Sermons - Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

Giants and Grasshoppers - Part Six

May 23, 2021 by: John Herbert | Series: Giants and Grasshoppers

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Acts 19:10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

We will today look at what precedes the word 'finally' in the Book of Ephesians.

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Sunday May 23rd 2021
Giants and Grasshoppers
Part Six

1). Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

These are the verses that introduce the spiritual warfare and the instruction to put on ‘the whole armor of God’ so that victory over the enemy can be won.
	a). And as we had seen last time, the word ‘finally’ points to that which remains to be added to what has come before it in order that the Kingdom seeking Christian may defeat his enemy, enter the heavenly land, and receive his inheritance.
	b). And the content of the Book of Ephesians that precedes the word ‘finally’ contains that which is necessary for the Christian to ‘be strong in the Lord and the power of His might’, and therefore be able to put on the whole armor of God.
	c). Before we look at this context though, there is something we should keep in mind concerning the church in Ephesus that will help us understand why Paul wrote to them as he did. Ephesus was a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in an area known as Asia Minor, located in modern day Turkey. This whole region of Asia Minor had received thorough teaching concerning the Word of the Kingdom and was the recipient of not only the letter of Paul to the Ephesians, but also the Books of 1st and 2nd Peter – 1Pe 1:1 ¶ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

1st and 2nd Peter are Books that deal exclusively with the salvation of the soul and the work of false teachers to undermine this salvation. And to Ephesians and 1 and 2 Peter we can add the Apostle John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ – Re 1:11 saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

From this alone we would realize that we are dealing with a group of Christians who were well grounded in the Word of the Kingdom, who had every opportunity to go on to maturity – Eph 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:.

Paul’s personal involvement with Ephesus is recorded in Acts Chapters 18 and 19. And we find in Acts Chapter 18 that having gone to Ephesus he left Priscilla and Aquila there to minister - Ac 18:18 ¶ So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. 19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus.

And it is while in Ephesus that Priscilla and Aquila met Apollos, a powerful teacher of the Scriptures, who they took aside to teach ‘the way of God more accurately’ – the Word of the Kingdom.
	d). Paul later returned to Asia, and having his center in Ephesus, he spent some additional two years beyond the time already spent there, teaching the mysteries that had been entrusted to him – Ac 19:8 ¶ And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

In v8 we can see that the subject of Paul’s teaching was ‘the Kingdom of God’, which contextually is the Kingdom of the Heavens and all that is associated with it.
	e). And we can note from v9, that ‘all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks’. And this of necessity would have included the gospel of grace, but the focus was the gospel of the glory of Christ.
	f). The Holy Spirit had testified to Paul that he would be captive in Jerusalem, something he had told the elders of the Ephesian Church about when he met them at Miletus. And this happened just as the Holy Spirit had said, because of the actions of a group of Jews coming from this same region of Asia. This eventually led to his imprisonment in Rome from 60-62AD. And during this confinement he wrote the letter to the Ephesians.
	g). Having been released from prison about 62AD Paul then began to travel once again and it is while in Macedonia that he wrote his first letter to Timothy - 1Ti 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, 2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. 3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in [the] faith.

And where was Timothy to be found? In Ephesus.  And where did Paul want him to stay? In Ephesus. And the reason why Paul wanted Timothy to stay there was ‘to charge some that they teach no other doctrine’, nor be sidetracked by ‘fables and endless genealogies.’
	h). Any other doctrine would be a teaching contrary to that which Paul had taught, contrary to the gospel of the glory of Christ. A work of the false teachers that Peter had written about – Ro 16:25 ¶ Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—

2Th 2:13 ¶ But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Col 1:25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you [Lit proclaimed among you] the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

And at Paul’s final meeting with the elders of Ephesus, we will remember what he himself recorded about what he had taught – Acts 20:18 And when they had come to him, he said to them: "You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19 "serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 "how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 "testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ…….25 "And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 "Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.

Now the reason for setting all this background in place is so that we can realize that the Christians in Ephesus had been well grounded in the Word of the Kingdom. They were not ignorant of it nor where they novices in it. Rather they had attained a level of spiritual maturity in the faith that enabled Paul to write directly to them concerning the coming Kingdom of Christ and their inheritance without the need for explanation. He knew that they understood what he was writing.

2). Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Paul’s letter, written while imprisoned in Rome, began by talking about ‘the mystery of His will’ in relation to ‘the dispensation of the fullness of the times’, when He will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.’ The revealing of a new order of rulers and the inheritance that would be theirs.
	a). Paul then took them to what God had done for them, and us, on an individual level with this end in view - Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

He then spoke about his Apostleship, to make clear the purpose that God had for him with regards to the proclamation of the gospel of the glory of Christ to those in possession of the heavenly calling and the role of the Church in making this purpose known - Eph 3:8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

And with this in view came the admonition to walk worthy of their calling to this Kingdom, leading into the function of the Church that makes this possible – Eph 4:1 ¶ I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 ¶ with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

