Thursday,
May 17, 2018 Ephesians 6:16
The
Armor of God, Pt. 20
The
Shield of Faith, Pt. 4
The
Flaming Arrows, Satan's Temptations, Pt. 1
Grace
Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher,
Jim Rickard
Stand in Warfare –
Eph 6:10-20.
3. The Equipment, vs. 13-17.
Eph 6:16; Mat 12:20; 25:8; Mark 9:48; 1 Thes 5:19; Heb 11:33-34; 1
Peter 1:6; 4:12; 5:10
Vs. 16
Eph 6:16, “In addition to all (the first three
pieces of armor), taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able
to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.”
The shield that the Christian soldier
uses inside the Angelic Conflict is faith, a present faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ for victory over sin and Satan’s cosmic system. This is the only part of
the full armor of God for which Paul indicates the effect it has, as he says
next, “with which you will be able,”
EN HO DUNAMAI.
DUNAMAI, δύναμαι is a verb that we
are familiar with that means, “to be able, have power to do, or have capacity
for.” It expresses the ability and capacity to accomplish something in deed,
attitude, or thought. This is indicating the inherent power or ability we will
have when we operate by faith in our Christian walk. We saw this word in verses 11 and 13, for the
inherent ability we have to fight and be victorious in the Angelic conflict,
when we put on the full armor of God. Here, with the “shield of faith,” we have
a specific ability we can exercise and effect against the attacks of our enemy
to be victorious in the battle.
In our passage, DUNAMAI is in the
Future, Middle, Indicative, 2nd Person, Plural.
The Future tense
tells us that subsequent to picking up and utilizing the shield of faith, we
will have the ability to defeat the attacks of our foes.
The Middle Deponent
voice, is active in meaning. When we seize the shield of faith, we will be
able to thwart the enemy’s aggression towards us.
The Indicative mood is
for the dogmatic reality of having this inherent power against Satan and his
cosmic system, when we walk in faith.
Next is the ability or effect we
have, “to extinguish,” which
actually is the last word in this sentence in the Greek. It is the verb SBENNUMI,
σβέννυμι that means, “to extinguish, quench, suppress, restrain, subdue, or
stifle.” It is also used in Mat 12:20;
25:8; Mark 9:48, (and added in vs.
44, 46 in later copies of the gospel);
1 Thes 5:19; Heb 11:34. Here it is in the Aorist, Active, Infinitive.
The Culminative
Aorist views the action as completed, “to extinguish” the flaming arrows.
The Active voice, the faithful believers are the ones who are able to
extinguish these satanic arrows.
This is an Infinitive of results,
indicating the results or accomplishment of putting on the Shield of Faith; you
will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows.
This verb is used in three primary
ways in classical Greek literature. Literally, it is used of extinguishing a
fire. Similarly, it is used of liquids that “dry up,” and as a figure of
speech, it can be used of anything that is checked, quenched, or quelled. We
could also say “offset.” Therefore, when temptations to sin or perform human
good come your way, you can offset them by walking in faith, i.e., apply God’s
Word to the situation, whatever it may be.
In Mat 12:20, from the prophecy of Jesus Christ in Isa 42:3, it is said, “A battered reed He will not break off, and a
smoldering wick He will not put out, until He leads justice to victory.”
His faith carried Him to victory at the Cross. Regardless of the temptations
hurled at Jesus, He would not be denied His faith walk in God the Father’s plan
for salvation for the human race. Jesus would not waver or falter!
In Mat 25:8, regarding the foolish virgins, (i.e., unbelievers),
having not enough faith, they will miss the 2nd coming of the Lord. “The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us
some of your oil, for our lamps are going out’.” The unbeliever does
not have faith in God or Jesus, and therefore will miss His coming.
In Mark 9:48, quoting Isa 66:24,
it again speaks to the unbeliever who will be tormented for forever in the Lake
of Fire, “where their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.” Because of their rejection of Jesus
Christ during their life here on earth, because of their lack of faith in Him,
they will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire where the sensation of burning
will never stop. If they had just a little faith in Jesus Christ, they would
avoid an eternity of faithlessness.
In 1 Thes 5:19, “Do not quench
the Spirit,” the believer is commanded to not fall into reversionism or
apostasy, which is a direct result of a lack of faith, leading to “quenching,”
halting or stopping the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in their lives.
In Hebrews 11, it is used to demonstrate the power faith gave to the
visible heroes of the OT.
Heb 11:33-34, “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, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.”
Like Daniel, his friends Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, received the power of God by faith to accomplish such
things. The true power behind all of these was not man’s, but the power and
ability (DUNAMAI) of God and His Word resident within their souls. When they
appropriated by faith God and His Word in their lives, they accomplished great
things. Therefore, as we see in our verse, Eph
6:16, we will be able to quench, (stop or overcome), the attacks
(temptations) by Satan and his cosmic system.
In Lev 6:9 and others places, this word is used in the LXX to refer to
the fire on the sacrificial altar which was never to be quenched. It was the imagery
of the Christ’s sacrifice for our sins that is all sufficient and never
revoked. It “burns” continually, meaning His one sacrifice endures forever and
through it we have eternal security. His completed work for our salvation is
what we are to trust in and rely upon for our daily walk, post-salvation.
Conversely, four times in the OT
we are warned that the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished, Job 18:5-6; 21:17; Prov 13:9; 24:20.
Because of their lack of faith, God will bring their lives to a conclusion.
Therefore, as we see in the usage
of the word SBENNUMI, “extinguish,” throughout the Bible, we see that by faith
in God, His Word, and Jesus Christ, man can extinguish the flames of hell and
the flaming arrows Satan hurls at him. On the other hand, if man does not have
faith in God then the flames of hell last eternally and the flaming arrows of
Satan will penetrate leading to destruction of the soul.
The thing we will be able to
“quench” or “stop” is, “all the flaming
arrows,” which in the Greek is, PAS HO PUROO HO BELOS. In the Greek, BELOS
comes first, then later comes PUROO. But we will follow the English reading.
“Flaming” or “fiery,” is the Verb PUROO, πυρόω that means, “set on
fire or burn.” Figuratively, it means, “to burn with desire, glow with heat,
test, etc.” It is the 2nd to last word in the Greek sentence. It is
in the Perfect, Passive, Participle, Accusative, Plural.
The New Testament uses PUROO only
in the passive, “to be set on fire, burn up, to be ignited, kindled, to burn,
or flame.” It is used in 1 Cor 7:9; 2
Cor 11:29; 2 Peter 3:12; Rev 1:15; 3:18. It is closely related to the noun
PUR, which from the time of Homer (8th Century B.C.), refers to “fire” in its
various forms whether in nature or produced by man. In our passage, it is used
to describe the intensity of the temptations Satan and His cosmic system hurl
at you.
The Intensive Perfect tense,
is for completed past action where the results continue to the present. In
other words, these arrows have already been set on fire by Satan and continue
to burn. It is part of his overall master plan to thwart God’s overall Plan for
mankind and His plan for your life. He set his evil plan in motion long ago,
and when it involves you, it is just as intense as it was at the foundation of
the world. In this we see Satan’s master plan of temptation of “appetite,
beauty, and ambitious pride,” 1 John
2:16; cf. Mat 4:1-11; Gen 3:6.
The Passive voice, means the
arrows received the burning fire by another, in this case, Satan.
In the OT, PUROO is used in the
LXX, usually referring to the process of smelting or refining by fire, e.g., Psa 12:6; Zech 13:9. The smelting or
testing process establishes the product as approved and makes it more pure. So,
this PUROO in regard to “flaming arrows,” alludes to being tempted by Satan,
which in fact, is a testing by fire. When these flaming arrows come at us, our
soul is refined by their fire when we apply faith, either reproved or purified,
1 Peter 1:6f; 4:12; 5:10; cf. James 1:2
1 Peter 4:12, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery
ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange
thing were happening to you.”
1 Peter 1:6, “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now
for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.”
1 Peter 5:10, “After you have suffered for a little while,
the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will
Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
Therefore, the flaming arrows
hurled at us by Satan are a testing process for our souls, to refine it to be
purer and purer as God draws us closer to Himself. This was the case of the
humanity of our Lord, as seen in the results of Rev 1:15, which also should be ours, Rev 3:18.
Rev 1:15, “His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has
been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many
waters.”
Rev 3:18, “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined (PUROO) by fire (PUR) so that you may become rich, and white
garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness
will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”
As Psa 119:140 tells us, we should love the Word of God, because it
has already been made pure, and therefore becomes power and strength for us
when we are tempted by Satan.
Psa 119:140, “Your word is very pure, therefore Your
servant loves it.”
Copyright © 2001 - 2018.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.
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