jesus “abolished in His flesh” by dying on the cross “the enmity” or hostility that was created by the Jewish “law of commandments contained in ordinances.”
The Mosaic Law had been the cause of the hostility between Jews and Gentiles. It was the “barrier” that separated Jews and Gentiles. Its dietary distinctions, and laws requiring separation in particular, created hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Jesus Christ broke down the barrier and the hostility that resulted from it by terminating the Mosaic Law. When Jesus Christ died, He fulfilled all the demands of the Mosaic Law (cf. Col. 2:14). When He did that, God ended the Mosaic Law as His rule of life for the Jews. The word “abolished” (katargeō) means to “cause something to come to an end or to be no longer in existence, wipe out.”[33] The Mosaic Law ceased to be God’s standard for regulating the life of His people when Christ died (Rom. 10:4; Gal. 3:24-25; et al.). [34]
God did this through His shed blood on the cross to “create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace.” Christ died in our place “to make one body out of the two very distant groups. When a Jew or Gentile trusts in Christ for eternal life, he is placed in union with other believers in the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ by His death removed the barrier that separated Jews and Gentiles. By faith they become one new man, the Body of Christ, the Church. Christ is the end of the Law to all who believe (Rom. 10:4).
“God reconciled both Jews and Gentiles to Himself in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity (between Gentiles and Jews who believe in Christ). The Law that divided is removed, and Jews and Gentiles are in one body together.” [35] [emphasis added]
Christ, Who is “our peace,” died “that He might reconcile” Jews and Gentiles “to God in one body,” the church, “through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity” created by the Jewish Law (Eph. 2:16).
This Person of peace protects our spirit. It has to do with our spiritual relationship with Jesus. [36] Our Christian faith is not primarily a system of dogmas and doctrines. It is primarily a relationship with a Person – Jesus Christ. This is a relationship that we enter into through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:8-9). As we grow closer to Jesus, the more we can experience Him as “our peace” and the more we can live peaceably with other Christians. Satan seeks to divide Christians, so they do not express the image of God by living peacefully in unity with one another. But Jesus Christ is “our peace” and He is the source of reconciliation and restoration of peace within His body, the church.
God wants His peace to be the norm for His children on the battlefield. When God’s truth is operative in our lives, it will point us in the direction of His righteousness. We are faced with a myriad of choices and decisions in life, but how do we know we have made the right choices or decisions? How do we know we are moving in the right direction? How do we know we have the right perspective on a matter? God’s peace will confirm it. The Lord will give us a deep-seeded calm to move forward (“feet” suggest movement) with a decision even though hell may be breaking loose in our lives.
But if anxiety or worry is our normal way of operating, then we are not wearing the shoes God has given us. Please note that I am not talking about certain times of worry because we all battle that in our flesh. But if worry is normative for us then these shoes or sandals of peace are not being worn on our feet.
Are we wearing our sandals of peace every day? Do we take time to put them on? Are we taking time to remember and review that we have “peace with God” now because God has declared us (not made us) to be totally righteous (“justified”) the moment we believed in Jesus (Rom. 5:1)? Are we experiencing the emotional “peace of God” through prayer and the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives (Phil. 4:6-7)? Through obedience, are we experiencing “the God of peace” (Phil. 4:9) Who makes even our enemies to be at peace with us (Prov. 16:7)? And are we getting to know the Person of “our peace” (Eph. 2:13-17) more intimately, so we can live more peaceably with our brothers and sisters in Christ? In the midst of war, God wants us to stand victoriously in “the gospel of peace.”
Submarine crewmen do not get nervous when there is a storm at sea because they can go deep down where the waters are calm. Fish do not have anxiety attacks when it is storming because they know that severe storms will only reach approximately three hundred feet below sea level, [38] so they go down three hundred and one feet where it is peaceful.
When our world gets chaotic, it is time for us to go deep into the spiritual realm where God says there is peace and calm. God will give us “perfect peace” when our mind is focused on Him (Isa. 26:3). Instead of retreating to the world for its false sense of peace, we need to redirect our attention to the mind of God. When our thoughts agree with God’s, we will experience His peace.
For example, [39] when the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who had been promoted “over the affairs of the province of Babylon where they were captives” (Dan. 3:49), refused to serve the gods of Babylon and worship the ninety-foot-tall gold statue (Dan. 3:1) of king Nebuchadnezzar, they were told by the king they would be “cast immediatelyinto the midst of a burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:15). When these three young men heard this news that they were about to be burned alive – which, by the way, would normally obliterate anyone’s sense of peace – they responded to Nebuchadnezzar saying, “16 O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 If not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16b-18).
Their response infuriated Nebuchadnezzar, so he commanded his servants to “heat the furnace seven time more than it was usually heated” (Dan. 3:19b). The king was extremely upset that these Hebrew men feared their God more than the king’s death threat, so he had them tied up and thrown “into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” (Dan. 3:20-21). The flames of the furnace were so intense that the mighty men carrying them were “killed” (Dan. 3:22). Keep in mind that these three men were wearing several layers of clothing (Dan. 3:21) which were most likely flammable, so there appeared to be no hope of their survival.
After a while, the king looked into the furnace and he was shocked to “see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire” (Dan. 3:25a)because they had only thrown three men into the furnace. And now he sees four of them, and the three men were no longer tied up. They were “walking” around in the midst of these intense flames full of peace and calm, “and they are not hurt” (Dan. 3:25b). How was this possible? Because there was a fourth Person with them in the fire and the kings says He had “the form… like the Son of God.” (Dan. 3:25c). This was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ Who joined them in this terrible circumstance. God’s presence protected them from the fire (cf. Isa. 43:2).
It is important to understand that God is not going to join the world to help us out if we retreat to the world to find peace. If we are conforming to the world’s values and allurements and get into a bad situation as a result, and then cry out to God, He is not going to join the world because then He would be compromising His peace to join the world’s peace. These men did not bow to the king of Babylon. They remained faithful to God even though they did not know for sure if He would deliver them from this terrible situation.
Instead of looking to the world for peace, God wants us to take a stand in this pagan world with our minds focused on the God of peace. When we do this, the God of peace will show up in the fiery trials of life and give us His peacewhich surpasses human understanding. His presence will remove the chains or ropes that bind us so we can move freely. His presence will deliver us from the intense fires of life.
Some of us may be facing some very significant fiery trials right now. Maybe we have lost our job or lost our health. Perhaps we have lost a relationship with a loved one. God wants us to go deep into the spiritual realm to connect with His mind so His peace can be ours. He wants us to wear these shoes of peace at all times.
How do we do this? As with the other pieces of armor, we can put on our shoes of peace through prayer (Eph. 6:18).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are living in an increasingly chaotic world that lacks Your peace. We praise You because You not only brought us peace, but You are also our peace. Protect us from anything that would rob us of Your peace. Please help us to wear our sandals of peace every day so we may stand victoriously against the trickery of the Devil. We claim the peace with God that is ours through justification by faith alone in Jesus alone (Rom. 5:1). We desire the peace of God that touches our emotions and feelings through prayer (Phil. 4:6-7). Through our obedience, we seek the God of peace (Phil 4:9) Who makes even our enemies to live at peace with us. And we want to grow closer to You Jesus, because You are our peace. Satan and his kingdom of darkness are relentless in their efforts to keep believers divisive toward one another. As the accuser of believers, the Devil continually plants suspicions in our hearts. In the authority and name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pull down that work of darkness and bind our enemy that he might not succeed. We ask the Holy Spirit to bring to a stop all divisive works active in our lives and in all the lives of other believers. The diversity of Your body, Lord Jesus, is part of its beauty and appeal to the lost. It adds to Your glory. Help us to love one another in our diversity. In Your precious and mighty name, we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen. [40]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 247-248.
[2] Adapted from Tony Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.
[3] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.
[4] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 1037.
[5] Archibald Thomas Robertson, A. T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, 2014 Kindle Location 154992.
[6] The Greek verb hupodēsamenoi is in the aorist or past tense, meaning “having shod.” As with the first two pieces of armor, this refers to the state we should always be in.
[7] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 401.
[8] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2666.
[10] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[11] Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.
[12] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 287-288.
[13] J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 265.
[14] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pg. 440.
[15] Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.
[16] This portrait is used with permission from the artist, Katrina Case (see katrinacaseart.com).
[17] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 402.
[18] Adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.
[19] The theme of the book of Romans is the “salvation” or deliverance from God’s present-day wrath introduced in Romans 1:16-32. This deliverance includes justification through faith in Christ’s death (Rom. 2:1-5:9a, 10a) and sanctification through faith in Christ’s life (Rom. 5:9b, 10b-8:39). See Zane C. Hodges, “Romans,” The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 966ff; Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2416ff; Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press. 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 198-199.
[20] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2430.
[21] Much of these next four sections are adapted from Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app, unless otherwise noted.
[22] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Romans, 2023 Edition, pg. 77.
[23] The Greek word translated “justified” (dikaiōthentes) is in the passive voice, indicating that God is the One Who justifies the believing sinner.
[24] David R. Anderson, Free Grace Soteriology: Third Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pp. 115-116.
[25] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 2424-2425.
[26] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 874.
[27] Hodges, The Grace New Testament Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 1012.
[28] Francis Brown, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Omaha, NE: Patristic Publishing, 2020 Kindle Edition), pg. 2564.
[29] Bubeck’s video message, “7. Peace in the Midst of War: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.
[30] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Ephesians, 2024 Edition, pg. 59.
[39] Adapted from Evans’ video message entitled “The Shoes of Peace” on youtube.com.
[40] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s prayers entitled, “Prayer for Christian Unity” and “Prayer to Wear the Armor of God,” from Spiritual Warfare Prayers pamphlet (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1997).
In our spiritual warfare series, we are now looking at each piece of armor that a Christian is to wear to successfully stand against “the wiles” or deceptions of the devil (Eph. 6:10-13). The six pieces of armor that Paul presents to us are in the order that a Roman soldier would put them on. They are divided into two categories of three.
He introduces each of these two categories with different verbs. The first three are introduced with the verb “to be.” The last three are introduced with the verb “to take.” Why does Paul switch verbs halfway through the armament? He wants us to understand two specific, distinct orientations to the six pieces of armor. The first three relate to a state we should always be in. The last three are what we use on an as needed basis. [1]
The first three pieces of armor we have with us all of the time [2] (“having girded… put on… shod…” – Eph. 6:14-15). [3] This is the state we are always in. But the last three pieces of armor we are called to take and use as needed [4] (“taking … take…” Eph. 6:16-17), [5] especially “in the evil day” (Eph. 6:13b) when all hell breaks loose and seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10a).
Last time we looked closely at the first piece of armor, the belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a), which teaches us that Satan wants to deceive us or trick us to do what is contrary to God’s will. This piece of armor enables us to overcome the lies and deceptions of the devil.
Truth is the absolute standard by which reality is measured.[6] It is God’s viewpoint on any subject. We can defeat Satan by reaching out and putting on each citadel of truth God has given us through prayer: The Person of Truth (John 1:14; 14:6; Rom. 13:14), The Spirit of Truth (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-14; I John 2:20-27), the Word of Truth (John 17:17; 8:31-32; Psa. 119:9, 11, 28-29, 43, 160; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17; and the Church, the Pillar and Foundation of Truth (I Tim. 3:15). [7]
The Breastplate
After a Roman soldier puts his belt on over his tunic (a loose, sleeveless shirt that reaches to his knees) to provide mobility in battle and serve as a place on which he could hang his armor, he then puts on his “breastplate” (thōraka). The breastplate was usually made of bronze or chain mail and covered the soldier’s body from his neck to his thighs, [8] protecting the vital organs in the chest area and below, [9] including his heart, lungs, liver, spleen, stomach, and intestines. And it also covered his back so that from the top of his spine to below his kidneys, he was protected from the thrust of the enemy’s spear or sword. [10] This is a vital piece of armor designed to protect a Roman soldier. Knowing this about the soldier’s breastplate ought to help us realize how vitally important this piece of armor is to the Christian.
The Bible instructs us, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Prov. 4:23). Just as the physical heart is central to our physical well-being, pumping life-giving blood and giving us functionality in every part of our being, so God has given us a spiritual heart that pumps His life throughout all our spiritual relationships. And since our battle with the kingdom of darkness is spiritual, our spiritual heart becomes the pump that gives us spiritual victory. [11]
Therefore, God has given us a special piece of armor called the “breastplate of righteousness.” This righteousness stands as our position with God which cannot be touched or altered by the enemy. It has been eternally settled in heaven’s courtroom. However, to be victorious on earth, our position in heaven must be matched with our practice on earth. Thus, once we learn what our position with God is, we can then align our practice with that position. And when we do that, God is free through the Holy Spirit to pump His life through our life, so we live life as God intended it to be lived, overriding Satan’s attempts and attacks to bring defeat into our Christian lives. [12]
Last time we discovered that we begin dressing for success in spiritual warfare by putting on the belt of truth (Eph. 6:14a). Truth is God’s viewpoint on a matter. So, in spiritual warfare, we start with truth by finding out what God thinks about a certain subject.
Then we are to put on “the breastplate of righteousness” (Eph. 6:14b). The breastplate Christians are to put on is “righteousness.” The word “righteousness” (dikaiosunē) refers to the quality of “being right”[14] as God defines it.
“Righteousness”is not “better than others,” or “good enough,” but right, as in, “right with God.”[15]
“Righteousness is the standard God requires for people to become acceptable to Him.”[16] This standard is based upon the truth. The truth is the informational base that tells me the right thing to do.
The opposite of righteousness is wrongness. Wrongness is functioning or operating in opposition to the truth. But truth is whatever God says about a subject regardless of how many people agree or disagree with Him. Righteousness is my response to God’s truth.
In basketball, the basketball hoop is ten feet high. That is the standard of the basketball goal if you are playing basketball. If we lower the basketball hoop, we have lowered the standard.
What a lot of people do in relation to God, is lower the standard and shoot, and make the shot, and think they did something that is acceptable to the Lord. They adjusted God’s standard of righteousness to a level they could attain, and concluded they are okay to God, when in reality they were not. They had lowered the divine standard to a human standard.
Until we operate on God-based truth that gives us the standard of God’s righteousness, we are not going to align with God’s standard of righteousness. Why is this so important?
How Satan Attacks Us in the Area of Righteousness[17]
Since the opposite of God’s righteousness is wrongness, when we do not align with God’s righteousness in our Christian lives, we are going to be very vulnerable to spiritual attack. Because Paul is talking about spiritual warfare and “wickedness in heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12), we need to understand that demons function on wrongness. Wrong is not just wrong. It is also an invitation to demons to join the wrongness.
Evans illustrates this by saying that when we leave trash laying around our house for too long of a time, we don’t just have trash to deal with. The unaddressed trash invites roaches, ants, mice, and rats to join the party. When food has been left out for too long of a time, one roach tells another roach that they have been invited into the house. So, in addition to the trash in the house, we now have unwanted guests.
God wants us to understand that unrighteousness (trash) is an invitation to demons (roaches) to join our “trashiness,” so we are not just dealing with unrighteousness (trash), we are also having to deal with demons who have made their home in our unrighteousness. And just as trash invites a variety of unwanted guests (e.g., ants, roaches, mice, rats, etc.,), so our unrighteousness invites a variety of demons of all sizes, shapes, and dispositions.
Our unrighteousness invites the demonic flow and blocks the movement of God. Hence, two things happen with our unrighteousness. Demons are invited into our wrongness, which makes a bad place worse. And God is blocked out. Thus, God’s movement in our lives is limited because we are not wearing the breastplate of righteousness.
Our unrighteousness gives Satan a legal right to occupy a place in our lives (cf. Eph. 4:25-27). We have invited the enemy to take up ground in our Christian lives. We have given him control over that part of our Christian lives. We can pray all we want about the roaches in the house, but until we remove the trash in the house, we are still going to have those unwanted guests. Why? Because those roaches (demons) have a legal right to be there because we are saying to them, “I am feeding you today.” As long as we continue in unrighteousness, no amount of praying is going to remove the demonic presence in our lives. They will not listen to our prayers because we are still feeding them with our trash.
As Christians, we often settle for trash management. We know we should not have the trash (unrighteousness), and we don’t want the roaches (demons), so we try to manage the trash.
