living an empowered life

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living an empowered life a vineyard bible study series edited by beth crawford

Copyright 2004 Vineyard Church of Columbus All Rights Reserved.

Bible Study Index Introducing the Holy Spirit

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The Kingdom of God: Central in the Ministry of Jesus

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Healing is the Will of God

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The Role of Authority in Healing the Sick

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Hearing God’s Voice

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Spiritual Warfare

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Weapons For Spiritual Warfare

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LIVING AN EMPOWERED LIFE 1 INTRODUCING THE HOLY SPIRIT John 14:15—21 and 16:5—15 By Marlene Nathan

“Our understanding of God is forever marked by the fact that in Christ he has been “fleshed out” at one point in our human history. Even if God seems distant… we are not in the dark about God and his character…The glory of God has been imaged for us in the one true human who bears the divine image, Christ himself…. We must recognize the same to be true about the Spirit, not simply theoretically but really and experientially. The Spirit is not lightly called the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Christ has put a human face on the Spirit as well...In dealing with the Spirit, we are dealing with none other than the personal presence of God.” Gordon D. Fee “…the point is…the Spirit is a person! This can be confirmed in many ways. The activity of the Spirit is the activity of a person, not a thing. The Spirit speaks, is spoken to, teaches, convicts, intercedes, and calls. The Spirit can be grieved and lied to. Even though the Spirit doesn’t have a physical body, the Spirit is a Someone, not a Something…. In other words, when we receive the Spirit, we are engaged in a personal encounter.” Rich Nathan and Ken Wilson

Copyright©2004 Revised version Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To help convey some basic truths about the Holy Spirit.

KEY VERSES “‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth….’” John 14:16—17a PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. As you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach each of you something relevant. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. OPENERS What comes to your mind when you hear the words, “the Holy Spirit”? Allow time for enough people to reply so you get a sense of what your group members think or feel about the Holy Spirit. Then continue with the information below. If you have ever been to church, then you probably have heard the phrase, “...in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Most people can understand the Father and the Son. These are ideas and images we are familiar with. But the Holy Spirit is another matter. He is clearly the most confusing and mysterious person of the Trinity. There is nothing or no one anywhere in human experience quite like Him. 4

The closest thing we have to the Holy Spirit today is “the Force” from Star Wars (e.g. “May the Force be with you”). The problem many people have with the Holy Spirit is that He is intangible. We cannot touch Him with our hands, see Him with our eyes, hear Him with our ears, or even picture what He looks like. Yet throughout the pages of the Bible, He is said to “fill” people (Ex. 31:3; Acts 2:4); “come on” people (Judges 3:10; Ezek. 11:5); “speak” through people (2 Sam. 23:2); and “move” people (Is. 34:16; Ezek. 3:14). He is referred to as the breath of God, wind, fire, living water, and a dove. Along with all the unusual and bizarre things that have been attributed to Him over the centuries, it’s no wonder some people prefer that He be kept shut up in the pages of the Bible and given only lip service at the appropriate times. The Holy Spirit, however, is essential to our lives as Christians. We know this because Jesus had a lot to say about Him. During His three years of ministry, Jesus spoke often of the Father. He said that if anyone had seen Him, they had also seen the Father (John 14:9). But as His earthly ministry drew to a close, Jesus began to speak more and more about the Spirit. In the same way that Jesus revealed God the Father, He also revealed God the Holy Spirit. As one theologian said, “Christ has put a human face on the Spirit as well.”1 On the last night He was with His disciples, Jesus began to prepare them for what lay ahead. He would be leaving and the Spirit would be coming. Naturally the disciples were upset by this news, but Jesus had words of comfort for them. He began by telling them about the Spirit, someone they would soon be meeting in person! Pray that you would grow in your familiarity with God’s Spirit through this series. Invite Him to be present and reveal more of Himself during this meeting. STUDY THE PASSAGES: John 14:15—21 and John 16:5—15. 1.

Let’s read John 14:15—21 first. Throughout this passage, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “He” or “Him” and not as an “it.” What does this tell us about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is not an energy force or an impersonal power. He is not simply the “power of God.” He is a person just like Jesus is a person and God the Father is a person.

2. What are some characteristics that are true of people that are not true of things?

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Gordon D. Fee, Paul, the Spirit and the People of God (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), p.25.

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People are alive (!). We have a free will, a moral conscience, feelings, the ability to communicate with and a desire to relate to others. Because the Holy Spirit is a person and because He is God, He cannot be manipulated or controlled by us. He is not like a machine that can be expected to do the same thing each time we push a button (e.g., if we pray this, the Spirit will do that). He is free to act and respond in the same way a person is free to act and respond. He has feelings just like a person. Throughout the Bible, we read of instances where the Holy Spirit was grieved (Is. 63:10; Eph. 4:30). He can communicate with us, remind of us what God thinks, or give us guidance. We can respond positively and be led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14), or we can respond negatively and, for example, lie to Him (Acts 5:3). 3. According to Jesus, what should we do if we love Him (v. 15 and v. 21)? What will God do if we love Him (v. 16 and v. 21)? If we love God, then we will obey Him, because real love is more than just words. True love reveals itself in actions that benefit another person as Jesus revealed in dying for us to free us from eternal death (Rom. 5:8). In this way, real love is similar to genuine faith (James 2:14—26). In John 14, Jesus is not suggesting that God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is contingent upon our obedience and our ability to love Him. What He is saying is that love ought to be the motivation behind our obedience. We must always keep in mind that it’s not that we loved God, and then He responded with a reward of our salvation or the outpouring of His Spirit, but that He first loved us (1 John 4:10). *Why do you think loving God is one important “prerequisite” for receiving the Holy Spirit? Jesus is not suggesting that obedience and loving God are the “price” for receiving the Spirit. This would be inconsistent with other passages, which say we receive the Holy Spirit as a gift by faith (Gal. 3:2). Rather, Jesus is laying out the context of relationship with God for the giving of the Spirit. If a person doesn’t first love and value Christ, how can they love and value His Spirit? 4. In verse 16, Jesus told the disciples He would send them “another Counselor.” The Word for “Counselor” in the Greek is paraclete and means “someone who comes along side to help.” The word another implies “another of the same kind.” Explain in your own words the significance of this title. Jesus wanted the disciples to understand that the Spirit is not someone new and different. They have had one counselor already (Jesus). Now they will have another (the Spirit). He wanted to draw a connection between the Spirit and Himself, in the same way He did between the Father and Himself. This is especially significant since the disciples are grieving over His announced departure. God’s presence, however, will remain with them in the person of the Holy Spirit.

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5. In verse 16, Jesus informed them that the Holy Spirit would “be with them forever.” This is quite different from anyone’s previous experience of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would “come on” someone to do a particular task, such as prophesying or performing a miracle (1 Sam. 10:10; 11:6; 19:23; 2 Chron. 15:1). But the Spirit would never remain permanently, so Jesus is saying something completely new. Why is this significant now? Jesus was not able to remain with them forever, which caused the disciples grief. They would no longer enjoy His close, intimate fellowship. But Jesus was offering them comfort. The Holy Spirit would replace Jesus’ bodily presence with them and would never leave them. In this sense the Spirit’s coming is better than Jesus’ presence since He was limited by human flesh and could only be in one place at one time. The Spirit, on the other hand, will be able to be with all believers simultaneously. *How does it make you feel knowing the Holy Spirit will never leave you? 7.

What did Jesus call the Holy Spirit in verse 17? What do you think this means? (See v. 26 for ideas.) Jesus called Him “the Spirit of Truth.” Truth is associated with all members of the Trinity in the Bible. Jesus had just referred to Himself as “the Truth” (v. 6). He had said to the Samaritan woman that truth is required when worshipping the Father (John 4:23 —24). Soon, Jesus would state that God’s Word is “truth” (John 17:17). Now the Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of Truth.” In contrast, Satan, God’s enemy, is completely devoid of truth. Lying, according to Jesus, is the devil’s “native language” (John 8:44). The Spirit’s being and His actions are characterized by truth. He will lead us into all things true— things about God, salvation, ourselves, life, etc. (v. 26). Occasionally, people claim the Holy Spirit has told them something that may not seem true to everyone listening. For example, a person might share an insight or a prophecy in a small group meeting, claiming that the Holy Spirit has revealed this to him or her. It is important to distinguish between what the Holy Spirit says and does and what people believe the Holy Spirit says and does. This calls for people to discern truth from lies. According to the Bible, people are not entirely dependable (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:4), so we may not always hear or perceive the Holy Spirit’s message accurately. Therefore, we use the objective standard of God’s written Word to measure and evaluate what people claim is the Holy Spirit’s leading. If something doesn’t agree with Scripture, we ought to discard it as not being from the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19— 22).

*How has the Holy Spirit brought God’s truth into your life?

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Jesus said that the world could not accept the Spirit (v. 17). Why do you think that is? The world cannot receive the Spirit because it does not even perceive Him (“neither sees Him”). The world is completely unaware of and unfamiliar with God, Jesus, and the activity of the Holy Spirit (“…nor knows Him”). The world cannot receive Him because it does not love and obey Jesus—a prerequisite for receiving the Spirit. Finally, the world is under the influence of the “prince of this world”—the devil, who blinds people’s minds and keeps them enslaved to him (John 14:30; Eph. 2:1—3; 2 Cor. 4:4).

9. If the disciples had never met the Holy Spirit, how could Jesus say that they “know Him, for He lives with…” them (v. 17)? Unlike the world, the disciples have a personal relationship with Jesus and they know Him. If they know Him, then they also know the Spirit. If you are running behind, you could read and summarize the next passage. Then move on to the Application section and discuss one question from it. 10. Let’s read one other passage on the work of the Holy Spirit. Would someone please read aloud John 16:5—11 and someone else verses 12—15? As the disciples were trying to deal with their grief over Jesus’ departure, He told them that it was good for them that He would be leaving (vv. 5—7). Why would He say that? “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you.” The Greek translation literally means, “It is expedient that I go away.” Jesus was saying that it would be to their benefit. But to the disciples, Jesus’ departure seemed disastrous. How could it possibly be to their advantage? He had already told them how: He would prepare a place for them (14:2); they’d be able to do greater works now (14:12); they’d gain more knowledge (14:20); they’d actually be drawn closer to God (14:28). Also, the presence of God [through His Spirit] could be with every believer at all times unlike Jesus who was limited by His flesh. The Spirit would not be limited to one body, and He would never leave. Jesus’ “going away” also alludes to His death on the cross; His resurrection triumph over sin, death, and Satan; and His glorification in heaven. All that He accomplished through the cross made the coming of the Spirit possible. So if Christ had never left—if He never goes to the cross—the Spirit would not come.

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11. What did Jesus say the Spirit would be doing once He came into the world (vv. 8—11)? In your own words, explain what each of these activities means. According to Jesus, the Spirit will do the unseen work of bringing conviction to a guilty world. The Greek word translated “convict,” elencho, seems to mean here 1) to prove guilty and 2) to awaken a consciousness of that guilt. According to Paul, the gospel itself proves that the entire world is guilty (Romans 1—3), but the Holy Spirit makes that guilt real and personal (e.g. Acts 2:37). With believers, the Spirit is like a defense attorney or “advocate,” but with the world, He is like the prosecutor! There are three things the Holy Spirit convicts people about: •

“In regard to sin, because men [people] do not believe in me.” The Holy Spirit could convict everyone, believers and unbelievers alike of sin, because all are sinners. The unique sin of the world, however, is that they do not believe in Christ but reject Him (John 3:18; 15:22).

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“In regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father.” The world had [and still has] the wrong standards for righteousness. Some in fact believed that they were righteous in killing Jesus because they thought that He was a sinner who deserved to die (Is. 53:4; Matt. 27:39—44). By going to the Father and leaving behind an empty tomb, Jesus has proven His own righteousness and the Father’s approval. Only the Spirit can convince the world—corporately and individually—of this truth.

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“In regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” The cross brought about Satan’s defeat (Col. 2:13—15), which was a form of judgment against him. The devil’s final demise is yet to come, however, and he is still at work in those who do not believe (Eph. 2:1—2). As certain as Satan’s judgment was and ultimately will be, so is the judgment that awaits all those in the world who refuse to believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit alone is able to convince the unbeliever of the reality and certainty of this future judgment.

12. According to Jesus, where does the Spirit get His messages (vv. 12—15)? How would you describe His role in the Trinity—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? In John 14:16—17, Jesus said that He would “…ask the Father and He [emphasis added] will give you another Counselor…the Spirit of truth.” In John 14:26, Jesus said that “…the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name…” would teach them. But in John 15:26, Jesus stated, “…I [emphasis added] will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father….” We can only conclude that both the Father and the Son are involved in sending out the Holy Spirit.2

Leon Morris, “John,” The NIV Study Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985), p. 1626.

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Throughout the gospel of John, Jesus emphasized that He did and said only what the Father wanted Him to (5:19; 7:16; 12:49). Likewise, the Spirit will never act independently of the Father or initiate a message or ministry of His own. He, like Jesus, will submit to the Father in word and deed. The Spirit also will take the very things Jesus did and said while on earth and “make them known” to Jesus’ followers. The Spirit enables us to comprehend truth about God and therefore to truly know God. APPLICATION *Share one thing you learned about the Holy Spirit today. *From what we learned today, let’s list all the benefits of having the Holy Spirit live in and with us. *What have we learned about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit from these passages? How can this help deepen our relationship with God? Once the Holy Spirit came, the true nature of God became clearer to believers. Jesus was the incarnation of God—He was God in the flesh. Paul wrote that Jesus was the visible “…image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15)—that in Him “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell” (Col. 1:19). The teachings, character, and works of God that Jesus displayed not only made the Father more evident to us, but also introduced God’s Spirit to us. The Holy Spirit is God the Spirit (Rom. 8:9—11; 2 Cor. 3:17), not some impersonal power. The Holy Spirit made the true nature of our relationship with God more tangible. God actually indwells us, corporately and individually, by His Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16—17; 1 Cor. 6:19). All believers are “in Christ” or joined to Jesus Christ by faith in His death and resurrection on our behalf (Rom. 6:5; Eph. 1:11—14; Col. 2:6—7). Because He lives in us through His Spirit (Rom. 8:9), and we in Him (Col. 3:3), we enjoy all the benefits of salvation: forgiveness, justification, cleansing, regeneration, freedom from the power of sin, adoption, access to God, His promises and power, etc. (Rom. 5:1—11; Eph. 1:3—8; 2 Pet. 1:3—4). The Spirit will bring all these truths about God to light for us and enable us to understand them. As we connect our understanding of Jesus with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and grasp more fully all we have received through our relationship with Him, we may learn to trust God more completely, believe obeying Him will be to our advantage [rather than disadvantage], and feel more “at home” with each Person of the Trinity. Thus we may grow in our ability to believe, obey, and fellowship with God to His delight and our benefit.

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WRAPPING IT UP In these passages, we saw Jesus preparing His disciples for His imminent departure. There were some rough times ahead for them, but they had a lot to be encouraged about from what He had told them. They could expect to receive “another Counselor”, someone who was just like Jesus. He would come along side each of them to help them, and He would never leave. This other Counselor would actually be their link with Jesus and the Father. This other Counselor knew all about the things Jesus had taught and done with them the past three years. And He would remind them of anything they may have forgotten. As Christians, each of us was given the Holy Spirit when we were born again. He is our link with Jesus and the Father. He will be with us always—in every situation we find ourselves in. And He does not have to remain a mystery to us. We know that as we read the New Testament and learn about Jesus, we are also getting to know the Holy Spirit, because He is “another Counselor,” one just like Jesus.

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LIVING AN EMPOWERED LIFE 2 THE KINGDOM OF GOD: CENTRAL IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS Luke 4:38—44, Luke 8:1—2; 9:1—2, 11; 10:1, 9; and Acts 1:8 By Marlene Nathan

“For the first twelve years of my Christian life, I gave little thought to the kingdom of God. My pastors and Bible teachers had taught that the kingdom would come at the second coming of Christ and, therefore, had little significance in our lives today…I find my neglect of the kingdom remarkable because it is so clearly at the center of Jesus’ teaching…I [now realize] that at the very heart of the gospel lies the kingdom of God, and that power for effective evangelism and discipleship relates directly to our understanding and experiencing the kingdom today.” John Wimber “The gospel according to Mark begins the story of Jesus’ ministry with these significant words” ‘Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel” (1:14—15). Mark thus makes it plain that the burden of Jesus’ preaching was to announce the Kingdom of God; that was the central thing with which he was concerned. A reading of the teachings of Jesus as they are found in the Gospels only serves to bear this statement out. Everywhere the Kingdom of God is on his lips, and it is always a matter of desperate importance.” John Bright

Copyright 2004 Revised version Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To establish that the Kingdom of God was central to the ministry and teaching of Jesus and therefore is essential to understanding discipleship.

KEY VERSE “But He said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.’” Luke 4:43 PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. Before you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach you something relevant. Then read through the passage and the Bible study below. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. This particular study has two additional sections with verses you may want to quickly read over and summarize so that you can get to application and ministry time. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. OPENERS When you hear the words “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of Heaven,” what comes to your mind? Allow for a few responses, and then read aloud John Wimber’s quote on the cover page. Can you identify with the statement John Wimber made in his booklet, Kingdom Come? 13

Perhaps you also have given little, if any thought to the kingdom of God. Maybe you have been taught that the kingdom is something that won’t be experienced until heaven or until some point in the future, so you have not concerned yourself with it in daily life. Certainly anyone who watches the evening news or surfs the web doesn’t see much reporting on the kingdom of God. Yet the kingdom of God literally dominated the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. He did not see the kingdom as something restricted only to the future with little relevance to everyday life. In the four gospels alone, the phrase “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven” appears 84 times. In contrast, the cross (undeniably central to the ministry of Jesus and the life the Christian) appears only 17 times. And the words gospel and good news (which is the message Jesus and His disciples preached) appears only 23 times. The kingdom was central to the teachings of the apostles in the early church as well. When the apostle Paul traveled to Ephesus, he “…entered the synagogues and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). While under arrest in Rome, “From morning till evening, he [Paul] explained and declared to them [invited Jewish leaders] the kingdom of God...” (Acts 28:23b). And the final verse in Acts reads, “Boldly and without hindrance he [Paul] preached the kingdom of God [for two years] and taught about the Lord Jesus” (Acts 28:31). If the kingdom of God played such a prominent role in the New Testament, then it is vitally important for us to understand the implications this has for our lives. Is there anything I’ve shared that you had never heard before? Allow for replies, but don’t get sidetracked trying to answer questions before getting into the text! Pray that God’s Holy Spirit would open your mind and hearts to see what He wants to reveal in His Word. STUDY THE PASSAGE: Luke 4:38—44 In this passage, Jesus was at the very beginning of His earthly ministry and His popularity was growing. Luke wrote, “Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God…” (Luke 5:26a). Everyone, that is, except those He knew from His hometown of Nazareth, where an angry mob tried to kill Him after He read from the book of Isaiah in the synagogue (4:14—30). But he quickly regained popularity after traveling to Capernaum where He cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue. 1. Let’s read aloud Luke 4:38—44. This began as a very typical Sabbath for Jesus and the disciples. Together they attended synagogue and then went to Peter’s house for a meal. What happened there? What do you observe about how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law?

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Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law by rebuking the fever. Luke did not mention that He laid hands on her, although He may have, since He touched her hand in Matthew and Mark’s accounts (Matt. 8:15; Mark 1:31). But no one wrote He petitioned God the Father for her to be healed. Instead, He spoke right to the fever and expected it to obey His command! Jesus showed the same kind of confident authority to heal with mere words as a policeman does when he (or she) stops traffic with just a raised hand. 2.

The setting of the sun marked the end of the Sabbath, so the Jews were once again free to travel and work. What did they choose to do? Why? If you have ever been to third world nation, then you have a feel for what it may have been like to live in Jesus’ day. Doctors and medical treatment were not readily available, so sickness and disease were commonplace. It was no surprise that when word got out about a man in town who could heal, everyone showed up with friends, and all of them had needs!

3. Luke wrote that Jesus laid His hands on each one, and healed them. He also cast out demons, but would not allow the demons to identify Him. For centuries this has puzzled theologians because they thought it would have been more helpful to Jesus if everyone had known His real identity. What are some reasons He might have silenced the demons? Jesus had a strong sense of divine timing and said several times, “It is not my time.” What He meant by this was that it was not yet time for Him to die on the cross. In the New Testament, God had planned appointed times for events to take place (Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:15; Luke 19:44; John 2:4, 7:6; Acts 17:26; 2 Thess. 2:6; Heb. 9; Rev. 1:3). Jesus might have silenced the demons because a premature, public disclosure of who He really was would have interfered with God’s timing. Or, He may have commanded them to be quiet because He did not wish to have any P.R. (public relations) from the enemy camp. He also may have silenced them because He wanted people to seek after Him with spiritual hunger and earnestness rather than find out His identity without exerting personal effort. 4.

What unexpected thing did Jesus do as more people came to Him the next morning? Why? How did He arrive at this decision? Note: Jesus did not mean here that the one and only reason He came to earth was to preach the kingdom. That would be inconsistent with other statements He made concerning His mission. However, one of the primary reasons He came was to preach the good news of the kingdom. Of course He also came to reveal God the Father more clearly, to live an obedient life, and to die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. So Jesus knew His purpose for being sent to earth, and He based His responses to the needs and demands of others on His mission.

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While the Scriptures don’t specify, we can assume people were looking for Him because there were more people to heal and more demons to cast out. But Jesus was comfortable leaving these needs unmet so that He could fulfill His mission. It appears that He made His decision based on His time alone with the Father just that morning. Obeying God was Jesus’ motivation in everything He did. This was certainly more important to Him than pleasing people (John 14:31). *Optional: What can we learn from Jesus that will help us make decisions about God’s will for our lives? When we are trying to determine God’s will, it is important that we don’t get our cues just from circumstances or other people. As with the case in Luke 4, God’s will does not always appear to be the best decision. Many might have said it would have been better for Jesus to stay a few more days in Capernaum, heal more sick people, cast out more demons, and then move on. What difference would a few days have made? After all, the people had needs, they were open to Him, and it would have been a tremendous faith builder for the disciples to see Jesus perform miracles. The only way to be sure about God’s will is to spend time alone with God and hear personally from Him. And the more time we take listening to God, the better we become at hearing what He is saying! Another study in this series will look at listening for God’s voice. 5. While the passage doesn’t really explain this, why do you think Jesus called His message the “good news” of the Kingdom of God? There are several reasons why Jesus’ news was/is good. •

Probably those Jesus was preaching to did not thoroughly grasp what He meant by the kingdom. In fact, their ideas may have been in terms of an historical or political kingdom. But they did understand that the kingdom of God meant that God is King. And this was good news for those who felt God was distant or unavailable to them. Because God is good, He would be a good king, and anyone living in His kingdom would enjoy His blessings. Contrast this with living under the rule of a tyrannical king, who is diabolical, evil, and cares nothing for his subjects. This was precisely the situation humankind was in when Jesus came to earth. Satan was the ruler, the earth was his kingdom—not God’s, and all men and women were his subjects (Eph 2:1—3; Col. 1:13). Jesus’ announcement that a change was about to take place and a new king would take over was indeed “good news” (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; 1 John 3:8). You may point out that the Bible does not clearly define “the kingdom of God” in a precise way. Put in simple terms, the kingdom of God can be simply understood as the rule and the reign of God. God is King. He is the 16

sovereign ruler because He is the eternal Creator and Owner of all things (Gen. 2:2—3; Is. 40:28; Psm. 24:1—2; John 1:2—4; Rev. 4:11). Everything and everyone submitted to Him are part of His kingdom. He rules now even while we do not see everything submitted to Him, and He will reign in the future when His kingship will be evident and acknowledged everywhere (Eph. 1:9—10; Heb. 10:12—14; Php. 2:9—11; Rev. 11:15—18). John Wimber wrote that we live between the first and second comings of Christ. At His first coming, Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17; 12:28), but it is not yet present in its fullest expression3 (Matt. 25:31—33, 46). •

If Jesus had simply instructed us how to live better lives, that would not have been “good news.” People are not capable of “just following instructions” because all of us are sinners. The world has been under the reign of a diabolical dictator. This dictator takes full advantage of the sinful nature we were born with, and continually tempts us to rebel against God. Before we were saved, we were slaves to this dictator and to sin. But, Jesus’ message is that He has overthrown this dictator and established God’s rule and reign. If we are Christians, then we are no longer slaves; we have been set free! We have changed our citizenship from one kingdom to another; we have changed our allegiance from one ruler to another (Col. 1:13—14). This implies both freedom and a radical, comprehensive transformation for each of us.

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There is further good news! Jesus doesn’t leave all the changes up to us. He has sent His Holy Spirit, the One He called “another Counselor” to be with us and to live in us. We now have the life of the Perfect Son of God dwelling in us, bringing love, joy, faith, patience, self-control, etc., and strength to cooperate with God’s work of transforming us from rebels to children eager to obey Him (Php. 1:6; 2:12—13). Discipleship is applying this message of the kingdom to our lives and pursuing a life-long commitment to stop doing things our way (and Satan’s way). Instead, we commit ourselves to do things God’s way so that He might be glorified in everything. We will have some setbacks and failures, and will need the Spirit’s help to persevere to the end, but we will find no greater purpose or satisfaction than giving ourselves whole-heartedly to King Jesus.

3

John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Evangelism, (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), pp. 4—11.

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If you are running behind, you could read and summarize the next two sections. Then move on to the Application section and discuss one question from it. STUDY THE PASSAGES: Luke 8:1—2; 9:1—2, 11; 10:1, 9. 6.

Could I have three volunteers to read these verses: Luke 8:1—2, 9:1—2, 11 and 10:1, 9? What activity accompanied the preaching of the kingdom? Why do you think this happened? John Wimber called Jesus the “word worker” because he proclaimed the kingdom of God and then demonstrated it through healing and deliverance. In response to John the Baptist’s question in Matthew 11, Jesus says, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor…” (Matt 11:4—5). These miracles were more than just a validation of Jesus’ message. Healing and deliverance from demonic powers are tangible signs of the presence of the kingdom, just as much as salvation and the forgiveness of sins are the gifts God bestows upon us when we enter the kingdom. These signs are what we can expect when God’s rule and reign is established here and now. People get physically and spiritually better. Although the Church down through history has not always taught this, healing and deliverance should be normative in the kingdom of God. However, we get confused when we don’t see and experience perfect healing and deliverance every time we pray.

*Jesus “passed the baton” to His disciples: first to the twelve in Luke 9 and then to the seventy-two in Luke 10. Now they were to do the things that Jesus did. How are you imitating what Jesus did? Are you preaching and demonstrating the kingdom of God? Why or why not?

STUDY THE PASSAGE: Acts 1:1—3 8. Let’s read three more verses in Acts 1:1—3. Often the final words a person speaks before leaving are the most important. What did Jesus talk to His disciples about for the forty days before His return to heaven? He spoke to them about the kingdom of God (v. 3). *Why does or why doesn’t this surprise you?

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APPLICATION *People have attributed many different messages to Jesus: • Some say He came preaching brotherhood and love for all men. • Some say He preached peace and nonviolence. • Some say His emphasis was on self-sacrifice and service to God and humankind. According to the Bible, what was the primary message of Jesus? Why? How is the good news of the kingdom of God different from some of these other “popular” understandings of his message?

*If the good news of the kingdom of God is central to the life and ministry of Jesus, then as His follower, what might you need to change in your life?

*What do you think the kingdom of God could look like in your family, school, neighborhood, or workplace if you were open to God’s rule and reign becoming more tangible in your life?

*This week, how will you pray specifically for God’s kingdom to come?

WRAPPING IT UP The kingdom of God was central to the ministry of Jesus. He came to proclaim that the rule of Satan was over, and His Father’s kingdom was established and advancing. Once we understand that Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom of God, we will be able to grasp more fully everything He taught and did while He was on this earth. We will also see how this relates to being His disciples and making more disciples. Throughout this series, we will be praying that God’s kingdom will come to an even greater degree to our lives and those around us.

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LIVING AN EMPOWERED LIFE 3 HEALING IS THE WILL OF GOD Matthew 8:2—4 By Marlene Nathan “When we want to understand God’s will, we should not try to deduce it from the circumstances of a fallen world. Neither should we form an abstract concept of God’s will from a nonbiblical notion of divine sovereignty. Rather, we should look at Jesus, who is the explicit declaration of God’s will. “We say that our knowledge of God is derived from Scripture generally and revealed in Jesus Christ specifically. We believe that God was in Christ that the will of God was done through Christ. If this is true, why then are so many of our theological assertions about sickness and healing inconsistent with this perspective? As we passively accept sickness as God’s will or embrace it as his blessing, we contradict what we say we believe about the character of God revealed in Christ. Either we fail logically to connect what we say about sickness and healing to what we believe about God, or we do not really believe about God what we claim.” Ken Blue

Copyright 2004 Revised version Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To answer the question, “Is it God’s will to heal the sick?”

KEY VERSE “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Matthew 4:23 PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. Before you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach you something relevant. Then read through the passage and the Bible study below. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. OPENERS What are your honest feelings and beliefs about God’s will to heal the sick? How have you arrived at your convictions: by what you’ve been taught as a Christian, by your experiences, or by what the Bible says? Discuss briefly and move on since we want the Bible to shape our thoughts, feelings and practices regarding healing. One of the most important questions we must answer concerning healing is whether or not it is God’s will to heal the sick. If healing is something God wants us to do and experience, then we ought to pray for the sick whenever we can. But if healing is not God’s will, then praying for the sick is both futile 21

and wrong. It’s futile, because praying won’t change what God decrees, and it’s wrong because Jesus instructs us to pray according to the will of God. The primary way Christians determine the will of God is by the Scriptures. In the Bible, God reveals what He wants done on the earth. But some Christians add to the Bible a radical view of God’s sovereignty. The Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign and in control of His creation. Some, however, take this doctrine to an extreme, adding that everything that happens in this world is also the will of God. They reason that nothing can happen that is outside of or contrary to what God wants, because God is in control. He is sovereign. Therefore, they conclude that whatever happens is the will of God. Someone holding to this position might answer the question, “Is it God’s will to heal?” by looking at all the hospitals filled with sick people. They may conclude that God does not wish to heal the sick, because if He did, there wouldn’t be so much sickness in the world. (It is interesting to note that at one time, Christians applied this same kind of reasoning to evangelism. They believed that if God wanted people saved, He would do it with or without the help of missionaries and evangelists. Most Christians today reject this reasoning and see both the need for and the value in missionary work and evangelism. Unfortunately, many are still applying this kind of thinking to healing.) Taking such a radical position concerning God’s sovereignty and His will sounds reasonable, but it is actually inconsistent with the Bible. For example, the Bible clearly teaches that it is God’s will for all humans to be saved (Matt. 18:14; 2 Pet. 3:9; I Tim. 2:4). At the same time, there are many people in the world who are not saved. It would contradict Scripture, though, for us to conclude that this is God’s will. There are other factors involved besides the will of God that affect whether or not a person is saved. So, just because there are sick people in the world, we should not and cannot assume that this is God’s will. John Wimber reminded us that we live between the first and second comings of Christ. At His first coming, Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17; 12:28), but it is not yet present in its fullest expression4 (Matt. 25:31—33, 46). Wimber wrote, “His sovereignty, lordship and kingdom are what bring healing. Our part is to pray ‘Thy kingdom come” and trust him for whatever healing comes from his gracious hand. And if in this age it does not come, then we still have assurance from the atonement that it will come in the age to come.”5 Some things are a mystery to us (Deut. 9:9), but Christians view God as willing to intervene in human events as we engage Him through faith-filled prayer (Gen. 18:16—33; John 14:12—14).

4 5

John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Evangelism, (New York: Harper & Row, 1986), pp. 4—11. John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Healing, (New York: HarperCollins, 1987), p. 157.

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There are no clear-cut verses in the Bible that declare it is God’s will for all men to be healed and made well. To answer the question, “Is it God’s will to heal the sick?” we have to look instead at the ministry of Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). According to Jesus, He did only what the Father wanted Him to do (John 5:19; 8:29; 10:37—38; 12:44—45; 14:9—11). Therefore, we can determine what God wants regarding healing by what Jesus did. In the gospel accounts, Jesus healed a lot! In fact, He healed every person who came to Him for healing. He even healed some who never asked for healing but were brought to Him for help by others. As we seek to understand the will of God regarding healing, let’s look at one of the many healing stories that are found in the gospels and use Jesus as our model for what God really wants. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead you and your group into truth as you study God’s Word together. INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY This account of the healing of a leper is found in all three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) with slight variations between them. The three gospel writers place this incident sometime during the first few months of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. Matthew specifies that it occurred right after the completion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; however his gospel does not always follow chronological order. This story is like so many other healing stories in the gospels: the person healed remains anonymous while the account is simple and straightforward. STUDY THE PASSAGE: Matthew 8:2—4 [Mark 1:40—45 and Luke 5:12—14 are parallel passages] 1.

Let’s read aloud Matthew 8:2—4. What was wrong with the man in this story and what did he want? What did the man’s question reveal he understood about Jesus? In the Greek, the word translated “leprosy” could mean the specific disease that we call Hansen’s disease, or any number of other infectious diseases of the skin. Skin ailments were probably common then in Israel, since Jesus mentions them in Matthew 10, when He sent out the twelve with authority to heal. The laws related to these diseases are in Leviticus 13 and 14. Not only was there the suffering from the disease itself, but there were social and religious ramifications as well. In Leviticus 13:45—46 we read, “The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as he has the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.” There was tremendous social isolation and shame associated with leprosy. There was also the stigma that leprosy might be a curse sent 23

from God (Num. 12:10—12, Miriam afflicted with leprosy by God as judgment for her sin; Job 18:13). In the Old Testament, healing from leprosy was rare and considered extremely difficult (2 Kings 5:7). Possibly this man and others believed God has deliberately cursed him with leprosy because of some sin he had committed. Surprisingly, the man seemed to believe that Jesus could heal him. It wasn’t that his disease was too difficult to heal or that Jesus lacked the power and ability. The real question for him was whether or not Jesus wanted to. It is clear that he wanted to be healed because he came out of the crowd and went right up to Jesus. Lepers were supposed to keep their distance from people, which the ten lepers in Luke 17:12—13 did. But this fellow came up close enough for Jesus to be able to reach out and touch him. He knew what he wanted; he just didn’t know what Jesus had in mind. He believed in Jesus’ power to heal, but was not sure about Jesus’ desire to heal. Nowhere else in all the gospels did anyone ever ask Jesus if He was willing to heal! *Is this how you would ask Jesus to heal you if you were sick? This man’s dilemma is very similar to ones today when Christians pray for healing. Believers often pray, “Lord, if it’s your will, please heal Joe’s back problem.” Most likely this comes from an attempt to imitate Jesus’ prayer in the Garden in Gethsemane, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). However, it also reveals that we doubt God’s willingness to heal. Many Christians assert that God can do anything, and that nothing is too difficult for Him, including the healing of a particular illness. It’s His intentions that they are unsure of. How does God feel about the sickness? Does He care? Does He want to teach a lesson through the sickness? Will He teach and then alleviate it? What is God’s will? 2.

How did Jesus heal the man? What was significant about what Jesus did? Jesus healed this man differently than He did the ten lepers in Luke 17. In that instance, He simply spoke to them (Luke 17:14). But with this man, Jesus first reached out and touched him. The law forbade such an action since lepers were unclean and anyone touching them would become unclean as well. Jesus disregarded the regulations and touched the man first, to demonstrate His willingness to heal. He also told the man that He was willing, so that by word and deed, the man would be convinced of Jesus’ desire to heal. He then spoke a command that resulted in the man’s healing from the leprosy. A touch from Jesus made the man clean, rather than the leper making Jesus unclean! Nothing Jesus touches can remain defiled. Note that Jesus did not rebuke or correct the man for asking Him if He was willing to heal. Jesus seemed only too happy to prove that He was willing. In contrast, Jesus corrected the father of the demonized boy in Mark 9:14—27 for questioning His ability to heal: “‘But if you can do anything, take pity on us

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and help us.’” After first rebuking the disciples for their unbelief, he then said to the father, “ ‘If you can?’ ‘Everything is possible for him who believes’” (Mark 9:22—23). For Jesus, to question or doubt God’s ability and power was ridiculous! “‘…I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you’” (Matt. 17:20—21). Jesus forcefully confronted unbelief wherever He found it. However, He seemed to deal more gently with doubt in His willingness to heal (Matt. 12:20). 3.

What did Jesus instruct the man to do after he is healed? Why do you think Jesus said this? Jesus told the man to go show himself to the priest so that he may be declared “clean,” in accordance with the law in Leviticus 14. Because this disease had social ramifications, the healing needed to be confirmed in a social situation. For the man to be completely healed, he had to be recognized as “clean” by the priests so that he could re-enter society and resume living as a healed person. Many healers today discourage the use of medicine and medical professionals. Yet we see that Jesus instructed this man to follow the conventional route of his day and go to the priests to be declared healed by them. It wasn’t that Jesus’ word was inadequate. Confirmation from others can help solidify the miracle for the person who was healed. It’s also clear that Jesus’ motivation was not to further publicize Himself, since He told the man to tell no one else about what had happened.

4.

Mark adds the phrase that Jesus was “filled with compassion” (Mark 1:41). How is this information helpful in discovering God’s will about healing the sick? The compassion of Jesus is explicitly mentioned in several healing accounts in the Gospels and perhaps assumed in most (Matt. 30:34; 14:14; Luke 7:13). Compassion and mercy are key to understanding God’s will or desire to heal. We know it is possible for a person to be able but unwilling to help in a situation because of stinginess, indifference, or just plain selfishness. The attitude of the heart is key to the will. The God of the universe is able to do anything He wants. But He has a choice. It is God’s attitude—how he feels towards the sick—that determines His willingness to heal. When we look at Jesus, we find a person who was always willing to heal the sick. This should tell us volumes about God’s will concerning healing.

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APPLICATION *Share one thing you learned from this study that is new to your thinking or beliefs.

*How ready are you to pray for the sick? Why might you hesitate?

*What’s one thing you could do this week to move closer to God’s heart to heal?

WRAPPING IT UP In his book, Power Healing, John Wimber relates the process he went through concerning his understanding of healing. At one point, John was convinced through Scripture and the Holy Spirit that praying for the sick was something God wanted him to do. Yet he had seen little, if any, actual healing. Frustrated and discouraged, he continued to obey what he believed to be God’s will regarding healing. One morning, he received a phone call from a new member of his church. The man on the phone wanted John to come to his home to pray for his sick wife so that he [the husband] could leave to start a new job. If he had to stay home to care for his kids, he would lose his job and the family would suffer financially. After a night of praying for the sick with no success, John was reluctant to go. He was even mad a God for getting him into this predicament and raising the man’s hopes for healing. Yet, he agreed to come and pray for the man’s wife. John relates that at the home, he was taken into the bedroom where the wife was lying in bed. She looked terrible and was extremely sick with a fever. John “mumbled a faithless prayer” and then turned to the husband to explain to him why people sometimes don’t get healed. Behind his back, the woman had gotten up, was making the bed, and inviting John to stay for breakfast. Astonished, John asked, “What happened to you?” “I’m well,” she replied. “You healed me.” On his drive home, John was reflecting on this healing when he saw a vision. “Suddenly in my mind’s eyes there appeared to be a cloud bank superimposed across the sky. But I had never seen a cloudbank like this one, so I pulled my car over to the side of the road to take a closer look. Then I realized it was not a cloudbank, it was a honeycomb with honey dripping out onto people below. The people were in a variety of postures. Some were reverent; they were weeping and 26

holding their hands out to catch the honey and taste it, even inviting others to take some of their honey. Others acted irritated, wiping the honey off themselves, complaining about the mess. I was awestruck. Not knowing what to think, I prayed, “Lord, what is it?” He said, “It’s my mercy, John. For some people it’s a blessing, but for others it’s a hindrance. There’s plenty for everyone. Don’t ever beg for healing again. The problem isn’t on my end, John. It’s down there.” John goes on to describe his reaction to this vision. “That was a moving and profound experience; certainly it revolutionized my life more than any other experience I had since becoming a Christian. I have never looked at healing the same way since that day. What made this experience so powerful was that it confirmed my newfound conviction, rooted in Scripture, that God’s abundant grace included divine healing, if only we could believe him for it.”6 Many of us can identify with John Wimber and the leper who wanted to know if God desired to heal or not. By looking at Jesus’ words and deeds, we can see the Father’s will expressed for yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

6

John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Healing, (New York: HarperCollins, 1987), pp. 51—55.

