Moore to Ponder

Scripture Reference;

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be  strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 ¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

 ¹³Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 ¹⁴Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

 ¹⁵And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

 ¹⁶Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

 ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

 ¹⁸Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:10-18 KJV

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“Finally, my brethren, be  strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” Ephesians 6:10 KJV

Oh boy, where on earth do I begin? I guess I will pose a few questions. Who is the author of these words? The Apostle Paul. To whom is he writing? His brethren. Which brethren? All of his brethren, which include all who are faithful in Christ in his age, our age and in ages to come:

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:  ²Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:1-2.

But there is a phrase that makes me a little nervous and at times can undermine my confidence. Here it is:

“the faithful”

I think I will take a break for a minute and pray…

…Okay, I’m back. Whenever I see the the word “faithful” words like “loyal”, “devoted”, and “obedient” come to my mind, and those words tend to make me uneasy, because even after I received Jesus as my personal Savior and Lord many many years ago I could never claim those titles as my own. There have been times when I walked more loyally, devotedly, and obediently than at other times…but have I ever made it through a day where I was 100% loyal, devoted, and obedient? No, I haven’t.

How about Paul? What did he have to say about himself both before and after he became a Christian?  I am not remembering everything Paul ever said, but a few things do come to my mind. If anything comes to your mind (anything Paul ever said that you remember) that would have bearing… please feel free to share your thoughts. Here are some things that come to my mind:

^“1Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

 ²Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

 ³For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

 ⁴Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

 ⁵Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

 ⁶Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

 ⁷But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

 ⁸Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

 ⁹And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

 ¹⁰That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

 ¹¹If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

 ¹²Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

 ¹³Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

 ¹⁴I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:1-14KJV

Here is the same passage in another version:

“¹FOR THE rest, my brethren, delight yourselves in the Lord and continue to rejoice that you are in Him. To keep writing to you [over and over] of the same things is not irksome to me, and it is [a precaution] for your safety.

    ²Look out for those dogs [Judaizers, legalists], look out for those mischief-makers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

    ³For we [Christians] are the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit and by the Spirit of God and exult and glory and pride ourselves in Jesus Christ, and put no confidence or dependence [on what we are] in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and external appearances–

    ⁴Though for myself I have [at least grounds] to rely on the flesh. If any other man considers that he has or seems to have reason to rely on the flesh and his physical and outward advantages, I have still more!

    ⁵Circumcised when I was eight days old, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [and the son] of Hebrews; as to the observance of the Law I was of [the party of] the Pharisees,

    ⁶As to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church, and by the Law’s standard of righteousness (supposed justice, uprightness, and right standing with God) I was proven to be blameless and no fault was found with me.

    ⁷But whatever former things I had that might have been gains to me, I have come to consider as [^[a]one combined] loss for Christ’s sake.

    ⁸Yes, furthermore, I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly]. For His sake I have lost everything and consider it all to be mere rubbish (refuse, dregs), in order that I may win (gain) Christ (the Anointed One),

    ⁹And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based on my obedience to the Law’s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith.

    ¹⁰[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [^[b]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

    ¹¹That if possible I may attain to the [^[c]spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

    ¹²Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.

    ¹³I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

    ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.” Philippians 3:1-14 Amplified Bible

Now let’s look at this passage:

 ¹⁸For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

 ¹⁹For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

 ²⁰Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

 ²¹I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

 ²²For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

 ²³But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

 ²⁴O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

 ²⁵I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:18-25 KJV

…and here it is again in another version of the Bible:

   ¹⁵For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled, bewildered]. I do not practice or accomplish what I wish, but I do the very thing that I loathe [^[b]which my moral instinct condemns].

    ¹⁶Now if I do [habitually] what is contrary to my desire, [that means that] I acknowledge and agree that the Law is good (morally excellent) and that I take sides with it.

    ¹⁷However, it is no longer I who do the deed, but the sin [principle] which is at home in me and has possession of me.

    ¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.]

    ¹⁹For I fail to practice the good deeds I desire to do, but the evil deeds that I do not desire to do are what I am [ever] doing.

    ²⁰Now if I do what I do not desire to do, it is no longer I doing it [it is not myself that acts], but the sin [principle] which dwells within me [^[c]fixed and operating in my soul].

    ²¹So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands.

    ²²For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature].

    ²³But I discern in my bodily members [^[d]in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh] a different law (rule of action) at war against the law of my mind (my reason) and making me a prisoner to the law of sin that dwells in my bodily organs [^[e]in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh].

    ²⁴O unhappy and pitiable and wretched man that I am! Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death?

    ²⁵O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord! So then indeed I, of myself with the mind and heart, serve the Law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:15-25 Amplified Bible

So was the Apostle Paul 100%  loyal, devoted, and obedient? Based on the above passages of scripture, my answer must be “No”.

Now that I have established “to whom” Paul was writing…is writing, I would like to look at Ephesians 6:10 again, and think about “Being strong in the Lord”. I have run out of time today, but I think it will be a nice starting place for my next post.

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Yikes! In Part One of this series I made a statement. Here it is:

” I will not be attempting to “teach” anyone how to interpret or apply the passage. As usual, I will be just sharing “glimpses”…Lord willing.”

Well, the whole tone of this entire post…Part 2 is…opinionated…preachy/teachy…I’m sorry. I guess I just am what I am….sigh.

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