Scripture Reading: Eph. 6:10-20

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 2　DAY 1　»

　　Rev. 19:7-8 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.

　　14 And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

　　In Ephesians 5 and 6 we see two...aspects of the church: the bride to satisfy the desire of Christ and the warrior to defeat God's enemy. As the bride, the church needs love and light. As the warrior, the church needs might and the whole armor of God.

　　Of the twelve aspects of the church covered in Ephesians, the main aspects are the new man, the bride, and the warrior. The new man includes the aspect of the Body, and the Body includes the fullness and the dwelling place. Therefore, the first ten aspects of the church are all included in the new man who fulfills God's eternal purpose and carries out His economy. This new man is used by the Triune God to accomplish what He planned in eternity past for eternity future. Nevertheless, although God's plan is fulfilled with the new man, Christ's desire still needs to be satisfied, and God's enemy still must be defeated. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 526)

　　In one sense, the church is the new man who needs growth, function, and a proper daily living. In another sense, the church is the bride who must be beautified in order to be presented to Christ at His coming. With the church as the bride, the problem is not with ordinances, doctrine, or the old man. The problem is with the spots and wrinkles, defects that are organic and that ruin the beauty of the church. In order to be free from such defects, the church must be sanctified, purified, nourished, and cherished by having the element of Christ wrought into her metabolically. This element will cause the spots and wrinkles to disappear, and it will beautify the bride for her presentation to Christ. Eventually, through this process of metabolic transformation the church will become glorious.

　　[In Ephesians 6] the church is God's warrior. The church should be not only the Body to express Christ, the dwelling place for God's habitation, and the new man for the fulfillment of God's economy; the church must also be a warrior, a soldier, to defeat God's enemy.

　　According to Revelation 19, the church is both the bride who is presented to Christ and the warrior who fights with Him against God's enemy. At His coming again, the Lord Jesus first will meet His bride. After receiving the bride, Christ and the overcomers will enter into battle against the enemy. According to Revelation 19:11, the Lord will ride on a white horse, and the armies which are in heaven will follow Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean (v. 14). Revelation 17:14 also refers to this: "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and they who are with Him, the called and chosen and faithful, will also overcome them."

　　In Revelation 19:7 and 8 we see that the bride is clothed in "fine linen, bright and clean." Then in verse 14 we see that the armies which follow the Lord into battle are "dressed in fine linen, white and clean." These verses indicate that the bride's wedding garment will also be the uniform she wears as God's army to fight against His enemy. Therefore, to have the wedding garment is also to have the uniform.

　　In Ephesians 5 and 6 we see the church as the bride and as the warrior. In Revelation 19 we also have these two aspects of the church. As the church, we are not only the Body, the dwelling place of God, the kingdom of God, the family of God, and the new man; we are also the bride and the warrior. As the bride, we must be beautiful, without spot or wrinkle, and be clothed in fine linen. As the warrior, we must be equipped to fight against God's enemy. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 813-815)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 97

«　WEEK 2　DAY 2　»

　　Eph. 6:10-11 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil.

　　13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

　　The passage from Ephesians 1:1 to 6:9 completes the revelation on the positive side concerning the church for the fulfilling of God's eternal purpose. Yet on the negative side, that is, for dealing with God's enemy, something still remains to be covered. In the first five chapters the church is portrayed in many ways, on the positive side, to fulfill God's eternal purpose. On the negative side, the church is seen in chapter 6 as a warrior to defeat God's enemy, the devil. To do this, the church must put on the whole armor of God.

　　Not only must God's eternal purpose be fulfilled and the desire of Christ's heart be satisfied, but God's enemy must be defeated. For this, the church must be a warrior. Even in the Song of Songs we see that as the seeking one enjoys the Lord's presence, the fighting is going on. Therefore, we walk according to truth and by grace, we live in love and light, and we fight to subdue the satanic will. Our walk is for the fulfillment of God's purpose, our living is for the satisfaction of Christ, and our fighting is for the defeat of God's enemy. Hence, for these three things the church must be the new man, the bride, and the warrior. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 526-527, 529-530)

　　The Greek word rendered "empowered" in Ephesians 6:10 has the same root as the word power in 1:19. To deal with God's enemy, to fight against the evil force of darkness, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised up Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavens, far above all the evil spirits in the air. The fact that we are to be empowered in the Lord indicates that in the spiritual warfare against Satan and his evil kingdom, we can fight only in the Lord, not in ourselves. Whenever we are in ourselves, we are defeated.

　　The charge to be empowered implies the need to exercise our will. If we would be empowered for spiritual warfare, our will must be strong and exercised. We should not be like jellyfish, those who are weak-willed and vacillating. Actually, it is those with a strong will who are most able to repent.

