(uplifting theme music)
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(music ends)
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>>Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're delighted that
you could join us this week
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as we continue our journey
through the book of Ephesians.
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We are looking at Paul's
letter to the church in Ephesus,
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pulling it apart,
pulling it back together,
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and seeing what it means to
you and me in our lives today.
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This week we are
on lesson number 13
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with an interesting
title: "Waging Peace."
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We're going to find out what
that's about in just a moment.
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But before we delve
into this week's lesson,
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let's begin with prayer.
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Father, we want to thank You
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for the journey that You
have taken us on thus far
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in the book of Ephesians.
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We ask that this week You will
help us to better understand
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Paul's exhortations to
us, his encouragement for us,
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and the hope
that we have in Jesus.
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We ask that You'll bless
our time together this week,
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and we thank You in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Well, our guest this week,
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as he has been throughout
this quarter, is Dr. John McVay.
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He's the president of
Walla Walla University.
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John, welcome back once again.
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>>Good to be back with you.
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>>So we're almost
to the end, week 13.
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>>We've got one
more to go. >>Week 13,
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second week
studying what is arguably
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the greatest
passage in the New Testament
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on the cosmic conflict
or the great controversy,
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at least as it has
to do with our behavior
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as Christian disciples.
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>>That's right, and
we're gonna pull that apart
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this week, "Waging Peace."
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Now, when we take a
look at this week's lesson,
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let's kind of
review a little bit
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of what we've
looked at before last week.
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There's this armor of
God that Paul talks about.
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Walk us through that;
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that'll help us get ready
for where we're going this week.
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>>Sure. So you'll
remember from last week
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that Paul issues
this, repeatedly,
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this call to "be
strong in the Lord"
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early on in
chapter 6, verses 10-20.
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Last week, we
spent much of our time
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with verses 10-13,
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and he talks
about these authorities,
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these rulers and authorities
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and cosmic powers and
spiritual forces of evil
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in the heavenly places.
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So we know something
about our foe, right?
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And now he's going to go
back through all of that,
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but he's going to do
it in a detailed image.
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And if you really
look at how he does this,
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he portrays the
Christian disciple
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donning various
implements of war,
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various pieces of
armor and various weapons.
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He imagines that
happening in much the same order
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that a Roman legionnaire
might put those things on.
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And he assigns various names
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to various
pieces of the implements
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of a Christian
soldier's armor, doesn't he?
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>>He does. >>Yeah.
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>>So let's kind of
walk through there.
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He says in verse number 14,
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"Stand therefore, having
girded your waist with truth,
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[and putting] on the
breastplate of righteousness"--
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he goes on from there--
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"having shod your
feet with the preparation
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of the gospel of peace,"
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then, "taking
the shield of faith
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"with which you
will be able to quench
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"all the fiery
darts of the wicked one.
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"And...the helmet of
salvation,... the sword of the
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Spirit, which is
the word of God."
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So elements of armor,
some defensive, some offensive,
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it's kind of an
all-encompassing attire
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that he pictures here. >>Sure.
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Yeah, it is, and in
Greek the term is "panoplian,"
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which is the
complete "armor" of God.
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So it's not just armor;
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it's the head-to-toe protection
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that God provides
for Christian disciples
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as they engage in
the cosmic conflict.
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And these are significant
and important, aren't they?
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>>Very significant.
Now, a question might arise
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about these
different elements of the armor
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that we are supposed to put on.
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Are these human
virtues? Are these divine gifts?
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How do we see
these different portions
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or pieces of the armor?
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>>Well, Bible students
do argue about that point.
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And I'm gonna fudge it, Eric,
and say they're kind of both.
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They're kind of both.
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If you have to say,
"Which are they primarily?",
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I think primarily
these are the gifts of God
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to the Christian disciple.
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So this is God's truth, the
belt of truth, belt-on truth.
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So the belt as part
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of the Roman
military man's equipment
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played a little different role
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than the belt you put
on probably this morning.
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It was this fairly massive piece
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that helped them
gird up their loins.
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You know, you tucked
stuff in all around it,
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you got ready for battle,
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and from it hung
pieces of thick leather
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that actually
formed part of the armor
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and helped protect the soldiers.
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So you had this belt.
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And Paul envisions
it, uses it as an image
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for God's truth, which he
grants to Christian disciples,
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the truth of the gospel
that he's been discussing
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throughout the
epistle to the Ephesians.
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So, Paul is really portraying
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the Christian's--
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the transformation of
pagan believers into Christians
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by imagining them
donning these pieces of armor.
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This is how
they are transformed.
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It's a little bit like
putting on "the old man"
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and putting on "the new man"
that we saw back in chapter 4.