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LIVING AN EMPOWERED LIFE 4 THE ROLE OF AUTHORITY IN HEALING THE SICK Luke 5:17, 7:1—10 and Matthew 10:1 By Marlene Nathan

“I see an important difference between praying and taking authority. Though we often use terms like “pray for” and “pray over” to label what we do when we minister, in actual ministry I find myself more likely to command the condition to leave than to ask God to relieve it. In Luke 9:1, we read that Jesus gave the disciples “power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.” I believe it is the taking of authority over the condition on behalf of Jesus, rather than the need to ask Jesus to heal, that is our primary function in this kind of ministry. Charles Kraft “In reading the New Testament, I was initially disturbed to see that Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons very differently from the way we do it today. Every healing ministry I am familiar with depends largely on prayer. Jesus healed primarily by command. Unlike His followers today, he did not petition for healing; he pronounced it.” Ken Blue

Copyright©2004 Revised Version Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To examine what the Bible teaches about authority, the role of authority in healing the sick, and how to apply this to our own ministry.

KEY VERSES “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Matthew 10:1 PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. As you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach each of you something relevant. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. OPENERS In previous studies, we learned that healing the sick is the will of God, as revealed through the life and ministry of Jesus. Now that we know healing the sick is something God wants us to do today, what is the next step? Since we are convinced we should heal the sick, how do we begin? One thing we can do is examine the healing ministry of Jesus. After all, if you want to learn how to do something, you go to someone you know who is doing that thing well. But many Christians feel the healing ministry of Jesus was unique to Him, the only begotten Son of God. They reason that we should not expect to heal the sick like

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Jesus did or use His ministry as a model for ours. However, such thinking is unbiblical! First, Jesus commissioned the twelve and later seventy-two other disciples to go from town to town, preaching the kingdom and healing the sick (Luke 9:1—2; Luke 10:1, 9). In other words, He commissioned His followers to do His ministry. In Acts 1:1, Luke implied that the apostles were continuing to do what Jesus began in His earthly ministry. Second, in John 14, Jesus tells His disciples that if they believe in Him, they will do what He had been doing! In fact, Jesus tells them that they “will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). What had Jesus been doing? He ministered by preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God and healing the sick (Matt. 4:23; 8:16—17; 9:35; 11:4—5; 14:14; Mark 1:32— 34; Luke 4:40—41; 6:17—19; 9:11; John 6:2). We must remember that the biblical notion of a disciple was not someone who followed just the teachings of Jesus or only intellectually assented to His message. A disciple, according to the New Testament, was someone who followed Jesus in every way, doing the same things He did. Therefore a disciple imitated His teacher. In order for us to imitate our Lord, let’s examine the ministry of Jesus more closely and discover what some essential ingredients are for healing the sick. Pray that the Holy Spirit would lead you and your group into truth as you study God’s word together. STUDY THE PASSAGE: Luke 7:1—10 This healing story is found in both Luke 7:1—10 and Matthew 8:5—13. In both accounts, the context is that Jesus had just finished preaching. In Matthew’s version, He had just completed the Sermon on the Mount, which is quite long. In Luke, however, the teaching is shorter, and only a portion of what is found in Matthew. It’s possible that Matthew combined several teachings into one, while Luke recorded the teachings separately, perhaps the way Jesus actually delivered them. Jesus then moved on to Capernaum, a town nearby. There is another discrepancy between the two accounts—which people approached Jesus with the need. In Matthew, the centurion himself came, but in Luke, he sent others on his behalf. Again, this difference can be explained by Matthew’s desire to simplify the story and not include the intermediaries. Perhaps Luke desired to highlight the humility of a Gentile and the universality of the gospel message, so he reported the other characters. Centurions were Roman military officers who were in charge of 100 men, hence their name. 1. Let’s read Luke 7:1—5 and 6—10 aloud. What was the situation in the opening verses? Who were the people involved? Why didn’t the centurion come personally to petition Jesus?

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A centurion in Capernaum learned that Jesus was in town. This officer had a servant who was dying (Matthew says the servant is paralyzed), so he sent for Jesus to come and heal his servant. The centurion didn’t come personally, but instead sent word through some highly respected Jews in the community. They made a case before Jesus of how this Gentile deserved His help. Despite what they said, the centurion himself must have felt unworthy, perhaps because he was not Jewish or because of his own sin (v. 7). Jewish customs of the day required that Jews not associate much with Gentiles; otherwise they would become “unclean.” *Are there times when you don’t approach Jesus directly? Why? Many times we are flattered by others’ assessment of us, but inwardly we know what we are really like. This awareness of our sin and unworthiness can interfere with approaching the Lord in prayer. It is natural to want to have someone “more worthy” pray for us! The good news for Christians is that we are no longer “condemned” in God’s sight (Rom. 8:1—4) because Jesus’ death has paid our sin penalty and God has declared us “not guilty” (Rom. 3:21— 26). 2.

Jesus agreed to do what the centurion asked Him to do, which was to “come and heal his servant.” But then, when Jesus had almost arrived at his house, the centurion sent friends to stop Him! Why? Again, the centurion sent intermediaries to Jesus, this time some friends. They tried to stop Jesus from actually coming into his house. According to verse 6, the reason was the same as before, his unworthiness. It was specifically forbidden for a Jew to enter a Gentile’s house in Jesus’ day.

3.

The centurion had remarkable insight into Jesus and His ministry. He drew an analogy between himself and Jesus. What important truth had the centurion understood? How could he have reached his conclusion? This centurion understood that it was not necessary for Jesus to actually enter his house in order to heal the servant. He was probably very familiar with Jesus’ ministry in Capernaum because it was near Capernaum that Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow Him (Mark 1:16—20). In Capernaum, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and many sick and demonized people (Luke 4:38—41). Much of Jesus’ early ministry was in the vicinity of the Sea of Galilee and the city of Capernaum on its seashore. Also, according to Matthew, Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum (Matt. 4:13). Reports of what Jesus was doing were most likely circulating among all the people of that sizable city. Based on what he had heard and maybe even witnessed, the centurion concluded that Jesus had special authority. He was able to give a verbal

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command and sicknesses, diseases, and demons would obey Him. This Gentile man would have understood authority quite well because of his military background. Jesus’ ministry was different from some of the popular method of “healing,” such as magic or sorcery. Jesus did not have to recite long incantations or make special potions. He only had to give a word of command, and the sicknesses had to follow His orders. 4.

What was Jesus’ reaction to the centurion? What did Jesus commend him for? Jesus commended the centurion for his faith. In fact, He said that the centurion had great faith, the kind that wasn’t even found among the most religious group of that day. Faith is required in order to appropriate spiritual truth. The centurion had the faith not only to understand authority and healing, but to also to apply what he understood to a real life situation, his sick servant. Perhaps we wouldn’t expect a seasoned military man to be a man of faith. This story illustrates that faith is not something reserved for just the “religious” types. Faith is simply taking God at His word and acting accordingly.

STUDY THE PASSAGE: Matthew 10:1 and Luke 5:17. 5.

Let’s read two more verses about healing, Matthew 10:1 and Luke 5:17. What authority did Jesus delegate to His disciples in Matthew 10:1? How extensive was it? Jesus gave His disciples the same authority He had to heal the sick and to cast out demons. Now sickness and demons had to obey the disciples’ command. Matthew says that the disciples had authority to heal every disease and sickness, not just some!

6. Compare “authority” in Matthew 10:1 with “power” in Luke 5:17. Are they the same thing? How do they each play a role in the way God heals the sick? While there is some overlap between authority and power, there is an important difference, especially as we consider healing. Authority to heal means the right to heal. Jesus had the right to order sickness to leave a person’s body. The sickness had to obey Jesus’ authority. Power to heal implies the ability to heal. In Luke 5:17, Luke wrote, “the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.” It seems there were special times and situations when the power to heal the sick was with Jesus (which would imply that there were other times when it was not with Him). Jesus conveyed this when He said that He was not able to do anything apart from the Father (John 5:19). The key for Jesus seemed to be the will of the Father, “what the Father was doing.”

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In the Greek, this difference is even clearer. The Greek word for “power” in Luke 5:17 is dynamis, from where we get our English word “dynamite.” It means “power, strength, ability or might.” This kind of power is inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or for example, when a person exerts or puts forth effort. The Greek word for “authority” in Matthew 10:1 is exousia. It means “authority, right or jurisdiction.” This kind of authority is the right of influence, the right to rule and govern, or the right to have one’s commands submitted to an obeyed by others. A traffic officer can illustrate the difference between “power” and “authority” in the way we are using them. A policeman or policewoman who is directing traffic does not stop cars by his or her own physical power and might, but by the authority that has been given to him or her by the state. He or she holds up a hand, and the traffic must obey or suffer the consequences. It is absurd to imagine an officer physically stopping each car with just bare hands! In contrast, the general public cannot stop traffic with a raised hand because we do not have the same authority. This does not mean that authority is all we need in healing. According to the New Testament, Jesus had both the authority and the power to heal the sick. APPLICATION *What does all this have to do with us today? How has Jesus’ command to heal the sick been passed on to us? At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus declares that all authority on heaven and in earth have been given to Him (28:18). Jesus then commands His disciples to reproduce themselves by making disciples of all nations. Along with sharing the gospel and baptizing new converts, His followers were to teach succeeding generations to obey everything He had commanded them (28:19—20). That “everything” included Jesus’ delegating the authority and power to heal, cast out demons, etc. So, the way that God heals the sick is by using us. He delegates the authority [right] and the ability [power] to heal to His followers. This may be a very different concept from what we have always believed about healing. Many of us picture God doing all the healing directly from heaven as we petition Him. But according to the New Testament, God has given that responsibility to us. He heals the sick through us, His church. It is worth noting that nowhere does Jesus tell His disciples to merely pray for the sick and hope for the best. He tells them to heal the sick! In Luke 9:1, Jesus gave the disciples both the power and the authority to drive out demons and to cure diseases. When we pray for the sick, there is often a lot of God’s power present, and the person receiving prayer and those praying can feel it. But we must keep in mind that we do not possess or own the

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power to heal. We have been delegated the authority to heal, and when we move in that authority and pray for a sick person, then God sends His power to accomplish the healing. *What have you read or heard today that is new? How could we help each other integrate this into our daily discipleship? *Does your usual approach to praying for the sick match Jesus’ commands? If not, what do you need to change so you are acting more in line with Scripture? This study can’t replace in-depth training on how to pray for the sick, so we strongly recommend that your group attend Vineyard classes or conferences on this topic. However, in a nutshell, this is what we see Jesus doing and how we can begin to follow His model. First it is important to understand that there are no magic words or rules to follow in healing the sick. Even the phrase, “in the Name of Jesus,” is not a formula that guarantees any certain outcome. Those words refer to doing something as Jesus’ representatives or in line with what He would say or do. While we usually see Jesus heal by speaking a command or pronouncing health, we should not turn that into a “consistent methodology.” If there were a set formula, we would be tempted to idolize that “method” instead of trusting in the Lord.7 What we can do is imitate Jesus’ pattern of intimate relationship with the Father, in which He saw and heard what God was doing and then joined in that kingdom work (John 5:19). This probably explains why Jesus didn’t always say or do the same thing in each healing incident.8 However, Jesus and the disciples tended to pray for the sick differently than most of us. We generally petition God to heal another person while Jesus and His apostles often healed by brief commands. In the Vineyard, we try to listen for God’s direction and then pray, as we believe He has led us. Thus we don’t rely solely on petition if God impresses on us to speak a command, pronounce a healing, cast out a demon, or ask the sick person to pray for himself or herself.9

John Cook, “Re how we pray for the sick,” E-mail to the editor, 30 Mar. 2004. John Cook, “Re how we pray for the sick,” E-mail to the editor, 30 Mar. 2004. 9 John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Healing, (New York: HarperCollins, 1987), pp. 207—210. 7 8

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*In our small group meetings, how could we include [or increase our obedience to] Jesus’ command to heal the sick? What could we do outside our regular meeting times?

WRAPPING IT UP The more we study the New Testament, the more we should be convinced that healing the sick is something God wants us, His church, to do today. As we obey the Lord by praying for the sick, we realize that we cannot operate on our own. We need to recognize the chain of command from the Father, to the Lord Jesus, to us. We are privileged to have His authority to heal the sick, but we must remain in relationship with Him and focus on His will being done. He has been given the right to govern all the affairs of heaven and earth. We need to obey Him, by the power of His Spirit within us. We need to live as foot soldiers under the command of our King, and like the centurion, say that we are people under authority who have been given authority…to heal. Thankfully we have His promise to be with us always as we follow in His footsteps.

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LIVING AN EMPOWERED LIFE 5 HEARING GOD’S VOICE Acts 13:1—5 & 16:6—10 By John Ebert “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does….’” John 5:19—20a

“From all I have said about our worried, over-filled lives, it is clear that we are usually surrounded by so much outer noise that it is hard to truly hear God when he is speaking to us. We have often become deaf, unable to know when God calls us and unable to understand in which direction he calls. Thus our lives have become absurd. In the word absurd we find the Latin word surdus, which means “deaf.” …When, however we learn to listen, our lives become obedient lives. The word obedient comes from the Latin word audire, which means “listening.” …Jesus’ life was a life of obedience. He was always listening to the Father, always attentive to his voice, always alert for his directions. Jesus was “all ear.” That is true prayer: being all ear for God. The core of all prayer is indeed listening, obediently standing in the presence of God.” Henri J. M. Nouwen

Copyright©2004 Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To learn how to hear the voice of God.

KEY VERSE “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ ” Acts 13:2 PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. Before you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach you something relevant. Then read through the passage and the Bible study below. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. OPENERS A friend described her experience of learning to hear God’s voice: Have you ever been desperate for God to speak to or guide you? As a very inexperienced campus staff member for a national ministry, I was leading a small group of college students through a month-long training program. Our group had not clicked, and I felt frustrated by the conflict between strong personalities, including my own. One day during lunch, I stayed back at my cabin in order to fast and pray. I didn’t have a habit of doing this, so I felt unsure of the outcome. I wasn’t confident that I would actually “hear God” but fasting and praying seemed like a spiritual thing to do.

