The Precious Blood of Christ

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Testament In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the word for testament is more correctly translated as covenant. The idea of a covenant as defined by W.E. Vine in “An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words” is a “mutual undertaking between two parties or more, each binding himself to fulfill obligation.” 

· Many saints fail to realize that we are in covenant with the Lord Jesus and our ability to experience all that He has already accomplished for us is conditional to our obedience. The Lord took it upon Himself to accomplish most of the responsibilities of this New Covenant. Our responsibility lies in serving the Lord by the voice of His Spirit, with uncompromising obedience. 

· New : This is a most interesting word. It is defines as the freshness of something brand new, as is the case of a new car. The New Covenant has the ability to convert all things and make them brand new in quality, if we fulfill our obligations in keeping covenant with the Lord through obedience. 

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old (archaic) things are passed away ; behold, all things are become new 

· Second Corinthians five and seventeen utilizes this exact word for “new”. At the instance of our becoming born again, everything that was within us of the old creation passed away. At that same moment, the Lord made all things fresh and brand new. Of course, we all get old and die, but everything that pertains to our spiritual life has become like the brand new car. 

· Paul uses the perfect verb tense to describe all things as becoming new. The perfect tense describes an event that has occurred in time but its results and impact goes on forevermore. 

· Being in Christ has caused all, which is not of Him to be abolished forever and to be replaced with a fresh newness, which will never get old again. 

· Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 

· Shed Means to pour out lavishly and abundantly. The blood of Christ is poured out for us in this way. I say, is poured out, rather than saying was poured out, because the verb tense is in the present. In Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20, the Lord, likewise, uses this same present tense. What was going through the mind of Jesus when He described a future event in the present? The New Covenant can only maintain its eternal “newness” through the blood, which is eternally poured out to keep it new. The question for you and me is, what happens when we start to disobey and fail to keep covenant with the Lord? The blood of Christ is found only in the New Covenant. If we willfully move out from the confines of the New Covenant in disobedience, the blood is not available and we will remain in the archaic condition of bondages and sins. 

· The next scripture, First John 1:7 follows the same train of thought.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship ( sharing in common) one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 

· Greek (my paraphrase): But if we should conduct our life in the light, in the same manner as He (conducts Himself) in the light, we associate one with the other. This association allows for the Lord and us to participate and share with one another. This sharing in common allows us to obtain the things of God as the blood of Jesus Christ His Son continuously cleanses us (so that we can obtain) 

· In the measure that we order our lives in obedience to the Lord is to the same extent that we will have fellowship with the Lord. Fellowship, or the sharing in common, allows us to participate in the things of God so that we can obtain from Him. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us in proportion to our obedience and we obtain proportionally to the cleansing by the blood. Conduct, association, participation, obtaining, and the blood of the New Covenant present with ever act of obedience so that we may obtain. 

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

· Remission – Remission is defined as the sending away of something. The blood belonging to the New Covenant constantly sends away sins as we fulfill our obligations with the covenant through obedience. Wherever we step out of covenant, “the blood that sends away,” will not be present. 

2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 

· Greek: That they may return to soberness out of the snare of the devil, having being hunted down and caught alive by him, in order to do his will. 

· Watchman Nee, talked on the issue of passivity, the devil, and the Christian. Though the Word of God never uses the term “passivity” in reality this ia Satan’s most effective method of lying against the body of Christ. The Lord always seeks to bring our will in conformity to His will. Our will however still remains free. True freedom, is the freedom to obey God. The devil likewise wants to conform us to obeying his will. The Lord allows our will to be free, as He lovingly compels us to obey Him. Satan, as “the one who hunts down and catches alive,” wants to take us captive through our passivity to his will. 

· Any time that we give ground to the enemy through disobedience, Satan immediately tempts us with feelings of guilt, condemnation, oppression, passivity, and complacency until we are captured alive by him if we continue in our disobedience. Much of the body of Christ today is generally passive. We are passive in our study of the Word of God. We are passive in our prayer life. We are passive in our commitment to the Lord. I can guarantee you that the devil’s methods of passivity are at work upon us. Passivity to the Word keeps us in ignorance to the will and the ways of God that is our only avenue to obtain the blessings of God. 

· Let me expound a bit on this. Please look with me at the following scriptures out of Ephesians one, six through eight. 

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted (charming and lovely) in the beloved. 

7 In whom we have redemption (the ransom payment of slaves that has freed us) through his blood, the forgiveness (sending away) of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 

Greek ( my paraphrase) In whom we have the liberation of slaves brought about by the Lord Jesus’ satisfactory ransom payment. This ransom payment is His blood. The blood serves as God’s ransom payment because it has the ability to send our sins away. 

· Verse six and seven of Ephesians chapter one tells us that because the blood of the Lord has sent away our sins away, we are now (“accepted”) charming, and lovely, in the eyes of the Father. 

8 Wherein(Greek: which) he hath abounded (caused us to abound) toward ( into) us in all wisdom and prudence;

· I am uncertain in verse eight if what the Lord caused us to receive in abundance is His grace and the riches that make it up, or if it is His redemption. It matters not much at this point. The importance of verse eight is that the abundance of the Lord’s blessings to us is limited by wisdom and prudence. Wisdom is our understanding of the will and the ways of God, and our submission of every part of our lives to that will. Prudence is our step-by-step, daily execution of this will, as we are guided by the voice of the Holy Spirit. The abundance of God’s riches and blessings are released in proportion to how much we conform our daily conduct to God’s wisdom and prudence. 

· Toward is a wonderful word. In reality it is the word “into.” The saints who have become charming and lovely to God are now the receptacles “into” which God desires to funnel all that He is, and all that He has. The more obedience, the more funneling! 

· The devil knows that the more passive and complacent that he can keep us in our study of the Word, the less that we will know of God’s wisdom and prudence, and the reduction will be in the abundance of the blessings of the Lord to us. Remember, it is not what we think that we are performing of the word of God but in reality are not, that releases the riches of God. The Lord’s blessings are only funneled upon what we do in accordance to accurate reality of the Word in His wisdom and prudence. This is why we witness so many ministries and churches that sow much and reap little. The Lord will not bless the doctrines of men, which is our continuous and inaccurate performance of the Word of God; no matter how good they sound or look. 

· Likewise, the devil will take us alive and keep us complacent and lazy in our prayer life. He knows quite well that only what is accomplished through intercession in God’s dwelling place (in the third heaven) that will have any eternal effect for us (in the first heaven.) 

· Finally, a successful Christian life that is a threat to the devil is one of spiritual athletic agony and wearisome labor. Such a life is accomplished by violent spiritual believers who take the kingdom of God by violence; never passivity! 

Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. 

Luke twenty-two and twenty is a very powerful scripture. In my blood is in the Greek “dative case of location.” Let me explain this fancy terminology to you. Where do you and I live? We live on the earth or are located in the earth. Because we are located in the earthly world we are affected by, and are part of everything that belongs to the world. The New Covenant is located in the blood, or more accurately in the world of the blood of Jesus. All that the blood of Jesus accomplishes affects everything in the New Covenant. As long as we maintain ourselves in covenant with the Lord, we automatically live inside of the world of the blood of Jesus Christ. Wow! 

My beloved, our uncompromising obedience to the Lord is our safety and protection from the devil, and our cleansing from all sin and bondage. You and I plea the blood of Jesus daily, and rightfully so. It is vital to claim the blood, especially before the devil. More powerful though is to live constantly inside the world of the blood of Jesus as we keep covenant with the Lord. 

As I was sharing this revelation with my wife Mary the Lord gave her a two-fold picture. The first part of the picture was that of the believer traveling through one of the Lord’s arteries as he or she kept obedience to the Lord.

The second part of the picture was similar to the kid’s TV show, “The Magic School Bus.” In some of its episodes, the teacher, Miss Frizzle and her class, ride in the magic school bus, which becomes small and traverses through the blood vessels of a human body. The Lord showed Mary that the magic school bus is the rhema word of God with us inside traveling through the Lord’s veins as we obey it. 

My friends, if you are doing your very best to obey the Lord in all that He commands, confess with boldness to the devil that you live in the world of the blood of Jesus. 

