2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Over the last few weeks, we have seen that all believers must fight spiritual warfare, but that they have been fitted to endure and to have victory in it if they will hang on to their faith. The Lord, through the Scriptures and prayer, has given us the mechanism whereby we can carry on through this turmoil and still not loose sight of His big picture while we’re doing it. This places us in the position of being “on earth but of heaven.” When a future pastor goes to seminary, he is asked to study Scripture in the original language in which it is written, Hebrew for the OT and Greek for the NT. Now that may seem like a lot of unnecessary hard work, but it really isn’t. That’s because languages like English are so imprecise that original meanings of certain citations might get garbled or lost altogether. A number of theologians whose works I have studied have me convinced that this word study method of going back to the original language should not only be for clergy in training, but should be there for anyone wanting to better know God’s word. Methods have been put in place so the average person can do a word study without speaking the ancient languages and benefit by the deeper understanding of God’s will and His word that it gives us.
I use a book called Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and another one called Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament by Spiros Zhodiates. The first one allows you to look up a word and which citation you find it. There is a number for that word. Then, you look in the back of the back of the book in a section for Hebrew for the OT or Greek for the NT and find that word by its number. Therein, you find a short discussion that leaves no equivocation as to what the author’s original meaning actually was and the derivation of that word. The second book allows you to look up that word by its number, which corresponds to the number you found in Strong’s to get even more detailed discussion of it. Don’t be afraid to use either of these wonderful resource books.
Let’s look at some examples from words used in Ephesians that apply to spiritual warfare. The Greek word for “power” is “dunamis” [pronounced doo-na-mis] and that is the one used in EPH 1: 9, 2: 1, 3: 7, 3: 16, and 3: 20. The Greek word for “authority” is “exousia” [pronounced ex-oo-see’-ah]. It’s the one used in EPH 1: 21, 2:2, 3:10, and 6:2. The Greek word for “might” is “kratos” [pronounced krat-o’s]. It’s the one used in EPH 1: 19 and 6: 10. The Greek word for “strength” is “ischus” [pronounced is-khoos’]. It’s the one used in EPH 1: 19 and 6: 10. If you read these citations in looking at the analysis I found, it will have more meaning for you, as it did for me. “Dunamis,” the word for power was explained as being derived from the word for “force.” It suggests ability, abundance, might, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work. “Exousia,” the word for authority, suggest privilege, force, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, and/or strength. “Kratos,” the word for might, suggests greatness, vigor, dominion, and strength from power. “Ischus,” the word for strength, suggests a form of forcefulness, ability, might, and power.
To better explain how this works, let me take an example in a citation for each of these words. EPH 1: 9, “God did what He proposed and made known to us the secret plan He had already decided to complete by means of Christ.” In other words God’s power to put this plan in place was demonstrated by Christ’s Atonement. The secret plan was to provide a means of salvation for those who repent and come to faith by sacrificing His own only Son as the perfect once for all substitute sin-sacrifice on the cross. That paid the price that bought all believers their freedom from slavery to sin. God alone has the “dunamis” to do this. EPH 1: 21, “Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; He has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next.” In other words, Christ has the “exousia” prophesied in DN 7: 13-14. EPH 1: 19-20, “…and how very great is His power at work in us who believe. The power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which He used when He raised Christ from death and seated Him at His right side in the heavenly world.” God had the “kratos” to bring about this supernatural act. EPH 6: 10, “Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of His mighty power.” It is our “ischus” which gets built up when we are in union with the Lord by connecting with His mighty power. Dear Ones, the more we study this, the harder it is to miss that when we endure through pain, loss, and suffering in faith, Satan and his co-horts simply don’t have a chance! I don’t know about you, but that certainly gives me comfort.
PRAYER: O Lord, You know that by being believers in Christ, we are indeed “on earth but of heaven.” That is not an easy position to be in, but that is the hard path which leads from a narrow gate that will take us to eternal life with You. We acknowledge that there is no better way for us to travel through the challenges of our earthly lives. We come to You for guidance and even correction. Sometimes You rebuke us, and other times You encourage us. But, we know that nothing that You do is ever for evil reasons. Your agenda is as JER 29: 11- 13 tells us. “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to Me. You come and pray to Me, and I will answer you . You will seek Me, and seek Me with all your heart.” Both Your will and Your power are so clearly seen in this citation. We praise You for loving us so much and for exerting Your unparalleled power for always righteous purpose. Without You our lives are futures are empty shells without value leading to spiritual death. With You, we are taken down that hard path with support, guidance, compassion, patience, and love. Along the way You show us how to produce the fruits of the Spirit as outlined in GA 5: 22-23. “But the Spirit produces love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these.” We sing praises to You and speak David’s words in PS 9: 9-10, “The Lord is a refuge for oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble. Those who know You, Lord, will trust You; You do not abandon anyone Who comes to You.” Today, we confess our sins and offer You our everlasting adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, diligence, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
In tomorrow’s message, I am led to discuss more on the kind of support God gives us as we endure through our lives “on earth but of heaven.” All along, we need to keep in mind where Satan does or does not fit into this construct. As we learn more about what God reveals to us, I am virtually certain that it is His will for us to be convinced beyond a doubt that He really has given us the power to overcome Satan’s arrows inflicted on us. Just recently, I have seen such spiritual heroism from ordinary people around me dealing with very serious problems Satan and his followers give them that it simply shouldn’t be lost on me or on any other believer that observes them. There is such magnificent “dunamis” in prayer and so many examples of Christ’s “exousia” being used for our benefit that we must pay attention. God and the Son are real, alive, and dynamic forces in our lives. We can take comfort in this and know that we are loved beyond our capacity to understand. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn