Bible Study Without the Holy Spirit, We Can Do Nothing.

[Tenchi]

"Principles for Spiritual Victory​

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might" (Eph. 6:10).​

You can be victorious!

This month we've learned many things about spiritual warfare that I pray will better equip you for victory in your Christian life. In concluding our brief study of Ephesians 6:10-18, here are some key principles I want you to remember:

1. Remember that Satan is a defeated foe. Jesus came to destroy his works (1 John 3:8) and will someday cast him into eternal hell (Rev. 20:10).
2. Remember the power of Christ in your life. John said, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The same power that defeated Satan indwells you. Consequently, you are never alone or without divine resources.
3. Remember to resist Satan. You have the power to resist him, so don't acquiesce to him by being ignorant of his schemes or deliberately exposing yourself to temptation.
4. Keep your spiritual armor on at all times. It's foolish to enter combat without proper protection.
5. Let Christ control your attitudes and actions. The spiritual battle we're in calls for spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:3-4), so take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (v. 5). Feed on the Word and obey its principles.
6. Pray, pray, pray! Prayer unleashes the Spirit's power. Be a person of fervent and faithful prayer (cf. James 5:16).

God never intended for you to live in spiritual defeat. I pray you'll take advantage of the resources He has supplied that your life might honor Him. Enjoy sweet victory every day!

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for His promise of ultimate victory in Christ.

For Further Study

Read Ephesians 6:10-18.

• Review each piece of armor.
• Is any piece missing from your personal defense system? If so, determine what you will do to correct the deficiency."

(From Drawing Near by John MacArthur)


Interesting read, eh? There's some good stuff in this summary devotional. But the statements in this summary really need a number of vital qualifications/clarifications.

Ephesians 6:10 is a great verse, repeating the truth of the necessity of divine life and power in Christian living that is found all across the books of the New Testament. Nothing is made clearer in the NT than that the Christian "walks with God," that is, "walks in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16, 25), by His power, not their own. Redemption, adoption, justification, sanctification and transformation are all a work of God bestowed upon the undeserving and impotent lost person, not achieved by them.

Philippians 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Romans 8:13
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

2 Corinthians 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Ephesians 3:16
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

And so on.

Strangely - and frequently - Christians acknowledge what the verses/passages above say about godly living being achieved by God's power and work in the believer but then they set out to "be godly" by their own fleshly effort. Applying their own powers of will, physical strength and intellect to the business of "walking with God," they attempt to advance spiritually, to go "deep with God." But as the verses above clearly indicate, God reserves the work of deepening us to Himself. Like begets like, you see: A cat only begets a cat; a dog only begets a dog; and you and I can only beget more of ourselves. If we want to be godly, God must work to "beget" godliness in us, which He promises in His word to do (see above).

1 Peter 5:10-11
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:7-9
7 ...wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Continued below.

 

[Tenchi]

"Yes, yes," you might say, "Of course God is the One who sustains and changes us. But we don't just sit on our hands waiting for Him to do it all for us. We are commanded to act, to do things, many, many times in the Bible." Well, hang on, here. Scripture makes it very clear that God is not merely a support to our efforts to please Him; He isn't just a Divine Assistant in our labor to be more like Jesus. No, Christ is our very Life, both physically and spiritually.

John 1:3-5
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 14:5-6
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Colossians 3:4
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

As Jesus said to the Twelve, "Without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). We have no spiritual life, let alone power, that is our own. Apart from God, apart from the life and work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9; Philippians 1:19), we are utterly without strength to be who God wants us to be; just consider what Scripture says about us when we were lost:

Romans 5:6
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Titus 3:3-5
3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
5 he saved us...

Ephesians 2:1-5
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

What God has called His children to in being His own is utterly beyond what they can achieve in their own fleshly, human powers. We absolutely need divine power to achieve a divine end. When we act to produce for God from our own reserves of will-power, physical strength and intellect what only He can produce, the result is fleshly and corrupt and entirely rejected by God, however "spiritual," however obedient to God's commands, it seems to be.

Galatians 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption...

Romans 8:5-8
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Galatians 5:17
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Romans 7:18
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

When, then, Christians tell each other that they can be spiritually "victorious," they tell the truth. But if they go on to locate that victory in the actions, the powers, of their flesh (intellect, willpower, physical strength), they horribly mislead one another. As Paul wrote, "In me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing." A godly end, therefore, cannot be achieved by dint of flesh-centered, human power.

Continued below.

 

[Tenchi]

1. Remember that Satan is a defeated foe. Jesus came to destroy his works (1 John 3:8) and will someday cast him into eternal hell (Rev. 20:10).


Yes, Satan is a defeated foe. But a Christian can still subject themselves to his power, they can "give place/ground/opportunity to the devil" (Ephesians 4:27) in their lives and be brought into bondage to him. This happens when children of God depart from God's authority and control and begin to "chart their own course." In this condition of rebellion toward God, they have no hope of "resisting the devil"; for as a rebel toward God, the believer has God as their opponent, too.