For those of you who witness to the cults that deny that Jesus Christ is God, the next scripture is for you. Does it not say that God purchased the church with His own blood? 

Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Propitiation- The Greek tells us that God has placed before the public eye “CHRIST AS A PROPITIATION.” 

To propitiate, from God’s mindset, is His becoming favorably inclined towards us. This is because Jesus paid the blood ransom money that sent our sins away, making us charming and lovely to His eyes. God now has the legal ability to shower all of His blessings upon us. The fullness of His blessings is His inheritance, which will take an eternity for us to receive. 

Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 

Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Through faith in his blood We are required to place our faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus and all that it does for us. 

1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion ( “a” communion, not “the” communion)of the blood of Christ? 

The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

· Marvin Vincent, the Greek scholar translates the first part of First Corinthians ten and sixteen in the following way. “ The cup over which the familiar formula of blessing is pronounced.” 

· The communion of the blood Communion is the word for fellowship. As we have discussed in First John one and seven, fellowship is defined as an association, participation, and a sharing in common. In this case, the cup represents our spiritual participation and sharing in all the benefits that the blood of Christ has in store for us. 

· 1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 

· We are told that that the cup is likewise the New Covenant of the Lord. Let us see why. 

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 

Greek: For at any time that you choose to eat this bread and drink this cup, you publicly proclaim and declare with thoroughness all that the death of the Lord Jesus signifies, until the time that He chooses to come. 

· The New Covenant located in the blood of Jesus is inaugurated with the death of the Lord Jesus by the shedding of the same. Our partaking of the cup becomes a spiritual display of the New Covenant and the death of Christ, which it fully declares. 

· We must receive all of these things by faith. The importance of this can be found in two scriptures that we studied; Romans 3:25 and 1 Cor.10:16. Our faith in the blood of Christ releases our communion with it and allows us to obtain from it in proportion to our faith. 

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ 

· Greek paraphrase; you were once far off, not only in distance but alienated from God and without access to the things that belong to Him. Now by His blood, you have become close to Him and enjoy full access to Him and His things. 

· This scripture is a good example of how we must commune with the blood of Jesus in order to receive by faith its benefits. 

Colossians 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. 

Greek ( paraphrase) He brought about the state of freshness and newness to the whole universe through the blood of His cross. He is able to harmonize all things back to Himself whether upon the earth or in heaven through the blood of His cross. 

· By “harmony” I mean that the all that pertains to the universe is subjected to Christ, under His headship, and can now be restored to its original condition and purpose, which God had for them prior to the fall. Christ shed His blood for the whole universe, partially in preparation for the eternal ages to come. We can therefore confess before Satan, that Jesus has harmonized everything in us to His original plan and state. Satan, therefore, cannot touch us.

· Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained ( to find, discover, or to meet upon) eternal redemption( loosening) for us. 

Greek: By His own blood He entered once and for all, and remains in the holiest place. He has obtained for us therefore an everlasting loosening not only of our sins but also from the penalties associated with them. 

In the Old Testament, once a year, on one day, that being the Day of Atonement, the high priest would go into the holiest place with the blood of animals and purge the sins of the nation of Israel. We have a better sacrifice than the nation of Israel. Through His spotless blood, the Lord Jesus entered permanently into the holiest place of the heavenly temple securing for us a permanent and everlasting purging of sins. We are free from sin forever! 

Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 

Greek: For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling what is common (what is in the world at large) and profane is able to separate unto God (from the world at large and towards His purposes) in regards to the purity of the flesh 

Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot (to be without moral stain or blemish.) to God, purge your conscience from dead works ( corpse like works) to serve the living God? 

The blood of bulls and calves could only furnish the house of Israel with purity of the flesh. On the other hand, the blood of Jesus not only purifies our flesh but also cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Our conscience is a simple barometer of what lies within us whether good or evil.

A dead work is anything that we do outside of the voice of the Holy Spirit whether by performance, guilt, religious programs and fleshly strivings. The blood of bulls and goats could never purify the spirit and soul of man or woman from these fleshly efforts to serve the living God. Serving the living God, is serving God as an adopted son or daughter. Our service as sons and daughters is a simple obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit apart from the performance, guilt and compulsion brought about the dead works of fleshly efforts. 