For example, when we invite people to our house, we want our house to appear to be clean. So, we grab the trash and all the mess laying around, and we throw it in the closet. We want to keep our trash (unrighteousness) hidden so people will not know just how trashy (unrighteous) we truly are.
So, we present an appearance of godliness. We try to think, speak, and act righteously, but inwardly our trash (unrighteousness) is producing a stench. It’s like having a trash compactor in the house. We keep putting trash in it and it reduces the size of our garbage. But the problem is, if we don’t take that trash out, eventually it will fill the house with its unwanted stench. And our spouse will get a whiff of that trash scent, and she will know it is there even if it is not visible, because there is a standard that has a scent to it.
God can detect the scent for unrighteousness. So even if we are good at managing our trash, packing it down, hiding it in the closet, the garage, or in the attic so people cannot see it, God still knows it is in our lives. All demons have done is go to the garage, the closet, or garage – wherever we are hiding the trash. They have not left the premises because they know that the trash (unrighteousness) is still occupying the space.
One does not have to be a Christian for long to understand how tenacious the Devil is with regard to his attacks against righteousness. We mentioned last time how each piece of armor teaches us how Satan can come against us. The Devil wants to devour us and destroy us in this area of righteousness (I Pet. 5:8). He primarily does this in two ways. [18]
The first way Satan attacks us in the area of righteousness is to accuse us of our lack of righteousness. From his book, Overcoming the Adversary, Mark Bubeck shares four contrasts between the way the Holy Spirit comes to us and the way the Devil approaches us.
The first contrast shows us that when the Holy Spirit comes to us, He seeks to show us that our infinite worth and value to God makes God desire our fellowship (Gen. 1:26-27; Psa. 139:1-23; Matt. 13:44-46; I Cor. 6:20-21). He delights in spending time with us (Psa. 17:8; 18:19; 149:4; Isa. 62:5; Zeph. 3:17). But Satan wants to convince us that we are so bad and so flawed that God would not want anything to do with us.
The second contrast teaches us that when the Holy Spirit comes to us, He seeks to show us that there is forgiveness and restoration available to us no matter how often or badly we have sinned (Psa. 23:3; 32:1-11; 51:1-13; 103:3, 10-14; Micah 7:19; John 21:15-17; Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14; I John 1:7, 9). But when the Devil comes to us, he seeks to persuade us that there is no forgiveness nor restoration available to us. He tells us we have committed the unpardonable sin [19] and that we are so bad that Satan deserves to have us forever!
The third contrast instructs us that when the Holy Spirit comes to us, He uses God’s Word to give us hope and assurance of God’s love and forgiveness (cf. Rom. 5:1-8; 8:1, 5-6, 31-39). But when Satan approaches us, he takes God’s Word out of context to try to convince us that there is no hope for us; that God could not possibly ever forgive us.
The fourth and final contrast shows that when the Holy Spirit comes to us, He builds faith, hope, and love in our hearts and increases our confidence in the assurance of our salvation (John 6:35-40; 10:28-29; I Cor. 13:13; I Thess. 5:8; I John 2:25-26; 5:1, 13). On the other hand, when Satan comes to us, he creates doubt, despair, and resentment toward God and toward His Word and His people. He wants to convince us that no one as bad as us could ever be saved and get into heaven.
The second way Satan attacks us is to tempt us to compromise God’s righteousness. Satan seeks to convince us that it is not important to live according to the righteous standards God has given us in the Bible and even in our own conscience which many times has been made sensitive by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.
The Devil seeks to get us to compromise the difference between right and wrong. He may say things to us like, “It won’t hurt you to try that especially if it helps you get what you want.” “Everyone else is doing it, so it must be okay.” “Go ahead and do it. It’s fun.” “No one else has to know.” “It doesn’t matter if you participate in a little worldliness. God understands your needs.” “It is only a weakness.” “This is the only way you can endure stress or face pain.” “You cannot change.”
On the other hand, when we do fail, Satan will come and try to persuade us that we have no righteousness; that we are not worthy before God at all. When we yield to sin repeatedly, without confessing or forsaking it, Satan has a right to claim that area we have compromised (Eph. 4:25-27).
Putting on the breastplate of righteousness means we combat these two ways that Satan attacks us in this area of God’s righteousness. It is at the very heart of the battle against the enemy.
But what does it mean to put on the breastplate of righteousness? What is required to put on this piece of armor? First, we need a doctrinal understanding of the three types of God’s righteousness.
Imputed Righteousness
The word “impute” is not a common word that we use today, but the apostle Paul uses it in Romans 4 when he refers to Old Testament examples of justification by faith. For example, when he refers to David and Abraham’s examples of faith alone for justification, he writes, “5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works… 21 And [Abraham] being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead… ” (Rom. 4:5-6, 21-24). [brackets added] The word “impute” (logizomai) in these verses means the perfect “righteousness” of God is “credited” or “placed to one’s account.”[20]
We may not be as familiar with the word “impute,” but the word “credit” probably speaks volumes to us. Anderson writes, “We have credit cards, we have a credit score, or we may have credit at the bank. If the bank were to ‘credit something to our account,’ we know what that means. And that is exactly what ‘impute’ means. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, His perfect life of righteousness is credited to our account in heaven.
“Philippians 4:17 says that we have an account in heaven. This account has a debit column and a credit column. As unbelievers we had an account full of debits and no credits. Isaiah 64:6 says all of our righteous deeds were like dirty rags. This doesn’t mean I had no righteous deeds. I did. That’s why they were called righteous deeds. The problem is these righteous deeds don’t go into the credit column of our account in heaven. They’re called rags by Isaiah because they‘re not acceptable to God. Why? Because they were produced by my own human energy and strength. They were deeds of human righteousness and not divine righteousness.”[21] [emphasis added]
All our righteous deeds are stained with sin according to Isaiah 64:6. Hence, all our righteous deeds cannot open the gates of heaven. For example, “When Bill Gates claims he does not believe in God, let alone Christ, and gives a billion dollars to help theproblem of AIDS in Africa, that is most certainly a righteous deed. But that righteous deed wouldnot open the gates of heaven for him. It does not go into the credit column of his account. Why? Because to get into heaven we have to be perfect.”[22] [emphasis added]
This is what Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount. He said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:20). The scribes and Pharisees were considered by Jesus’ Jewish audience to be the most righteous people of that day. But Jesus says the “righteousness” of His audience must exceed the righteousness of these religious leaders to enter the kingdom of heaven. Whose righteousness would surpass these devoted religious leaders’ righteousness? Later, in the same chapter, Christ says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:48). Only the righteousness of God is “perfect.”[23]
It is important to understand that Jesus was speaking to both believers (“His disciples” – Matt. 5:1) and the unbelieving “multitudes” who had followed Him (Matt. 4:24-5:1). He was using His Sermon on the Mount to provide a standard of conduct for His believing disciples as they anticipate living in the coming Kingdom of God on earth. But Christ also uses His Sermon on the Mount to convict His unsaved audience of their need for God’s imputed righteousness through faith alone in Christ alone (cf. Rom. 3:21-4:24). [24]
Anderson adds, “Anything short of perfection will not do. There’s not a great scale in the sky on which God will put our debits on one side and our credits on the other side and accept us if our credits outweigh our debits. No, just one sin is one too many. That’s why when Satan committed one sin in heaven, he had to go. He was cast out of heaven.
“So that leaves us with a big problem. The Bible says that all men fall short of the glory of God, which includes His perfect holiness. These sins go into our debit column. In order for us to go to heaven we need two things: we need to have the debits swept away, and we need to have a life of perfect righteousness. Since none of us can live the life of perfect righteousness, we must look to another.
“Only Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, and when we trust in His work for us on the cross, our sins are wiped away because He took our sins upon Himself. But, secondly, His perfect life is credited to our account. That’s divine righteousness. When this is credited to our account, we have a new standing before God. Our new position is in Christ. And since we are in Christ, we are seated at the right hand of God the Father in heavenly places (Col. 3:1-3) [see also Eph. 1:19-21; 2:5-6]. And nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:39).”[25] [emphasis and brackets added]
Notice in Romans 4:5 that God “justifies” or declares righteous the “ungodly” person who “believes,” not behaves (“work”). It is the believing person’s “faith” that “is accounted for righteousness.” The moment we believe in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for all our sins, God “justifies” or declares us totally righteous before Him as if we had never sinned.
Hence, when a sinner believes in Jesus, he or she is declared by our holy God to be the opposite of what they are. So, if we were deceitful before our conversion, God declares us to be truthful. If we were greedy, God declares us to be generous. If we were hateful, God announces us to be loving. If we were impatient, God says we are patient. If we were promiscuous, God declares us to be pure at the moment of faith in Christ. If we were proud, God declares us to be humble. If we were selfish, God declares us to be selfless.
However, there is a great deal of confusion today regarding the relationship between faith and works. Much of this confusion originates from a theologian and philosopher named Augustine (A.D. 354-430), who greatly influenced the soteriology (study of salvation) of Roman Catholics, the Reformers, and even Calvinists and Arminians today.
Augustine had a scant knowledge of New Testament Greek which “caused him to misunderstand diakaioō (δικαιόω), translating it in its present infinitive form, ‘to make righteous,’”[26]“as opposed to the defining truth of the Reformers that this word meant ‘to declare righteous.’ The distinction was enough to cause a schism in Western Christianity. Whereas the former meaning signified a change of character, the latter meaning referred to a change of standing. ‘To make righteous’ looked to one’s experience in life, but ‘to declare righteous’ looked to the courtroom of heaven. The temporal significance of the distinction in meanings was monumental. Augustine saw justification (the making of righteous character) as a life-long effort, whereas Luther understood that one could be ‘declared righteous’ in God’s court at a moment of time.”[27] [emphasis added]
This is extremely significant to understand. Martin Luther understood “court room” justification to mean “that one could be declared righteous (justified) in his position or standing before God, but still be sinful in his character and condition in his temporal body”[28] [emphasis added] – a truth that Augustine never understood.
Augustine was persuaded “that the character of Christ needed to be infused into the character of the sinner from regeneration at water baptism (usually of infants) until death in order for the person to be made righteous (justified) enough to enter God’s heaven. Even the vast majority of God’s elect would not pass muster, so they would be consigned to Purgatory until the final vestiges of sin could be eliminated from their character. Only then could they march confidently through heaven’s gates. So, for Augustine justification was a life-long process. In fact, Purgatory was a provision of God for those in whom the process had not been completed.”[29] [emphasis added]
What Augustine did was erroneously wed justification with sanctification. He confused entering the Christian life (justification) with living the Christian life (sanctification). This has led some teachers today to mistakenly front-load the gospel by requiring good works in order to get saved (Romanism & Traditional Protestantism). It has led other teachers to backload the gospel by requiring good works to stay saved (Arminianism) or good works as a necessary proof of genuine salvation (Calvinism), so that in each case you MUST HAVE GOOD WORKS to ultimately go to heaven. Consider these options which are taught today:
Scenario
Faith in Jesus Christ +good works = maybe heaven
Faith in Jesus Christ =maybe heaven if you maintain good works, confess your sins, remain faithful, etc.
Faith in Jesus Christ = salvation + good works to ultimately arrive at heaven
Proponents
Romanism & TraditionalProtestantism
Arminianism
Calvinism
Each of these scenarios requires good works in order to ultimately arrive in God’s heaven. This is NOT God’s grace. “But if it is of works, it is no longer grace.” (Rom. 11:6). Good works are not the means of obtaining or maintaining salvation but are designed to be the result of receiving God’s free gift of salvation (Eph. 2:8-10). When good works are required to enter heaven, how will you ever know when you have done enough? You won’t until after you die.
Wiersbe correctly states, “Do not confuse justification and sanctification. Sanctification is the process whereby God makes the believer more and more like Christ. Sanctification may change from day to day. Justification never changes. When the sinner trusts Christ, God declares him righteous, and that declaration will never be repealed. God looks on us and deals with us as though we had never sinned at all!”[30] [emphasis added]
In case you doubt that we need to be “justified” or declared totally righteous before a holy God, it is important to understand our condition before we come to faith in Christ. The Bible tells us, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works…” (Col. 1:21). Before we became Christians, “we were enemies” of God and needed to be “reconciled to” Him “through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10). The prophet Isaiah tells us, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). We need to be reconciled to God because of our sin. God does not need reconciling to us, we need reconciling to God. We turned away from God. He never moved. We moved. The people God created rebelled against their Creator and sinned so that death spread to all people because all sinned (Gen. 3:1-7; cf. Rom. 3:23; 5:12-14, 18a).
The non-Christian is described in Ephesians when Paul writes, “we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” (Eph. 2:3). Because we were driven by our sinful lusts and desires, we were the objects of God’s “wrath” or displeasure before we became Christians. That is not a very likeable thought, is it?
The apostle John writes, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36). The person who refuses to believe in Christ remains under God’s “wrath.” The non-believer remains God’s enemy.
How does the Christian know he or she is justified or declared totally righteous before God? There is only one way to know this, and it is through faith in God’s promise. Justification before God is not a feeling or experience. It is a judicial, legal declaration from a holy God.
Logan explains why he believes the breastplate of righteousness refers to the imputed righteousness of God: “The reason for this is that when it comes to standing against the accuser, Christ is the only Person Who is totally blameless. Satan could point at no sin in Christ’s life (John 14:30), whereas you and I have plenty of things in our lives Satan can accuse us of, even things we have been forgiven of by Christ.
“That’s why we need to stand with Christ’s righteousness around us like a breastplate. When we stand in Christ, Satan has nothing to touch in us, nothing to accuse us of. The enemy and his underlings aren’t afraid of us, but they’re afraid of Christ.”[31] [emphasis added]
Imparted Righteousness
The second type of righteousness we need to understand from the Scripture is the imparted righteousness of God. When we believed in Christ, the perfect righteousness of God was imputed or credited to our account in heaven. We were declared totally righteous in our standing before God.
But when we believed in Jesus, God also imparted to us a new nature consisting of His righteousness and holiness. The apostle Paul writes, “20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:20-24). Paul is telling us that we are not to live the way we used to live before we became Christians (Eph. 4:17-19) because we are not the people we used to be (Eph. 4:20-24).
We “have not so learned Christ” by engaging in the activities that characterized our lives before we became Christians (Eph. 4:20). To learn Christ, we must be in a relationship with Him whereby we “heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21). Remember, “truth” is God’s viewpoint on a matter and that is where we need to start.
The clothes of the “old man” (who we were before Christ) need to be “put off” before we can put on our new wardrobe. These old clothes refer to our “former conduct” as unsaved people who grew “corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Eph. 4:22). Lusts or sinful desires are “deceitful.” “They promise satisfaction but bring only an aftertaste of emptiness.”[32] Christians can permit their lusts or sinful desires to direct their decisions, leaving them defeated and discouraged.
Paul is saying to take off those dirty clothes and put on the new clothes of the “new man” (our new nature) which include “true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). This new nature “was created according to God.” When we were born again through faith in Jesus, God deposited a righteous seed (new nature) within us called the “spirit” (Eph. 4:23). [33]
The apostle John speaks of this new nature in his first epistle: “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (I John 3:9). John had just stated that “the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8). The primary way that Christ destroys the work of the devil is to give believers (“whoever has been born of God”) a new sinless self (“His seed”) which “cannot sin” (I John 3:9). Since God cannot sin (I John 1:5), the divine nature He places inside His children cannot sin either. A sinless Parent cannot beget a sinful child. So, sin is never an act of the born-again nature inside us because it is incapable of sinning (I John 3:9) and because all sin is sourced in the devil (I John 3:8).
Anderson writes, “His divine nature is passed down through His divine seed. The new birth places His seed in us. Just as my physical seed cannot produce something outside its genetic code, so God’s seed cannot produce something contrary to His nature, that is, sin. God’s nature cannot produce sin. God’s nature in us (His seed) cannot produce sin.”[34] [emphasis added]
Many have wondered how this understanding can harmonize with John’s statement in I John 1:8 that Christians who say they have no sin are self-deceived. Hodges explains: “In 1:8 John warns, ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.’ But in 3:9 he says, ‘whoever has been born of God does not sin.’ As total persons, believers do sin and can never claim to be free of it, but their ‘inward self’ that is regenerated does not sin.