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And so they're putting on
these different implements,
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but they don't so
much possess God's truth
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as God's truth
possesses them, right?
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And we can kind of do this
with each of these implements.
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These are more God's gifts to us
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that protect us and
enable our Christian witness
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than they are our own virtues
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that are our own
individual virtues.
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But--and I think
this is important--
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Paul is trying to
activate them and to say,
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"These aren't just
abstract gifts of God
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"that you set on the shelf,
but you need to live into these.
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"You need to
live into this truth.
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"You need to
live into this battle.
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You need to live
into the gospel of peace,"
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and so on. So it's
both, in a way, virtue,
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but principally, gifts, assets
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that God provides us,
with which He equips us
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as soldiers in
the great controversy.
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>>So He's
giving us these things,
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but I guess one might say we
have to choose to put them on.
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We can't just look at
them and go, "There they are."
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>>Exactly, exactly.
>>We have to--I don't know
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if I'm comfortable
with the word "own,"
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but we have to
embrace these gifts--
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>>Yes. >>...and
put them into use,
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put them into practice.
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And one would expect
that the more we embrace them
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and the more we
put them into practice,
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the more perhaps comfortable
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we'll feel in
that armor-- >>Sure.
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>>...and it will
become a natural extension
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of who we are in our lives--
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>>Sure.
>>...which is encouraging.
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>>We can talk about each
of these pieces of armor,
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but let's touch
together on a couple of them.
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The shoes, "As
shoes for your feet,
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"put on what will
give the readiness
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to proclaim the
gospel of peace."
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Now, I think that's a
really key mention here
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because I think Paul controls
his metaphor by that phrase.
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We might read this and say,
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"Oh, Paul's talking
about actual combat."
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And we might
remember that 30 years ago,
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there was a
group of people in Waco
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who stocked up arms
and read the prophecies
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and imagined
participating in actual combat.
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What a sad story that is.
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And Paul warns us
away from misreading
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his powerful,
high-testosterone image here.
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He guards us
from that by saying,
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"What we're really
about is the gospel of peace."
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So he kind of
deconstructs his own metaphor,
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and that's led someone to say
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that what Paul's
talking about here
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isn't waging
armed actual combat.
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It's about the
church waging peace.
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But what it does help
us capture is the churches,
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the investment of
Christian disciples,
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the zealous engagement
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and investment of
Christian disciples.
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We're not just sentries
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standing off somewhere at
a corner of the battlefield
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watching it unfold.
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We are fully engaged, throwing
ourselves into this battle,
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which is waging peace.
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>>So the army is not
that group over there.
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The army is a group
of which I am a part.
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>>Yes, exactly. >>And my calling
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is to wage this
peace with others.
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As you've mentioned,
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in the book of Ephesians Paul
is trying to strive for unity
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and using us to
bring about that unity too.
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>>And throughout the
letter, he's been discussing
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the strategies of
Christian disciples.
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He's been thinking
about the great controversy
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throughout this letter.
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We see hints of that
going on as we've seen.
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And interesting to read,
say, the end of chapter 4:
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"Let all bitterness and wrath
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"and anger and
clamor and slander
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be put away from you,
along with all malice."
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So that's not the
kind of war, you know--
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he's actually
setting those things aside.
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And the strange weapons
for this Christian army are,
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"Be kind to one
another," (laughs)
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"tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
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as God in Christ forgave you."
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These are the
kind--they're strange battles,
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or strange
weapons, for an actual army,
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but they're just the ticket
for the militia of Christ.
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>>For a group that
is called to wage peace.
00:10:03.57\00:10:06.30
>>Yes.
00:10:06.30\00:10:07.40
>>And that's a
fantastic picture there.
00:10:07.40\00:10:09.20
John, there's several commands
00:10:10.27\00:10:13.91
that Paul gives as we
move through this section,
00:10:13.91\00:10:18.45
and I wanna kind of
start digging into those
00:10:18.45\00:10:20.88
before our break. We'll come
back and do a little bit more.
00:10:20.88\00:10:23.39
But what are some of the big
commands that we see Paul give
00:10:23.39\00:10:27.42
to the church
here in Ephesians 6?
00:10:27.42\00:10:30.76
>>Well, I like to distill
this passage into four commands
00:10:30.76\00:10:33.96
because they're
kind of easy to remember
00:10:33.96\00:10:36.33
and it helps embed
this passage in my mind.
00:10:36.33\00:10:39.97
So the first one, for example,
would be follow the leader.
00:10:39.97\00:10:44.67
And when I say this passage,
00:10:44.67\00:10:46.21
I'm taking the whole passage
now, chapter 6, verses 10-20.