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I tried everything I knew to do at that time. I read Scripture, praised, confessed, remained silent, and even talked to God out loud. I recall pacing around the outside of my cabin telling [yes, telling] God I needed Him to do something. The normal lunch period ended and our group gathered at my staff cabin, but I didn’t have any new ideas. However, as we prayed quietly together, I got the strong impression in my mind of a Scripture reference. I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t recognize the passage right then [I did mention I was inexperienced], but when we were finished praying, I told the group that I thought we should turn to Revelation 3:20. A mature student in the group, who had a good command of Scripture and the Christian life, responded that he agreed with me. That was surprising to say the least. When we read the verse aloud, which pictures Jesus knocking at the door of the church in Laodicea, one of the girls in the group broke down and confessed that she was not really a follower of Jesus. She admitted that she liked hanging out with Christians on her campus but was doing so for social reasons. I was shocked, if no one else was, but the group affirmed her and lovingly led her to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. God had not only “spoken” to me in a very simple way—a Scripture reference, but more importantly He had spoken with deep conviction to this student which led to her salvation. I am still humbled when I recall my doubt and my surprise at the mercy of God to reveal Himself that day [end of story]. Hearing from God is something we often talk about in the Vineyard, but how it actually happens is somewhat mysterious. God speaks in many ways and He often speaks differently to different people. There isn’t a formula for hearing from God; each of us needs to learn how to discern when God is revealing something to us. Being with other Christians in a small group can help, because we can discuss what God seems to be saying and test it against Scripture and with what others hear. This study examines two passages in the New Testament, which exemplify how God may direct people and suggest some principles that can help us discern if God is speaking to us. Pray and invite the Holy Spirit to come and teach you through this study. Pray also that He will speak during your worship and ministry time so your group members can grow in their abilities to hear God. STUDY THE PASSAGE: Acts 13:1—5 and Acts 16:6—10 1. Let’s read Acts 13:1—5. Looking at verses 1—2, try to imagine the scene described here. Whom do you see? What were they doing? How did this help them hear God speak? The first churches were in Jerusalem and Judea, places where the population was mostly Jewish. In contrast, Antioch was to the north, outside the Jewish homeland. There, the population was less uniform, a mixture of Jews, Greeks,

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Romans, and others. The list of names given in verse 1 reflects this, indicating that the church at Antioch was a multi-cultural, multi-racial church. Barnabas, formerly a leader in the Jerusalem church was from the Island of Cyprus. Simeon, another Jewish name, was called “Niger” which is Latin for “dark-complexioned” (Marshall, pp. 214—215). Lucius was from Cyrene, the capital of Libya in North Africa. Manaen was a foster brother to Herod Antipas (L. Foster, p. 1669), who had put John the Baptist to death (Earle, p. 1463). Finally, Saul/Paul was a Roman citizen from western Turkey but educated in Jerusalem. Although these differences undoubtedly led to conflict at certain times, here we see the church united in worship and prayer. The text doesn’t indicate if this group of gifted leaders or the entire church was gathered (Marshall, p.215), but the believers were worshiping and fasting. Worship turns our attention towards God. While there is more to fasting than can be covered here, we fast by giving up something, typically food, in order to focus more attention on God. The passage does not specify that they were praying until after the Holy Spirit had spoken, so we don’t know if they were praying and asking God for various things before the Spirit spoke. Although Luke does not say that they were listening for God’s voice, it is likely that since they were fasting they also were quiet at times, waiting for God to speak. While gathered in God’s presence to praise, worship, and draw near to Him, they were able to hear the Holy Spirit speak. The first principle, then, is that we are more likely to hear God speak when we are consciously in His presence. Worship brings us into God’s presence, and worshiping in a group can foster our awareness of God and help us focus on Him. 2. Whom did the Holy Spirit speak to and how did He speak? Note: this is a trick question in a way since there is no clear answer! For those of us new to hearing from the Holy Spirit, it may be frustrating how little the Bible actually tells us about how the Holy Spirit communicates. However, we must constantly remind ourselves that we hear God in terms of our relationship with Him, not by following a formula. So, we should not read every story or event in the Bible looking for the “only way” to listen to God speak. This passage does not specify which person or persons heard the Spirit speak, nor does it tell us whether the words were audible or were received some other way. One reason for this may be that the Holy Spirit speaks in various ways. Often, different people will typically hear from the Spirit differently. Sometimes the Spirit communicates by giving people mental impressions or thoughts; other times the Spirit speaks with an audible voice. Sometimes the Spirit communicates through pictures, dreams, or visions and at other times through pains or feelings in certain parts of a person’s body.

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In this case, we can only speculate about the details of what happened. It is possible that one of the prophets mentioned heard the Holy Spirit and announced it to the others. However, since no specific individual is mentioned, perhaps several people heard or felt some kind of communication from the Holy Spirit. By sharing what each of them had received, they concluded together what the Holy Spirit had spoken. This is an important principle on hearing from God. While one person can hear from God, it is easier for an individual to misinterpret God’s message or be deceived than it is for a group of Biblically trained believers. If more than one person hears the same message from God and if it lines up with Scripture, then the group can more easily confirm that they have heard from God. This certainly provides more confidence that we are hearing from God and not just projecting our own ideas or feelings onto God. 3.

In verses 2---5, what did the Holy Spirit say? How did the church respond? The message from the Holy Spirit directed the church to “set apart” two people, Barnabas and Saul, for work He was calling them to. But Luke does not give more specifics, so it’s no surprise that the first thing the church did in response to this message was to fast and pray more. Most likely, they were asking God to reveal specifics about where and how Barnabas and Saul would minister. Next the church laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul. In the Vineyard, we often lay hands on people when we pray for them following Jesus’ example when He healed or blessed others. This laying on of hands by the church probably carried the additional meaning of consecrating the men for the work to which God had called them. Today, we might see this kind of laying on of hands when someone is ordained as a minister in the church, when people are being sent out to plant a church, or when a mission team departs for some kingdom work. Finally, the church sent Barnabas and Saul off. Verse 4 says that the Holy Spirit sent them on their way. This might indicate the church’s obedience to the Spirit, i.e. the Spirit directed the church to send Barnabas and Saul, the church sent them off, and therefore, one could say that the Spirit sent them off. However, it also might mean that the Holy Spirit did not reveal to Barnabas and Saul where they were going until after they started their journey. The church must have concluded that the work to which the Holy Spirit had called Barnabas and Saul (v. 2) required them to go somewhere else. If they had been called to a work in Antioch, the church would not have sent them off (v. 3). Since their destination is not mentioned until verses 4 and 5, after the Holy Spirit had sent them on their way, this might mean that the Holy Spirit revealed to them where they should go after they started on their journey. Marshall points out that Barnabas was from Cyprus (Acts 4:36) and had family

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ties there (p. 216). Foster points out that many Jews lived on the island and that the gospel had been spread there during early persecution of the Jerusalem church (p. 1666). However, the passage does not directly relate these reasons while it does say the Holy Spirit was directing this whole endeavor, so we probably should conclude that God made the plans clear once the men departed Antioch. This illustrates another principle about hearing from God: God does not always reveal everything at once and usually requires us to trust Him. John Wimber, former leader of the Vineyard movement, used to ask, “How do you spell faith? R-I-S-K!” God often reveals each step of the journey as we obey what He has shown us. In John 7:17, Jesus says “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” Sometimes the only way to find out whether a revelation has come from God is to ask God to stop you if you are going astray, and then step out in obedience to what you think He has said. As you demonstrate that you are willing to obey God, He will re-direct you if you veer off course or give you more direction if you are on the right path. 4.

Let’s look at another example in Paul’s life. Will someone please read Acts 16:6—10 out loud? In verses 6—8, what kind of directions did Paul and his companions receive from the Holy Spirit? The passage in Acts 13 that we just studied described the beginning of Paul’s first missionary journey. (Paul was also known as Saul.) This passage in Acts 16 describes events that occurred during Paul’s second missionary journey. Paul and his companions were in the region of Phrygia and Galatia, in the middle of what is Turkey today. Bithynia was to the north and Troas was to the northwest, on the coast, across the sea from present day Greece. In this passage, we find examples of what the last question mentioned. Paul and his companions were trying to do what they thought God had told them to do—preach the gospel in Asia and then in Bithynia. However, Paul and his companions apparently had asked God to re-direct them if they went the wrong way. Even though they thought they were doing what God wanted, they continued to be attentive to the Holy Spirit for further guidance. As a result, the Holy Spirit was able to stop them from preaching the good news in Asia and prevent them from going to Bithynia. It had to be frustrating for Paul and his mission team to not be able to do what they thought God had directed them to do. If you thought you were sent out to preach the good news of Jesus, how would you feel if the Holy Spirit did not allow you to do it? If you tried to travel somewhere to share the gospel, how would you feel if the Holy Spirit prevented you from going there? Yet Paul and his companions were committed to obeying God above all. They were even

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willing to give up what they thought was their mission in order to be obedient to the ongoing direction of the Holy Spirit. 5. How did Paul and his companions hear from the Holy Spirit in verses 6—8? As in the Acts 13 passage, this passage does not specify how Paul and his companions heard from the Holy Spirit. It only says that the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the Word and would not allow them to enter Bithynia. Again we can only speculate about how they recognized God’s guidance. One possibility is that they received spoken messages or impressions, like the church at Antioch seemed to have received. If different members of the group received similar messages, that would help confirm that they were hearing from God. However, unlike Acts 13, there is no mention here of a specific message. Perhaps that suggests that the Holy Spirit directed them through circumstances. Maybe Paul and his companions were trying to preach the Word in Asia, but they were not able to find Jewish synagogues to teach in (as was their custom), they were denied opportunities to speak, or no one was coming to hear them. There could have been other reasons why they were not able to preach the word there. Similarly, there may have been a variety of reasons why they could not even enter Bithynia. Perhaps the road was too dangerous because of a local war or the activities of a band of robbers. Maybe the border to Bithynia had been closed for political reasons or because of an outbreak of sickness. Or a landslide may have destroyed the road. Another principle of hearing from God is that the Holy Spirit can use circumstances to direct us. We might try to do what we think God has called us to do, but if we are wrong, God might arrange things to prevent us from doing it. Also God might open up opportunities for us in order to guide us in a particular direction, such as an unexpected invitation to meet or travel, removing a bureaucratic barrier, a scholarship to a particular college, etc. that allows us to do something we hadn’t expected to be able to do. However, we must exercise caution and discernment in interpreting whether circumstances are from God or from the devil. Just as often as God directs us through circumstances, the devil can arrange circumstances to try to stop us from obeying God. In some cases, our response to difficult circumstances should be to press on in obedience to God rather than turn back on the assumption that God is re-directing us. Later on in Acts 16, Paul and his companions were beaten and thrown in the prison for preaching the gospel, yet they didn’t stop. The book of Acts records other difficult circumstances that Paul faced on his journeys and Paul summarized several in 2 Corinthians 11:23—33. So adverse circumstances do not necessarily mean that we are disobeying God, nor do good opportunities mean we are on the

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right path. Jesus warned us to “’Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it’” (Matt. 7:17). Consequently, we need to listen to how the Holy Spirit might be directing us through our circumstances, just as Paul and his companions were in this passage. 6.

Now examine verses 9—10. How did Paul and his companions hear from the Holy Spirit this time? Finally, we get a more concrete example of how the Holy Spirit directed Paul and his companions. Paul and his group did not turn around and go back to Antioch when the Holy Spirit prevented them from preaching in Asia or Bithynia. Instead they continued to press on to the west, further from Antioch, and finally arrived on the coast at Troas. Then Paul received a vision in the night of a man from Macedonia, the land across the sea from Troas. This may have been a dream Paul had while sleeping or it may have been a vision he had while awake. Note that Paul did not announce to his companions that God was directing them to go to Macedonia as a result of his vision. Neither does the passage specifically state that the vision was from God. As a result of Paul’s vision, the group concluded that God was directing them to go to Macedonia and preach the gospel there. It appears that Paul related the vision to his companions, and through praying and discussing it together, they decided that it was from God. From this we can draw two principles about hearing from God. First, the Holy Spirit does use dreams and visions to speak to and direct us. However, as in the case with our circumstances, not every dream or vision is from God, so we have to exercise discernment. Second, as we have seen before, it is better to have a group of believers help us discern whether we are hearing from God. One person can more easily deceive himself or herself, but if two or more agree that something does not violate Scripture, then we can be more confident that God is communicating with us.

APPLICATION *How has God spoken to or guided you in the past? *What can we do in our small group to increase our ability to discern God’s voice? *Has anyone had a sense of something God might be directing him or her to do or not do? How did you hear or receive this idea? We can pray as a group to discern whether this is truly from God and how to obey it.

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*Let’s worship God and listen to Him, being open to the possibility that the Holy Spirit may speak to us. If anyone hears or receives something that might be from God, we’ll have a time for the group to gently evaluate the message. Of course, if it is from God, we’ll want to respond in obedience.

WRAPPING IT UP Both the church at Antioch and Paul’s missionary team received directions from the Holy Spirit, in various ways. Each time they obeyed the guidance that God gave them, they received further information. God did not reveal the ultimate goal to Saul/Paul and his companions at the beginning, but directed them step-by-step to Macedonia. This was historically and spiritually significant because Macedonia was part of the continent of Europe. So, this was the first recorded missionary journey to Europe. If Saul/Paul and his companions had not followed the Holy Spirit, but had stayed in Antioch or kept trying to preach the gospel in Asia, how much longer would it have been before the “good news” reached Europe? This is the final principle from this study: God has bigger plans than we can ask or imagine and He often does not reveal all his plans to us. Therefore, our focus needs to always be on our relationship with God (like the church at Antioch in Acts 13:2), worshiping Him and being open to direction from His Holy Spirit. We do not want to get caught up in our own mission or plans, even if God has revealed them to us, and forget or ignore the God who gave them. What God ultimately desires is not that we do His works, but that we continually spend time with Him, and enjoy relationship with Him. Good works, which He has planned for us, will then result out of our love for Him (Eph. 2:10).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Earle, Ralph. “Matthew.” The NIV Study Bible: New International Version. Kenneth Barker. Ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. Foster, Lewis. “Acts.” The NIV Study Bible: New International Version. Kenneth Barker. Ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. Marshall, I. Howard. The Acts of the Apostles: An Introduction and Commentary. The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. R. V. G. Tasker. Ed. Reprint. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988. Pfeiffer, Charles E. and Everett F. Harrison, eds. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1962.