“In describing his struggle with sin Paul notes that two diverse impulses are at work. So he can say, ‘For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members’ (Rom 7:22-23; italics added). Previous to this he had concluded, ‘Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells in me’ (v 20; italics added). His conclusion is simple; ‘So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin’ (v 24). At the core of his being (in his inward man) he does not and cannot sin. The inward man (the ‘regenerate self’) is absolutely impervious to sin, fully enslaved to God’s will. If sin occurs, it is not the inward man who performs it.
“Sin does exist in the Christian, but it is foreign and extraneous to his regenerated inner self, where Christ dwells in perfect holiness. Since Christ is eternal life (1 John 5:20), the one who possesses that life cannot sin because he is born of God. The divine seed (sperma) of that life remains (menō, ‘abides,’ ‘stays’) in him who is born again, making sin an impossibility at the level of his regenerate inward self.”[35] [emphasis added]
How we see ourselves determines how we live. The apostle Paul wants his Christian readers, including you and me, to see themselves as a “new man” who possesses a new nature at the core of their being which is “created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness”(Eph. 4:24) so they will manifest this righteous nature by living righteously. This type of Christian is represented by the above image on the left. He or she is visibly manifesting God’s righteous nature inside them by doing what is right. However, this is not what gets them to heaven. We will only go to heaven by receiving God’s gift of salvation by grace through faith alone in Christ alone (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:8-9). But manifesting our true identity by practicing Christ’s righteous behavior will glorify God now on earth (Matt. 5:16) and reap eternal rewards in the future at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. I Cor. 3:8-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).
On the other hand, a Christian who is yielding to his or her sinful flesh (“deceitful lusts”) is hiding his or her new righteous and holy nature inside them. This type of believer is represented by the image on the right. He or she is concealing his or her righteous and holy born-again nature by not living righteously. Failure to manifest their new nature through their actions does not jeopardize their salvation, but it does disrupt their fellowship with God and other believers (I John 1:3-10; 2:9-11; et al.) and forfeit eternal rewards in the future (I Cor. 3:8-15).
So how does a Christian move from putting off the old man that is corrupted by deceitful lusts (Eph. 4:22) to putting on the new man that is characterized by God’s “righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24)? This leads to the third type of righteousness.
When God makes our inside righteous at the moment of faith in Christ (imparted righteousness), He wants our outside to match (implemented righteousness). The way for a Christian to implement the righteous seed God has given him is to put off the clothes of the old man (Eph. 4:22) and put on the clothes of the new man (Eph. 4:24). How does he or she make that happen? The verse in between these two verses tells us how: “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Eph. 4:23).
When speaking of unbelievers, Paul uses words like “mind,” “understanding,” and “ignorance” (Eph. 4:17-18). The common denominator is their thinking. Our lifestyle too is controlled by our thoughts. So, the key to taking off the old and putting on the new is to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” (Eph. 4:23). Instead of going back to the mindset we had before Christ, we must “put on the new man,” which requires a new way of thinking, a “renewed… mind.”[37]
The more we make our home in God’s Word (Psa. 119:9, 11; John 15:7; I John 2:14b), the more the Holy Spirit brings our thoughts in line with His own so that we think thoughts after Christ (I Cor. 2:10-16). The renewing of our minds involves God’s thoughts merging with ours so we can know and do His will (Rom. 12:1-2).
What we are talking about here is the sanctification process which begins with our perfected and redeemed “spirit.” The Bible tells us, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Thess. 5:23). Notice the word order: “spirit, soul, and body.” God’s truth informs us that He has deposited a righteous and holy seed in our “spirit” (Eph. 4:23-24; cf. I John 3:9). This is our new nature.
Our “spirit” cannot receive any contaminated information because it has been sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14). Our “spirit” wants to lay hold of God’s truth. That is why Paul says, “I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.” (Rom. 7:22). The “inward man” (Rom. 7:22) is the “new man” or new nature that is righteous and holy (Eph. 4:24). It craves the Word of God.
Hence, when God’s truth says at the core of our being we were “created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24), our “spirit” snatches that truth up. As we continue to meditate on this truth from God, and our “spirit” takes it in, a release valve opens up. This release valve sends “righteousness” that is within our “spirit” out to our “soul.” Now our “soul” is becoming transformed into “righteousness,” not because our “body” has changed it, but because our “spirit” released “righteousness” into the “soul.” When the “soul” takes hold of this “righteousness” released by the “spirit,” it then tells the “body” it needs to think, speak, and act righteously. Since the “body” listens to the “soul,” and the “soul” now listens to the “spirit,” and the “spirit” listens to the truth of God’s Word, we end up being transformed into the “righteousness” of God.
Too many Christians are trying to manage “righteousness” by starting with the “body” instead of the “spirit.” They focus on behavior instead of belief. They work from the outside inward. This is backwards. We cannot fix ourselves.
How many addicts have said,“I am not going to do that anymore”? That is not a bad thing to say, but it does not work because the addict does not have the power to stop his unwanted behavior. If he did have the power, he would not be addicted.
God wants us to start with the innermost part of our being, the “spirit.” God starts with the inside and works outward. Released righteousness makes us righteous in the heart and mind first, and then in our actions. That is how the breastplate of righteousness functions.
If I told you I buried $1 million that is yours for the taking in your backyard, you would probably drop what you are doing right now and grab a shovel and run out into your backyard to start tearing it up. You are not going to answer your phone or check social media or change your clothes. You are going to streak out into your backyard and dig as deep and wide and for as long a time as it takes to uncover something of great value that has been buried deep down in your backyard. Every effort that you make to get to that $1 million will be worth it because it is so valuable. Once you dig it up, you can use it for so much more. [38]
When we trusted Christ for His gift of salvation, God deposited deep down within our spirit all the righteousness that belongs to Jesus Christ. But we cannot benefit from that righteousness unless we are willing to go down there with God’s truth and dig it up. Then God can release His righteousness within our “spirit” and send it out into our “soul” which will send it to our “body,” transforming our “spirit, soul, and body” into the likeness of Jesus Christ. That is the breastplate of righteousness. It will guard our spiritual heart so it can pump God’s life throughout our “spirit, soul, and body.”
Conclusion
How do we put on the breastplate of righteousness? The same way we are to put on all the pieces of God’s spiritual armor – by means of prayer. Paul concluded his teaching on the armor of God by inviting his readers to pray: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” (Eph. 6:18).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for providing the breastplate of righteousness to guard my spiritual heart so it can pump Your life throughout my spirit, soul, and body. I praise You for declaring me to be totally righteous in Your sight apart from any good works I do when I believe in Jesus Christ. I praise You for freely crediting Jesus’ perfect righteousness to my account in heaven so Satan cannot successfully accuse me or condemn me of wrongdoing in Your courtroom. Thank You that my salvation does not rely on my good works, nor my ability to keep rules and regulations, but on Jesus alone Who died in my place on the cross and rose from the dead. I praise You for depositing deep down in my spirit all the righteousness that belongs to Jesus Christ. Help me to appropriate that righteousness by faith as I dig deep with Your Word of truth so my spirit can release Your righteousness to my soul, and my soul can release that righteousness to my body, transforming my spirit, soul and body into Jesus’ likeness. Please help me, I pray, to manifest Your righteous and holy nature by doing what is right in Your eyes so my heart is protected from the assaults of the Devil. I beg You to strengthen and protect the most vulnerable places in my life with Your righteousness. In the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Tony Evan’s video message at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) entitled, “The Armor of God,” on youtube.com.
[2] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[3] The first three verbs in Greek (perizōsamenoi… endysamenoi… hypodēsamenoi… ) are aorist middle participles which means they have already been put on by the soldier or Christian.
[4] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2665.
[5] The Greek verb translated “taking…” (analabontes) is an aorist active participle, meaning the Christian is taking the shield of faith as needed and the last Greek verb translated “take…” (dexasthe) is an aorist middle imperative which is used of the last two pieces of armor and means for oneself to take them up as needed.
[6] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pp. 1820-1821.
[7] Adapted from Mark Bubeck’s video, “5. Belted Against Satan’s Belt: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.
[8] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Ephesians, 2024 Edition, pg. 147 cites A. Skevington Wood, “Ephesians,” in Ephesians-Philemon Vol. 11 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary 12 vols., Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978), pg. 87.
[9] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pp. 463-464.
[10] Mark Bubeck’s video, “5. Belted Against Satan’s Belt: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app.
[11] Adapted from Tony Evan’s video message entitled, “Breastplate of Righteousness,” on youtube.com
[13] Much of this section is adapted from Ibid., unless otherwise noted.
[14] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pp. 247-248.
[15] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, 2019 Kindle Edition, pg. 2417.
[16] Evans, video message entitled, “Breastplate of Righteousness,” on youtube.com.
[17] Much of this section is adapted from Ibid., unless otherwise noted.
[18] The following eleven paragraphs in this section are adapted from Bubeck, “5. Belted Against Satan’s Belt: Ephesians 6 Series,” on the BRMinistry app., unless otherwise noted
[19] See article entitled, “Can a Christian Commit Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?” at this LINK
[20] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2000 Kindle Edition, pg. 597.
[21] David R. Anderson, Position and Condition: An Exposition of the Book of Ephesians (Grace Theological Press, 2017 Kindle Edition), pp. 435-436.
“1 Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her wine, she has also furnished her table… 13 A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knows nothing… 16 she says, …‘17 Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’” Proverbs 9:1-2, 13, 16-17
Proverbs 9 contrasts two feasts and their fates or destinies. The first feast is offered by God’s wisdom which is personified as a dignified and responsible woman of character and wealth who has prepared an incredible banquet in “her house” with “seven pillars” (9:1). The “seven pillars” suggests wisdom’s industriousness and her house’s spaciousness and stability. Some suggest that the “seven pillars” refer to the seven days of creation alluded to in the previous chapter (8:22-31) [1] or to the fullness of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6). [2] The number “seven” indicates perfection and fullness in the Bible, so its use here could indicate wisdom’s sufficiency.
Lady Wisdom has butchered (“slaughtered”) animals and cooked their “meat” and diluted (“mixed”) “her wine,” having “furnished her table” with the finest utensils and decorations (9:2). Lady Wisdom then “sent out her maidens” to invite people to her banquet and she herself “cries out from the highest places of the city” where the invitation could be heard by many (9:3). Anyone (“whoever”) who is naïve or gullible (“simple”) and “lacks understanding” is invited to “turn in” to her house and “eat… and drink” what she has prepared for them (9:4-5). She beckons her listeners to “forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding” (9:6).
Lady Wisdom’s rival, Folly, is personified as a harlot (prostitute) inviting the naïve or gullible (“simple”) and “him who lacks understanding” to a sensual feast of “stolen water” (illicit sex – cf. 5:15-16) and “bread eaten in secret,” which only offer immediate pleasure (9:13-17) in contrast to wisdom’s long-term satisfaction (9:6-9). Though Folly’s invitation seems appealing and attractive, the end result is death – “hell” (Sheol) refers to the grave (9:18). This suggests that sexual immorality is the height of folly.
All of us desperately need God’s wisdom so we need to RSVP immediately to Lady Wisdom’s invitation and partake of her mind-blowing banquet She has prepared for us. Accepting Lady Wisdom’s invitation will keep us from dying an untimely death that Folly’s invitation would lead to. [3]
Satan has prepared his banquet to distract or draw us away from God’s. Satan’s party is hosted by Folly who is rowdy (“clamorous”), naïve or gullible (“simple”), and “knows nothing” (9:13). She is easily accessible (“she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the heights of the city”) and heard (“to call to those who pass by”) (9:14-15). Although Folly’s feast appears “sweet” and “pleasant,” it will kill us if we respond positively to its invitation (9:7-18). Her guests are in the grave and will not come home from this party. [4]
In this Proverb, Solomon pictures a young man (“who is simple… and… lacks understanding”) being invited to two different parties. This young man is strutting his stuff down the street with testosterone spewing out both ears. He is an easy sexual target. Lady Folly could represent anything that is sexually enticing such as a porn site, hookup/dating site, strip club, massage parlor or even a neighbor’s wife that is irresistible to him. And Lady Folly knows it. This guy is an easy victim. As Solomon watches he knows what is about to happen. [5]
The young man fails to connect the choice to eat at folly’s appealing banquet table with the deadly consequences (9:17-18). Such is the case with many men today who are addicted to porn and sex. Satan is destroying their lives and relationships with those closest to them. But there is hope.
God has given us this Proverb to alert us to the many life-giving blessings of His wisdom and the death-dealing blight of folly. Accepting Lady Wisdom’s invitation to sit at Her banquet table will overwhelm us with God’s goodness and grace (9:1-11). It is there that we will enjoy “the fruit of the Spirit” which is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23) and experience the abundant life the Spirit gives (cf. Rom. 8:5, 6b). Accepting Lady Folly’s invitation instead of Wisdom’s may feel good at first (as porn and illicit sex usually do), but the consequences are deadly (9:13-18).
May each of us guard our hearts from Satan’s deceptions and embrace God’s invitation to sit at His life-giving banquet table where we can enjoy close fellowship with Him and the life and peace He gives. Like a godly woman who has gone to great lengths to provide a delicious meal for those she dearly loves, so God has gone to great lengths to provide a smorgasbord of life-giving blessings for His dearly beloved children (cf. Ephes. 1:3-14).
If you are struggling with shame because of recent failures, please know that to eat at God’s banquet table, you do not have to have a perfect track record. None of us do (Rom. 3:23). That is why God has given His only perfect Son to be our Substitute Who died on a cross in our place for all our sins and rose from the dead so “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; I Cor. 15:1-6). If you have trusted Christ alone for His gift of everlasting life, your seat at God’s banquet table is ready for you to take your place so you can feast upon the life-giving blessings God has prepared for you.
Bob George shares a great story to illustrate how unnatural it would be to attend Lady Folly’s banquet when we can enjoy a grace-filled banquetwith the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ:
Imagine that you owned a fine cafeteria. One day, you hear this tremendous commotion out in the alley where the garbage dumpsters are. You open the back door to see what’s going on, and you see the most pitiful-looking human being you have ever seen in your life – me – fighting with several stray cats over food scraps in the dumpster. I am a virtual living skeleton. It’s obvious that I am living on the edge of starvation, and probably have been for a long time. There is nothing about me to provoke liking or affection in you, but you are moved to pity.
“Hey, hey!” you yell. “Get out of the garbage. Don’t eat that stuff! Come over here.” I trudge over to you, half-seeing you through hopeless eyes.
“Listen,” you say, “I can’t stand to see you eating garbage like that. Come into my cafeteria and eat.”
“But I don’t have any money,” I reply.
“It doesn’t matter,” you say. “My chain of restaurants has done very well, and I can afford it. I want you to eat here every day from now on, absolutely free of charge!”
You take my arm and lead me inside the restaurant. I cannot believe my eyes. I have never seen a cafeteria line before. With huge, unbelieving eyes I stare at the spread: vegetables… salads… fruits… beef… fish… chicken… cakes… pies…In my wildest dreams, I have never imagined that such things could be.
I look at you intently. “Are you saying I can eat anything I want?”
“Yes, anything.”
“Really, anything I want?” I ask again.
“Yes, I said anything you want,” you answer.
Then slowly, with a gleam in my eye, I ask, “Can I eat some garbage?”
What would you think of me? You would think I was insane, wouldn’t you? In the faceof all that delicious food, all I can think of to ask is whether I can eat garbage. But that is exactly how I feel when people ask if they can sin because they are under grace!
…The Christian world is obsessed with sin. It’s all we talk about. Most of our preaching and teaching is directed toward getting people to quit sinning. Are you ready for a really shocking statement? The goal of the Christian life is not to stop sinning! To use the analogy of the starving man, most Christian teaching is like a person following a starving man around saying, “You stay out of the garbage! Do you hear me? Don’t eat the garbage! You stay out of there!”
Look, when you’re truly hungry, you’ll eat anything – even garbage. What should you do? I promise you: If you will get that man into the cafeteria line, and he begins experiencing what real, good food is like, he won’t be nostalgically dreaming about the garbage out back.
…Why should I ever wallow in the garbage when the Lord has laid a banquet table for me? [6]
Lady Folly constantly invites us to feast upon her garbage every day in our sexualized society. Her garbage is disguised to look very appealing and attractive. But in the end, it leads to death. Lady Wisdom’s banquet is filled with life-giving blessings that God has prepared for His children to enjoy daily. Will you join me as I renew my commitment to sit at the Lord’s banquet table daily to feast upon His manifold grace?
