1/9/18 – Eph 6:10, The Angelic Conflict, Pt. 2, The Empowerment, Pt. 2.

Lesson #18-003 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-rElvNx-QI
Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church
www.GraceDoctrine.org
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Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, (If You have - Trusted in Him for Eternal Life), it is important to prepare yourself to: Take-in God’s Word and/or Participate in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite, or acknowledge your sins privately, directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father & the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher.

1 John 1:9 says— “If we confess [simply name, cite, or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown & forgotten sins].”

For those of you who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord & Savior, please see: The Salvation Message @ the end of this document.

2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

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Eph 6:10; Psa 18:39; 35:1-3; Judges 6:34; 1 Chron 12:18; Heb 11:33-34

Stand in Warfare – Eph 6:10-20.

1. Empowerment, vs. 10.

Eph 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

Before delving into the conflict, God reminds us of the strength and power that is available to every believer to be victorious in the Angelic Conflict, using three Greek words in this passage, DUNAMIS, KRATOS, and ISCHUS. Therefore, this section discusses a believer’s use of God’s resources to help him stand against evil powers.

Whereas, every division of Eph 4:1-6:9 was introduced by the Greek inferential Particle OUN, Eph 4:1, 17; 5:1, 7, 15, and the verb “walk,” PERIPATEO, Eph 4:1, 17; 5:1, 8, 15. This final division is signaled by “finally,” as the Greek begins with HO LOIPOS, in the Adverbial use of a Genitive phrase.

LOIPOS, λοιπός means, “remaining, over, from now, rest, other.” Literally it reads, “the remaining, the rest, etc.” Paul used it often to conclude a message or give one final point, cf. 2 Cor 13:11; Phil 3:1; 4:8; 1 Thes 4:1; 2 Thes 3:1. Many times, those constructions include, “brethren,” ADELPHOS, as do some variant Greek translations of this passage. But ADELPHOS should not be included here.

But if we take this literally, as we should, it means, “for the remaining or rest of the time or from now on.” In other words, going forward in your Christian walk, do what is commanded in this passage, “be empowered for battle by God.”

This also tells us that Paul foresees the impact of this book on the Royal Family of God. He sees it as turning people around and moving them in the right direction. He sees it as the means of getting believers oriented to the Plan of God and entering into the tactical victories of the Angelic Conflict.

As we have seen in this book, it demands growth. From the time that you start the first chapter and begin to see that you are in the Plan of God, and that you are special in the plan of God, and that you live in a special age, from that moment on, Ephesians becomes extremely important to empower and enable you to be victorious inside the Angelic Conflict.

Psa 18:39, “For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.”

Psa 35:1-3, “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. ²Take hold of buckler and shield and rise up for my help. ³Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation’.”

Next, we have the exhortation to be empowered, “be strong in the Lord,” utilizing the first Greek word for power/strength, ENDUNAMOO, ἐνδυναμόω that can mean, “strengthened, enabled, acquire strength, gain power, empowered, etc.” It comes from the root verb DUNAMAI, “be able, have power to do, have capacity for,” and the noun DUMAMIS, “power, might, ability, force.” It is inherent strength or power that characterizes God that is given to the positive spiritually mature believer.

ENDUNAMOO is in the Progressive Present, Passive, Imperative. Therefore, this is a command to the believer for the continuous action of receiving God’s power. It is being strengthened and enabled within your soul to be able to stand your ground and fight, leading tactical victories in the Angelic Conflict. It is present, indicating the necessity of continuous dependence upon Jesus Christ. The Passive tells us we receive this empowerment from Jesus Christ, (i.e., His Word and His Spirit), showing that strength must come from outside the believer, for without God’s help we would never make it. As we will see in the rest of this verse, The Lord Jesus Christ, God, is the means by which we receive His strength and power to be victorious.

ENDUNAMOO is used three times in the LXX of the OT, first in Judges 6:34 and 1 Chron 12:18, for the empowerment of certain men for battle.

Judges 6:34, “So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.”

1 Chron 12:18, “Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said, "We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to him who helps you; indeed, your God helps you!" Then David received them and made them captains of the band.”