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. 

· Greek: And almost all things with blood are cleansed according to the law. Apart from the blood shedding (through the giving up of a life) can there be the sending away of sins. 

Heb 9:23 ¶ It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 

· Greek: It is necessary that the earthly copy of the things which are in the heavens themselves be purified with the blood of bulls and goats, but the heavenly original with more excellent sacrifices than these. 

24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: 

· Greek: Christ did not enter into the holies made with human hands which is merely a copy resembling the authentic. He entered into heaven itself to make Him visible before the face of the God on our behalf. 

· For one, Christ has done exceedingly above what the earthly high priest could do. The high priest could only enter into an imperfect earthly copy of the tabernacle that dwells in heaven. There, he could present the blood before the glory of God, which dwelt on the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus, however, when into heavens itself, into the authentic tabernacle, and presented Himself before the very face of God, not just His earthly glory. 

· This has insured us with an absolute purging of our sins and an assurance of a completely thorough salvation. As we live in this imperfect world, we can still believe for total freedom in every part of our lives, or at least our continual progress towards it. 

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost ( completely, perfectly, utterly) that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them 

Heb 9:23 ¶ It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 

· In verse twenty-three we observe that the earthly tabernacle was cleansed with the blood of bulls and goats so that priestly ministry could take place. How much more effective can our ministries be if the authentic heavenly tabernacle has been cleansed with the blood of Jesus? There is no excuse for each of us to be powerfully used by the Lord if we serve the living God and not dead works.

Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk ( military steps in rank and order) in the Spirit. 

· Greek: If we are living in the Spirit, let us march in the steps of a soldier with the Spirit’s wishes. 

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, Greek: We have at all times therefore a fearless confidence before God that gives us an entrance into the holies by the blood of Jesus.

· Boldness is one of my favorite New Testament words. It simply means, “ to tell it like it is.” Because the blood of Christ has made us charming and lovely before the eyes of God we now have boldness with Him. 

· Boldness urges us to come before God, having nothing to hide from Him, without shame or guilt, fully confident and assured, and with the ability to speak intimately, frankly and with reverential bluntness. 

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 

Greek: Let us continuously approach God with a heart that is genuine and real (not religious) because we are fully confident. This confidence comes through our faith in all that Christ has done for us. We base this faith on the fact that our hearts were once in the past sprinkled from an evil conscience, but the impact of this event has a lasting and eternal impact. Likewise, our bodies were once in the past washed with pure water (the blood of Christ), but the impact of this event has a lasting and eternal impact. 

· We see the perfect tense used in Hebrews ten and twenty two. The salvation of the Lord accomplished for us two thousand years ago continues effective now and forevermore. 

Hebrews 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 

Greek: By faith he Moses performed the Passover and the pouring of the blood lest the destroyer of the firstborn might do them violence and cause them injury.

· This is a very important scripture in spiritual warfare. Our claiming of the blood of Jesus towards Satan will stop in part the violence and injury that he would cause to our loved ones and us. 

· However we must not forget to perform the Passover in conjunction with claiming the blood of Jesus so that our protection will be complete. 

· For us to day, the Passover signifies our complete exiting from the land of sin; our eating of the unleavened bread, which is a holy life before God; our not fearing man or Satan, but stepping out instead into a life of faith and obedience, which will take us into the promised land of freedom and our spiritual vocation. 

1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

· Greek: Knowing that with things which perish such as silver and gold (which cannot pay the sufficient ransom payment to liberate slaves) you were bought, from your empty manner of life handed down to you from your ancestors.

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish (internal purity) and without spot.(external staining by sin) 

· Greek: But by the precious and highly honored blood as of a lamb void of internal blemishes and thus unspotted externally by the world and Satan. 

· This is the costly price of our deliverance that is ever before God and allows us to have boldness with Him. Likewise this must be our confession before

You Are a Dispenser of God's Medicines

 

1 Cor 12:9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

the gifts of healing - “ Charismata iamaton”

The more powerful word for healing in the NT is the word “iaomai”. Apart from a gradual healing this word talks more about a cure. 

In 1Cor 12:9 Paul uses the word “iamaton” which only appears three times in the whole Bible. “Iamaton” is a noun and instead of dealing with the curing of a person as a verb, it basically describes the medicine (noun) that effected the cure. 

When you are praying for people realize that when the Lord uses you in healing your are dispensing through your hands the medicines of God to effect the cure. It’s all a matter of faith.

When you are operating in the gifts of cures or “curing medicines” you must operated in a faith level to know that the person will be cured because you are releasing the perfect spiritual medicine.

The Purpose of the Rings

 

Mary and I gave a ring to each of our children during the Christmas holidays, blessed them prophetically as parents with God's vision and destiny for their lives, released them as adults and gave them the blessing of a father and a mother. I, Jose ,have also been taking out my children individually on a dinner date, telling them how proud I am of them, and also asking each of them to forgive me for things that I have done wrong in my upbringing of them. It has been so very powerful. We recommend every parent to speak a father's and mother's blessing upon their children, prophesy God's destiny over them, and take them out on individual dates. 

These concepts came from the ministry of Ed Tandy MCGlasson who is on Facebook and the late Jack Frost. As a matter of fact I was posting this photograph for Ed. I did not know that it was going to post publicly in FB, but I am glad that it did. When Ed spoke at a pastor's retreat a few months ago, shared how the Lord had inspired him to do that, I broke and began weeping. The Lord told me that he wanted Mary and I to do that for our children during Christmas. 

For 55 years I had not been able to speak to my earthly father face to face. Yesterday, my dad and I went out to lunch. I am 55 and he is 83. I thanked him for all that he had done for me growing up and asked him to forgive me for the things which I did wrong growing up. The greatest Christmas gift has come to me this year. The total restoration and reconciliation with my four children and with my father. 

All glory to God and to the ministries of Jack Frost and Ed Tandy McGlasson

The Church is in the Accusative Case

Eph 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us ( ACCUSATIVE CASE) with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

In the Greek, the accusative case is just what it says. The accusing finger points towards an object that will receive all judgment, sentence, or wrath. It’s a receptacle into where all is focused or pointed to. The accused object is the receptacle or the goal of the judgment. 

If we turn this into to something good, the object, placed in the accusative case of a sentence, is the one to whom all benefits is pointed to or focused into.

The church is the object of whom all of God's love, blessings, benefits, all that He is, and all the He wants to do is focused to. 

I call the church the receptacle of God funnel into which He pours all.

It’s up to us to increase our ability to receive.

We are the objects of His love, we have been translated into kingdom of The Son of His Love, and we are His beloved. 

Most healing that you will experience will come as a revelation of How much He truly loves every last part of you. Where you are sick, receive His love into that very place. You are the receptacle of His love.

Understanding The Spiritual Armor

The full armor of God comes from a Greek word that in reality means the “full array of the weapons that belong to God.”

· My experience as a believer concerning the putting on of the armor of God has been one where I have been taught to every day by prayer or “positive confession” put on the armor piece by piece. Though these things are not wrong in themselves, I believe that there is a great deal more to effectively and correctly put on the full armor of God.

· I would like to make a comment concerning “positive confessions.” The scriptural definition of “confession” is the outward testimony or evidence that our mouths give as to the reality of what is happening inwardly with us. Confession is the outward act that our mouths give in agreement to our spiritual state with the Lord.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

· The word of our testimony that causes us to overcome the enemy is more than a simple spouting off of scriptures and prayers at the devil. The devil must see the testimony or evidence of our lives before him. A believer’s life that is pure and free because it has gone through the cross of Christ and has been raised up to manifest His glory, is the word of our testimony or evidence that will overcome the devil because he sees the presence of the Lord in our lives and flees.

· Yes, it is supremely importance to confess who we are in Christ, but it will not be enough to overcome the Evil One if the confession of our position in Christ does not agree with our obstinate disobedience and bondages inwardly in our lives. The devil sees, laughs, and will leave us alone so that we may continue blinded and rebellious. He has no fear of us, he only fears the revealed Lord.