The choice seems obvious, doesn’t it? But our enemies – our sinful flesh, Satan, and this fallen world – constantly seek to draw us away from God’s best to a feast that offers temporary pleasure that always leads to miserable consequences. Will we choose garbage or grace? Together, let’s choose God’s grace and sit at Lady Wisdom’s banquet table.
Prayer: All-wise Father in heaven, thank You for preparing a mind-blowing feast for us to enjoy at Your banquet table in contrast to Satan’s counterfeit feast that leads to death. Thank You for making us aware of the life-giving benefits of Your feast and the deadly consequences of Satan’s sensual feast. Unfortunately, we do not always apply Your wisdom to our lives. We have let our hormones influence our decisions instead of You and Your Word. Please forgive us for ignoring Your wisdom and yielding to our fleshly desires. Thank You for Your amazing grace that forgives and cleanses us for our past foolish choices so we may take our place at Your grace-filled banquet table. We need Your grace to enable us to feed our hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit’s teaching from Your Word so we can enjoy the many blessings You have already given to us in Christ. In the matchless name of our Savior and Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Tom Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on Proverbs, 2023 Edition, pg. 65.
[2] Ibid., pg. 66 cites Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon Vol. 1 Translated by M. G. Eason. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament Reprint ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.), pp. 197-198.
[3] Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1295.
“When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. ” John 2:15
Imagine you pull into the church parking lot on Sunday morning. Your heart is full of anticipation. Your cup is empty, and you are ready to fill it. You are ready to enter the place of worship and join your brothers and sisters in joyous worship. You look forward to singing the hymns of the faith. You feel the need to commune in prayer. You long to feed upon the unchanging Word of God. You are eager to share with the family of God.
But as you pull up, the parking lot is crammed full. You can’t even find a place to park. You won’t be denied. You park down the street and walk a few blocks. But as you try to enter the building there is a long line. There are tables set up at every foyer entrance. People are writing checks and putting down cash on the tables and getting tokens in return to place in the offering plates. You finally make it to the table and are told that you need the new church currency to make an offering. So, you place a $20 bill on the table and get a $10 church coin in return. You finally make it through the entrance, only to find the foyer very congested. Booths are set up all throughout the foyer. People are selling hymn books at one booth. “Get your song books here. You can’t sing without your official church song book. Rent yours for only $19.95.” Another booth has people buying and selling Bibles. The sign reads “Official Church Bible. Get yours for only $29.99.” At other booths, you notice merchants selling offering envelopes, notebooks for sermon notes, and refreshments.
There is so much commotion and commerce going on that you throw your hands up in disgust realizing you’ll never make it into the sanctuary to worship. If you can imagine an experience like this and how frustrating it would be, then you can understand what it was like inside the temple courtyard during the time of Passover when Jesus came to worship. John records this event for us in John 2:12-25. This temple cleansing was near the beginning of Jesus public ministry. The second temple cleansing was near the end of His public ministry and was one of the reasons for His death (cf. Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-16; Luke 19:45-46). [1]
You may recall that in John 1:14 we saw that Jesus was “full of grace and truth.” He was the perfect balance of grace and truth. Last week we saw Jesus express His grace by transforming water into wine at a wedding banquet in Cana of Galilee. He replaced something old with something new. New wine replaced old water. Today we will see His truth at work replacing a dirty temple with a clean one. From this we will discover HOW WE CAN EXPERIENCING JESUS’ CLEANSING TRUTH IN OUR LIVES. The first way is seen in 2:12-17.
2:12: Jesus went “down” from Cana because of the decline in land elevation “to Capernaum” on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, [1] about eighteen miles northeast of Cana [2] (see above map). Jesus would adopt “Capernaum” as His ministry based in Galilee (cf. Matt. 4:13; Mark 1:21; 2:1) and move there after His rejection at Nazareth (cf. Matt. 4:12-14). Jesus performed some of His greatest miracles at Capernaum (John 4:46-54; cf. Mark 2:1-12) and taught in its synagogue [3] (John 6:22-59; cf. Mark 1:21-28; Luke 4:31-37).
The purpose of this trip to Capernaum is not stated by the apostle John, but it seems to be for a time of rest with “His mother, His brothers, and His disciples.” The Bible tells us that Jesus had physical “brothers” (John 2:12; 7:1-10; cf. Matt. 12:46-47; 13:55; Mark 3:32; 6:3; Luke 8:19-20) and “sisters” (Matt. 13:56; Mark 6:3) which clearly indicates that Joseph and Mary had other children after Jesus’ birth. [5] The idea of Mary’s perpetual virginity appeared later in church history [6] and cannot be substantiated by Scripture.
Evidently this trip was only for a short stay in Capernaum since John wrote that “they did not stay there many days” (2:12b). As important as time with His family and friends was, Jesus did not want to miss going up to Jerusalem to worship God during the Passover.
2:13: The “Passover” was an annual Jewish festival celebrating God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt, when the angel of death passed over every home where the blood of a lamb was applied to the doorposts of the home (Exod. 12-13). It also initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so the entire celebration lasted over a week. Jews from all over the world came to Jerusalem to meet with God and be obedient to His commands.
This is John’s first of three explicit references to the “Passover” in his gospel (2:13; 6:4; 12:1). [7] This Passover was in the year A.D. 30 on Friday, April 7, at the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. [8] John is the only gospel writer to mention the cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The Synoptic gospel writers refer to Christ’s second cleansing of the temple near the end of His public ministry during the week in which He was crucified (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46). [9]
When the apostle states that “Jesus went up to Jerusalem,” it reflects the ascent in elevation as one travels from the surrounding regions to reach the city at 2,424 feet elevation. [10] While Jesus tried to make His way into the temple, He discovered that it had become a place of peddling instead of a place of prayer.
2:14: The word translated “temple” (heiron) refers to the outer “court of the Gentiles” surrounding the temple building (naos) where the Holy of Holies was located [11] (see temple diagram below). In this outer court surrounding the temple, Jesus “found… those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.” Jesus “found” the misuse of the temple which indicates He was looking around and witnessing the peoples’ mistreatment of His holy temple.
Israel’s“priesthood was completely corrupt, and the temple had been polluted by the priests’ greed. The courts of the complex had become a mixture of flea market and stock market. This so-called ‘Annas Bazaar’ was named for Annas, a godfather-like figure who once held the office of high priest but had been deposed by the Roman government more than fifteen years earlier. Since that time, he ruled through a successive series of puppet priests, most of them his sons, and continued to run a well-established con game on a grand scale. Put bluntly, he was corrupt to the core.
“Throughout the year, but especially at Passover, all Jewish males were expected to visit the temple, to pay the tax required by the Law of Moses, and to sacrifice an animal. On Passover, the sacrifice was to be a lamb, and as always, it had to be without blemish or defect. Moreover, the tax had to be paid in shekels, not in foreign currency, which bore images forbidden by the Law.
“Annas and his cronies set up stations in the temple courts for the purpose of exchanging foreign currency for shekels—for an exorbitant fee, of course. Then, he supplied sacrificial animals, for which he charged top price. If someone brought his own animal, an inspector would judge it unfit and offer another in trade… for additional cash. Undoubtedly, the inferior animal would become some other man’s “superior” sacrifice later on. What a racket!”[12]
Let’s say you come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. You bring an animal to sacrifice to the Lord, because that’s the way you worshiped God then. Your children had cared for this animal for months and he had become a cherished pet – though he was about to become the family’s sacrifice. You go into the temple courtyard and there is a “booth of approval,” manned by one of the strictest of the Pharisees. Before you could offer your family’s lamb for sacrifice it had to be approved. But this inspector finds defects in your lamb. “Hey, we can’t accept this animal as a sacrifice – it has too many things wrong with it. You need to go to the vender’s booth over there. There you can buy a lamb pre-approved for sacrifice.” Think of how your kids feel. “What about our lamb? Doesn’t God care about that? How do we get to God?” So, you go over to the vendor’s booth and pay ten times the real value for a pre-approved lamb. (Just like when you go to the theater and a 50-cent bag of popcorn costs you $4.) So, you get your money out to buy one of his animals.
And the vendor says to you, “Wait a minute. We can’t acceptthat currency. You need to exchange your coins for temple money overhere at the moneychangers’ table and that will be an extra fee.” So, you go up to the moneychangers’ table and give them a silver dollar and they only give you 25 cents of temple money. Just like if you went to a pawn shop with a $1000-dollar ring and the broker would only offer you $100. Wanting to show your love for God you pay all these fees. And by the end of the day, you didn’t know if you were pleasing God or just pleasing the religious leaders. Meeting with God seemed too far beyond your reach.
This scene is what Jesus saw when He entered the temple courts. How does our Lord respond? 2:15: Christ engaged His anger both physically and verbally at the injustice. He was not having a bad day. This was a premeditated act of His will. How do we know this? John tells us Christ gets a bunch of “cords” and takes the time to make “a whip.” We don’t know how long it took Jesus to make the whip, maybe minutes or hours, but He had already decided to use that whip when He entered His temple to cleanse it.
Christ, the Son of the Owner of the temple, took full responsibility to cleanse His Father’s temple. He could have made the moneychangers and sellers of oxen, sheep, and doves clean up their own mess, but He didn’t. Jesus cleansed the temple. He “overturned” the moneychangers’ “tables” and “drove them all out of the temple,” including animals and people. This is not the soft spoken, gentle Savior that so many of us often think Jesus was. Here we find Jesus angry and aggressive as He cleanses the temple of corruption. I mean it must have been like being in one of those villages in Spain when they let the bulls run loose in the streets. Cows and sheep are running loose. People are yelling and screaming, “Help! Out of the way! The Carpenter has gone crazy!”
“The awesome power of Jesus is evident. Surely crooked merchants must have objected to this treatment. Yet there is no hint that any of them tried to stop Him. Jesus either sovereignly hindered opposition, or He manifested such righteous indignation that all were too afraid and amazed to try to stop Him.” [13]
I want to take a moment to talk about the emotion of anger. So often we can skip over these verses and not address this issue. Anger in and of itself is not wrong. In the Bible, we see that God experienced anger (cf. Exod. 4:14; Num. 11:10; Deut. 7:4; Mark 3:5; John 2:13-16; 3:36; 11:33, 38; Rom. 1:18; 12:19).
I cannot remember hearing a sermon that addressed how to deal with anger in our Christian lives. Thankfully, God has revealed in the Bible how to resolve our anger. The apostle Paul quotes the phrase “Be angry and do not sin” (Ps. 4:4a) in Ephesians 4:26 when he is talking to believers about not grieving the Holy Spirit with their communications toward one another (cf. Ephes. 4:25-32). Psalm 4:4-5 teach us some important principles for dealing with our anger:
1. ADMIT AND FEEL YOUR ANGER (“Be angry and do not sin” – 4:4a). The feeling of anger is not wrong in and of itself. Even God feels anger (cf. Exod. 4:14; Num. 11:10; Deut. 7:4; Mark 3:5; John 2:13-16; 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 12:19; Col. 3:6; Heb. 3:11; 4:3; Rev. 6:16; 19:15; et. al). What we do with our anger can be sinful. When we admit our anger, we begin to take control of it. It is important to use “I feel…” statements which take responsibility for our own anger. For example: “I feel angry when you…” But spiritual perfectionism says, “I’m not angry.” Shame-based statements use the word “You.” For example: “You make me feel so angry!” The last two examples do not honor what God is saying here – “Be angry and do not sin,” because they do not acknowledge or take responsibility for one’s own anger.
2. TALK TO THE LORD UNTIL YOU CAN BE STILL (“Meditate [talk] within your heart on your bed, and be still” – 4:4b; cf. 4:3). As we talk to the Lord (4:3), He can help us identify the source of our anger – Is it selfishness or perfectionism? Or is it because we have been wronged?
3. DO WHAT IS RIGHT WHICH INCLUDES FORGIVING OTHERS AND YOURSELF (“Offer the sacrifices of righteousness” – 4:5a). Sacrifices were offered in the Old Testament as a means of forgiveness (cf. Heb. 9:22). As God shows us the source of our anger, we can seek forgiveness if we were being selfish or perfectionistic (I John 1:9), or we can extend forgiveness to those who have wronged us (Ephes. 4:32).
4. TRUST THE LORD WITH THE SITUATION (“And put your trust in the Lord” – 4:5b). Many believers struggle with the first two steps the most and skip right over them to forgive and trust the Lord without acknowledging or processing their feelings. But if we do not admit our anger or hurt, and turn it over to the Lord, it is very difficult to forgive “from the heart” (cf. Matt. 18:35).
Somehow Christians are not comfortable admitting their deep hurt and anger. Perhaps it is due to the perfectionism that is taught in churches today. But if we are to be more like Jesus Christ, we can learn to admit our anger and release it to God, so He can use it the way He intended – to accomplish His righteousness (cf. Mark 3:5; John 2:13-16; Jas.1:19-20). If we refuse to address our anger God’s way, it will result in more brokenness in the body of Christ because we are giving the devil an opportunity to lead us into greater sin (cf. Ephes. 4:26-27).
For some of us, we may not be able to resolve our anger because it is attached to unresolved trauma or abuse in our past. In such cases, it may be helpful to do the exercise in Appendix 4 – Cleansing the Temple and Forgiveness Exercise based on Jesus’ cleansing of the temple in John 2:13-22. *** Note: Please do not substitute this exercise for professional Christian counseling. In fact, it is recommended that you are in counseling before doing this exercise.
2:16: When Jesus sees “those who sold doves,” He points the finger and identifies the sin that defiled His “Father’s” temple, saying, “Take these things away. Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” The command, “Take… away,” uses the imperative (arate) that is from the same verb (airō) used in John 1:29 when John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God Who takes away [airō] the sin of the world.”
“By telling the sellers to ‘take these things away’ Jesus was figuratively taking away the sin of the world in an experiential sense. In the eternal kingdom Jesus will have taken it away completely. One day the zeal Jesus demonstrated will be a universal zeal that all subjects of the kingdom will have.
“When Jesus removed the sacrificial animals from the temple, Hepictured a coming day when there would be no more need for such sacrifices (1:29; Heb 10:10, 14).” [14]
The temple was designed by God to be a place where people could meet with God. But it had become a place where people were abused in the name of God! The tragic truth was this had become the least likely place where you could meet with the Lord. Jesus must remove the religious pretenders before He can truly minister to those who need Him.
For many people today, this is still a reality. There are people today who long to meet with God in a place of worship, but when they go, all too often they discover a system that gives them more work to do to be “close” to God. The problem with this is they never know if they are pleasing God or the religious leaders. You say to yourself, “Something feels wrong with having to follow all these rules – but it is God’s House. It says so on the sign.” And they get worn out or they leave and give up on God altogether.
Please understand, that if you came out of a church or religion where you had to pay and pay and pay some more to get close to God, you need to encounter the true God and eternal life, Jesus Christ (I John 5:20). Jesus fights for you just like He did back then. And He wants to heal your hurts and lighten your load. He wants to make it so easy for you to come (just as you are) and meet with Him. A church with Jesus Christ as the Head will not charge you to meet with God. It is free just like salvation. Christ does not want anything in His church to make it difficult for people to worship the Lord…to draw closer to Him.
Jesus warns all of us who are spiritual leaders: Woe to you if you shut off the kingdom of heaven from men. We need to ask ourselves are we door-openers or door closers? Are we making it difficult for people to come to Christ or simple? Sometimes the Lord must remove religious pretenders before true worship can take place… before Jesus can truly minister His grace to those in need. I truly believe when Jesus is free to minister His grace in a church – look out! It will explode with people who need His healing touch.
Hence, the first way to experience Jesus’ cleansing truth is to RELY ON CHRIST TO CLEANSE YOUR LIFE (2:12-16) from sin and corruption. According to the Bible, where is the temple of God located today? The apostle Paul answers this question when writing to Christians in the city of Corinth, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”(I Cor. 3:16). The temple of God is no longer located in Jerusalem. It is now located in every believer in Jesus Christ. The temple is located in our physical bodies. In the Old Testament, God’s temple was a sacred place. It was a place where God Himself resided and where people came to worship Him. Today, God’s temple is still a sacred place where God dwells.
