When we consider the picture of the Christian armor that Paul paints in Ephesians 6:10ff, there are a couple of things that can be easily overlooked which are critical to us having an accurate understanding of spiritual warfare. One involves the word “stand” (v. 10, 13-14). It can leave us with the impression of a soldier merely standing thereContinue reading “Stand!”
Category Archives: Opening the Bible
Spiritual Warfare: Stand!
Paul’s words to the Ephesians concerning “the powers of this dark world,” and “the spiritual forces of evil” (6:12), assume a truth that is much less a part of our world view today than it would have been in the first century. That truth is that there is a spiritual world consisting of evil powers asContinue reading “Spiritual Warfare: Stand!”
Spiritual Warfare: The Triumph Of The Cross
The cross is central to us because it is central to Christ! Jesus blessed Peter for recognizing He was the Christ (Matthew 16:17), then sternly rebuked him moments later when Peter sought to separate being Christ from bearing the cross (v. 21-23). Jesus made it clear—to be Christ-centered you must be cross-centered. But it’s not just theology—it’s biography. We foundContinue reading “Spiritual Warfare: The Triumph Of The Cross”
Spiritual Warfare: Identifying The Enemy (2)
2. Spiritual forces are at work in our world. The New Testament world was filled with demons, evil spirits, and certain people who had supernatural power over such entities. It’s easy to see how it all worked—the demons and spirits possessed people, caused illness, disease, insanity, and even death. The people with power over them cast these demonsContinue reading “Spiritual Warfare: Identifying The Enemy (2)”
Spiritual Warfare: Identifying The Enemy (1)
Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12 that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” In light of Acts 19:11-20, and the temple of Artemis, I have no doubt that the disciples at Ephesus needed no elaboration from PaulContinue reading “Spiritual Warfare: Identifying The Enemy (1)”
Living Under The Influence
The church is not man made, it is God given! There is a church of God because of the grace of God. It is His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). And where does the Spirit fit into all of this? The body without the Spirit is dead! This community of grace known as church is a Spirit-created community (John 3:3-5; Titus 3:3-5). Its members are saidContinue reading “Living Under The Influence”
Hope For A Hurting World
The divisiveness and fragmentation in our country today can only bruise the heart of Him in whose image we are made. He is not the Father of a certain nation, tribe or family—He is the Father of us all. To recognize anything less is bad theology and it leads to even worse biography. While weContinue reading “Hope For A Hurting World”
Alive and Amazed
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or think according to the power that is at work among us . . .” (Ephesians 3:20). What are we supposed to do with passages like this one? Texts like this are found throughout Ephesians. There’s 5:1 where we’re told toContinue reading “Alive and Amazed”
Advancing On Our Knees
John Sedgwick was a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. He came from a military family. His grandfather was a general during the Revolutionary War and served with George Washington. Sedgwick graduated from West Point, served in the Mexican-American War, and was involved in numerous Civil War battles including Gettysburg, Antietam andContinue reading “Advancing On Our Knees”
Wake Up!
I suppose there’s a tendency to treat Luke’s account of Eutychus falling asleep during Paul’s preaching like one of those human interest/humorous stories tacked on to the end a newscast. Or, like the humor Shakespeare and other writers employ, we might want to frame it as offering us a change of pace to Luke’s otherwiseContinue reading “Wake Up!”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 