· We can confess scriptures at the enemy until we are blue in the face. However if we have unrepentant sin in our lives, right at that very spot, the enemy will have a claw dug deep into us until the time that we repent or until the time we die in our unrepentance. 

· The same thread of thought can be found in the concept of binding and loosing. I am not against verbal binding and loosing. I use it all the time in spiritual warfare and deliverance and see the powerful effect of it. However the completion of binding and loosing has to do with forbidding and permitting. Absolute binding of the enemy can only come through a life that is whole and free in the Lord and permits not part of the enemy’s methods to touch it.

· Please look with me at the one example of true binding as found in John 14:30

John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

· As I did this study I was amazed to find that almost every instance in which Paul commands us to take a step of action in putting on the full armor of God, it occurs in the Greek aorist tense.

· By steps of action I am talking about such instances as “ putting on”, “to stand”, “take unto you” and “having done all to stand” to name a few.

· A while back we had studied the Greek aorist tense. This Greek verbal tense is similar to the English past tense, but it is actually stronger. The aorist tense is called the tense of punticular action, which is fancy word for a “punctuation mark.” 

· The aorist tense is an event that produces a punctuation mark on history’s time line. It is one such as the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. At one set instance of time in history, the Lord said “ it is finished” bowed down his head, and gave up the Ghost. This event is a punctuation time on the face of history, forever more marked, and recorded.

· Our putting on the full array of the Lord’s weaponry must be done as a once and for all putting on which produces a historical punctuation mark, and then never taking it off again. Sounds confusing? I will explain.

· Let it suffice at this moment to say that if we through our prayers and positive confession are to put on the full array of God’s weaponry daily, then Paul could not have used the aorist tense. He should have said, “Continue to put on daily the full armor of God.”

· Secondly, the weaponry of God put on by daily prayer and positive confession will only be partially effective in a believer’s life that has unrepentant sin and significant bondage. The word of our testimony won’t line up right in the eyes of the devil.

· It is my belief that the absolute and complete putting on of the Lord’s armor can only be progressively accomplished as we attain to the maturity of the stature of Christ by becoming as free and holy as He is and conformed to His image.

· The full armor of God is nothing else then the fullness of the revelation of the Son of God in our lives. This is why Paul tells us in Romans 13:14…

Romans 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

· For us to begin our study on the armor of God we must first look back to Ephesians 3:16 & 17.

Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

· We have taught before that the glory of the Lord is the invisible God made visible.

· Whenever the Lord is made visible there are riches that belong to the glory or to His visibility.

· It is the riches that make the Lord visible that likewise inwardly strengthen us with the dunamis power of the Lord. This is because the glory of the Lord contains within it the dunamis power of God.

· The dunamis power of God is the vehicle that transports the riches of the glory of God from the spiritual realm, and manifests them out into a lost and dying world through us.

· Verse seventeen tells us that this same dunamis power working in us reveals the Person of Christ within us. In other words, God’s dunamis power manifests the Person of Christ to us through revelation. Dunamis power is God’s great transporter from the spiritual to the physical.

· The fullness of the revelation of Christ in our lives is “the Christ that dwells in our hearts.” There is a difference between living in a house and dwelling in a home. The person that dwells within a home has taken residence and settled down in that home. She or he feel welcomed in their home, they have absolute control over the home, and do as they please within it. Conversely speaking, as we allow the Lord Jesus to dwell and have full sway in out hearts, He will reveal Himself fully.

John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

 Ephesians chapter six and ten commands us to continuously receive this dunamis power of the Lord so that He can be progressively revealed in our lives as the Christ that dwells in our hearts. This is the fullness of revelation.

· The dunamis power of the Lord in verse 10 is defined as the display of the Lord’s outward dominion brought about by His inward strength. This is what it means by “ the power of his might.” This is sort of what happens to Pop Eye when he eats the can of spinach. The tremendous inward strength that is multiplied within him at the eating of the can of spinach is translated into a manifestation of outward strength which caused him to dominate and conquer all, even Bluto the bad man who ran after beautiful Olive Oil.

· This domination of external circumstances is called “dominion” and is in indeed the same as Lord’s dominion over all His creation.

· The Lord’s dominion or manifested expression of the strength that resides within Him is found in His dunamis power. The extent of the Lord’s dominion that is transported by his dunamis power is His ability to subdue all things unto Himself.

Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

· The amount of God’s dunamis power working in us is measured as to how much are we allowing the Lord to subdue or bring the dominion of all things unto Himself. The fullness of revelation of the Son is the fullness of the Lord’s power. The fullness of revelation is the Christ dwelling, and not struggling, or competing with something else in our hearts.

· The more that we live out of the dunamis power of the Lord because we have yielded our life in all meekness to the Lord the more that we shall see the Lord subdue all things underneath our feet. This is the reality of our taking up the full armor of God. 

1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

· The apostle Paul tells us in First Corinthians one and twenty-four that Christ is the dunamis power of God. Christ does not give us the power of God. THE LORD IS THE POWER OF GOD! Therefore the more that Christ is revealed within us the more that the dominion of God to subdue all things under our feet becomes an automatic and effortless reality that is assimilated into our being.

Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

· We seen therefore that this is the key to our putting on the full armor of God

· The full armor of God is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ brought to us by his dunamis power as an expression of the outward dominion of His inner strength. 

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

· “That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” is defined in verse eleven as having enough of God’s dunamis power manifested inwardly so as to allow us to hold our ground against the “methods” of the enemy and to never to lose it again.

· My friends, we can never accomplish this by putting on a daily armor through prayer and positive confession. This is the result of the revelation of the Lord that subdues every part of our lives into submission to His will. 

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in theevil day, and having done all, to stand.

· We can translate verse thirteen like this. Take (aorist tense) therefore the fullness of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ into your lives so that you will have the dunamis power to stand face to face against (the whole of the demonic hierarchy) in the evil day…

· “And having done all, to stand.” Do you remember the cartoons of the Coyote and the Road Runner? These guys would get into a tizzy of a fight and kick up a ball of dust so big that they would be lost within it. When the dust finally cleared up the coyote was on the ground and the roadrunner was always left standing.

· This is exactly what it means to “and having done all, to stand”. Simply speaking in every spiritual dust ball that is kicked up in our lives, as we struggle against sin, Satan, and the world, we must remain standing at the end of every contest, and our spiritual foes must be found powerless at our feet. We can only attain this through the revelation of the Son of God.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

· In verse fourteen, the apostle Paul begins his step-by-step explanation on putting on the armor of God.

· “Having your loins girt about with truth”. A belt is used to keep our clothing intact. When we put our shirt our blouse inside our pants or skirt, and place some type of belt around our waist, the belt itself keeps these articles of clothing in place.

· Truth is what is genuine, accurate, and in accordance to fact. It is not what we believe from error or in misunderstanding of the word of God that will set us free, but what be believe about the Word which is its essence, reality, and accuracy.

· Understanding and living out the word of God in truth will keep the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ intact in our lives. There are no shortcuts to knowing the Word of God in truth. It takes time in the research and study of the Word, and an intimate walk with the Lord that will bring forth revelation knowledge of His Word.

· The breastplate of righteousness is a breastplate made purely out of righteousness. Now, I know, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, but this alone is not sufficient for us to come face to face against the devil and leave him limp on the ground before our feet. Our hearts must be purified to become as righteous as the Lord Himself. The pure in heart will have the Lord Jesus revealed in their lives. Revelation takes purity, and purity is the result of a very intimate walk with the Lord. Intimacy allows us to dwell frequently in the presence of the Lord. It is His presence that sets us free.

2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

· Greek; He shall render the Wicked one useless and non-operational with the manifestation of His presence.

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

· Greek: Having your feet undergirded (aorist tense) so as to walk with the readiness of the good news that brings peace.

· Paul tells us here that the conducting of our lives in this world among believers and non-believers must be accomplished by our being ready or prepared to offer the good news that brings peace to them.

· Peace is the same word as “shalom” in the Hebrew, and talks about the wholeness and freedom of the Lord worked into our lives through His revelation that finally brings us into a state of tranquility and peace. This peace is the result of the Lord having subdued all things, which are not of Him underneath our feet and settings us free.