James 4:6-7
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Submission to God MUST precede resisting the devil. A believer living out from under the control of their Maker is a rebel toward Him (there is no other option) until such time as they come again under His control. So long as this is so, the Christian faces not only the opposition of the devil, but of their heavenly Father, too.

1 Peter 5:5-9
5 ... “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
9 Resist him, firm in your faith...

Here, also, the apostle Peter echoes Paul, putting submission to God before resisting the devil, and reminding the Christian believer that God is the opponent of any who are proud before Him, as every rebel is.

So, yes, remember that the devil is a defeated foe. Remember also, though, that the unsubmitted believer, the rebellious believer, is "devoured" without difficulty by the "roaring lion" and is opposed by God Himself while they remain out from under the constant control of the Holy Spirit.


2. Remember the power of Christ in your life. John said, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The same power that defeated Satan indwells you. Consequently, you are never alone or without divine resources.

But this "power," the Person of the Holy Spirit, acts on behalf of the believer, teaching, strengthening and changing them, only as they agree to his doing so by their conscious, explicit submission to him throughout each day. Only as this is the case are the "divine resources" of the Holy Spirit exerted by him upon the born-again person.


3. Remember to resist Satan. You have the power to resist him, so don't acquiesce to him by being ignorant of his schemes or deliberately exposing yourself to temptation.

Yes, we must all as children of God "resist the devil." And, yes, the Holy Spirit has the power to enable us to do so. But see above. If we attempt to "resist the devil" under the wrong circumstance spiritually, we will be quickly and badly overcome, opposed by two far greater powers, one of them God Himself. God demands of us that we restore the right spiritual circumstance with Him by three steps and if we don't, we will continue to be "easy meat" for the Evil One:

1.) Repentance (changing our mind about our sin and the lies we've told ourselves that bring us into sin) - James 4:6-10; Revelation 2-3.

2.) Confession (agreeing with God that the lies we've accepted and sin we've committed are lies and sin) - 1 John 1:9.

3) Submission (yielding ourselves consciously and explicitly to the control of the Holy Spirit) - Romans 6:13-22; Romans 8:14; Romans 12:1.


4. Keep your spiritual armor on at all times. It's foolish to enter combat without proper protection.
Jesus, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, is our armor. All of the "spiritual armor" - the "helmet of salvation," the "breastplate of righteousness," the "belt of truth," the "sandals of Gospel readiness" and "the shield of faith" - are all ultimately Christ himself.

Jesus is our salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 John 5:11-12).
Jesus is our Righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 2 Peter 1:1).
Jesus is The Truth (John 14:6).
Jesus is the Center of the Gospel (1 Timothy 2:5; John 1:12; John 3:16-19).
Jesus is the Source of our faith (John 12:32; Romans 12:3; Philippians 1:29).

In light of these truths, we "put on Christ" and all the spiritual "armor" that he is when we are saved.

Galatians 3:27
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Romans 13:12-14
12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
There is, then, no putting on and putting off one's "spiritual armor." If one has put on that "armor," if one has "put on Christ," and thus been saved, there is no taking him off, which is to say, undoing one's salvation (Hebrews 13:5; John 10:27-29; Romans 8:31-39).


5. Let Christ control your attitudes and actions. The spiritual battle we're in calls for spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:3-4), so take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (v. 5). Feed on the Word and obey its principles.
Let Christ, that is, the Spirit of Christ, control all of you. Every born-again person is to be a "branch in the Vine" (John 15:4-5), a "vessel sanctified and prepared for the Master's use" (2 Timothy 2:20-21), a "bond-servant to righteousness" (Romans 6:22), and as such has yielded up all rights, goals and desires to God. The great Bible commentator, Dr. Albert Barnes, wrote the following on this point:

“A living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). - A sacrifice is an offering made to God as an atonement for sin; or any offering made to him and his service as an expression of thanksgiving or homage. It implies, that he who offers it presents it entirely, releases all claim or right to it, and leaves it to be disposed of for the honour of God. In the case of an animal, it was slain, and the blood offered; in the case of any other offering, as the firstfruits, etc., it was set apart to the service of God; and he who offered it released all claim on it, and submitted it to God, to be disposed of at his will. This is the offering which the apostle entreats the Romans to make; to devote themselves to God, as if they had no longer any claim on themselves; to be disposed of by him; to suffer and bear all that he might appoint; and to promote his honour in any way which he might command. This is the nature of true religion.” - Albert Barnes

There is no real "Christian living" under any other circumstance than that of being a living sacrifice to God. If one is not such a sacrifice all day, every day, one is not truly walking with God and they certainly aren't able to wage successful spiritual warfare.