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LIVING AN EMPOWED LIFE 6 SPIRITUAL WARFARE Ephesians 6:10—20 By Elizabeth B. Crawford

“If I take on Jesus as my Lord, I take on the devil as my enemy.” Michael Green “Spiritual warfare is a way of characterizing our common struggle as Christians. Whether we want to think about it or not, the truth is that we all face supernatural opposition as we set out to live the Christian life. We have an opponent who wants nothing more than to bring about our demise. We have an enemy who wants to blunt our every effort to share the good news of liberation with those still held in captivity.” Clinton E. Arnold

“In Ephesians 6:10--18 Paul places moral issues in a cosmic perspective. They are not minor matters of personal preference but vital components of a much larger struggle between the forces of good and evil.” Sydney H.T. Page

Copyright2004 Revised version Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To understand how to experience victory in spiritual warfare relying on God and the weapons He has given us.

KEY VERSES “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10—11 PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. Before you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach you something relevant. Then read the passage and the Bible study below. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. It would also be wise to pray for protection for you, your family, your group members, their families, etc. as you both prepare for and meet together to study this passage. You might want to enlist the prayers of some of the members of your group, too, throughout the time you are studying this topic. OPENERS Recently, my husband arranged for the two of us to pray for a young woman in our church. We were going to attend the same weekend service, so we agreed to meet during the ministry time. While we were praying, God revealed a few words to me to speak to her. When I shared them, she was profoundly impacted since I knew nothing about her besides her first name. After we finished, she admitted it had been very 47

difficult to drag herself to church that evening. She hadn’t felt this way before, and seemed puzzled by it. I immediately thought of Ephesians 6:10—20 and the illustration our pastor has used on numerous occasions. As Christians, we aren’t the only players on the field, so to speak. We have an unseen opponent who would like to distract us from the game, destroy our team unity, or injure and sideline us from action. I felt sure that an unseen opponent had tried to prevent this young woman attending church and experiencing the Lord’s touch. In my own life, I have repeatedly experienced fatigue or reluctance just before attending our small group meetings. Prior to other ministry times, our family has been in heated conflict. After conferences or teaching Scripture, I have faced selfcondemnation or heightened temptation. Sometimes when my husband has been counseling a client intensely, I have had irrational fears race through my mind and heart. Do all these reflect an unstable or ungodly personality? I hope not! I believe they are evidence of an unseen battle all Christians face because the Lord Jesus Christ has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and His enemy is fighting back (Col. 1:13—14; Rev. 12:17). When have you felt that something or someone was opposing or trying to trip you up morally or spiritually? Invite two or three members of your group to share, but remind them to be brief and Christ-centered. Pray that God would encourage each member as you study how He has provided strength and power for engaging in spiritual battles. Pray also against any fear of the enemy and against any confusion or disruptions from the kingdom of darkness.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Paul probably wrote Ephesians following his letter to the Colossians when he was in prison in Rome, around A.D. 60—61. He spent about two years in Ephesus located in what is now modern Turkey. Ephesus was a thriving port city, on two major trade land routes, and home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (Borchert, p. 115). We know that witchcraft was prevalent in the city, since those who accepted Christ also repented of their involvement with evil and burned their sorcery scrolls (Acts 19:17—20). STUDY THE PASSAGE: Ephesians 6:10—20 In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul spends most of the first three chapters reminding believers of the wonderful things God has done for those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He talks to Jewish and non-Jewish Christians about how they both fit into God’s eternal plan. He refers to the big picture of God’s will: to reconcile or reunite all of creation with Himself. In other words, God is returning the fallen, 48

damaged world to a state of harmony between Himself and His people. But this unity must also extend among all believers in Christ, and one day, this peace will be between God, believers, and a new cosmos. Chapters four through six focus on the lifestyle and actions that should characterize the people of God who are putting His will into practice, especially unity in the church, maturity in Christ-likeness, godly speech, sexual purity, and relationships at home and in the workplace. The last major section of this letter begins with the word Finally. Paul is wrapping up the things he wants to say with one more key point. Because of new life in Christ and the outworking of God’s will to reconcile or unite all things in Christ, Christians may expect life to be one glorious moment after another. But our reality proves that life is a struggle, and taking off the old behaviors and putting on the new ones isn’t always easy. Paul reminds the believers in this final section that we face opposition whenever we are announcing and demonstrating the good news of God’s kingdom. Whenever we proclaim or exhibit the benefits of our new relationship with God, we face opposition from unseen powers of evil (Arnold, p. 41). Many people think of Ephesians 6:10—20 as the definitive passage on weird or paranormal spiritual warfare. But as Clinton Arnold points out, “These verses describe the common struggle with evil in the day-to-day lives of Christians” (Arnold, p. 37). Thankfully, Paul does not exhibit fear and anxiety when he instructs the church about facing evil powers. Throughout these verses, he is confident that we can remain steadfast and obedient with God’s help (Page, p. 187). Next time, we will look at the ways God has equipped us to stand our ground against the schemes of the devil so that we won’t fall every time temptations arise or knuckle under when attacked. 1. Let’s read aloud the first half of this passage: Eph. 6:10—15. What hints do we find in the text about the circumstances of these Christians? The passage discusses how to fight spiritual forces of evil, so it’s obvious they are engaged in a spiritual battle. It is full of exhortations—things Paul urges the believers to do. Thus, we can guess that they were not fighting effectively, or were weary from fighting, and perhaps some were not fighting at all. Lincoln suggests the believers were experiencing “a crisis of confidence” (Lincoln, p. 440). Most likely they were not consistently finding strength in the Lord or utilizing the tools He had given them. We can assume that some were weak (“be strong”); were relying on themselves (“put on the full armor of GOD”); were falling into sinful actions (“stand”); were feeling accused or condemned (“breastplate of righteousness”—Christ’s righteousness accounted to us by faith in Him); believing lies (“the belt of truth”); neglecting to witness to Christ (“the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace”); anxious, fearful, or doubtful (“take up the shield of faith”); or forgetting the promises and doctrines in the Word (“take…the sword of the Spirit, the word of God”). They may have been ignoring or complacent about the devil’s schemes (“be alert”). Some may have felt helpless or disconnected from God and one another (“pray”). Don’t expect your group to gather all these possibilities having read over these verses only once. You may find that some of these points will

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come out when you discuss the spiritual significance of the armor. But do encourage a few to share what Paul might have heard was going on in the area. 2.

What image is Paul using throughout this passage? Paul pictures Christians as soldiers in God’s army fighting the devil and the powers of the kingdom of darkness. Since he spent a number of years in prison and traveled from one trial to another in the company of Roman soldiers, Paul was very familiar with the armament of these troops. He probably was chained to or writing in the presence of a soldier as he dictated these ideas (Stott, p. 276). Paul refers to some of a Roman legionnaire’s armor although there is not an exhaustive list of a soldier’s equipment in these verses. It seems more important to Paul to use this as a loose analogy, not an item for item representation (Lincoln, pp. 435—436). However, you may find some people in your group have been taught all about the pieces of armor yet don’t recognize that Paul omits some standard equipment and inserts prayer as a final weapon.

3. Where are we told to find our strength (v. 10)? Paul says that the Lord and His mighty power are our source of strength. Scholars point out that this command is actually “be strengthened in the Lord” signifying that believers must turn to the Lord in faith and not be selfreliant (Hughes, p. 219—220). Without God’s power and armor, we won’t be able to stand in the battle. Self-reliance or forgetting God’s provision will lead to certain defeat. This exhortation sounds like God’s words after Moses’ death to Joshua who had been chosen as the new leader of Israel (Josh. 1:6,7,9). Paul also closed his first letter to the Corinthians with similar words, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong…” (I Cor. 16:13, cited in Lincoln, p. 441). Paul has already mentioned God’s power in Ephesians 1:19— 20 when he refers to the power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him in heaven at God’s right hand. Paul again mentions God’s power to strengthen the believers as he prays in Ch. 3: 16 (Lincoln, p. 442). In this passage, Paul urges the church to receive strength from the Lord Jesus Christ who is called “the power of God and the wisdom of God” in 1 Cor. 1:24. Thus Paul is saying that the living, dynamic presence of Jesus in the life of believers and the gathered church is the source of strength for us in spiritual battles (Betz, p. 204).

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4. What does Paul mean by “God’s power”? There may be people in your group who wonder if God’s power in them is like “the force” in the Star Wars movies. But God is not an impersonal power subject to our thoughts and available for us to control. He is the holy, almighty Creator, Savior and Sustainer who has endured death but also triumphed over it for our sakes. “In the NT [New Testament] it is impossible to separate the power of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, since God the Father empowers Jesus at every point (…John 3:2, 5:19, 30), the Son by nature shares the power of God (Heb. 1:3), and the Holy Spirit is closely identified with the Father and the Son (e.g., Acts 10:38; Rom. 1:4)” (Laarman, p. 927). Jesus living in us by His Spirit is the same Lord who did not succumb to Satan’s lies and fall into sin. He is the same one who relied fully on the Father for life, wisdom, protection, and provision. When we face attacks—outright or subtle—from the devil, we have the same Spirit of Jesus in us and available to us to resist temptations and remain firmly trusting in God. What Paul urges us to do in the heat of battle is to turn our thoughts to the Father, rely on His presence to protect, provide, strengthen, guide and care for us. To bolster our weak faith, we can preach the truth to one another and ourselves. In humility, we can confess our helplessness if we try to fight without Him. In order to alleviate our anxiety, we can request that the Father further His reputation by demonstrating His power and His solutions in our circumstances. And ultimately we can turn our attention and effort to worshipping God rather than continuing to contemplate the sinful choices before us. *Who or what do you usually rely on when you are struggling? Your group members’ answers will vary both in the behaviors they habitually practice when tempted or stressed and to the degree they will be willing to disclose those. You do not have to make your small group into an overcomer’s or AA meeting. You may want to ask them to reflect on this quietly and then simply point out that anything or anyone we rely on (including ourselves rather than God) will fail us. And we often end up trapped or enslaved to what we thought would save, comfort, or numb us to the struggles of life. AA members like to quote Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” (cited by BrainyQuote). Those choices we make when turning to something or someone other than God become areas of repeated sin that the enemy likes us to fall into. You might want to return to this question in the ministry time of your small group meeting where you practice confession of sin and invite the Holy Spirit to minister forgiveness, freedom, and anything else that He knows would assist individuals in overcoming sin.

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5. What else are we commanded to receive from God and put to use (v. 11)? Why do we need God’s full armor (vv. 11, 13)? The word translated “full armor” or “whole armor” designated the offensive and defensive weapons a heavily armed foot soldier would use (Lincoln, p. 442). Actually, Paul doesn’t list every piece of a Roman soldier’s personal armor, but he uses the general idea to convey that God has given us everything we need to battle. It’s up to us to make use of it. Paul describes the benefits of our new relationship with God as “the full armor of God.” Paul has taught earlier that being chosen, redeemed, forgiven, reconciled, and adopted (Eph. 1:3—8) unites us with our Heavenly Father. He is the One who has given us salvation, Jesus’ righteousness, peace, faith, the truth, the message of reconciliation, and supplies His Word and Holy Spirit to assist us when we pray. All the pieces of armor in this passage point to saving faith being our relationship with the God who provides protection. He, not merely theological terms of our faith, keeps us safe as we struggle spiritually. In other words, we ought to seek safety not in the armor but in the Provider of our spiritual armor. 6. Why do we need spiritual armor (vv. 12—13)? Paul states that we have an enemy, the devil, who is scheming against the church (v. 11). All the verbs/exhortations are addressed to a group, not individuals (Ebert, 6/6/03). The struggle we face is “not against flesh and blood," that is, not against other human beings. Often, however, we are deceived into thinking our enemies are individuals or people groups who “threaten” the church, oppose Christian morals in society, or challenge the way we walk out our faith. Jesus didn’t come to oppose non-religious people; He came to welcome them. His opposition was primarily against good religious folks who were shutting the door to the kingdom so the ungodly didn’t get near to God (Nathan, pp. 27—30). And He fought the powers of darkness that held people in bondage. Likewise, Paul tells us that our opponents are the rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (v. 12). Page argues that these terms in the New Testament refer to evil supernatural beings that are allied with the devil and share his means of attacking believers. However, because they are finite, created beings (Col. 1: 16), they are still under God’s control. Jesus has triumphed over them and they will one day be completely destroyed. Many scholars also believe that because the New Testament uses several different lists of words for these powers (e.g. 1 Cor. 15:24; Rom. 8:38—39; Eph. 1:21; Col. 1:16; etc.), we should not speculate about the way they might be organized by ranks, etc. (Page, pp. 241, 260-261). You may have people in your group who are interested in the various Greek words used for the forces of evil, but there is nothing to be gained in studying

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evil in depth. Instead, we need to recognize their assaults, especially temptation and accusation against Christians and affliction and torment of unsaved folks (Page, p. 260), simply so we are not caught off guard. We should realize they are limited by Christ’s rule (Col. 2:10), and stand our ground by God’s grace and provision. Are these forces behind some wicked governments, utilizing evil human agents, and promoting ungodliness in our culture? Undoubtedly, but Paul’s concern is that we look to God, not examine our enemies under a microscope. For further discussion of where and how we engage in battle, see the small group Bible study “Walking In the Light,” on Ephesians 4:17—5:20 from the Spiritual Warfare Series. 7. How many times are we told to stand? What does this repetition tell us about our enemy’s goal? Our enemy wants us to “fall”—to turn from trusting God to rely on self or anything else. Thus when we doubt, lose our focus on God, or act independently of Him, we sin. This accomplishes Satan’s goal to separate us from God causing us to feel fearful, guilty, or ashamed. He wants to distract us from the battle, or paralyze us, so we don’t feel qualified or capable of standing against him and his forces. Piper says, “…all sin comes from failing to live by faith…(see Romans 1:23) which means the number one aim of Satan is the destruction of faith” (p. 322). *What are some of the devil’s schemes to cause Christians to fall down spiritually or morally? In the New Testament, Satan’s schemes against believers seem to be tempting to commit sin—most frequently mentioned—as well as inspiring false teaching, tormenting, persecuting, accusing or condemning (Page, pp. 220— 221). Many people imagine extreme or bizarre experiences when they hear the term “spiritual warfare” such as depicted in sensational movies or novels. Paul, however, wants us to recognize that spiritual battles are fought in the daily choices of what we think, say, and do, insignificant as they may seem. Our behaviors, based on trust in God or mistrust, either support us in our firm stand against the forces of evil or open a door to give the enemy a foothold in our lives (Eph. 4:27). It may not be obvious to the group, but Paul has just spent chapters four, five and the first part of six describing the behavior that should characterize those who are united with Christ. He also mentions practices that belonged to their former, pagan way of life and tells them to get rid of those sinful attitudes and actions. Some of the evil patterns mentioned in Ephesians four through six include a lack of love, humility, and unity in the church; unwillingness to commit and be accountable to a local body of believers; and resistance to maturing in Christ-likeness. Other behaviors to discard are lack of perceiving spiritual truth, hard hearts, calloused consciences, sensual indulgence, impurity, lusting for more sinful 53

behavior, lies/deceit, unrighteous anger, long-standing unreconciled relationships, stealing, impure speech, bitterness, rage, fighting, slander, hatred towards others, sexual immorality, greed, obscenity, ignoring Christ’s work and return, drunkenness, self-centered living, insubordination in the church and home, lack of respect for others, dishonoring parents, overly harsh parenting, dishonest work habits, lack of compassion toward employees, etc. Underlying most of these are the three basic temptations from Genesis 3 which humans gave in to even in a perfect world: lack of trust in God’s words/truth; lack of belief that He would protect/care for us; refusal to give Him first place in everything, and relying on self instead. APPLYING THE TEXT *What’s one thing you didn’t understand about spiritual warfare before we studied this passage?

*How will what you learned impact the way you stand your ground against the kingdom of darkness?

*Why is it important to think of the Body and not just the individual engaging in spiritual warfare? You may want to point out that all the commands to be strong, put on, stand firm, take up, take, pray, and keep alert are written to a plural audience. In other words, the church body, not individuals, is pictured fighting together. Paul knows the trials that the early believers endured, since he was persecuted more than any other follower of Christ recorded in Scripture (2 Cor. 11:23—28). *How do our own beliefs and actions impact the whole Body’s safety and health? Our sins of omission and commission, our lack of faith, and our impure inner attitudes can weaken the body, invite demonic attack, and cause harm to the reputation of Christ. Our prideful actions or passive inaction can be battlegrounds for the enemy to exploit in our lives.

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*What kind of resistance do you experience when you want to share the gospel? Throughout this passage, we have assumed that the devil and his forces want to stop the gospel from spreading. But he is not alone in his efforts to oppose God’s worldwide reconciliation. Even though this passage does not refer to the sinful pull of our flesh and the values of our world/culture, we do find Scripture telling us that these also influence our choices to sin. It’s also important to note that nowhere in the Bible do we find people excused from their sin because of the devil or his evil associates (Page, pp. 187—190). What frequently hinders our bold proclamation of the gospel is our fear of the opinions of other people. We desire their approval and don’t want to look foolish and have them rush to unfair judgments about us. So we keep our mouths shut or say only what we think is safe. When we discover that we are working for the approval of others rather than God, Jesus’ words cut through our misplaced allegiance: I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him…. I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. Luke 12:4—5, 8—9 You may want to explore with your group why they feel opposition in certain situations and possibly discover the lies or fears that underlie lack of regular or fruitful witnessing.

WRAPPING IT UP Paul assumes all believers are engaged in spiritual warfare until Christ returns. But he doesn’t want us to be afraid or discouraged when the battle is fierce. In our next study, we will look more specifically at what the Lord has given to enable us to withstand the enemy’s schemes. As we rely on Him and fight alongside other believers, we will display God’s purpose to overcome evil and reconcile all things on earth under Christ.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnold, Clinton E. Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997. Betz, Otto and C. Blendinger. “Might, Authority, Throne.” The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2: G-Pre. 6th ed. Ed. Colin Brown. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980. Borchert, Gerald L. “Ephesus.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 2: E-J. Ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1982. Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Ed. F. F. Bruce. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1984. Cavazzi, Franco. The Roman Empire. 2003. Danker, Frederick W. “Ephesians, Epistle to the.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 2: E-J. Ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1982. Ebert, John. “RE: pronouns in Eph 6.” E-mail to the author. 9 June 2003. Einstein, Albert. “Insanity.” BrainyQuote. 2003. BrainyMedia. 1 Jul. 2003. Hughes, R. Kent. Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ. Preaching the Word series. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1990. Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993. Kelly, Robert A. “Righteousness.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4:Q-Z. Ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1988. Laarman, Edward. “Power; Might.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 3: K-P. Ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1979. Liefeld, Walter L. “Ephesians.” The NIV Study Bible: New International Version. Ed. Kenneth L. Barker. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 42. Ed. David L. Hubbard. Dallas: Word, 1990.

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Nathan, Rich. Who Is My Enemy? Welcoming People the Church Rejects. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. Oswalt, John N. The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40-66. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1997. Page, Sydney H.T. Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995. Piper, John. The Purifying Power of Living By Faith in Future Grace. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1995. Robertshaw, Andrew. A Soldier’s Life: A Visual History of Soldiers Through the Ages. NY: Lodestar, 1997. Stott, John R. W. God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians. The Bible Speaks Today Series. Ed. John R. W. Stott (NT). Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1980.

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LIVING AN EMPOWED LIFE 7 WEAPONS FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE Ephesians 6:10—20 By Elizabeth B. Crawford

“If I take on Jesus as my Lord, I take on the devil as my enemy.” Michael Green “Spiritual warfare is a way of characterizing our common struggle as Christians. Whether we want to think about it or not, the truth is that we all face supernatural opposition as we set out to live the Christian life. We have an opponent who wants nothing more than to bring about our demise. We have an enemy who wants to blunt our every effort to share the good news of liberation with those still held in captivity.” Clinton E. Arnold

“In Ephesians 6:10--18 Paul places moral issues in a cosmic perspective. They are not minor matters of personal preference but vital components of a much larger struggle between the forces of good and evil.” Sydney H.T. Page

Copyright2004 Revised version Vineyard Church of Columbus All rights reserved.

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AIM OF STUDY •

To understand how to experience victory in spiritual warfare relying on God and the weapons He has given us.

KEY VERSES “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:10—11 PREPARATION Read over the notes on “how to teach the Bible in small group” and “some practical suggestions for leading a small group discussion” in Vineyard Church of Columbus’ Small Group Leadership Training Manual. Before you read over the Scripture, pray that God would give you direction for leading your group and teach you something relevant. Then read the passage and the Bible study below. You will need to go over the questions and choose which ones you want to emphasize and which you could eliminate if your time is limited. Note that the application questions are marked with an asterisk (*). Rather than leaving these to the end of the study, ask one or two as you work through the passage so people are being confronted by Scripture’s truths and applying them to their own lives. If you find you are falling behind schedule and need to move ahead, you could summarize some of the passage and then go to the final questions. These studies contain more background material and information on the passages than any group will cover in a meeting. The authors are providing this for the leaders’ benefit—to help reduce your study and preparation time; to help resource you for possible questions group members may raise; and to clarify some gray areas of doctrine that may be in your mind as you prepare. Obviously we cannot exhaust any one subject in a document like this, so you may want to do further reading and discuss doctrine with your pastor. We highly recommend The New Bible Dictionary or The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as excellent resources for study. It would also be wise to pray for protection for you, your family, your group members, their families, etc. as you both prepare for and meet together to study this passage. You might want to enlist the prayers of some of the members of your group, too, throughout the time you are studying this topic. OPENERS When you hear the words, “spiritual warfare,” what comes to your mind? [or] Did anyone experience a greater amount of temptation, accusation, or persecution in the past week?

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Allow for brief sharing and then move on. For several weeks, we have been studying how God is advancing His kingdom through His Holy Spirit-empowered church. Despite Jesus’ victory over sin and death when He died and rose again, the church [Christ’s body] still faces opposition today. When we experience resistance to the gospel, difficulty ministering in Jesus’ name, or temptation to live like unredeemed people, we are probably encountering unseen spiritual forces that are hostile to God. Jesus faced tremendous spiritual opposition from the devil himself just after He was baptized and affirmed by God the Father (Matt. 3:16—4:11; Mark 1:9—13; Luke 3:21—23a, 4:1—13). Jesus successfully resisted Satan’s accusations and temptations despite extreme loneliness and hunger. Jesus also fought hostile forces in His three-year ministry on earth. He encountered demons, disbelief, and people who tried to discredit Him. He also suffered severe temptations, accusations, persecution, physical torture, and mental anguish from the night of His arrest until His brutal death on the cross. Peter, who denied even knowing His Lord Jesus during that time later wrote, “…Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was in found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:21—24). No one has repeated Jesus’ perfect record of resisting the enemy, but thankfully we have divine help in battle when powers of evil attack us. This study examines the resources Jesus found so beneficial which God has given the church. As we learn to use them, we too can stand faithful and press forward with the gospel’s message and ministry. Pray that God would encourage each member as you study how He has provided strength and power for engaging in spiritual battles. Pray also against any fear of the enemy and against any confusion or disruptions from the kingdom of darkness.

INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY Since we began this passage in the last study, you may want to keep all the background information to a minimum. However, if you have people participating in this study that were not present when you studied the first half, use your own judgment in how much to share with the group. The first few questions help review what you covered last time. Paul probably wrote Ephesians following his letter to the Colossians when he was in prison in Rome, around A.D. 60—61. He spent about two years in Ephesus located in what is now modern Turkey. Ephesus was a thriving port city, on two major trade land routes, and home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the 60

ancient world (Borchert, p. 115). We know that witchcraft was prevalent in the city, since those who accepted Christ also repented of their involvement with evil and burned their sorcery scrolls (Acts 19:17—20). STUDY THE PASSAGE: Ephesians 6:10—20 In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul spends most of the first three chapters reminding believers of the wonderful things God has done for those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He talks to Jewish and non-Jewish Christians about how they both fit into God’s eternal plan. He refers to the big picture of God’s will: to reconcile or reunite all of creation with Himself. In other words, God is returning the fallen, damaged world to a state of harmony between Himself and His people. But this unity must also extend among all believers in Christ, and one day, this peace will be between God, believers, and a new cosmos. Chapters four through six focus on the lifestyle and actions that should characterize the people of God who are putting His will into practice, especially unity in the church, maturity in Christ-likeness, godly speech, sexual purity, and relationships at home and in the workplace. The last major section of this letter begins with the word Finally. Paul is wrapping up the things he wants to say with one more key point. Because of new life in Christ and the outworking of God’s will to reconcile or unite all things in Christ, Christians may expect life to be one glorious moment after another. But our reality proves that life is a struggle, and taking off the old behaviors and putting on the new ones isn’t always easy. Paul reminds the believers in this final section that we face opposition whenever we are announcing and demonstrating the good news of God’s kingdom. Whenever we proclaim or exhibit the benefits of our new relationship with God, we face opposition from unseen powers of evil (Arnold, p. 41). Many people think of Ephesians 6:10—20 as the definitive passage on weird or paranormal spiritual warfare. But as Clinton Arnold points out, “These verses describe the common struggle with evil in the day-to-day lives of Christians” (Arnold, p. 37). Thankfully, Paul does not exhibit fear and anxiety when he instructs the church about facing evil powers. Throughout these verses, he is confident that we can remain steadfast and obedient with God’s help (Page, p. 187). In this passage, we will look at the ways God has equipped us to stand our ground against the schemes of the devil so that we won’t fall every time temptations arise or knuckle under when attacked. 1. Even though we began to study this section of Ephesians last time, let’s read the entire passage aloud: Eph. 6:10—15 and 16—20. Would someone briefly summarize the situation these Christians were in when Paul wrote to them? Refer to study 6 “Spiritual Warfare” in this series, for more information. 2. What image does Paul use throughout this passage, and what does he expect us to do?