· We can only preach the gospel prepared in such a way that it will bring others into this same state of “shalom” only when we first experience it. We can only give to others what we have inside of us.

· Secondly, Paul’s definition of the gospel that brings peace teaches us that the gospel that bring cannot be mere words, but it must include our discipling and mentoring people and setting them free so that they may do the work of the ministry.

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

· Literally it is a shield that is made up purely of faith.

· As we have discussed before, the standard of God’s faith for us is found in His rhema word, or the voice of His Spirit.

· We must not walk in accordance with our own flimsy faith but with the Lord’s faith.

· Therefore taking the shield, which is made up of God’s faith, is a command for us to walk by the voice of the Holy Spirit from moment to moment. The rhema word of God not only has resident within it God’s measure of faith and power to make it come to pass, but God’s rhema word also reveals the Person Lord Jesus Christ into every situation in which it is spoken.

John 17:8 For I have given unto them the rhema words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

· Diversities of operations as found in 1 Corinthians 12:6 tells us that the Lord will manifest Himself through the rhema word in accordance with how the circumstances warrant it and in accordance to the personality and the giftings of the human vessel that He manifests Himself through. Every rhema word will manifest the Lord through the diversities of operations.

1 Cor 12:6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.

· When we walk taking the shield of God’s faith, we operate by His rhema word, and the faith, power, and the revelation of the Son of God will subdue all the “methods” of the enemy against us, thus quenching all of his fiery darts.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

· The sword of the Spirit is defined in the Greek as the “rhema word” of God and not the logos word. I believe that this is self-explanatory to all of us.

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 Greek: Using all general prayers and specific petitions at all times in the Spirit to accomplish the state of being awake and attentively guarding all saints. This guarding in the Spirit for all saints is executed through the means of a constant steadfast devotion and individual petitions for them.

 My friends, I will be the first one to confess right here that I am not too close to fulfilling the requirements of verse eighteen.

 Selfishness is nothing else than our attentive indulgence upon ourselves because we are still bound up with hurts, fears and sin. Selfishness is introspective self-absorption because we are hurting, and still need to become free, and we focus upon ourselves so as to make ourselves free. As we become free in the Lord our attention starts to become diverted to others needs rather than ours, and we become “selfless” instead of selfish.

 The result of having put on the full armor of God, which is the full revelation of Christ, is that our prayers are now so “others centered” that through our constant devotion to individual petitions for many Christian brethren, we keep them spiritually guarded. It takes a person that is really, really, free in the Lord by His revelation to do something like this!

19 ¶ And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

 Greek: ( paraphrase)And for me that words may be given so that when I open my mouth to proclaim the mystery of the gospel I will do it without fear, embarrassment, intimidation, or hindrances. In other words I will tell is as it is. 

 There are two points of importance in this scripture. First, the result of conducting our lives in the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is that His revelation subdues and conforms us to the image of His liberty and wholeness. His Person has no fear, or embarrassment, or hindrance associated with it. This is the definition of scriptural “boldness” and only a believer that is approaching wholeness in the Lord can preach the word of God with “boldness.”

 Secondly, we cannot, and must never preach the gospel, with the dry and crusty words of religion, but in the power of the rhema word of God.

Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the rhema word of his dunamis power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

 The mystery of the gospel is the Christ that is hidden within each of us. As we obey the Lord without compromise, and walk by His Spirit, The Lord is revealed within us. It is the revealed Christ within us that we must preach without. THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF MINISTRY, MY FRIENDS!

· The Christ that we reveal to the world through our preaching must be done in relationship to the spiritual gifts, ministries and callings that the Lord has given to us.

 Paul here defines for us in one verse the true minister of the Lord. “In all liberty, freedom, fearlessness, and absence of bondages, manifest to a lost and dying world the Christ within you through your spiritual gifts and ministries.”

20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

 Finally, I would like to in this last scripture divert your attention to the words “as I ought to”. In the Greek these are translated as “is necessary for me, or is the necessity in every case”. Paul leaves us in his great discourse of the full armor of God with the following injunction. “It is the necessity in every case that I reveal the Christ within me in the liberty and freedom that has come to me because I have been conformed to the image of Christ.”