6. Pray, pray, pray! Prayer unleashes the Spirit's power. Be a person of fervent and faithful prayer (cf. James 5:16).

And most importantly, when you pray, be a holy person, a righteous person, who does not indulge willfully in what they know to be sin. It is the fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS person that avails much with God. It isn't the quantity of our prayers that is important to God but the quality of them.

Psalm 66:18
18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;
Isaiah 59:2
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

1 Peter 3:12
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

 

[JLB]

"Principles for Spiritual Victory​

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might" (Eph. 6:10).​

You can be victorious!

This month we've learned many things about spiritual warfare that I pray will better equip you for victory in your Christian life. In concluding our brief study of Ephesians 6:10-18, here are some key principles I want you to remember:

1. Remember that Satan is a defeated foe. Jesus came to destroy his works (1 John 3:8) and will someday cast him into eternal hell (Rev. 20:10).
2. Remember the power of Christ in your life. John said, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The same power that defeated Satan indwells you. Consequently, you are never alone or without divine resources.
3. Remember to resist Satan. You have the power to resist him, so don't acquiesce to him by being ignorant of his schemes or deliberately exposing yourself to temptation.
4. Keep your spiritual armor on at all times. It's foolish to enter combat without proper protection.
5. Let Christ control your attitudes and actions. The spiritual battle we're in calls for spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:3-4), so take "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (v. 5). Feed on the Word and obey its principles.
6. Pray, pray, pray! Prayer unleashes the Spirit's power. Be a person of fervent and faithful prayer (cf. James 5:16).

God never intended for you to live in spiritual defeat. I pray you'll take advantage of the resources He has supplied that your life might honor Him. Enjoy sweet victory every day!

Suggestions for Prayer

Thank God for His promise of ultimate victory in Christ.

For Further Study

Read Ephesians 6:10-18.

• Review each piece of armor.
• Is any piece missing from your personal defense system? If so, determine what you will do to correct the deficiency."

(From Drawing Near by John MacArthur)


Interesting read, eh? There's some good stuff in this summary devotional. But the statements in this summary really need a number of vital qualifications/clarifications.

Ephesians 6:10 is a great verse, repeating the truth of the necessity of divine life and power in Christian living that is found all across the books of the New Testament. Nothing is made clearer in the NT than that the Christian "walks with God," that is, "walks in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16, 25), by His power, not their own. Redemption, adoption, justification, sanctification and transformation are all a work of God bestowed upon the undeserving and impotent lost person, not achieved by them.

Philippians 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Romans 8:13
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

2 Corinthians 3:18
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:30-31
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

Ephesians 3:16
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

And so on.

Strangely - and frequently - Christians acknowledge what the verses/passages above say about godly living being achieved by God's power and work in the believer but then they set out to "be godly" by their own fleshly effort. Applying their own powers of will, physical strength and intellect to the business of "walking with God," they attempt to advance spiritually, to go "deep with God." But as the verses above clearly indicate, God reserves the work of deepening us to Himself. Like begets like, you see: A cat only begets a cat; a dog only begets a dog; and you and I can only beget more of ourselves. If we want to be godly, God must work to "beget" godliness in us, which He promises in His word to do (see above).

1 Peter 5:10-11
10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
11 To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:24-25
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,
25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:7-9
7 ...wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Continued below.

Do you believe the Promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is for today?

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”Acts 1:4-5


But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8


Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. Acts 2:33


For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:39

• the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call

This promise of the Father is for all!

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is God’s power to live the Christian life.





JLB

 

[Tenchi]

Do you believe the Promise of the Father, the baptism with the Holy Spirit is for today?

Yes. The "baptism" of the Spirit is the means of the "second birth" of every child of God by which they are placed in Christ, spiritually.

Titus 3:5
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Romans 8:9-11
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

This promise of the Father is for all!

The baptism with the Holy Spirit is God’s power to live the Christian life.

Is it the baptism that is the important thing? Or the indwelling Person of the Holy Spirit? It is, after all, the Spirit who does the baptizing, right?

And what's to be done with all of the many instances of criticism and correction levelled at born-again believers throughout the letters of the New Testament (1 Corinthians 3, 5, 6, 11, Galatians 3:3, Ephesians 5:1-13, Revelation 2-3, 1 John 1:8-9, etc.)? If it was a foregone conclusion that Christians would live properly simply because they are born-again (i.e. baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit), all of the correction and criticism of them in the NT would not have been necessary.

Unfortunately, many Christians give little evidence that they are indwelt by the Holy Spirit in the character of their practical living, being unholy, biblically ignorant, often unaware that they are on a spiritual battlefield all the time, and bound, therefore, in various deceptions and sin. Though they "live in/by the Spirit" they know next to nothing of "walking in/by the Spirit." But all children of God are commanded to do both.

Galatians 5:25
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.