And it won’t escape our notice that in relation to realizing the heavenly calling, the Lord gave pastor-teachers to the Church to preach the Word of the Kingdom so that all would ‘come to the unity of the faith’ and the ‘epignosis’ ‘knowledge of the Son of God’. That all would grow up to spiritual maturity to no longer be children. To be grounded and steadfast in the gospel of their salvation so that no ‘wind of doctrine’ would blow them to and fro.
	b). And we will notice where every ‘wind of doctrine’ would and will, come from - ‘the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting’. In other words, deception, that which comes from deceiving spirits and the doctrine of demons; the leaven placed in the three measures of meal. Deception wrought by our enemy through the man of the flesh via false teachers to take the crown from the Christian’s head.
	c). Hence the necessity to ‘grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ’ so that the ‘body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.’
	d). And to facilitate the growth to spiritual maturity so that every joint can supply to the body that which is needed, that all may walk worthy of their calling, comes the command - Eph 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be [continually] filled with the Spirit 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Being continually filled with the Spirit through the ministry of the pastor-teacher as he preaches the Word, as part of the process to spiritual maturity, so as to walk in a worthy fashion, will be evidenced in humility and obedience to the faith through submission one to another. And the categories for submission are given, wives to husbands, husbands to Christ, children to parents, bond servants to masters, masters to Christ.
	e). And in the submission of the wife to the husband and the husband to Christ we again find the purpose for God’s creation of Man – 
Eph 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Everything that is written in Ephesians has its focus upon the coming Kingdom of Christ, the change in rulership, the inheritance on offer, and the present action of each individual Christian in relation to this, so that he may be found worthy to participate in the Kingdom administration with Christ in the Age to come.
f). It is without doubt that in these Chapters of Ephesians we have a succinct presentation of what it takes to be an overcoming Christian. And, consequently, a poignant reminder of what it was the Church of Ephesus left when they left their first love.
	g). And it is also without doubt, that the daily struggle to walk worthy of their calling, for the original spiritually mature recipients of this letter, was much the same as our own. However, we also have their example to look back on and being in possession of the Lord’s instructions for victory within the context of this Book, we can make the determination not to leave our first love as they did but to keep pressing onwards instead – Php 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

It is the extraordinary power of the faith in us, if we choose to do so, that enables us to say, ‘I don’t feel this way, yet I choose to believe, I don’t understand and yet I choose to obey, I don’t want to do this, yet I will be faithful’. It is no wonder that the scripture says - 1Jo 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

And all of this then brings us to that word, ‘finally’. With all these things in place in the life of the spiritually mature Christian in pursuit of the Kingdom, there remains one last thing that must be added if victory over Satan and his fallen angels is to be ours. We must be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, and we must put on the whole armor of God.
	h). Our ability to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, to ‘utterly destroy Amalek’, will not be found within our own resources but in our faith, so that God’s power may work on our behalf – 1 Pe 1: 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

It is in our complete insufficiency that He is found to be more than sufficient – 2Co 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2Co 13:4 For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

3). Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

The Kingdom of the Heavens is again in view here, and it is this Kingdom that has been occupied for unspecified ages by Satan and his angels, the rulers of the darkness of this age. It is the realm and the administration from it, that they have no intention of giving up.
	a). Faithful Christians, as we know, have been called to be the future occupants of this realm; the inheritance to be given to those who will be joint heirs with Christ, fulfilling the promise to Abraham.
	b). And the physical existence of the Church, as we have seen, is the declaration of God’s intention to this end, openly declared to the Kingdom’s present occupants – Eph 3:10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

Because of this we may know with certainty that the warfare is engaged and that all may be won or lost, depending upon our desire to be victorious.
	c). And as we have seen in our previous weeks of study, the foundational type for our spiritual warfare is seen in Israel at Kadesh Barnea, following the battle with Amalek, in which we find two possible outcomes. Either overthrow, as witnessed in the ten spies and the remainder of that generation who did not desire the victory – 
Nu 14:22 "because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.

Or victory as seen in Joshua and Caleb, who valued it more than anything else.
d). The picture for us is clear. The land we are called to occupy, the heavenly realm of the Kingdom, is presently occupied by fallen angelic beings far greater in strength and might and numbers than ourselves, a spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places. In our own strength we can never overcome them. It is only through the power of God that our victory can be won.
e). And our enemy does not confront us physically with sword and spear in hand but seeks to overcome us by the subtlety of deception, ‘the wiles of the devil’, the systematic and organized plans of our enemy, to turn us into that first generation of Israel.
	f). Proper preparation and desire for success is paramount if we are to have victory in the warfare, as at every opportunity our enemy will seek to form alliance and liaison with us, to draw us away from the land of our inheritance, to draw us away from the mountain top – and as we know, the only point of contact he has with us is through our old man, the man of the flesh, our personal ‘Amalekite’.  
	g). Like Israel at Kadesh Barnea, the enemy of our soul seeks to have us believe the lie rather than having the faith. 
	h). It is because of the nature of our enemy and the tactics he employs against us that we are told in - Eph 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

We can clearly see that proper preparedness to engage our enemy is not only paramount but also our own individual responsibility – we are ourselves to ‘take up the whole armor of God’.

But this will have to wait until next time – if we remain and the Lord is willing.

Giants and Grasshoppers - Part Six

Refresh A Recap from the Sermon

Giants and Grasshoppers - Part Six

May 23, 2021

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: Giants and Grasshoppers

Category: Sunday Morning

Refresh
A Recap from the Sermon