The truth is all of us are like those religious leaders who were robbing the people of their money. All of us are thieves. But you may say, “Wait a minute pastor. I’m not perfect, but I am no thief.” We probably all agree that we are not perfect, but are we all thieves? Maybe we wouldn’t break into our neighbor’s home to steal his stereo, but we rob him of his reputation when we gossip about him. Maybe you’ve never stolen a woman’s virginity, but you rob her future husband of the gratification that God intended only him to have when you lust after her. You don’t have to steal money to be a thief. If Jesus came today and looked at the temple of God in you, would He have the same reaction as He did in Jerusalem with the corrupt priests and merchants? Would He get angry at what He saw, or would He be pleased with what He sees in your life? Friends, if we have pollution in God’s temple, then it’s time for us to allow Jesus to clean it out and stop trying to hide and cover up our sins.
One day a man purchased a white mouse to use as food for his pet snake. He dropped the mouse into the snake’s glass cage, where the snake was sleeping in a bed of sawdust. What did the terrified mouse do? He quickly set to work covering the snake with sawdust chips until it was completely buried. With that, the mouse apparently thought he had solved his problem. Listen, no matter how hard we try to hide or deny our sins, it is futile. Sin will eventually awake from its sleep and shake off its cover and eat us alive.
So how do we allow Jesus to cleanse our lives from sin and corruption? If you are not a Christian, you must first believe or trust in Christ alone to forgive your sins. The Bible says: “All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name.” (Acts 10:43 NCV). Before we become Christians, our lives are contaminated by sin. This sin separates us from God. And since God is holy and perfect, He cannot dwell in our contaminated bodies until we believe or trust Christ alone to forgive us and cleanse us of “all” our wrongdoings (Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14). So, the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, God removes the barriers of sin and comes to live inside you forever.
If we are already Christians, the apostle John instructs us in his epistle to “walk in the light as He is in the light” so we may “have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1:7). Notice John says to walk “in” (en) the light, not “according” (kata) to the light. Walking “according” to the light would refer to sinless perfection and would make fellowship with God impossible for sinful people. But the preposition “in” refers to walking in the sphere of God’s light where there is no darkness or dishonesty. In other words, to have fellowship with God we must be open and honest with Him, not sinless, as we walk in the light with Him.
When we are open and honest with God, the Bible says we will “have fellowship with one another” (I John 1:7). The word, “fellowship” (koinōnia) means a “close association involving mutual interests and sharing, … close relationship.”[15]Being open and honest before God enables us to share the light with Him. As we live in this sphere of light, our experience is illumined by the truth of Who God is. The “one another” refers to God and Christians in the context. [16]
How can sinful believers enjoy fellowship with a sinless God? How can sinful Christians be close to a God Who does not allow sin in His presence? The last part of the verse explains. “And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1:7b). Right now, you and I are not aware of all the sin that is in our lives. But God knows about it. And being the gracious and merciful God that He is, He does not reveal all our sin at once. If He did, we would be so overwhelmed by all our sin it would probably kill us on the spot.
But the reason we can enjoy closeness with our holy God even though we have all this unknown sin in our lives is because the blood of Christ “cleanses us from all sin.” Notice the present tense of “cleanses.” We do not need to do acts of penance to be forgiven and cleansed of our sins after we become Christians. [17] We simply keep walking in the light, as God is in the light, and although we remain sinful people, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps cleansing us of all our sins. So, no matter how badly or often Christians have sinned, the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse them of all their sins when they are living openly to God’s revealing truth. Christ’s death on the cross for all our sins (cf. I John 2:1-2; Col. 2:13-14) provides the basis of fellowship between a sinless God and sinful human beings.
While it is true that those who believe in Jesus for eternal life are positionally cleansed and forgiven of all their sins – past, present, and future (Acts 10:43; I Cor. 6:11; Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14; Tit. 3:4-7), “they still need ongoing cleansing based on Christ’s blood that enables imperfect children to have a genuine experience of sharing with a perfectly holy heavenly Father.”[18] Hence, the blood of Christ makes provision for both our positional forgiveness/cleansing of all our sins which enables us to enter God’s heaven (cf. Acts 10:43; Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14; Heb. 9:22-10:18) and our practical or fellowship forgiveness/cleansing of sins which enables us to enjoy fellowship with God on earth (cf. I John 1:9; Matt. 6:12, 14-15).
It is important for Christians to understand that it is not their responsibility to uncover their own sin. They may have overly sensitive consciences and are worried that they have unconfessed sin in their lives, so they spend a lot of time examining themselves instead of focusing on the Lord. The Bible makes it clear that it is God’s responsibility to reveal our sin to us through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word (cf. John 16:8-11; 2 Tim. 3:16). But it is our responsibility to be open and honest with God when He does point out the sin that is in our lives so we can confess it to Him.
The Bible promises that when we do confess our sin to the Lord, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). To “confess” means to agree with God that what you did, said, or thought was wrong (see comments on John 1:8). When God reveals unconfessed sin in our lives as we walk in the light, we are to confess or agree with His conclusions. So, when we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with His view of our sins. He hates our sins (Ps. 45:7). Our sins deeply hurt Him (Ephes. 4:30). [19]
“We are admitting that what the light exposes is not just a mistake, a bad habit, or a mere product of our upbringing. It’s sin.” [20]
It is important to note that the word “our” in the phrases “confess our sins” and “forgive us our sins” (I John 1:9), is not in the Greek text. The Greek text reads “confess the sins” (homologōmentas hamartias) and “forgive us the sins” (aphē hēmin tas hamartias). The definite article “the” (tas) in the phrase “forgive us the sins” is what grammarians call “the article of previous reference.”[21] What this means is when we honestly confess “the” specific sin or sins God’s light reveals in our lives, “the” specific sins we confess are forgiven.
This tells us that when we become aware of sin in our Christian lives, it is this awareness that breaks our fellowship or closeness with God. So, if we confess the sins of which we are aware, then God is “faithful and just” to forgive those specific sins. The word “forgive” (aphiēmi) can mean to “cancel” a debt that is owed. [22] This is judicial or positional forgiveness whereby God cancels our sin debt to Him the moment we believe in Jesus for His complete forgiveness of all our sins so we can become His forever children (cf. Acts 10:43; Col. 2:13-14; John 1:12; 6:37). We are declared totally righteous before God in His courtroom at the moment of faith in Christ (Rom. 3:21-4:5; 8:33). John is not talking about this kind of forgiveness in I John. In I John the apostle is talking about personal or fellowship forgiveness whereby the barrier that sin creates between a Christian and God is removed so his fellowship or closeness with God is restored. [23]
Our heavenly Father is “faithful” to forgive us when we confess our sins to Him because we have an eternal relationship with Him (John 6:35-40; 10:28-29; 17:3). There may be times when we think that going to God for forgiveness of the same sin with no victory in sight presumes upon His grace and mercy. We may ask ourselves, “How can the Lord forgive me over and over for the same sin?” The simple answer is God is “faithful.” His faithfulness is not based upon ours. He has promised to forgive us when we come to Him on His terms. His forgiveness for our fellowship or closeness with Him is based on His forgiveness for our relationship with Him. [24]
For example, when parents decide to have children, they already know their children will commit sins. They are aware that their children will be imperfect. But this does not prevent the parents from choosing to have the children. And when the child is conceived, an eternal relationship begins. Nothing, including death, can change the fact that this child will always be the child of his or her parents. So, in a sense, since this relationship will last forever, the child has positional forgiveness for all his or her future sins. And based on this positional forgiveness, the parents are predisposed to fellowship-forgiveness whenever their child sins against them but also chooses to come back to them and seek their forgiveness. God gave us positional or relationship forgiveness when we became His forever children through belief in Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14). Based on that, He will always be “faithful” to grant us fellowship-forgiveness when we confess our sins to Him (I John 1:9; cf. Matt. 6:12, 14-15; to restore our closeness to Him. [25]
You may be thinking that this does not seem right to keep coming over and over again to God asking for forgiveness for the same sin. Isn’t that taking advantage of God’s grace and mercy? It seems contrary to God’s holiness. Oh, but it is right for God to forgive His children when they confess their sins to Him. [26]This forgiveness is not contrary to God’s holiness – He is “just” (I John 1:9). The word for “just” (dikaios) is the same word used as a title to Jesus Christ in I John 2:1 where it is translated “the Righteous One.” When Jesus finished paying the penalty of all the sins of the world on the cross (John 19:30; I Cor. 15:3-6), He satisfied God’s holy and “just” demand to punish sin (I John 2:1-2). So, God is not compromising His holiness when He forgives the sinning Christian when he or she confesses their sin. This forgiveness is not based on our deservedness or performance. It is based on the atoning sacrifice of Christ. [27] Christ’s shed blood is sufficient for the sinning Christian (I John 1:7; 2:1-2).
The fact that God’s justice was completely satisfied when Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins can empower us to forgive others when they sin against us. We may be reluctant to forgive someone who deeply hurt us, fearing that they will not get the justice they deserve. But the truth is, none of us in Christ received the justice we deserved. Christ received God’s justice in our place even though He, being sinless, did not deserve it.
I am not suggesting that God takes sin lightly nor should we. God hates sin. He is grieved by our sins. The Lord wants His children to gain victory over that sin. But until a believer is open and honest with God about the sin God reveals to him or her, that believer will not be in fellowship with God. Nor will he or she have access to God’s power while living out of fellowship with the Lord.
There are some Christians who teach that a Christian does not need to confess his sins and ask forgiveness because a believer already has complete forgiveness of all his sins including his future sins (Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14). But this conclusion confuses the believer’s positional forgiveness (Acts 10:43; Ephes. 1:7) with his fellowship forgiveness (I John 1:9). A Christian who does not see his need to seek his heavenly Father’s forgiveness when he disobeys the Lord will not be very sensitive to the multiple ways he grieves God. In addition, the Lord Jesus taught His believing disciples to seek forgiveness of their sins when He taught them how to pray each day (e.g., the expression “give us this day our daily bread” precedes the request “forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:11-12). [28]
We have talked about confessing the specific sins in our lives of which we are aware. But what about all the unknown sin in our lives? The last part of I John 1:9 explains that when we confess the specific sins of which we are aware, God is “faithful and just” to not only forgive those specific sins we confessed, but He will also “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This “all unrighteousness” refers to all the other sins in our lives that we are not aware of. It has been estimated that 90% of the decisions we make are unconscious in nature. [29] There are many sinful choices we all make of which we have no conscious knowledge. We all have far more sin in our lives that we do not know about. But God sees all our sins – the sins we consciously choose (“our sins”) and the sins we unconsciously choose (“all unrighteousness”). We do not need to agonize about the sins we are not conscious of because the shed blood of Jesus Christ “cleanses us” from all of them when we confess the specific sins God’s light reveals to us (1:7, 9). Nothing in our lives is left uncleansed.
So, how can sinful Christians be close to a God Who does not allow sin in His presence? The apostle John tells us in I John 1 that we simply keep walking in the light, as God is in the light, and although we remain sinful people, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps cleansing us of all our sins. This is good news that is worth sharing with others!!!
The apostle John explains this further in John 2:17-22: 2:17: When Christ’s disciples watched Jesus cleanse the temple, they probably stood back “in stunned silence. With mouths wide open, they stared astonished as Jesus tossed furniture like toothpicks and slung coins like seeds. The lash of His whip sent livestock scurrying behind their unclean owners as the temple Owner’s voice echoed through the courts, ‘Take these things away!’ And the disciples remembered Psalm 69:9,”[30]“Zeal for Your house will eat Me up.” [31]
In Psalm 69:9, King David meant that zeal for the building of the temple had dominated his thoughts and actions, and he implied that others would criticize him for it. John applies this verse to the future Messianic Davidic King of Israel, implying that Jesus is their promised Messiah. [32]
“The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would have a consuming zeal for the temple and for God the Father. Jesus was consumed with doing what His Father had sent Him to do (4:34). His consuming dedication ultimately consumed Him when He gave up His life on the cross (cf. 2:19-22).”[33]
When Christ cleansed the temple at the beginning (John 2:13- 17) and end of His public ministry (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-47), He was declaring war on the hypocritical religious leaders (Matt. 23:1-36), and this would ultimately lead to His death. [34]
Do we have this kind of zeal for God’s work? Are we willing to risk our lives or reputations for the Lord? This kind of enthusiasm comes from a dynamic relationship with the Lord. We cannot manufacture this kind of zeal on our own. It comes from knowing and loving Jesus!
2:18: The Jews did not question Jesus’ actions nor address Christ’s indictment of them for making His “Father’s house” into “a house of merchandise” (2:16)! Instead, they question Jesus’ authority. Who does He think He is by doing this? They demanded a miraculous “sign” to prove He has the right to take such action. By asking for a sign from Jesus, these religious leaders recognize that by cleansing the temple and speaking of His “Father’s house,” Jesus was presenting Himself as the promised Messiah-God. [35]
“Concerned with the issue of authority—just as they were with the Baptizer in the Judean wilderness—they said, in effect, ‘If you’re declaring Yourself to be the Messiah by this act, authenticate Yourself with a series of miracles.’”[36]
I love Jesus’ response here. He confuses them even more. “Youwant a sign. I will give you a sign.”2:19: He used this “veiled” response to stimulate the thinking of these Jews. The word translated “temple” (naos) refers to the sanctuary or Holy Place, as distinguished from the temple courtyards (heiron), including the Court of Gentiles Jesus just cleansed. [37] Jesus intentionally calls His body “this temple” (naos) alluding to the reality that on the New Earth He will be the new “temple” (naos – Rev 21:22). [38]
“Only a perceptive hearer would comprehend it, and none of themqualified. In fact, His own disciples didn’t understand His true meaning until after His resurrection.”
“John highlights this tendency of Jesus more than the other gospelwriters. Jesus didn’t waste His words on people who didn’t want to hear. In fact, He didn’t speak in order to convince the skeptic or sway the dissenter. His words were intended to divide His audience into two groups: receptive hearts and hard hearts. He understood that hearing Him is not an intellectual process, but a crisis of the will. Several times throughout the story when Jesus says something cryptic, some people think they understand Him and turn away, while others admit their confusion and draw nearer.”[39]
If these “Jews” genuinely want to know if Jesus is their promised Messiah, then they would seek the answer from Him. Christ is referring to the greatest and last “sign” recorded in the gospel of John that points to His identity as the Christ, the Son of God which is His death and resurrection (cf. 19:17-20:31).
The Sanhedrin later used Jesus’ words about destroying the temple as a capital charge against Him at His trial (Matt. 26:61; Mark 14:58; cf. Matt. 27:40; Mark 15:29). This was dishonest and unfair, however, because Jesus had said, ‘Destroy this temple,’ not I will destroy the temple. Furthermore, Jesus was speaking of His body, not the Jerusalem temple.”[40]
2:20: As Christ anticipated, these “Jews” took Him literally and misunderstood Him to refer to the “temple” building which took Herod the Great “forty-six years to build.” [41] Such a massive and enduring temple structure was not likely to be destroyed and rebuilt “in three days.”
2:21: Thanks to John’s post-resurrection perspective, we know that Jesus is not speaking of destroying Herod’s temple building, but rather He is “speaking of the temple of His” own physical “body” which will be crucified and buried.
2:22: It was not until after Jesus “had risen from the dead” and appeared to “His disciples” that they “remembered that He had said this to them.” It was then that “they believed the Scripture” in the Old Testament concerning Christ’s resurrection (cf. Ps. 16:10; Isa. 53:12) “and the word which Jesus had” spoken to them.
It is not the Jerusalem temple but the human body of Jesus that represents the presence of God. Let me remind you of something. Christianity is not about buildings. It is not about a church building. It is not even about a philosophy of life. Christianity is about a relationship with the One Who died and rose again for our sins so “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
So, the reason a holy God can come into our contaminated lives full of sin is because of Christ’s death and resurrection. God’s holiness demands that sin be punished, but His heart desires that the sinner be pardoned. Hence, God sent His Son Jesus to take the punishment you and I deserved.
The United States was shocked in 1998 by the tragic news of two young boys who opened fire on schoolchildren as they ran from their building in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Four children and a teacher were killed, and five others were injured. The teacher died when she stepped forward to shield one of her sixth graders. She saved the girl but lost her own life. The teacher became her substitute and died in her place. [42]
Jesus Christ died as our Substitute. Just as the teacher took the bullets for the young girl, Christ took the punishment for our sin and died in our place. Jesus Christ did what our good works could never do. We are saved by Christ’s dying, not by our doing. Three days after His death Jesus came back to life. By rising from the grave on the third day He proved He had conquered sin and death. The second way to experience Christ’s cleansing truth is to REALIZE THAT CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR A HOLY GOD TO LIVE INSIDE US (2:17-22).
This leads to the third way to experience Christ’s cleansing truth. 2:23-24: During the week-long feast of Unleavened Bread, Jesus did many miraculous “signs.” As a result, “many believed in His name” for eternal life (2:23). Some argue that these people were not truly saved because their faith was based on miraculous signs and because Jesus did not “commit Himself to them” (2:24). [43]
However, the reasons for understanding that these people are genuinely saved are substantial:
1. The phrase “believed in His name”[44] is always used of people believing in Jesus to get them to heaven in John’s writings. This phrase “believed in His name”[45] in John 2:23 is used in John 1:12-13 to refer to saving faith. Those verses prepare the reader to understand John 2:23 in the same way. [46] Grounds for condemnation are because one has not “believed in the name”[47] of the Son of God (John 3:18). In John 20:31, a believer may have life “in His name.”[48] Thus, there is nothing in John’s usage of “believe in the name”[49]to suggest that the faith in John 2:23 is not saving faith. [50]
2. The “believe in”[51]construction is a common Johannine expression for saving faith (John 1:12; 3:16, 18, 36; 4:39; 6:29, 35, 40, 47; 7:5, 31, 38, 39, 48; 8:30; 9:35, 36; 11:2526, 48; 12:11, 37, 42, 44, 46; cf. I John 5:13). Nothing in John 2:23 suggests a different understanding.
“The phrase pisteuō eis, “believe in,” is John’s standard expression for saving faith (cf. John 6:40; 7:39; 8:30; 10:42; 11:25-26; 12:11). One believes ‘on Him’ or ‘in His name.’” [52]
“When Calvin says that they did not have true faith but were only borne along by some impulse of zeal which prevented them from carefully examining their hearts, he is therefore flatly contradicting John’s consistent usage in the rest of his writings. This illustrates ‘theologicalexegesis.’” [53]
“Martin Lloyd-Jones falls into the same error. He feels that those who‘believed in His name’ ‘did not truly believe in Him. They gave a kind of intellectual assent, they seemed to believe in Him; but He knew that they had not believed in Him in reality, and that is why He did not commit Himself to them.” [54]
“He cites John 6:60-66, where Jesus says there were some disciples ‘that believe not’ and concludes that this explains the people in John 2:25. But isn’t this directly contradicting the very words of John? John tells us that in John 2, contrary to the unbelieving disciples in John 6, these people specifically did believe. On what authority does Lloyd-Jones say they did not? How else could John say it if his intent was to indicate saving faith? Nowhere in the New Testament are adverbs, such as ‘truly’ or ‘really’ ever used to modify ‘believe’ in a soteriological context. These adverbs are frequently inserted in front of the word ‘believe’ in Experimental writings in order to sustain the fiction of the final perseverance of the saints in holiness to the final hour.” [55]
3. Nothing in the gospel of John suggests that belief based on Christ’s miracles is not genuine. Jesus even taught unbelievers to believe in Him because of the works or miraculous signs He did (John 10:38; 14:11). John finds fault with those who fail to believe in Christ after observing His miracles (John 12:37). The apostle recorded Jesus’ miraculous signs to elicit saving faith in the Person of Christ (John 20:31). The miracles Jesus did in John 2:23 fulfilled the very purpose for which they were recorded. John would have applauded these people for believing in Jesus based on His miraculous signs! However, it is true that a saving faith based on visible miraculous signs is not as noble as a saving faith based on God’s Word (cf. John 20:28-29; cf. 4:1-53). [56]
2:24: Since these people are saved, then what does it mean when Jesus refused to “commit Himself”[57] or “entrust Himself”[58] to these new believers?
One possible meaning is referenced by Dillow: “Debbie Hunn cites several examples from the first century which suggest that ‘entrusting oneself to another,’ then, in the examples known in the Greek of John’s day, referred not to disclosure of truth, intimacy, or belief in the sayings of another, but to personal security.” [59] 1722
“This idea nicely fits the context of John 2:24. After driving out the traders from the temple, Jesus for the first time announced His coming death (John 2:18-22).”[60]
A view that more consistent with the gospel of John’s subtheme of discipleship is that Christ chose not to become more intimate with these believers. Jesus “wasn’t ready to reveal more of Himself to them because of their spiritual immaturity. They were not yet ready for full commitment to discipleship and public identification with Him.” [61]
Keep in mind that although the main theme of the gospel of John is how to get to heaven; a subtheme is discipleship or intimacy with Christ. [62] Jesus entrusts Himself to new believers who are ready to be His friends. For Christ to disclose more of Himself to a believer, the believer must be trustworthy and obey Him. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him”(John 14:21). Christ “manifests” or discloses more of Himself to the believer who “has… and keeps” His commandments.
Friendship with Christ is conditioned upon obeying Him. “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” (John 15:14). This friendship refers to Jesus disclosing His thoughts to those who obey Him. Thus, Jesus’ friends are those to whom He entrusts Himself. [63]
Notice that the word “commit”[64] in verse 24 is in the imperfect tense. This tense speaks only about action in the past, so it leaves open to question what Jesus might do at a later point in time. Hence, Christ could entrust Himself to these believers later should they obey Him. [65]
When the word “commit”is used in the passive sense (“entrust”)in the New Testament, its objects are: riches (Luke 16:11), Christ (John 2:24), oracles of God (Rom. 3:2), stewardship (I Cor. 9:17), the gospel (I Thess. 2:4; Gal. 2:7; I Tim. 1:11), and the preaching of the Word (Tit. 1:3). [66] None of these instances suggest a salvation context. These passages suggest that the person receiving the object is regarded as trustworthy. The object is being committed to them in confidence. It follows that Christ refused to commit Himself to those who had believed (John 2:23-24) because He had little confidence in them at this time to be His friends, that is, to obey Him even to the point of publicly confessing Him (John 15:14-17; 12:42-43).
Therefore, the issue is not whether these people are saved or not, the issue for these new believers is whether they are trustworthy. Intimate fellowship with Christ requires obedience to Him. How did Jesus know whether to entrust Himself to these new believers? Look in verse 25.
2:25: Jesus refused to have fellowship with these new believers because He supernaturally “knew” that their hearts were not ready for intimacy with Him; that is, they were not ready to obey Him yet. They were not ready for a close friendship with Christ.
“He could see into their hearts. And He can see into yours too. So don’t miss this truth: Spiritual growth is important because it expands our capacity to experience more of God. Jesus does not relate to all believers the same way.” [67]
Part of obeying Christ may involve publicly confessing our faith in Him before others like at work or school. It is possible to have a saving faith alongside a reluctance to express that faith publicly. Thus, these verses introduce the theme of “secret believers” who are genuinely saved, but they are afraid to express their faith openly due to the threat of persecution (cf. John 9:22; 12:42; 19:38). [68]
For example, many of the ruling Pharisees had saving faith but were afraid to express that faith to others: “42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42-43).
Hodges makes an astute observation when he writes that “later in the gospel of John Jesus ‘commits Himself’ very extensively to the men who had accompanied Him to that point in His ministry. He ‘discloses’ Himself in a very intimate way to them.
“But Nicodemus (whom we shall meet shortly) was not with Hisdisciples in the Upper Room. Why he was not there becomes graduallyobvious as the Fourth gospel unfolds. As a result, on the pages of John’s gospel, Nicodemus stands as the prototype of a believer who is hindered from intimacy with Jesus Christ by competing interests.”[69]
“The verb ‘testify’ in v. 25 (martureō) is an inclusio back to the noun testimony in 1:19 (marturia). John the Baptist is the preeminent example in the Fourth Gospel of one who openly testified for Jesus. The new believers are a sad contrast to him. They were unwilling to tell others openly of their faith in Jesus.
“John skillfully repeats the word ‘man’ in 2:25 and 3:1. Immediately after the words, ‘He knew what was in man’ (2:25), John says, ‘Now there was a man…’ (3:1). The new believers in 2:23 were like the man who came to Jesus under the cloak of darkness (3:2).
“John the Baptist is the paradigm of the open believer (cf. 3:22-36); Nicodemus is the paradigm of the secret believer (3:1-21). Every time John mentions Nicodemus, he writes that he came to Jesus by night (3:2; 7:50; 19:39). Night is a symbol of darkness and of secrecy. There are hints in 7:45-52 and certainly in 19:38-42 that Nicodemus believed in Jesus, though without openly confessing Him.
“Even before the new believers of 2:23 had done anything, Jesus knew that they, unlike John the Baptist, but like Nicodemus, were not ready to confess Him. Because of that, He did not entrust them with the depth of truth He reserved for His friends.” [70]
Hence, the third way to experience Jesus’ cleansing truth is to RECOGNIZE THAT CHRIST ONLY REVEALS HIMSELF TO BELIEVERS WHO ARE READY TO OBEY HIM(2:23-25). Some of us don’t know Jesus any better today than the day we became a Christian. For some of us that may have been years ago. But Christ will not disclose Himself to us if we are not willing to go on and obey Him. He refuses fellowship with Christians who are not ready to obey Him.
For any relationship to grow deeper, there must be mutual trust. I’m not going to be transparent with you until I develop a certain level of trust with you. Likewise, you are not going to be transparent with me until you have cultivated more trust in our relationship. The same is true of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus knows our hearts. And He knows if we are ready to obey Him and grow deeper in our relationship with Him or not.
If you have been under the weight of religion (man-made rules), and you are weary – you feel like giving up on God – please know that Jesus fights for you to get you out from under that system, and He wants to heal your hurts. He wants to lighten your load.
Jesus also wants His disciples (followers) to take sin seriously in their lives. He wants us to trust Him to cleanse our lives of all sin and corruption. He wants us to rely on His resurrection power to help us say “no” to sin and “yes” to the Savior. Once we begin a relationship with Jesus by believing in Him for eternal life, He wants to reveal more of Himself to us and get closer to us. But for Him to do this, we must be willing to obey Him. We must be willing to surrender control of our lives to Him and let Him start directing our lives. Some of us need to come out of denial and admit that we are addicted to running our own lives. Friends, things are not going to get any better until we give up on ourselves and give in to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I found myself sitting in judgment over the religious leaders of Israel who had turned the temple of God into a place of peddling instead of a place of prayer. But Your Spirit convicted me that I am no better than those religious leaders. I also have stolen from others with my words and my thoughts. Like the religious leaders, I also have made it difficult for others to approach You in worship by being less than Christlike towards them. Despite my sin, it is mind boggling to know that the holy God of the Bible indwells me through His Spirit the moment I believed in You Lord Jesus!!! Thank You, Lord Jesus, by making this possible through Your shed blood on the cross which not only paid the penalty for all my sins (John 19:30; Col. 2:13-14), but also continues to cleanse me of my daily sins so I may enjoy closeness with You (I John 1:7). Thank You for Your resurrection power which is always available to help me to say “No” to sin and “Yes” to holy living. By Your grace, Lord Jesus, please enable me to walk in obedience to You so I may enjoy intimate fellowship with You. Thank You for disclosing more of Yourself to me as I live for You. Thank You for Your cleansing truth and grace. In Your mighty name I pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Blum, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Gospels, pg. 559.
[6] Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 79 cites Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. 6th ed. Translated by Patrick Lynch. Edited by James Canon Bastible (St. Louis: B. Herder Book Co., 1964) pg. 209; J. C. Macaulay, The Bibleand the Roman Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1946), pp. 71-73.
[7] This writer also makes an argument for a fourth though implicit reference to the Passover (“feast”) in John 5:1 (cf. William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to John. Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-54), pg. 188.
[8] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 184; Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary, pg. 70 cites Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970), pp. 55-60, 143; Constable, Dr. Constable’s Notes on John, pg. 80.
[9] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 184; Blum, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Gospels, pg. 559.
[13] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 184.
[14] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 184.
[15] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 552.
[16] Zane C. Hodges, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Epistles and Prophecy Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (David C Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), Kindle Location 3504 to 3508; Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2934.
[42] Moyer, Show Me How to Illustrate Evangelistic Sermons, pg. 258.
[43] Donald A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, and Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991), pg. 184.
[53] Ibid., cites John Calvin, “Prefatory Address to Francis, King of France.” In Institutes of the Christian Religion (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1964), 3.2.12.
[54] Ibid., cites Martin Lloyd-Jones, Romans Chapter 8:17-39: The Final Perseverance of the Saints (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), pg. 282.
[58] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 818.
[59] Dillow, Final Destiny, pg. 527 cites Debbie Hunn, “The Believers Jesus Doubted: John 2:23-25,” Theological Journal 25, no. 1 (Spring, 2004):19-21.
[66] Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 818.
[67] Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary, pg. 2206.
[68] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pp. 184-185.
[69] Hodges, Faith in His Name, pg. 51. See also, Keith Vande Vred, “A Contrast Between Nicodemus and John the Baptist in the Gospel of John,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 57:4 (December 2014): 715-726.
[70] Wilkin, The Grace New Testament Commentary, Kindle Edition, pg. 185.
“And He said to me, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” Revelation 21:6
After the apostle John begins to describe the new heaven and new earth, and the New Jerusalem (21:1-5), the apostle John designates three categories of people (21:6-8). 1 The first category is seen in verse 6: “And He said to me, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.’” (Revelation 21:6). The promise in this verse refers to all who believe in Christ. They will all enter the new earth and New Jerusalem (21:1-5).
The Lord Jesus says to John, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” (21:6a). “The Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and signify here, Jesus’ eternality. Christ is the Originator (“the Beginning”) and Terminator (“the End”) of all things, 2 and therefore He can be trusted.
Because Jesus exists eternally, He can offer eternal life freely to whoever thirsts. “I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” (21:6b). The phrase “water of life” is like the imagery Jesus used with the Samaritan woman at the well. “10 Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water… 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:10, 14). The “water of life” is eternal life.
Jesus offers eternal life “freely” (dōrean) or “without payment”3 or cost to “him who thirsts” (21:6b). The book of Revelation offers eternal life “freely” or without cost (cf. 1:5; 7:14; 21:6; 22:17) 4 because it has already been paid for by Jesus Who “washed us from our sins in His own blood” when He died in our place on the cross and rose from the dead (Revelation 1:5; cf. 7:14; I Corinthians 15:3-6). This is also the case throughout the New Testament where eternal life or salvation is presented as a free gift that is received through faith alone in Christ alone (John 4:10-14; Romans 3:24; 4:5; 6:23b; Ephesians 2:8-9; Revelation 22:17; et al.). Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ alone for “the water of life” (eternal life) acquires it the moment they believe (cf. John 3:15-16, 36; 4:13-14; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 11:25-26; et al.).
While eternal life is offered freely in the New Testament, the next verse informs us that the reward inheritance is costly (cf. Matthew 19:27-30; Colossians 3:23-24). It is in this verse that John addresses the second group of people: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” (Revelation 21:7). The word “overcomes” comes from the Greek word nikaō which means to “be victor, conquer, overcome, prevail.”5 The Lord Jesus is challenging those who received eternal life as a free gift by believing in Jesus (21:6), to remain faithful to Christ until the end of their lives so they may “inherit all things” (21:7a; cf. 2:10b, 25-27; Colossians 3:23-24), including wearing special white garments (3:4-5), ruling with Christ (2:26-27; 3:21; cf. 2 Timothy 2:12), eating the fruit of the tree of life (2:7), eating hidden manna (2:17), receiving a white stone engraved with your own special name that only the Lord and you will know (2:17), and receiving a special entrance into the New Jerusalem (21:7a; cf. 22:14).
Dillow observes that the book of Revelation repeatedly contrasts the faithful overcoming believer in Jesus with the unfaithful believer in Jesus. For example, Revelation 2:16 versus 2:7; 2:14-16 versus 2:17; 2:18-23 versus 2:24-29; 3:1-3 versus 3:4-6; 3:11 versus 3:12; 3:14-19 versus 3:21. 6
Jesus promises the overcoming believer that He “will be his God and he shall be My son” who will co-rule with the Davidic King (21:7b; cf. 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 2; Romans 8:14, 17b). 7 The phrase “I will be his God and he shall be My son” is “defined elsewhere as a statement of special honor, not regeneration. The Davidic Covenant promised to David’s Son, Solomon, ‘I will be a Father to him, and he will be a son to Me’ (2 Samuel 7:14). The intent of the phrase was to signify installation as the king.