00:10:46.21\00:10:49.21
And we see this happening,
00:10:49.21\00:10:51.11
Paul underlining
this command early on:
00:10:51.11\00:10:53.11
"Finally, be strong in the Lord
00:10:53.11\00:10:55.72
and in the
strength of His might."
00:10:55.72\00:10:57.09
That's how he
starts the passage, right?
00:10:57.09\00:10:59.15
In other words,
follow the leader.
00:10:59.15\00:11:03.02
So, it's as though Paul
sees himself as a general,
00:11:03.02\00:11:07.50
and he's stepping onto
the battlefield on the eve of
00:11:07.50\00:11:12.27
battle, and he's
given a big speech,
00:11:12.27\00:11:14.37
and he's conveying the orders
of the commander-in-chief,
00:11:14.37\00:11:18.24
who calls us to battle
00:11:18.24\00:11:20.48
and promises to be
with us in the fight.
00:11:20.48\00:11:23.31
And so in those
early verses there,
00:11:23.31\00:11:25.41
he's really
giving us that command,
00:11:25.41\00:11:28.15
deep in our hearts and
souls: "Follow the leader."
00:11:28.15\00:11:31.99
It's a good,
strong command, isn't it?
00:11:31.99\00:11:33.36
>>It's a great place to start.
00:11:33.36\00:11:35.52
What about the second command?
00:11:35.52\00:11:37.19
>>The second
command, I would say,
00:11:37.19\00:11:38.96
is encapsulated in,
oh, verse 12 especially,
00:11:38.96\00:11:42.60
and that is know the foe.
00:11:42.60\00:11:44.70
He wants us to avoid
00:11:44.70\00:11:46.97
underestimating our
enemy. We don't wanna do that.
00:11:46.97\00:11:50.17
We have to have a
realistic assessment of our foe.
00:11:50.17\00:11:53.64
And he says you're not
just up against flesh and blood;
00:11:53.64\00:11:57.61
you're up against
spiritual forces of darkness.
00:11:57.61\00:11:59.71
You're up against rulers,
authorities, cosmic powers.
00:11:59.71\00:12:03.69
You're up against all of that.
00:12:03.69\00:12:05.62
He wants us to have
a realistic assessment
00:12:05.62\00:12:08.09
of what we're up against.
If you move down the passage,
00:12:08.09\00:12:10.76
he wants to remind us
that those forces of darkness
00:12:10.76\00:12:13.96
are led by a wily devil.
00:12:13.96\00:12:16.60
And so we're up against it.
00:12:17.57\00:12:20.60
He wants us to have a
realistic assessment of our foe.
00:12:20.60\00:12:24.44
So, second
command, know the foe.
00:12:24.44\00:12:27.51
>>So we've got follow the
leader as the first command,
00:12:27.51\00:12:29.61
second command, know the foe,
00:12:29.61\00:12:31.48
and we're gonna be looking
at the third and fourth commands
00:12:31.48\00:12:33.52
when we come
back in just a moment.
00:12:33.52\00:12:35.38
I wanna encourage
you--time is running out.
00:12:35.38\00:12:37.92
We're on week 13 of 14.
00:12:37.92\00:12:39.45
If you don't yet
have the companion book
00:12:39.45\00:12:42.02
to this quarter's
Sabbath school lesson,
00:12:42.02\00:12:44.03
be sure to pick it up very soon.
00:12:44.03\00:12:46.43
It is called
"Ephesians" by John McVay.
00:12:46.43\00:12:49.70
It's the companion to
this quarter's lesson.
00:12:49.70\00:12:51.53
You can find it
at itiswritten.shop.
00:12:51.53\00:12:54.60
Again, that's itiswritten.shop.
00:12:54.60\00:12:57.94
We're gonna come
back in just a moment
00:12:57.94\00:12:59.21
as we continue
looking at week number 13.
00:12:59.21\00:13:03.31
We're looking at two more
commands that Paul gives us,
00:13:03.31\00:13:06.82
and we're gonna tie together
this thought of waging peace.
00:13:06.82\00:13:10.32
We'll be right back.
00:13:10.32\00:13:11.59
(uplifting theme
music swells and ends)
00:13:11.59\00:13:14.46
(serene music)
00:13:15.62\00:13:16.89
>>[John Bradshaw] It's
a land rich with culture.
00:13:16.89\00:13:19.33
Colorful bazaars, stunning
mosques, and ancient ruins
00:13:19.33\00:13:22.40
now occupy the same
territory once conquered
00:13:22.40\00:13:25.27
by the Persian,
Greek, and Roman empires.
00:13:25.27\00:13:28.47
In the midst of
this tumultuous history,
00:13:28.47\00:13:30.84
followers of Christ began
to form their first churches.
00:13:30.84\00:13:34.14
One of these churches
was instructed by Jesus
00:13:34.14\00:13:36.91
to "be watchful, and strengthen
the things which remain,
00:13:36.91\00:13:40.32
"that are ready to die,
00:13:40.32\00:13:42.42
for I have not found your
works perfect before God."
00:13:42.42\00:13:46.29
What were the
believers in Sardis missing?
00:13:46.29\00:13:49.42
And how is this
letter to a church
00:13:49.42\00:13:51.13
that existed 2,000 years ago
00:13:51.13\00:13:53.73
relevant to the church today?
00:13:53.73\00:13:56.40
Find out by watching
00:13:56.40\00:13:57.80
"The Seven Churches
of Revelation: Sardis"
00:13:57.80\00:14:01.67
and learn what it
means to truly overcome.
00:14:01.67\00:14:05.77
"The Seven Churches
of Revelation: Sardis,"
00:14:05.77\00:14:09.94
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:14:09.94\00:14:12.98
You know that at It Is Written,
00:14:17.02\00:14:18.82
we are serious about the
study of the Word of God.
00:14:18.82\00:14:22.09
And we encourage you to be
serious about God's Word also.
00:14:22.09\00:14:26.33
Well, I wanna share
with you another way
00:14:26.33\00:14:28.40
that you can dig
deeper into the Word of God,
00:14:28.40\00:14:31.13
and here it is:
itiswritten.study.
00:14:31.13\00:14:36.20
Go online to itiswritten.study,
00:14:37.01\00:14:38.77
and you can access the It
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00:14:43.41\00:14:45.95
that will walk
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00:14:45.95\00:14:48.48
It's gonna be good for you,
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and it's the sort of thing
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00:14:51.55\00:14:54.72
so that they can dig
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00:14:54.72\00:14:57.66
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00:14:57.66\00:15:01.30
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itiswritten.study.
00:15:11.87\00:15:14.04
(uplifting theme music)
00:15:16.11\00:15:18.45
>>[Eric Flickinger] Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:20.88\00:15:22.42
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:22.42\00:15:24.15
We are continuing to look
00:15:24.15\00:15:25.62
at lesson number
13: "Waging Peace."
00:15:25.62\00:15:28.06
And, John, we've looked at two
00:15:28.06\00:15:29.86
of the four commands
that Paul gives us already:
00:15:29.86\00:15:32.53
Follow the leader
and know the foe--
00:15:32.53\00:15:35.30
both very, very
important. >>Sure.
00:15:35.30\00:15:37.13
>>But he doesn't
just give us those two;
00:15:37.13\00:15:38.57
he gives us at least two
more. What are the other two?
00:15:38.57\00:15:40.94
>>Yeah, the third one
would be join the army.
00:15:40.94\00:15:44.07
Now, it's really
interesting, Eric,
00:15:44.07\00:15:45.57
'cause you look at the way
our passage has been understood
00:15:45.57\00:15:47.74
down through Christian history.
00:15:47.74\00:15:49.64
Most of the ink has been spilled
00:15:49.64\00:15:52.28
on a very individualistic
understanding of the passage.
00:15:52.28\00:15:56.18
I am the lone Christian
soldier battling against evil.
00:15:56.18\00:16:01.19
And there's been a
lot of ink spilled.
00:16:01.19\00:16:03.39
There was a gentleman
back in the 17th century,
00:16:03.39\00:16:06.80
William Gurnall, who
preached a bunch of sermons
00:16:06.80\00:16:10.03
on this passage
and wrote three volumes
00:16:10.03\00:16:12.80
totaling more than
800,000 words and 1,500 pages.
00:16:12.80\00:16:16.10
So down through time,
00:16:16.10\00:16:17.47
there's a lot of
literature on this passage.
00:16:17.47\00:16:19.84
Much of it sort
of assumes that Paul
00:16:19.84\00:16:22.48
is addressing the
individual Christian warrior.
00:16:22.48\00:16:26.61
But that would be really
quite strange, wouldn't it,
00:16:26.61\00:16:28.52
in a letter, as we have seen,
00:16:28.52\00:16:31.22
that focuses so much
attention on the church,
00:16:31.22\00:16:34.09
to talk about church,
church, church, church, church,
00:16:34.09\00:16:36.66
and then in the letter
00:16:36.66\00:16:38.16
with a portrait of
a single individual,
00:16:38.16\00:16:40.96
would seem pretty strange to me.
00:16:40.96\00:16:43.30
>>It would; it would
be very inconsistent.
00:16:43.30\00:16:45.10
>>Very inconsistent.
00:16:45.10\00:16:46.40
So it seems to me
that we understand this
00:16:46.40\00:16:49.27
to be Paul's final
metaphor for the church,
00:16:49.27\00:16:52.41
his final image for
the church as an army.
00:16:52.41\00:16:56.01
This is a call to arms.
00:16:56.01\00:16:58.15
This is a call to
the church militant--
00:16:58.15\00:17:00.85
importantly, as
we've just talked about,
00:17:00.85\00:17:03.55
not waging any conventional
war but waging peace.
00:17:03.55\00:17:07.42
But we need each
other just as much
00:17:07.42\00:17:09.62
as those soldiers in
actual combat need each other.
00:17:09.62\00:17:12.89
We need one another.
00:17:12.89\00:17:14.60
So the third call would
be simply to join the army.
00:17:14.60\00:17:19.13
Join the army.
00:17:19.13\00:17:20.64
The church, says Paul, is a
well-equipped fighting force,
00:17:20.64\00:17:25.41
a united army engaged
in the long-running battle
00:17:25.41\00:17:29.61
of the great
controversy. And just as others
00:17:29.61\00:17:33.31
in conventional
battle need one another,
00:17:33.31\00:17:36.55
we need each other.
In fact, I like to think
00:17:36.55\00:17:39.35
that if we view
the passage that way,
00:17:39.35\00:17:41.59
and there are all sorts of
hints that we should do so,
00:17:41.59\00:17:44.89
if we view the passage that way,
00:17:44.89\00:17:46.80
there's a secret
weapon buried in the passage.
00:17:46.80\00:17:50.23
And that's Christian
camaraderie and esprit de corps,
00:17:50.23\00:17:54.60
and that makes sense in a letter
00:17:54.60\00:17:57.14
which is about unity, right?
00:17:57.14\00:17:59.37
And Paul here goes
after his theme of unity,
00:17:59.37\00:18:03.35
all things being
united in Christ,
00:18:03.35\00:18:05.31
chapter 1, verses 9 and 10,
00:18:05.31\00:18:07.12
one more time under
the image of the need
00:18:07.12\00:18:10.92
for a united, fit
fighting army waging peace.
00:18:10.92\00:18:15.89
>>So we've got
one more command here
00:18:15.89\00:18:19.26
that Paul gives
us. >>One more, yep.
00:18:19.26\00:18:20.76
And this is a
rather important one.
00:18:20.76\00:18:23.90
We've touched on
it a bit earlier.
00:18:23.90\00:18:25.60
But it would be
fight to the finish.
00:18:25.60\00:18:29.30
Fight to the finish.
00:18:29.30\00:18:31.14
I do believe this is a
high-testosterone image,
00:18:31.14\00:18:35.14
in which Paul--
00:18:35.14\00:18:36.91
one of his great
goals or objectives
00:18:36.91\00:18:39.81
in finishing his letter
this way is to activate us,
00:18:39.81\00:18:43.99
to energize us to
zealous participation
00:18:43.99\00:18:48.86
in the cosmic conflict
as soldiers of the cross.
00:18:48.86\00:18:53.50
So he doesn't want us to
just relax in the chaise lounge
00:18:53.50\00:18:57.57
watching others
fight the battle.
00:18:57.57\00:18:59.57
He's recruiting us
into the army of Christ.
00:18:59.57\00:19:03.20
He's wanting us to be active.
00:19:03.20\00:19:05.11
We've talked a little bit
about that command to stand
00:19:05.11\00:19:08.14
that is used four times here,
00:19:08.14\00:19:10.38
and the fact that
that command to stand
00:19:10.38\00:19:13.01
doesn't mean to stand
as a sentry, not fighting.
00:19:13.01\00:19:17.19
It refers to the moment
when two phalanxes would meet.
00:19:17.19\00:19:21.19
And at that moment, when you're
meeting that opposing army,
00:19:21.19\00:19:24.23
what you have to do is dig
those hobnail boots in and push
00:19:24.23\00:19:28.16
your, push the boss
of your shield forward
00:19:28.16\00:19:32.33
and stand in battle.
00:19:32.33\00:19:34.40
So it's not a
quietistic, passive stance
00:19:34.40\00:19:38.57
that he's looking
for. He's saying to us,
00:19:38.57\00:19:41.94
"You're in this battle,
00:19:41.94\00:19:44.38
"and you need to
be all in this battle.
00:19:44.38\00:19:46.48
Fight to the finish."
00:19:46.48\00:19:48.32
>>And yet in all
of that is this idea
00:19:48.32\00:19:51.12
of waging peace. >>Yes.
00:19:51.12\00:19:52.85
>>So he takes those
two seemingly opposed ideas
00:19:52.85\00:19:57.43
and melds them
beautifully together here.
00:19:57.43\00:19:59.46
>>It's a vigorous
military metaphor,
00:19:59.46\00:20:02.50
but he gives us enough
hints and clues along the way
00:20:02.50\00:20:05.23
that we know how to apply this.
00:20:05.23\00:20:07.54
This is not conventional war,
00:20:07.54\00:20:09.40
but this is zealous engagement
in the cosmic conflict,
00:20:09.40\00:20:13.51
zealous
engagement in waging peace.
00:20:13.51\00:20:15.88
>>Very powerful.
00:20:15.88\00:20:17.65
John, I wanna read a quote
here and have you respond to it.
00:20:17.65\00:20:22.28
This comes from a book called
"Testimonies to Ministers"
00:20:22.28\00:20:24.89
on page number 22.
And here's what it says:
00:20:24.89\00:20:28.16
"When men arise, claiming
to have a message from God,
00:20:28.16\00:20:31.29
"but instead of warring against
principalities and powers,
00:20:31.29\00:20:34.83
"and the rulers of the
darkness of this world,
00:20:34.83\00:20:37.27
"they form a hollow square,
00:20:37.27\00:20:39.13
"and turn the weapons of warfare
00:20:39.13\00:20:41.04
"against the church
militant, be afraid of them.
00:20:41.04\00:20:44.14
"They do not bear
the divine credentials.
00:20:44.14\00:20:47.48
"God has not given them
00:20:47.48\00:20:49.14
any such burden of labor."
00:20:49.14\00:20:51.31
That's a rather
interesting passage.
00:20:51.31\00:20:54.75
>>It is.
00:20:54.75\00:20:56.05
>>The word
"friendly fire" comes to mind.
00:20:56.05\00:20:57.59
>>Yes, it does.
>>Your thoughts on that?
00:20:57.59\00:21:00.06
>>Well, again, to know
the foe--our second command,
00:21:00.06\00:21:04.66
right?-- is to be able
to identify who's your enemy
00:21:04.66\00:21:06.53
and who's your friend.
And Paul is really concerned
00:21:06.53\00:21:10.43
that we not
misidentify each other
00:21:10.43\00:21:13.34
as the enemies in this conflict.
00:21:13.34\00:21:15.54
In fact, in the truest sense,
00:21:15.54\00:21:17.74
our enemies are not
in human form, right?
00:21:17.74\00:21:20.48
If you're fighting the
battle of the great controversy,
00:21:20.48\00:21:24.18
or you think you're fighting
00:21:24.18\00:21:25.45
the battle of the
great controversy,
00:21:25.45\00:21:26.78
and you're fighting
against human beings,
00:21:26.78\00:21:29.02
you haven't fully understood
Ephesians 6, verses 10-20.
00:21:29.02\00:21:32.85
You haven't
understood that your foe
00:21:32.85\00:21:34.39
really are the
supernatural powers of darkness.
00:21:34.39\00:21:37.63
So, friendly fire is not
something we want to have
00:21:37.63\00:21:40.96
happen; that is, we do not want
to damage fellow combatants,
00:21:40.96\00:21:44.30
fellow disciples in
the cosmic conflict.
00:21:44.30\00:21:47.40
We want the force
of our waging of peace
00:21:47.40\00:21:51.41
to go against those
supernatural forces of darkness.
00:21:51.41\00:21:55.24
>>Very powerful.
00:21:55.24\00:21:56.78
So one thing that doesn't
jump out at us in this depiction
00:21:56.78\00:22:01.08
of the armor of God is prayer.
00:22:01.08\00:22:04.79
How does that
figure into all of this?
00:22:04.79\00:22:08.22
I'm going to make the assumption
00:22:08.22\00:22:09.39
that it does-- >>Sure, sure.
00:22:09.39\00:22:10.96
>>...because prayer is
part of Christian warfare,
00:22:10.96\00:22:14.03
as it were. But how do
we see that fit in here?
00:22:14.03\00:22:16.33
>>Well, verses 18-20
is Paul's call to prayer.
00:22:16.33\00:22:19.80
Some Bible scholars
see this as separate
00:22:19.80\00:22:22.44
from the armament passage.
00:22:22.44\00:22:24.57
They see the armament passage
00:22:24.57\00:22:26.04
as only chapter 6, verses 10-17.
00:22:26.04\00:22:29.11
However, as I've studied
ancient battle literature
00:22:29.11\00:22:33.82
to try to understand
Paul's imagery here--
00:22:33.82\00:22:35.88
because he seems to
be very much drawing
00:22:35.88\00:22:37.95
on the tradition of
Greek and Roman warfare--
00:22:37.95\00:22:41.49
as he shares this
image of the church,
00:22:41.49\00:22:45.29
I'm impressed by
how often soldiers
00:22:46.73\00:22:49.96
are portrayed as praying.
00:22:49.96\00:22:52.13
And so while I don't
think it's given to us here
00:22:52.13\00:22:55.40
or portrayed here
as a separate weapon,
00:22:55.40\00:22:57.97
it is part of the
battlefield context.
00:22:57.97\00:23:00.61
So, a soldier gets all suited
up, ready to go to the fray,
00:23:00.61\00:23:04.18
ready to enter the fray.
00:23:04.18\00:23:05.91
He knows all of
the difficult things
00:23:05.91\00:23:09.05
that are gonna happen out
there on that battlefield.
00:23:09.05\00:23:11.25
He's mentally trying
to get prepared for that.
00:23:11.25\00:23:15.29
The next thing that
that soldier will do,
00:23:15.29\00:23:17.73
often in ancient
battle literature, is pray.
00:23:17.73\00:23:20.26
Now, he's praying to the
gods--plural, right?--here.
00:23:20.26\00:23:23.00
But Paul wants
us to pray with him
00:23:23.00\00:23:25.87
and about him to
God, capital "G,"
00:23:25.87\00:23:29.60
to the one true
God, to Jesus Christ.
00:23:29.60\00:23:31.94
He wants us to pray to God.
00:23:31.94\00:23:34.54
And so I think this is
part of his battlefield setting
00:23:34.54\00:23:38.41
that he's painting for us here.
00:23:38.41\00:23:40.35
>>So prayer,
very, very significant.
00:23:40.35\00:23:42.82
John, there's one
other section in here
00:23:42.82\00:23:44.95
that I think is important
to tease out a little bit,
00:23:44.95\00:23:49.72
and that's what Paul
refers to in verse number 20.
00:23:49.72\00:23:52.29
He says, "I am an
ambassador in chains."
00:23:52.29\00:23:56.40
What does he mean when he says
00:23:56.40\00:23:57.93
that he is an ambassador in
chains? What's that all about?
00:23:57.93\00:24:02.10
>>Well, if you look
at the context here,
00:24:02.10\00:24:05.47
he seems to be looking
toward an event, doesn't he?
00:24:05.47\00:24:09.98
He says, he asks
them to pray "also for me,
00:24:09.98\00:24:14.02
"that words may be given
to me in opening my mouth
00:24:14.02\00:24:16.72
boldly to proclaim the
mystery of the gospel."
00:24:16.72\00:24:19.72
And he seems to be
looking toward that tête-à-tête,
00:24:19.72\00:24:23.53
head-to-head conversation
00:24:23.53\00:24:25.13
that he will have with
none other than Emperor Nero.
00:24:25.13\00:24:28.40
So he's looking
toward that, and he's saying,
00:24:28.40\00:24:29.96
"I know that's coming.
00:24:29.96\00:24:31.23
"Please pray for
me that in that moment
00:24:31.23\00:24:34.17
"I won't quail or turn
tail and run in the battle,
00:24:34.17\00:24:38.57
"but that I will stand firm
00:24:38.57\00:24:40.58
"and proclaim the
mystery of the gospel.
00:24:40.58\00:24:42.38
So please pray for me."
00:24:42.38\00:24:44.15
And then he says, "I am
the ambassador in chains."
00:24:44.15\00:24:48.45
Well, he's imprisoned,
remember. Paul is in prison.
00:24:48.45\00:24:51.55
This is one of
the prison epistles,
00:24:51.55\00:24:53.15
so he's referring to the
chains of his imprisonment.
00:24:53.15\00:24:56.32
But there may be some
spicing of irony here, Eric,
00:24:56.32\00:25:00.56
in that ambassadors
wore a chain of office.
00:25:00.56\00:25:04.70
And so there may be a
kind of double entendre
00:25:04.70\00:25:07.40
going on here in this
mention where he's saying,
00:25:07.40\00:25:10.51
"These chains actually signify
something far more important:
00:25:10.51\00:25:15.31
"that I am the personal
ambassador of the risen Christ
00:25:15.31\00:25:19.08
"who sits on the
throne of the cosmos.
00:25:19.08\00:25:21.35
Nero is almost
meaningless" (laughs)
00:25:21.35\00:25:24.99
"when compared to
the power and the glory
00:25:24.99\00:25:27.52
of the One that I serve."
00:25:27.52\00:25:28.86
>>So the chains that
may have been visible on him
00:25:28.86\00:25:32.99
were not nearly as powerful
00:25:32.99\00:25:35.33
as the
invisible chains of office
00:25:35.33\00:25:38.07
that he was also wearing.
00:25:38.07\00:25:39.37
>>Very nice way to put it.
00:25:39.37\00:25:40.70
>>Very powerful. >>Yes, mm-hmm.
00:25:40.70\00:25:42.54
>>So, John,
there may be somebody
00:25:42.54\00:25:44.01
who's watching this right
now, listening to it right now
00:25:44.01\00:25:46.68
who's looking at their own life
00:25:46.68\00:25:48.24
and trying to
figure out how they fit
00:25:48.24\00:25:52.25
into this big picture.
00:25:52.25\00:25:53.75
They may not feel that
they have the strongest shield,
00:25:53.75\00:25:56.69
their belt may not feel as wide
00:25:56.69\00:25:59.59
and hefty as others'-- >>Sure.
00:25:59.59\00:26:01.46
>>...and they don't
quite know how they fit
00:26:01.46\00:26:03.29
into this larger
army, as it were.
00:26:03.29\00:26:06.39
They feel a little bit alone.
00:26:07.30\00:26:08.73
>>Yeah. >>How
would you encourage them
00:26:08.73\00:26:10.50
and help them to see
00:26:10.50\00:26:12.30
that Christ has
a message for them
00:26:12.30\00:26:14.67
in this metaphor of a soldier?
00:26:14.67\00:26:17.51
>>Well, I might go
to one piece of armor
00:26:17.51\00:26:20.34
that we haven't
mentioned here much, Eric,
00:26:20.34\00:26:21.98
and that's the helmet of
salvation, as it's usually
00:26:21.98\00:26:25.71
called. And the term
that's used there for,
00:26:25.71\00:26:27.22
that's translated "salvation,"
00:26:27.22\00:26:29.08
is probably better
translated in a battle context
00:26:29.08\00:26:33.99
as the helmet of "victory,"
00:26:33.99\00:26:37.06
the victory
helmet, the parade helmet.
00:26:37.06\00:26:39.59
And New Testament
scholars used to say,
00:26:39.59\00:26:41.36
"Well, did such
things even exist?"
00:26:41.36\00:26:43.90
But in recent years,
archaeologists have discovered
00:26:43.90\00:26:46.47
these beautiful parade helmets
00:26:46.47\00:26:48.24
that you would never wear in
battle, lest they get damaged.
00:26:48.24\00:26:51.01
Beautiful! The
Hallaton Helmet from the U.K.,
00:26:51.01\00:26:54.18
discovered in a
U.K. bog, for example,
00:26:54.18\00:26:56.68
this gorgeous,
gorgeous adorned helmet--
00:26:56.68\00:26:59.91
and so Paul is saying--
00:26:59.91\00:27:02.55
if that's correct that
it's the helmet of victory,
00:27:02.55\00:27:04.72
the parade helmet--he's
saying, "Enter the fray,
00:27:04.72\00:27:07.82
"enter the battle
with the parade helmet on
00:27:07.82\00:27:10.73
"because you know that God is
provisioning you with victory.
00:27:10.73\00:27:14.40
"You know that you have
all the resources you need.
00:27:14.40\00:27:17.30
The victory is
certain; it is promised."
00:27:17.30\00:27:20.37
And so I would say to
that hesitant disciple
00:27:20.37\00:27:22.77
or hesitant soldier
00:27:22.77\00:27:24.41
that this is far more
about God than it is about you.
00:27:24.41\00:27:28.21
This is about what God
intends in Christ to do in you
00:27:28.21\00:27:32.65
and for you and through you.
00:27:32.65\00:27:35.28
You can trust
yourself in God's hands.
00:27:35.28\00:27:37.72
>>I seem to remember
a passage in the Bible
00:27:37.72\00:27:39.42
that says something about
"the battle is the Lord's."
00:27:39.42\00:27:41.66
>>The battle is
the Lord's. Amen.
00:27:41.66\00:27:43.43
>>And that's
encouraging for all of us,
00:27:43.43\00:27:45.29
or at least it
certainly should be.
00:27:45.29\00:27:47.56
I trust and pray
that this week's lesson
00:27:47.56\00:27:49.33
has been a blessing to you.
00:27:49.33\00:27:50.87
We have one more week left,
lesson number 14 next week,
00:27:50.87\00:27:55.64
and we look forward to
seeing you back again then.
00:27:55.64\00:27:57.81
This has been "Sabbath School,"
00:27:57.81\00:27:59.17
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:59.17\00:28:01.34
(uplifting theme music)
00:28:01.34\00:28:03.81
(music ends)
00:28:27.54\00:28:29.80