Fellowshipmtz Clifford Davis

Ephesians 6:13-14
We finally begin to consider the armor that Paul tells the church to "put on".  We begin with some general (but important) observations regarding the armor.  We end with "the belt of truth" and the "breastplate of righteousness".

Resurrection Sunday 2024
The overwhelming majority of people profess belief in "God" (aka Genesis 1-2) and an "afterlife" of eternal peace and rest (aka Revelation 21-22) -- but what about the 1185 chapters that come between?

Temptation & Sin / borrowing heavily from John Owen (1616-1683)
Owen wrote on THE ENTICEMENT OF INDWELLING SIN, and before we move forward into the actual "armor of God" I wanted to share some of his key (very convicting) insights.  Lord-willing, Ephesians 6 will resume on Sunday, April 14.

Ephesians 6:10-13, 16
Today's message focuses on the reason WHY God's armor is so important, so necessary -- i.e. the Devil's schemes and the Devil's flaming darts!

Ephesians 6:10
Stuart Olyott is a semi-retired British pastor now in his early 80's.  In 1994 he wrote a commentary on Ephesians that excellently frames this section in relation to the whole:"The letter's first three chapters have told us of the marvelous blessings we have in Christ.  We are no longer what we used to be.  We are radically different.  And we are infinitely rich.  The next three chapters have made one overall point: being different, we should live differently.  We have been taught how to do this in the church, in the world and at home.  But such Christian living is not easy. In fact, it is a real battle.  Paul would not have anyone believe otherwise. So it is that he closes his letter with his well-known teaching on the Christian's armour."

Ephesians 6:5-9  Paul's last pair of "Household Codes" (Martin Luther) is addressed to slaves and masters.  Inarguably, these instructions are the most controversial and offensive to moderns.  Is this proof the Bible is oppressive? or is there more than meets the eye?