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Paul pictures Christians as soldiers in God’s army fighting the devil and the powers of the kingdom of darkness. Our goal is to stand in battle rather than falling prey to Satan’s temptations or giving in when attacked. 3. What has God provided to assist us in spiritual warfare (v. 11)? He has given us His “full armor.” 4. What is God’s full armor (vv. 11—17)? Paul mentions the following defensive weapons: belt of truth; breastplate of righteousness; feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace; shield of faith; and helmet of salvation. To be used both offensively and defensively, there is the sword of the Spirit and prayer. 5. What is the spiritual significance of each piece? Instead of going through how each piece helps the Roman soldier, steer the group towards looking at the role salvation, truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, the Word, and prayer have in believers’ lives. •

Paul begins with “the belt of truth” (v. 14). Rather than an outer belt to hold a soldier’s sword at his side, this is a piece of protective gear. Keener suggests that the belt is leather worn beneath the rest of the armor and tied around the waist—thus it is sometimes translated “girdle.” Or it is a metal belt, but it was worn to protect the lower abdomen (Keener, p. 554). Some modern illustrations show a soldier’s belt with several metal pieces extending downward from the waist (Robertshaw, pp. 4—5). God’s protection comes as we walk in His truth, or “walk in the light.” Lincoln and others also suggest that the belt was used to gather the soldier’s clothing so he could move more quickly (p. 447). In the New American Standard Bible, Isaiah 11:5 describes the Messianic Branch from David’s family as having “righteousness…the belt about His loins…” while Luke 12:35 and 37 refer to girding up one’s loins in order to be dressed to serve. Hughes connects living in and speaking the truth with the freedom of a clear conscience that allows a believer to stand boldly against the enemy (p. 226), whom we know to be called the father of lies (John 8:44). Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life. He exposed lies and hypocrisy by His life and His words. Hughes says, “Paul’s point is that truthful character, along with a knowledge of the truth, holds one together in the fight” (p. 225). So, we are not just relying on what we know in our minds about God’s truth, but we are attempting to put His truthful words into practice in our daily living. If Jesus is “…The Truth…” (John 14:6), then we should be truthful people, too. Hughes states that since we live in a culture that is filled with distortion and deceit, many Christians struggle to be honest, too. “We must fill ourselves with the truth of God’s Word, and then consciously submit to it, so we will be 62

instinctively truthful. He points to Paul’s previous exhortation in Eph. 4:25, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (Hughes, p. 226). Paul also urges the church to speak the truth in love so that the Body of Christ might grow up into maturity, resembling Christ (Eph 4:15). •

The next piece of armor is “the breastplate of righteousness” (v. 14). The Roman soldier’s breastplate was usually made of leather covered with metal and worn on the front of his chest (Keener, p. 554). Although most of us think of righteousness as doing the right thing or being right with God, it is not just adhering to a list of rules or a judicial code. In Scripture, “…righteousness involves fulfillment of the demands of a relationship with God or others” (Kelly, p. 193). It is usually referred to in the context of God’s covenant relationship with His people. “Yahweh is recognized as the source of righteousness because He maintains His covenant with Israel against all odds.” Although Israel repeatedly broke God’s covenant requirements, God would declare the nation or individuals “righteous” if they repented and trusted again in Him (Kelly, p. 193). In other words, He forgave the ways they wronged Him and restored relationship with them. Because Yahweh remained true to His side of the covenant agreement, He often saved His people (Is. 41:2, 10; 42:6; 45:8; Jer. 50:7). Whether they were oppressed or had gone astray, God delivered Israel because “Yahweh is faithful in all relationships and keeps all promises (Kelly, p. 193). Many scholars refer to the passage in Isaiah 59:17 describing God as a warrior, fighting to save His people from their own sin. “He put on righteousness as his breastplate….” What Israel [and the rest of us] could not do, God had to do Himself. He had to wear His promised faithfulness, i.e., righteousness, and deliver us from our waywardness or sin (Oswalt, p. 527). In the New Testament, righteousness also stresses relationship over rule keeping (Kelly, p. 193). We see Jesus living in perfect obedience to the Father, always doing what was right in relationship God and others. But His obedience was not a strict adherence to the law as some of His contemporaries saw it. Jesus wholeheartedly believed His Father loved Him, and thus was willing to carry out whatever His Father planned for Him. For us, the Father now offers a new covenant and in it, a way for everyone [Jew and Gentile alike] to be in relationship with Himself and each other (Eph. 2:11—18). But again, righteousness is not achieved through mere human effort to follow rules. God declares righteous those who trust Jesus to meet the covenant demands of obeying and believing God. Jesus substituted His life for ours as payment for our failure to stay obedient to the Father (Rom. 3: 21—24). “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:22). Paul states in Eph. 2:8—9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” 63

Paul picks up the Isaiah 59 image in Eph. 6:14, telling us to wear the breastplate of God’s righteousness. F. F. Bruce maintains that these first two weapons signify “… truth and righteousness as ethical qualities… rather than truth of doctrine and justification by faith; though the latter are not unrelated….” (p. 408). We need God’s righteousness in relationships because “doing right …is equally vital for the Christian soldier in his or her battle against the powers of evil” (Lincoln, p. 448). It is not enough for us to know what God expects or to acknowledge the right choices. We need to be people who follow Jesus in living rightly, although we must admit that only comes by relying on His effort and Spirit within us. “Character, not brute force, wins the battle…” (Liefeld, note on Eph. 6:14, p. 1799). •

Next, Paul tells believers to have our “feet fitted with the readiness that comes with the gospel of peace” (v. 15). Hughes and others say this refers to the Roman soldier’s half boot, an open-toed boot with nail-studded soles providing traction like cleats. Roman soldiers used these in marching or standing in battle (Hughes, p. 232). Lincoln, however, believes the emphasis is not on the kind of footwear but the feet being ready for battle because of the gospel of peace. He sees that the harmony between believers and God made possible by Christ’s sacrifice (Eph. 2:14—18) is preparation for war, since by accepting this gospel we change sides and become part of God’s kingdom. God’s ultimate plan is to reconcile the whole world to Himself through Jesus (Eph. 1:9—10). All those who have been rescued from darkness now stand with their Lord and Savior as enemy forces, not yet subdued, try to wage war (Lincoln, p. 449). He and others point back to the Isaiah 52:7 verse that states, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say in Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” Keener adds, “sharing the message of Christ advances God’s army against the enemy’s position” (p. 554). This link ties in well with Paul’s own situation of proclaiming the gospel and the subsequent persecution and opposition he faced (Eph. 6:19—20).

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Paul makes it clear that more weapons are needed for our defense. “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (v. 16). The Roman soldier carried a large shield, about 4 ft. high by 2.5 ft. wide, to protect most of his body. It was usually made of wood and covered with leather (Lincoln, p. 449). Sometimes before battle the shields were soaked in water in case the opponent shot ‘flaming arrows’—ones dipped in tow or pitch and lit before firing (Lincoln, p. 450). Paul uses the words the evil one in verse 16 to refer to Satan. While some speculate that the burning arrows represent lusts that inflame us, there is no reason to limit what kind of attack from the enemy the arrows represent (Lincoln, p. 450). Instead of panic or retreat, Lincoln points out “faith takes hold of God’s resources in the midst of the onslaughts of evil and produces the firm resolve which douses anything the enemy throws at the believer…” (p.449). Faith is key to our protection “because faith binds us in vital, deep 64

union with God. Faith is not just belief; it is belief plus trust. It is resting in the person of God and his Word to us” (Hughes, p. 236). We see that this was the key to Jesus’ earthly victory and the victory that overcomes the world, “even our faith” (1 John 5:4—5). •

The last piece of defensive weaponry Paul lists is “the helmet of salvation” (v. 17). In Isaiah 59:17, God puts on the helmet of salvation as He prepares to judge those who have rejected Him and save those who have repented. God not only brings deliverance but also is called “my salvation” in the Old Testament (Ex. 15:2; 2 Sam. 22:3; Ps. 27:1; Ps. 62:2, 6; Is. 12:2). Since receiving relationship with Him is what salvation or eternal life is all about (John 17:3), putting on the helmet of salvation is another way to express that we are safe in battles as long as we remain “in Christ.” Since we are joined to Christ in His death, resurrection, and exaltation (Rom. 6:3—10; Eph. 2:1—6; 2 Tim. 2:11—12a), we share His victory over evil forces (Eph. 1:19—22; Col. 2:15). The reason we face spiritual warfare is that the powers of evil still oppose His people though only to the extent God permits (Col. 2:10). The devil and his retinue may fight fiercely now, but he knows that Jesus will destroy them soon (Rev. 12:12). Lincoln sees “…what ultimately protects believers is that God has already rescued them from bondage to the prince of the realm of the air and seated them with Christ in the heavenly realms (cf. 2:1—10). By appropriating this salvation as their helmet, believers have every reason to be confident of the outcome of battle” (pp. 540—541).

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Many commentators point out that the final two weapons God supplies can be used both defensively and offensively: “the sword of the Spirit” (v. 17) and “prayer” which is also to be done “in the Spirit” (v. 18). We don’t have to guess what the sword of the Spirit refers to since Paul tells us, “which is the word of God.” You can read the leaders’ notes in the small group Bible study “Resisting Temptation” in the Spiritual Warfare Series to recall Jesus’ total dependence on God’s Word when facing the devil. A number of scholars point out that Paul refers to the short sword a Roman soldier used in hand-to-hand combat. Keener suggests that Paul is thinking of engaging people personally, up close, with the Word of God as they spread the gospel (p. 554). Given the flow of the entire letter and since in verses nineteen and twenty Paul asks for prayer that he might fearlessly proclaim the gospel, try to help group members see that the context of this passage is about proclaiming and living out the salvation Christ has won for us. The thrust of this letter is the outworking of God’s plan to reconcile people to himself and one another, and to build a worshipping community in a city with pagan and occult worship. There is a danger of missing this if we read verses ten to twenty with a twenty-first century, highly psychologized mindset and assume Paul is primarily talking about inward battles of our emotions, traumas from the past, and stressors that push us into sinful or addictive behavior. Since Satan does want us to remain in bondage to our flesh, the world, or powers of evil, we will fight battles in our minds and emotions and in relationships with others. But our

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focus needs to be on advancing the gospel and supporting one another as we struggle. The Word of God is a very effective tool to preach to ourselves whenever we are tempted to fail to trust God’s goodness and faithfulness or abandon our calling. “The Word of God cuts through the fog of Satan’s lies and shows me where true and lasting happiness is to be found. And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make me happy. Instead the Word entices me to trust in God’s promises” (Piper, p. 335). Whether we recall to mind verses about our gift of salvation from sin, judgment and death; receiving Christ’s righteousness; the peace we have with God and others; the promises of God to protect, provide and preserve us; the power of God at work in us; or the privilege of playing a role in God’s kingdom, the Word of God can help us continue to trust God and remain steadfast in our relationship to Him. 9. How does prayer help Christians engaged in spiritual battle (v. 18)? Jesus is our supreme example of wrestling with temptation and spiritual forces through prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, prior to His arrest, Jesus agonized over His destiny, yet yielded His will to the Father, praying, “Yet not as I will but as you will” (Matt. 26:39b). Keener thinks of believers praying for one another in temptation and such, like a strategy Roman soldiers used to provide protection for each other. Alone, each Roman soldier would be very vulnerable to attack. However, when marching or standing in rows, the first row would hold their shields straight ahead, the second hold them overhead, and each end soldier hold his shield to the side. Thus, they would cover one another and be very hard to stop (Keener, p. 554). This is known as the testudo formation (Latin for “tortoise”) since the overlapping shields would be like the pieces of a turtle shell (Merriam-Webster on-line). As Christians pray for one another, they can help protect each other from attack or from falling into sin. For example, the gospel might march forward as we pray for: protection from the enemy for both the one sharing the good news and the one receiving it; soft, receptive hearts for the hearers; boldness and wisdom for the evangelists; godly sorrow and conviction through the Holy Spirit; and the gift of saving faith. *When have someone else’s prayers made a difference in your struggles? Note, this isn’t asking when did your prayers make a difference but focuses on someone else in the body of Christ, so that folks aren’t boasting about their efforts. Instead, we want them to express gratitude to God and acknowledge their need for the support of other believers.

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10. What clues can we find to Paul’s own situation (vv. 19—20)? Paul is “an ambassador in chains” writing from prison. The word chains obviously points to his restraints. But the same word could be used of the heavy gold jewelry that an ambassador might wear to signify his authority to represent his government to other nations, so he may be making a pun (Markus Barth, cited in Stott, p. 287). He asks the believers to pray for him so he will receive the words he needs as he proclaims the gospel. Paul expects the Holy Spirit to supply him with what he needs, thus fulfilling Jesus’ promise in Mt. 10:19—20. Twice Paul mentions fearless preaching of the gospel, which shows that his main concern was for the gospel to go forth freely whether he remained in chains or not (Stott, p. 287). Note: this question was also in the last study. You may not want to use it twice! *What kind of resistance do you experience when you want to share the gospel? Throughout this passage, we have assumed that the devil and his forces want to stop the gospel from spreading. But he is not alone in his efforts to oppose God’s worldwide reconciliation. Even though this passage does not refer to the sinful pull of our flesh and the values of our world/culture, we do find Scripture telling us that these also influence our choices to sin. It’s also important to note that nowhere in the Bible do we find people excused from their sin because of the devil or his evil associates (Page, pp. 187—190). What frequently hinders our bold proclamation of the gospel is our fear of the opinions of other people. We desire their approval and don’t want to look foolish and have them rush to unfair judgments about us. So we keep our mouths shut or say only what we think is safe. When we discover that we are working for the approval of others rather than God, Jesus’ words cut through our misplaced allegiance: I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him…. I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. Luke 12:4—5, 8—9 You may want to explore with your group why they feel opposition in certain situations and possibly discover the lies or fears that underlie lack of regular or fruitful witnessing.

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APPLYING THE TEXT *What’s one thing you learned about victory in spiritual warfare from this passage?

*How do the weapons reflect God’s character? What can help these qualities grow in our lives?

*Which weapon(s) do you need to utilize more?

WRAPPING IT UP Paul assumes all believers are engaged in spiritual warfare until Christ returns. But he doesn’t want us to be afraid or discouraged when the battle is fierce. He points to the Lord’s resources to enable us to withstand the enemy’s schemes: strength; power; our relationship with Christ who is our truth and righteousness, the One we trust in and speak about as our salvation; God’s Word; prayer; and God’s own Spirit in us. Paul expects us to fight alongside other believers as we share the gospel and live out the implications of that good news. And he envisions the church displaying God’s purpose to overcome evil and reconcile all things on earth under Christ. Rather than shrinking back from difficult situations, let’s take up the protection God has given and walk forward together as we pass on Jesus’ message and mission to the next generation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Please refer to study 6 in this series entitled “Spiritual Warfare” for this information.

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