　　The fact that we need to be empowered in the Lord indicates that we cannot fight the spiritual warfare in ourselves; we can fight only in the Lord and in the might of His strength. In 6:10 Paul refers to power, might, and strength. First, we are empowered by the power that raised Christ from among the dead and made Him to be the Head over all things. Then we know God's might and strength.

　　To fight the spiritual warfare, we need not only the power of the Lord, but also the armor of God [v. 11]. Our weapons do not avail, but God's armor, even the whole armor of God, does.

　　The whole armor of God is for the entire Body, not for any individual member of the Body. The church is a corporate warrior, and the believers together make up this unique warrior. Only the corporate warrior can wear the whole armor of God; no individual believer can. We must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body, not individually.

　　We need to put on the whole armor of God so that we "may be able to stand" (v. 11). In chapter 6 the word stand is crucial. In chapter 2 we sit with Christ in the heavenlies (v. 6), and in chapters 4 and 5 we walk in His Body on the earth (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15). Then in chapter 6 we stand in His power in the heavenlies. To sit with Christ is to participate in all His accomplishments; to walk in His Body is to fulfill God's eternal purpose; and to stand in His power is to fight against God's enemy...[and] to stand against the stratagems of the devil,...the devil's evil plans. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 530-532)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 63

«　WEEK 2　DAY 3　»

　　Eph. 6:14 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

　　Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.

　　[Let us] consider the items that make up the whole armor of God....[By means of] the first three items—the girdle, the breastplate, and the shoes—...we are able to stand. Along with these three items, we need to take up the shield of faith and receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:16-17)....Only the sword is an offensive weapon.

　　All the other aspects of the armor are for defense. Let us first consider the girdle, the breastplate, and the shoes. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 537)

　　For us to gird our loins [Eph. 6:14] is to strengthen our entire being. Our whole being needs to be strengthened with truth. This strengthening is not for sitting, but for standing.

　　According to the way the word truth is used in Ephesians 4 (vv. 15, 21, 24, 25), truth in 6:14 refers to God in Christ as reality in our living, that is, God realized and experienced by us as our living. This is actually Christ Himself lived out by us (John 14:6). Such truth, such reality, is the girdle that strengthens our whole being for spiritual warfare....When such a truth girds our loins, we are made strong for the purpose of standing.

　　Those who have such a living certainly have their loins girded with truth. These are the ones who are able to face attack and opposition. Because they are girded with truth, they can stand before the opposers. But if God is not expressed in our daily life and walk, we shall not have a girdle about our loins, and we shall have no strength to stand against the enemy. We shall not have the power to face opposition or controversy.

　　The truth with which we are girded for spiritual warfare is actually the very Christ we experience. In Philippians 1:21 Paul says, "To me, to live is

　　Christ." This Christ whom Paul lived was his girdle of truth. This Christ was God expressed and revealed in Paul's daily walk. Because Paul's daily living was conformed to the pattern of Christ, he had the strength to face all opposition and adverse circumstances. Because Paul had been girded about with truth, he had the strength to stand.

　　The breastplate of righteousness [Eph. 6:14] covers our conscience, signified by the breast. Satan is our accuser. In fighting against him we need a conscience void of offense. But no matter how good we may feel our conscience is, we need to have it covered with the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is to be right with both God and man. If we have just a little problem with either God or man, Satan will accuse us, and there will be holes in our conscience through which all of our faith and boldness will leak out. Hence, we need the covering of righteousness to protect us from the enemy's accusation. Such righteousness is Christ (1 Cor. 1:30).

　　Revelation 12:11 says, "They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb." To be covered by the blood of the Lamb is mainly to have upon us the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is in the blood, and the covering of the blood is the breastplate. Although this may be difficult to explain doctrinally, we can understand it experientially. Whenever we intend to fight against the powers of darkness, Satan, through his accusations, causes our conscience to become very sensitive. These feelings actually are not the sensitivity of the conscience, but the result of Satan's accusations. Immediately our response should be, "I overcome Satan, the accuser, not by my perfection and not even by a conscience void of offense, but by the blood of the Lamb. I am defended against his accusations by the breastplate of righteousness."

　　We are covered not by our own righteousness, but by Christ as our righteousness....In experience we cannot separate the blood from Christ.

　　Apart from His blood, Christ could not cover us. Under the cleansing of His blood, He becomes our righteousness. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 537-540)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 64

«　WEEK 2　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 6:15-16 And having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace; besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.

　　Ephesians 6:15 says, "And having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace." Our feet must be shod in order to strengthen our stand in the battle. This is not for walking a way or running a course, but for fighting the battle.

　　The phrase the firm foundation of the gospel of peace means the establishment of the gospel of peace. Christ has made peace for us on the cross, both with God and with man, and this peace has become our gospel (2:13-17). This has been established as a firm foundation, as a readiness for our feet to be shod with. Thus, we shall have a firm footing that we may stand to fight the spiritual warfare. The peace for such a firm foundation is also Christ (2:14).

　　In 6:15 the gospel is not the gospel of grace, nor the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, nor even the gospel of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Here the gospel is the gospel of peace. According to 2:15 and 16, on the cross Christ accomplished peace so that the Gentiles can contact the Jewish believers and so that we all can contact God. This peace is glad tidings, good news. In other words, it is the gospel. For this reason, 2:17 says that Christ preached the gospel of peace. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 540-541)

　　We also must preach this peace as the gospel. The gospel of peace spoken of in Ephesians 6:15 is the peace accomplished by Christ on the cross for us to be one with God and for the Gentile believers to be one with the Jewish believers. This peace is our gospel. With this peace there is preparation, readiness. The Greek word actually means a firm foundation. This firm foundation is a secure footing for our standing. Therefore, the peace accomplished by Christ on the cross is a firm footing, a firm foundation. As we fight against the evil powers, the peace Christ has accomplished is a firm foundation for our feet. To take part in the spiritual warfare, our feet must be shod with this firm foundation.

　　In fighting, the crucial thing is to stand. We must be able to stand and to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Those who are defeated will run, but those who are victorious will stand. As we wrestle against the enemy, we shall find that Satan does not run away. Even when we are victorious over him, he keeps on wrestling with us. Therefore we need to be able to stand. Spiritual warfare is not a boxing match, but a wrestling match. If we would wrestle against the enemy, we need a firm footing.

　　Usually peace is the opposite of warfare. When we have peace, we do not fight, and when we fight, we do not have peace. But here we fight with peace and in peace. We fight by standing in peace. If we lose the peace between us and God or between us and other believers, we lose the standing. Christ is the peace for us to be one with God and to be one with the saints. This peace is the firm foundation that enables us to stand fast against the enemy.

　　Ephesians 6:16 says, "Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one." We need truth to gird our loins, righteousness to cover our conscience, peace as the standing for our feet, and faith to shield our entire being. If we live by God as truth, we have righteousness (4:24), and righteousness issues in peace (Heb. 12:11; Isa. 32:17). With all these, we can easily have faith as a shield against the flaming darts of the evil one. Christ is the Author and Perfecter of such faith (Heb. 12:2). For us to stand firmly in the battle we need to be equipped with these four items of God's armor.

　　The shield of faith is not something that we put on, but something that we take up in order to protect ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. Faith comes after truth, righteousness, and peace....This faith is a safeguard against the fiery darts, the attacks, of the enemy. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 541-544)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 65

«　WEEK 2　DAY 5　»

　　Eph. 6:16-17 Besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith....And receive the helmet of salvation...
　　Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered and said to them, Have faith in God.

　　We need now to consider the shield of faith in detail. We certainly are not to have faith in our own ability, strength, merit, or virtue. Our faith must be in God (Mark 11:22). God is real, living, present, and available. We need to have faith in Him.

　　We also should have faith in God's heart. Every Christian must know both God and the heart of God....No matter what may happen to us or what kind of sufferings we may undergo, we must always believe in the goodness of God's heart. God has no intention to punish us, to injure us, or to cause us to suffer loss.

　　Along with faith in God's heart, we should have faith in God's faithfulness. We may change, but God does not change. As James 1:17 says, there is no shadow of turning with Him. Furthermore, He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), but is always faithful to His word.

　　God is not only faithful, but also able. Therefore, we need to have faith in God's ability. In Ephesians 3:20 Paul declares that God "is able to do superabundantly above all that we ask or think."

　　Still another aspect of our faith is faith in God's word. God is bound to fulfill all that He has spoken. The more He speaks, the more responsible He becomes to fulfill His own word. We can tell Him, "God, You have spoken, and Your written Word is in our hand. Lord, You are bound to fulfill Your word." Hallelujah for God's faithful word! (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 544)

　　We also need to have faith in God's will. Because God is a God of purpose, He has a will. His will with respect to us is always positive. Hence, no matter what befalls us, we should care not for our happiness or our environment, but for God's will. Our environment may change, but God's will never changes.

　　Furthermore, we must have faith in God's sovereignty. Because God is sovereign, God could never make a mistake. Under His sovereignty, even our mistakes work for good. If God did not sovereignly allow us to make mistakes, we could not possibly make them. (However, this does not mean that we should deliberately make mistakes.) When we are wrong, we need to repent....After we repent for a mistake or shortcoming, we must still exercise faith in God's sovereignty.

　　We all need to have a full faith in God, in God's heart, in God's faithfulness, in God's ability, in God's word, in God's will, and in God's sovereignty. If we have such a faith, Satan's flaming darts will not be able to damage us.

　　The flaming darts are Satan's temptations, proposals, doubts, questions, lies, and attacks....Every temptation is a deceit, a false promise....As we are waking up in the morning, often Satan will make proposals to us. For this reason, we need to get into the Word the first thing in the morning. If we are not in the Word, we shall have no covering against the devil's proposals.

　　In the first part of Ephesians 6:17 Paul goes on to say, "And receive the helmet of salvation." This is for covering our mind, our mentality, against the negative thoughts directed at us by the evil one. Such a helmet, such a covering, is God's salvation. Satan injects into our mind threats, worries, anxieties, and other weakening thoughts. God's salvation is the covering we take up against all these. Such a salvation is the saving Christ we experience in our daily life (John 16:33).

　　Satan's darts come to us through our mind. Therefore, just as our conscience needs the breastplate of righteousness and our will needs the shield of faith, so our mind needs the helmet of salvation. We need truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and then salvation. Righteousness issues in peace, and peace gives us the ground to have faith. Then faith brings in salvation. Do not separate the helmet of salvation from the shield of faith. The shield protects the front of our being, but the helmet protects our head. The shield and the helmet work together. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 544-547)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 65

«　WEEK 2　DAY 6　»

　　Eph. 6:17-18 ...Receive...the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

　　Col. 4:2 Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.

　　Christ as the Spirit and the word furnishes us with a sword as an offensive weapon to defeat and slay the enemy. (Eph. 6:17, footnote 3)

　　In spiritual warfare we must deal not only with the objective enemy, but even the more with the subjective adversary. Satan is not only the enemy outside us; he is also the adversary inside us....The attacks of the enemy from without are not as serious as those of the adversary from within. To deal with this inward adversary we need to experience the killing power of the word. Yes, the enemy is outside us, but his elements are within our very being....The most difficult foe is the self,...our worst enemy. Many times we are tempted, not by an objective enemy, but by the self, our own inner being. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 819-820)

　　Because the self is the greatest enemy, we need to experience the killing power of God's word. As we pray-read, we are nourished on the one hand, but certain elements are killed on the other hand....[For example], doubts, hatred, jealousy, pride, or selfishness...can be killed through pray-reading the word....The more we take in the word with its killing power, the more our pride and all the negative elements within us are put to death. By pray-reading, the inward adversary is slain. After a time of pray-reading the word, we may discover that the adversary who was attacking us has disappeared....The battlefield for the spiritual warfare...is within us; in particular it is in our mind.

　　In Ephesians 5 the word is for nourishment that leads to the beautifying of the bride. But in Ephesians 6 the word is for killing that enables the church as the corporate warrior to engage in spiritual warfare.

　　When the logos, the constant word in the Bible, becomes the instant rhema, this rhema will be the Spirit. This rhema, which becomes the Spirit, is the sword that cuts the enemy to pieces [Eph. 6:17]. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 820-821, 548)

　　The whole armor of God is composed of six items. Prayer may be considered the seventh. It is the unique, crucial, and vital means by which we apply the other items, making the armor available to us in a practical way. (Eph. 6:18, footnote 1)

　　According to Paul's word in Colossians 4:2,...we need to persevere in prayer because prayer involves a battle, a fight. Two parties, God and Satan, are hostile to each other.

　　Although the battle raging in the universe is between God and Satan, another party is involved. This third party consists of God's chosen and redeemed people, the ones who will actually decide the outcome of the battle.

　　In order to fight on God's side against Satan, we need to persevere in prayer. This perseverance is needed because the course of the whole world is away from God. To pray is to go against the current, the trend, in the fallen universe.

　　We need to say to Him, "Lord, I am desperate about this. I offer myself to You so that I may have a prayer life. Lord, keep me in the spirit of prayer. If I forget this or neglect this, I know that You will not forget it. Remind me again and again about prayer." This kind of prayer may be regarded as a vow made to the Lord.

　　Persevering in prayer has many benefits. By prayer we set our mind on the things above.

　　When we pray, we enter into the Holy of Holies and approach the throne of grace [Heb. 4:16]....The more we pray, the more we experience being one with the Lord, and the more we enjoy His presence and have fellowship with Him. What a marvelous reward! (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 577-578, 580-582)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 66, 97; Life-study of Colossians, msg. 65