It is also used in Psa 52:7, for the man who falsely trusts in his own strength and riches, “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and was strong in his evil desire.”

In fact, Heb 11:33-34, reminds us that the OT saints where strengthened by the Lord to perform mighty feats, “Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong (ENDUNAMOO), became mighty (ISCHUROS) in war, put foreign armies to flight.”

These were individuals who had conquered kingdoms, put armies to flight, quenched the power of fire, etc., all by receiving this enabling power from God.

In the NT, ENDUNAMOO is used to tell us Jesus Christ is the source of this strength, Phil 4:13. For example, the Lord was the One who inwardly strengthened or enabled Paul to serve, 1 Tim 1:12. Cf. Acts 9:22; Rom 4:20; 2 Tim 4:17.

Phil 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

                       

1 Tim 1:12, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.”

And, as our verse, Eph 6:10 says, “in the Lord,” which is EN KURIOS in Dative of Sphere. This tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ is the source of this strength, when we are in the sphere of Jesus Christ. That is, because of our union with Him, when we are in fellowship with Him, we gain this power as a result of the filling of the Holy Spirit, Eph 5:18, and the intake and application of His Word, Bible Doctrine, Heb 4:12.

Heb 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

This means that by His Spirit, (the empowering and enabling ministry of God the Holy Spirit), and His Word, (Bible Doctrine resident within your soul), we have power to be victorious. With these two power options, the believer is strengthened for battle inside the Angelic Conflict.

This also reminds us of the fact that we are Royal Family of God and that we have a higher honor and privilege, greater doctrine, greater opportunity, greater horizons, and greater power than any group of believers that have ever lived.

Next we have, “and in the strength” which is the Coordinating Conjunction KAI, “and,” that adds the following to the DUNAMIS we are to receive. The addition first includes, “in the strength,” which is the Dative in simple apposition of EN HO KRATOS. In other words, it is the same type of Dative that we just noted regarding DUNAMIS EN KURIOS; inherent power in the sphere of the Lord. KRATOS is another description of the “power” we receive from the Lord Jesus Christ.

KRATOS, κράτος means, “strength, power, and might,” but also “dominion or authority.” It is manifested power; power that is demonstrated in our lives.

In classical Greek it refers to “strength or power.”

1. In the sense of “strength,” it can be used in describing the physical strength of a man, the material strength of a substance such as iron, or more abstractly to refer to military strength.

2. In the sense of “power,” it is often used for the authority granted to certain men, thus political power, ruling power, or sovereignty.

3. Medically, it refers to the “ligaments,” those strong bands of tissue that hold the skeleton together.

In the NT, it refers to God’s manifested power and in the following doxologies, His dominion, 1 Tim 6:16; 1 Peter 5:11; Jude 25; Rev 1:6. In other words, it means His conquering power.

In Acts 19:20, KRATOS is associated with the Word of God as a growing power, “So the word of the Lord was growing mightily (KRATOS) and prevailing (ISCHUS).”

This strength or power is made available to the believer who walks faithfully in Him, Psa 59:9, “Because of his strength I will watch for You, for God is my stronghold.”

Eph 1:19, “And what is the surpassing greatness of His power (DUNAMIS) toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength (KRATOS) of His might (ISCHUS).”

Col 1:11, “Strengthened (DUNAMOO) with all power (DUNAMIS), according to His glorious might (KRATOS), for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience.”

Being in union with Jesus Christ, we have been given the power of victory over sin and death.

Heb 2:14, “Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power (KRATOS) of death, that is, the devil.”

Then we have the final phrase, “of His might,” which is the Genitive of Possession HO ISCHUS AUTOS. Jesus Christ is the One who possesses this power, and is the One who gives this power to us, so that we too might be victorious inside the Angelic Conflict.

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A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.”

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have;” it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it, and it can never be lost or taken away from you [John 10:28-29]. Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life [also called eternal life in Scripture] is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Eph 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you. God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place. Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held against us.

Right where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, 

died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

 If you have done that, I Welcome You to the Eternal Family of God !!!

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Grace Fellowship Church

Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard

23 Messenger Street, Unit 3

Plainville, MA 02762

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