“On His resurrection from the dead, Jesus was invested with the title ‘Son’ (Acts 13:33), and this was because His humility involved total obedience to the Father’s will (Philippians 2:5-10). Similarly, we arrive at the state of full sonship (Greek huioi, not tekna, ‘children’) by a life of obedience. Our union with Him, according to the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, means our path to glory is the same as His. Because of His obedience He was entitled to the designation ‘Son of God,’ King of Israel. ‘Thou has loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy companions’ (Hebrews 1:9).
“A similar thought regarding sonship is expressed in Hebrews 11:16, ‘Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.’ Of course, in the heavenly city God will be the God of all, both faithful and unfaithful Christians (Revelation 21:3), but it is apparently possible for us to live life in such a way that God is proud to be called our God. Evidently the writer has the title ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ in mind. This sense fits well [with] the conditional aspect of sonship in Revelation. John’s meaning is simply, ‘Because you have lived a life of constant fellowship with Me,’ God will say, ‘I am proud to be known as your God.’
“The idea here is that God is ‘proud’ to be known as ‘our God,’ because we have persevered to the final hour in contrast to other Christians who are sons but not obedient sons, and who will draw back from Him in shame at His coming (I John 2:28) and lose what they have accomplished (Mark 4:25; Revelation 3:11).” 8
This is the only time in John’s writings where he uses the term “son” (huios) to refer to a person other than Christ (Revelation 21:7b). The normal term in John’s writings for a Christian is “children” (tekna). 9 So, this is a unique relationship inherited by overcomers in the Christian life whereby “God will dwell with him at an increased level of intimacy like a father with his son.”10
Hence, in the world to come, overcomers or “heirs” would be treated as God’s adult “sons” (Revelation 21:7). In John’s society, a child could not obtain his inheritance until he reached the age of civil responsibility as established by the law. He might be potentially wealthy through all the years of his youth, but when the “child” became a full grown “son,” his potential wealth would become actual wealth, and he could enter into legal possession of his inheritance.
The New Testament doctrine of co-heirship supports this as a distinction is made between “entering” the Kingdom of God (new earth) through childlike faith alone in Christ alone for His free gift of eternal life (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:14-15; Luke 18:16-17; John 3:5-16; Revelation 21:6) and “inheriting” the new earth through faithful trust and obedience to Christ until the end of one’s life on earth (Matthew 5:3; 19:27-30; Romans 8:17b; 2 Timothy 2:12; James 2:5; Revelation 2:26-27; 3:21; 20:4, 6; cf. Exodus 12:48-49; Numbers 18:20-24; 36:7-9; Deuteronomy 21:15-17; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:5-6). 11
All who freely drank of the water of life (21:6), John called “children” or “born ones” (tekna; cf. John 1:12; I John 2:12), but those who became full-grown and matured through faithful obedience he called adult “sons” (huios). 12 In the day of the new heaven and new Earth, and the New Jerusalem, only those believers who overcame through faithful obedience could say not merely “I am here,” but “these are mine.”
The first two groups of people in these verses included believers in Jesus, but the third and final group of people refers to nonbelievers. “But the cowardly, sinners, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8). This verse is simply saying that in the new heaven and earth, and New Jerusalem, there are no more “cowardly, sinners, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars” because they are all confined to “the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.”
This verse is saying nothing about born again believers in Jesus who have done such things because their sins are now gone because they are forgiven, immortal, and sinless (Acts 10:43; 2:13-14; I Corinthians 15:35-57; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 5:26-27; I John 3:1-3). For instance, King Solomon ended his life as an idolator (I Kings 11:1-10), yet he will still be with God on the new earth. God used Solomon to author three books of the Bible: Proverbs (Solomon was the principal author), Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. The Bible says that the human authors of the Bible were “holy men of God” who “spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Even though Solomon was an idolater, the Bible says he was a “holy” man of God. How can this be? He is “holy” in God’s eyes because he has been set apart from his sin and shame by virtue of his faith in the coming Messiah who would die for all his sins – including the sin of idolatry (cf. Isaiah 53; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 10:10, 14).
Likewise, eventhough King David had committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11:14-27), the Bible refers to David as an example of those who are justified (declared totally righteous before God) by faith alone in Christ alone apart from any works. “5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin’” (Romans 4:5-8; cf. Psalms 32:1-2). Paul quotes David (Romans 4:7-8) who wrote in Psalm 32:1-2 of the blessedness of forgiveness as he looked ahead to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which would pay the penalty for the sin of the world (John 1:29), including David’s adultery and murder (cf. Psalm 16:8-11; Acts 2:24-36; Colossians 2:13-14).
Paul is saying that the righteousness of Jesus Christ was credited to David and all who believed in His coming death and resurrection in the Old Testament (Romans 4:5-8; cf. Genesis 15:6; Isaiah 61:10; John 8:56; Hebrews 11:26). So, when a person in the Old Testament or in the New Testament believes in the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, he or she is covered with the righteousness of Jesus Christ so that God no longer sees their sin, He sees the perfect righteousness of His Son (Genesis 15:6; Romans 3:21-4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
By God’s grace, all believers who have failed Him, will be on the new earth and/or New Jerusalem because God does not fail them (2 Timothy 2:13). However, only those believers who faithfully endure (overcome) to the end will “inherit all things” such as prominence, rulership, the joy of the Messiah’s rule, and commendation (cf. Matthew 25:20-23).
Since “the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” (21:8b) still exists after the passing away of the present heaven and earth (Revelation 21:1; cf. 2 Peter 3:10-13), this reaffirms that hell is eternal, and there is no such thing as the annihilation of nonbelievers. All those who rejected Christ will suffer torment in the lake of fire forever and ever (Revelation 20:10-15). Constable understands this also to mean that the lake of fire “is probably not in the center of the present earth, nor is it connected to this earth spatially. Therefore, it will exist separately from the new heaven and new earth and the New Jerusalem.”13
Which of these three groups of people will you be among? Believers in Jesus who are unfaithful yet on the new earth (21:6), believers who are faithful and greatly rewarded (21:7), or those who did not believe in Jesus and are confined to the lake of fire forever (21:8)? We are not promised tomorrow on earth. Decide today which of these three groups you want to be among.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing these three groups of people who will exist in the eternal state so we may prepare for what is coming. For those of us who believe in Jesus, please help us rely on Your Holy Spirit to remain faithful to You till the end of our lives on earth so we may be able to inherit all Your promised rewards with which to honor You for all eternity. For those who do not believe in Jesus, please remove the Satanic blinders that keep them from seeing You are the eternal God who freely offers them eternal life as a gift for them to receive by believing in You alone. Use those of us who believe in You to spread Your good news to those who are perishing without You so they can believe in You Lord Jesus and possess eternal life. Also use us to teach new believers to follow You as Your disciple so they may receive Your inheritance rewards. In Your mighty name we pray, Lord Jesus. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1.Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pg. 676.
2. Tom Constable, Notes on Revelation, 2017 Edition, pg. 238.
3. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 266.
4. Dillow, pg. 676.
5. Bauer, pg. 673.
6. Dillow, pp. 677, 1058.
7. Bob Vacendak; Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach; The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1584.
8. Dillow, pg. 677.
9. Vacendak, pg. 1584.
10. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 2421.
11. Zane C. Hodges, Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards (Grace Evangelical Society, 2016 Kindle Edition), pp. 99-118.
12. Dillow, pg. 729 cites William R. Newell, Romans: Verse by Verse (Chicago: Moody Press, 1938), pg. 314; Henry Alford, “Romans,” in Alford’s Greek Testament: An Exegetical and Critical Commentary (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 2:391; Frederic Louis Godet and A. Cousin, Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 2 Vols.(Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), pg. 311.
13. Constable, pg. 239 cites Robert A. Peterson, “Does the Bible Annihilationism?” Bibliotheca Sacra 156:621 (January – March 1999), pp. 25-26.
“Oh, … that Your hand would be with me.” I Chronicles 4:10ac
We are learning how to live about average by looking at four principles found in the simple, yet profound prayer of a man named Jabez. The first principle we learned was to seek God’s blessing in our lives (I Chronicles 4:9-10a). As God gives us His blessings, He wants us to share those blessings with others. So we are to ask God to increase our territory or influence for Him (I Chronicles 4:10b) so we can pass His blessings on to other people.
But as God increases our territory or influence for Him, we may start to feel overwhelmed with all the opportunities He gives us to impact others for His glory. Perhaps the expansion of your business opportunities starts to deplete your energy and resources. Maybe the ministry opportunities God gives you seem to be more than one person can handle. If you prayed for your family to impact more people, you may start to see more teenagers gathering in your dining room than you thought possible. And you notice their negative influence seems to be greater than your positive influence. When this starts to happen, Christians can start to feel misled, inadequate, scared, frustrated, or even angry with the situation.
When this happens, we need to pray like Jabez prayed: “Oh, … that Your hand would be with me.” (I Chronicles 4:10c).As God gives us more opportunities to influence others for Him, we start to realize, “This is more than I can handle. This is beyond my abilities and resources.” This is a good place to be because it shows us our dependence upon God.
Hence, the third principle for living above average is to ASK GOD FOR POWER TO ACCOMPLISH HIS DREAM FOR YOUR LIFE (I Chronicles 4:10c). God loves to use ordinary people who trust Him. Jabez’ faith caused him to believe that God would help him with his goals and dreams. There is something more important than being talented or educated – it is faith. It is believing that God will work in and through you.
Even though Jabez’ mother named him “Painful,” his faith kept him going. He may have had some kind of handicap or disability to be given this name. But he did not let his painful past keep him from looking ahead in faith and being used by God. What is your handicap? Is it physical? Spiritual? Emotional? Is it a traumatic childhood? A frustrating job or problem in your marriage? Is it a health limitation? An illness? Whatever it may be, Jesus says, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23).
When we pray, “Oh, that Your hand would be with me,”“we release God’s power to accomplish His will and bring Him glory through all those seeming impossibilities… Notice that Jabez did not begin his prayer by asking for God’s hand to be with him. At that point, he didn’t sense the need. Things were still manageable. His risks, and the fears that go with them, were minimal. But when his boundaries got moved out, and the kingdom-sized tasks of God’s agenda started coming at him, Jabez knew he needed a divine hand—and fast. He could have turned back, or he could have tried to keep going in his own strength. Instead, he prayed.” 1
In Acts 11:21 the Bible describes what happens when the hand of the Lord is with His people: “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.” As we surrender to God and rely on His Holy Spirit, we can receive “a fresh spiritual in-filling of God’s power”2 that enables us to accomplish His will for His glory. God’s presence is manifested in supernatural ways as we look to Him to supply the strength that is needed to fulfill His plan for our lives.
Jesus promised in Matthew 28:19-20, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… 20 and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” No doubt Jesus’ followers felt overwhelmed when He commanded them to “make disciples of all the nations.” That was a “God-sized” task for these first century disciples and it still is for us today. But Christ guaranteed them (and us) His presence (“and lo, I am with you always”) to provide all that they needed as they made disciples of the nations.
Even today, if we need more people, Christ’s presence can provide more people. If we need courage or protection, His presence can provide them. If we need wisdom in making decisions, Jesus’ presence can give us that wisdom. If we need more resources, the presence of our risen Lord Jesus can supply them. Whatever we need to fulfill His dream for our lives, His presence is more than adequate to provide.
Can you picture God doing this where you live? Can you see His hand causing people to believe or trust in Christ alone for His gift of salvation and begin to experience a new life as His disciples? It all begins when we seek God’s blessings, we ask for more influence, and we rely on His presence to give us the power to accomplish His will all for His glory.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we admit we have a great need for Your presence in our lives as You pour out Your blessings to us and give us opportunities to share them with others. Without You, Lord, we can do nothing of eternal value. We cannot do what You have called us to do in our own strength. We desperately need You to supply what we lack. Thank You so much for God the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us the moment we believe in Jesus. This same Spirit Who brought Jesus back to life can give us resurrection power. Through Him we pray You will enable us to continue to share Your blessings with those You bring into our lives. Thank You for being with us, Lord God. Thank You for wanting to use us for Your glory. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1. Bruce Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life (Breakthrough Series Book 1, The Crown Publishing Group, 2010 Kindle Edition), pp. 48-49.
“11 So the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.’ ” Exodus 4:11-12
In Exodus 3-4, we are learning from Moses’ interaction with God how to defeat our worst fears. The Lord told Moses to go back to Egypt to lead His people to freedom. But Moses had many fears that impeded him from doing God’s will. Those fears included the fear of inadequacy (Exodus 3:11), embarrassment (Exodus 3:13), and rejection (Exodus 4:1). God diffused these fears with His responses (Exodus 3:12a, 14-15; 4:2-3).
But this still wasn’t enough for Moses. “Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ ” (Exodus 4:10). Moses was also struggling with THE FEAR OF COMPARISON (Exodus 4:10). Moses is saying, “I am not a good speaker.” Compared to whom? His only audience is sheep. How does he know he is not a good speaker? It is not like he has other shepherds to listen to on the TV channel. How does he know? He is comparing himself to others.
Or perhaps he is comparing himself to when he was living in the palace of the king of Egypt for forty years and received the best education in the world (Acts 7:20-23). But after listening to sheep the last forty years “baaaaing” in the wilderness (Acts 7:23, 30), he had lost his eloquence and confidence.
All of us have a lot of abilities and talents to serve God with, but we don’t know that yet because we have not tried to use them. People have said to me in America, “Jeff, I can’t talk about the Lord in America. Why in the world should I go overseas to do it?”
How does God respond to this fear of comparison? “11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?” (Exodus 4:11).
“When God commanded Moses to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, God was not unaware of Moses’s weaknesses. Similarly, when he calls you to kingdom service, he knows about your fears and your shortcomings. This, in fact, is a reminder that God didn’t choose you to serve him because he desperately needed your qualities on his team. He chose you so that you could reflect his glory to the world. Paul told the Corinthians, ‘Consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful. . .. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong . . . so that no one may boast in his presence” (1 Cor 1:26-29).’ ”1
God wasn’t concerned about Moses’ eloquence or lack thereof. Moses was God’s man regardless of how Moses felt about it. Therefore, God said to him, “Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” (Exodus 4:12). The deliverance of God’s people from Egypt did not ultimately depend upon Moses, but on God.
But you may say, “That is great, but that is Moses. What about me?” Did you know that God has made the same promise to you and me? Jesus said, “Don’t worry about what you’ll say or how you’ll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words.” (Matthew 10:19-20 MSG). That is a promise to you and me if we are doing what God calls us to do. By God’s grace, I have experienced this promise repeatedly, and you can too if you do what God calls you to do.
Prayer: Almighty God, thank You for reminding us that Your presence in our lives will provide all that is needed to accomplish Your will. As our Creator, You not only know all our fears and weaknesses, but You also have the power to overcome them and display Your glory through them. We are humbled that You would even choose us to be a part of Your redemptive plan for the world. Thank You Almighty God. In the matchless name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 198.
“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ” John 20:22
We are learning from Jesus’ appearance to His ten disciples the evening of His resurrection day how to overcome our fears. We have discovered we must…
– Rely on Jesus to calm our fear with His peace-giving presence (John 20:19).
– Redirect our focus to the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection to convince our doubting hearts (John 20:20).
– Renew our sense of purpose (John 20:21).
The ten disciples of Jesus had been calmed, convinced, and commissioned, but they were still paralyzed by fear. They were still sitting in the locked room for fear of the Jews. They lacked power to overcome their fear, so Jesus prepares them physically and visibly for what would come to them spiritually at Pentecost, fifty days later (Acts 2:1-21). 1“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ” (John 20:22).
Some see this verse as a temporary filling of the Holy Spirit to give the disciples the knowledge, understanding, and enablement they would need to continue Christ’s work until Pentecost when they would receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.2 But the weaknesses of this interpretation include the following:
“Two bestowals of the Spirit seem unusual, in view of Jesus’ earlier promises to send (not impart) the Spirit (7:39; chs. 14—16), and the importance in Acts of the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:4; 11:15). Also, opponents of this view claim that there is no indication that this temporary infusion with the ‘Spirit’ had any effect on the disciples.” 3 “The disciples do not go out and share their faith. Rather, they hide, and on occasion go fishing (21:1-11).” 4 “Furthermore, there is no evidence that when Thomas returned to the scene, Jesus gave him the Spirit—as one would expect if the Spirit’s presence was essential for the disciples then (v. 26-29).” 5
It is better to see John 20:22 as a physical and visual preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit fifty days later on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-21; 11:15-16). This “was a demonstration of what Jesus would do after He returned to the Father, and which He did do on Pentecost. He was not imparting the Spirit to them in any sense here. This interpretation accounts for Thomas not receiving the Spirit before Pentecost. It also explains why this event may have had no permanently changing effect on the disciples comparable to that of Pentecost. Evidently there was only one coming of the Spirit on these disciples, and that happened on Pentecost.”6
Also in favor of this view is that an aorist imperative, which is used in John 20:22 (Labete – “Receive”), is used by Jesus in this way elsewhere. For example in John 2:19, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). It was three years before that imperative was fulfilled. 7 Likewise, the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell Jesus’ disciples would take place fifty days later. Keep in mind that the time of Acts 1:5 is forty days after John 20:22, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit was still future. In Acts 11:15-16, the apostle Peter explains that the Gentiles in Acts 10 had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit “as upon us at the beginning.” That means that the beginning of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. Therefore, John 20:22 is not referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but to the preparation for it.
The word “breathed” (emphusáō) in John 20:22 is also used in the Greek Old Testament in Genesis 2:7 where God “breathed” into Adam the breath of life. John seems to be connecting the disciples’ experience with Adam’s to show that Jesus is the Giver of both physical and spiritual life. 8
After the early stages in Acts when some received the Spirit after being born again by believing in Jesus (cf. Acts 2:38; 8:14-17; 19:6), reception of the Holy Spirit always occurred at the very moment a person believed in Christ for everlasting life 9 (e.g., Acts 10:43-48; 15:7-8; 19:2; cf. Mark 1:8; I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:2, 26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14).
Overcoming our fear, especially in carrying on the work of Jesus Christ, is not something we do in our own strength. The Holy Spirit must empower us. So the fourth way to overcome our fears is to RELATE TO THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (John 20:22). The power for overcoming our fear is not found in our personality or our performance. It is found in the Person of God the Holy Spirit. Get to know the Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is God, since lying to the Holy Spirit is equal to lying to God (Acts 5:3-4). But the Holy Spirit is not only God, He is a Person. He is not an impersonal force or influence. Like God the Father and God the Son, He possesses the same characteristics of a Person that they have:
1. He has knowledge or intellect. The Bible tells us, “10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” (I Corinthians 2:10-11). The Holy Spirit “searches” (ereunaō) all things which means He has the ability “to examine or investigate.”10 This implies He has personality. He searches “the deep things of God” and reveals them to believers in Jesus. He “knows” (eídō) the things of God. This means he has the capacity “to grasp the meaning of something or to understand.” 11 The Holy Spirit has the ability to think and know things which are attributes of personality.
2. He has emotions or the ability to feel. The Holy Spirit not only thinks like a person, He feels like a person.The Bible says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30). Christians can “grieve” (lupéō) or cause severe emotional distress 12 to the Holy Spirit with our hurtful communication to one another (Ephesians 4:29). The fact that He can be “grieved” or offended reveals personality since one cannot hurt an influence or an impersonal force. The Bible also instructs us that the Holy Spirit has the ability to give and receive love (Romans 5:5; 15:30). The fact that the Holy Spirit responds emotionally the way that a person responds, demonstrates that He is a Person.
3. The Holy Spirit possesses a will or the ability to choose. After referring to various spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul says, “ But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (I Corinthians 12:11). The Holy Spirit not only empowers these gifts, He also distributes them “to each one individually as He wills.” The Holy Spirit has the ability to choose which is also a mark of personhood. Just as God the Father and God the Son have a will, so does the Holy Spirit.
We also see in the Bible that the Holy Spirit acts like a Person. He teaches (John 14:26; 15:26-27; I Corinthians 2:13), gives guidance (Romans 8:14; Acts 16:6-7; 20:22-23), helps or comforts (John 16:7), convicts (John 16:8-11), gives commands (Acts 8:29; 10:19-20), He appoints believers to leadership (Acts 20:28), gives understanding (John 16:13), speaks (Acts 13:2), He intercedes or speaks on behalf of people (Romans 8:26), performs miracles (Acts 2:4; Romans 15:19), gives spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:8-11), raises the dead (Romans 8:11), creates (Genesis 1:2), provides companionship (John 14:16-18), testifies and bears witness to Jesus (John 15:26-27), and glorifies Jesus (John 16:14). All of these actions demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is a Person. He does things that only a Person can do. But keep in mind that He is Spirit, which means He does not have a physical body like we do. He is a Person without a physical body which enables Him to indwell believers in Jesus (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 6:19).
In conclusion, I want to share an illustration our pastor shared with us at church a few weeks ago. 13 It involves a woman who just graduated from Harvard University. She went to the Amazon River area of South America and was given a choice. She could either have a perfect map to navigate this area unknown to her or she could choose a guide to enable her to reach her destination. She said, “I just graduated and I’m pretty smart, so I will choose the map.”
The map was perfect and she was smart. So the first couple of days went fairly well using the map to navigate the area. But after three days or so, things got rough. It began to rain extremely hard. She tried using the map, but she didn’t know what to do. She was extremely confused about which way to go. Suddenly, she hears the voice of the guide. He says, “Hey, come this way. Follow me.” So he helps her navigate her way through that mess and confusion. He asks her, “Do you want me to stay with you?” She says, “No, I’ve got my perfect map.”
Using only a map to guide her, she starts going again. Three days later, she ends up in another confusing situation in a bog and gets lost. Finally the guide comes again and asks her, “Do you need help?” Ashamed, she says, “Yes, I need help.” As they are walking, the guide asks her, “Do you want me to help you?” She says, “Yeah, that’s fine. You can help me and guide me.” Then she says, “Do you need the map?” He replies, “No, I don’t need the map. I wrote the map.”
The Holy Spirit wrote our map, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). He enabled holy men to record God’s Word without error in all of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20), so that every word in the Bible is from the mouth of God. As “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13), the Holy Spirit guides us with the Bible. We must have the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible (I Corinthians 2:10-16).
The way we receive the Holy Spirit, is to believe in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life (John 7:37-39; Acts 10:43-48; 15:7-8; 19:2; I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:2, 26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14). Every believer in Jesus has God the Holy Spirit indwelling him or her (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:11; I Corinthians 6:19) to guide them into all truth (John 16:13; Romans 8:14; Acts 16:6-7; 20:22-23) and empower them to live a life that glorifies Jesus Christ (John 16:13-14; Galatians 5:22-23). Learn to listen to the Spirit’s guidance through the Scriptures. Rely on His powerful presence to overcome your fears and become more like Jesus Christ (Romans 8:26-29; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You so much for sending Your Holy Spirit to indwell us and empower us to become more like You. We could never overcome our fears in our own strength. But You have given us the Person of the Holy Spirit to enable us to not only overcome our fears, but to replace our fears with Your courage and boldness. Holy Spirit, teach me to hear Your voice through the holy Bible so I can know You more intimately and experience the joy that You, the Father, and Jesus created me to have. Forgive me for neglecting my relationship with You. Please renew my love relationship with You so I can not only overcome my fears, but become more like my Savior, Jesus Christ. In the matchless name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1829.
2. Edwin A. Blum, The Bible Knowledge Commentary Gospels, Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, (David C Cook, 2018 Kindle Edition), pg. 699; J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 366; Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John: Revised Edition (New International Commentary on the New Testament series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), pp. 747-48.
3. Tom Constable, Notes on John, 2017 Edition, pg. 379.
4. Robert Wilkin; J. Bond; Gary Derickson; Brad Doskocil; Zane Hodges; Dwight Hunt; Shawn Leach. The Grace New Testament Commentary: Revised Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 565.
5. Constable, pg. 379.
6. Ibid.
7. Wilkin, pg. 565.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 389.
“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ ” John 20:19
The right part of the human brain known as the limbic system reacts with survival responses to three areas: food, sex, and safety. One of those survival responses is fear. In the limbic system of the brain, pain results in fear. We may fear abandonment, criticism, disrespect, embarrassment, inadequacy, rejection, shame, and vulnerability. 1
In a world of insecurity and uncertainty, we are going to experience fear. But it is important to understand that whatever we fear, we give power and control to. When we fear the things of this world, including humans, we give authority and control to the god of this world, Satan (John 12:31). 2
Most fear is based upon lies and can give the father of lies (John 8:44) control in our lives. This is why some of the most often used commands in the entire Bible are, “DO NOT BE AFRAID,”“DO NOT FEAR”, “FEAR NOT,”“DO NOT BE TERRIFIED,” “DO NOT TREMBLE.” I counted these commands appearing one hundred forty-four times in the NKJV of the Bible. 3
For the next few days we are going to discover how to overcome our fears by looking at how Jesus enabled His disciples to overcome their fear. The first way to overcome fear in our lives is to RELY ON JESUS TO CALM OUR FEAR WITH HIS PEACE-GIVING PRESENCE (John 20:19). After appearing to Mary Magdalene early on the day of His resurrection, Jesus then appeared to other women (Matthew 28:9-10), to Simon Peter (Luke 24:33-35; I Corinthians 15:5), and to the two disciples on the Emmaus road (Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-32). It was late in the evening of that most memorable day when Jesus appeared to ten of His closest disciples (John 20:19-23).
“Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ ”( John 20:19). On one of the greatest days in the history of the world, when Jesus’ Eleven disciples minus Thomas should have been dancing in the streets, they were trembling behind “shut” (kekleismenōn) or “locked” doors. 4 The verb kleiō is in the perfect tense, meaning “the doors” were locked in the past and they remained locked to the present.
Notice also the word “doors” is plural, suggesting that the door into the room and a door into the house entrance were locked. Why? “For fear of the Jews.” It is understandable why the disciples were afraid. The Jews had managed to put Jesus to death and the disciples were His closest companions. A rumor was being spread by the Jewish leaders through the Roman soldiers that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His dead body from the tomb (Matthew 28:11-15). Now that Jesus was removed, the Jews may focus their bitter hatred toward His followers. After all, Christ had warned them of coming persecution (John 15:20; 16:1-2).
The disciples were paralyzed with fear and understandably so. We too can experience paralyzing fear. We are no different than the disciples. We may not share Christ with others because we are afraid of failure, rejection, or what others will think of us. Remember whatever we fear, we give power and control to. When we remain silent in our witness for Christ because of fear, we are giving Satan control over that area of our lives.
While the disciples were hiding in isolation, Jesus suddenly and supernaturally appeared to these ten disciples. Keep in mind that the doors remained shut and locked when “Jesuscame and stood in the midst” of them. This phrase can be translated, “Jesus came and stepped into the midst” of them. “Jesus’ resurrection body had passed through grave clothes and a rocky tomb. Now it passed through the walls of this structure.” 5
“Now, clearly, Jesus had a physical body. Mary touched him (20:17); Thomas would touch him (20:27); later he would eat with his disciples (21:12-13). He was no mere phantom (see Luke 24:39). He had risen bodily from the grave. But his resurrected body no longer had material limitations. Apparently, he could pass through locked doors if he wanted. And later he would ascend on a cloud into heaven (see Acts 1:9). The apostles tell us that our resurrection bodies will be like his (see 1 Cor 15:45-57; Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2).”6
Even though the disciples took security measures, they could not prevent the appearance of Christ in their midst, for He materialized before their eyes. 7 Likewise, human governments and religions can outlaw Christianity, but all of their security measures cannot keep Jesus from revealing Himself to people in those countries or regions. Jesus still comes “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
For example, “For decades, a well-documented phenomenon has been occurring in the Muslim world—men and women who, without knowledge of the gospel, or contact among Christians in their community, have experienced dreams and visions of Jesus Christ. The reports of these supernatural occurrences often come from ‘closed countries’ where there is no preaching of the good news and where converting to Christianity can invoke the death sentence. But these are more than just dreams… A common denominator appears to be that the dreams come to those who are seeking—as best they can—to know and please God.”8
When Jesus appeared to the disciples, He said to them, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19b). The Greek word for “peace” (eirḗnē) arises from a life of faith in God. It refers to a calmness “that would come to their hearts from trusting God and from knowing that He was in control of all events that touched their lives.”9
Before we can possess this kind of peace, we must first receive “peace with God” through faith in Jesus for eternal life (Romans 5:1). Why do we need peace with God?
The Bible tells us, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled” (Colossians 1:21). Before we become Christians, we are God’senemies. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). We need to be reconciled to God because of our sin. God does not need reconciling to us, we need reconciling to God. We turned away from God. He never moved. We moved. The people God created rebelled against their Creator and sinned so that death spread to all people because all sinned (Genesis 3:1-7; cf. Romans 3:23; 5:12-14, 18a).
The Bible tells us, “Having made peace through the blood of His cross”(Colossians 1:20b) means causing God’s former enemies to become His beloved children by faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1). Notice that “peace with God” is not through our good life, our prayers, or our religion. Peace with God is “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The moment we believe in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for all our sins, we are “justified” or declared totally righteous before God as if we had never sinned.
To be justified before God means to be declared the opposite of what we are. If I was hateful, I am now declared loving. If I was impatient, I am now declared patient. If I was impure, I am now declared pure. If I was selfish, I am now declared selfless.
When you believe in Jesus, He comes to live inside you through His Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39; Romans 8:11; Galatians 2:20). Christ now lives in you and promises never to leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Through His death on the cross, Jesus conquered Satan’s control of death (cf. Hebrews 2:14-15). Satan can no longer use your fear of death to enslave you to his will. Christians can now face death with the same confidence in God the Father that Jesus had (cf. I Peter. 2:21-24). Believers are assured of peace with God forever (Colossians 1:19-21).
Christ’s peace does not mean an absence of pain or conflict in our Christian lives. Jesus Himself was “troubled” (John 12:27) when He looked ahead to His crucifixion. He was “troubled” when He focused on Judas’ betrayal (John 13:21). The peace that Jesus speaks of in John 20:19 refers to a deep-seated calmness that stems from trusting in the Lord and His presence. This peace is not the absence of problems, but the presence of Christ in the midst of those problems. Jesus is aware of our difficulties. He is present with us in our problems. We fear not, because He is with us and He is in charge. People who have discovered this have a quiet peace in their hearts even when things are going wrong.
No matter how troubled your heart is, and some of us may be deeply troubled – Jesus’ peace can calm your heart. Talk to Him. Keep your mind focused on Him. The Bible says of the Lord, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3). Jesus’ presence brings us peace. In Matthew 28:20, Christ promises, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus guarantees to be with us always as we make disciples who follow Him. In Philippians 4:6-7, God assures us that as we pray, His peace, “which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Christ can calm us with His presence and His peace just as He did for His disciples.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, for so much of my life I lived in fear behind the locked doors of my broken heart. I was afraid if people really knew me, they could not possibly love me. But the day came when You revealed Yourself to me behind my walls of protection. Your love dispelled the darkness of sin and shame in the depths of my soul. When You invited me to believe in You for Your unlimited forgiveness and everlasting life, I quickly responded in faith and You freely forgave all my sins and gave me everlasting life. You took up residence in my body through Your Spirit. And You kept Your promise to never leave me nor forsake me since that time. Your presence continues to calm my fears and give me Your peace. I pray You will continue to reveal Yourself to others as the Prince of Peace. Please use me as You deem best to share Your peace with those You place in my life. In Your peace-giving name I pray. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
1. Michael Dye, The Genesis Process (Michael Dye, 2012), pp. 45-46.
4. Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature: Third Edition (BDAG) revised and edited by Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000 Kindle Edition), pg. 547; J. Carl Laney, Moody Gospel John Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), pg. 365.
5. Tom Constable, Notes on John, 2017 Edition, pg. 375.
6. Tony Evans, CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (B & H Publishing Group, Kindle Edition, 2019), pg. 1828.
7. J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words & Works of Jesus Christ, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pp. 504-505.
