⬇ EPUB

THE PANOPLY OF GOD

It was ones’ exercise to speak about overcoming. It is very much needed in our day; it is a theme that is found throughout Scripture. Whatever the dispensation, in whatever way God has taken man up, there has been a need for overcomers. I trust that we might be encouraged to answer to it, that young brethren might look at examples of persons who persevered in days of old and exhibited these wonderful features of overcoming. That is available to you.

We have in the epistle to the Ephesians the panoply of God, what God has provided to enable us to stand. Ephesians is not so much wilderness conflict, it is conflict that requires spiritual warfare. God uses the trials and the tests of the wilderness to prove our hearts, to exercise us, to form us. It is the learning time. How thankful we are for what God allows us to go through in the wilderness path. In these trials and tribulations, the formative work of the Spirit is taking place, in view of an increase for God. But there is nothing greater than to get over to what Ephesians speaks of, to realise the great privilege of having part in what is for God. That brings before us the superiority of Christianity, which God has established in His beloved Son, and by whom we have access to God Himself. It enables us to enjoy the wonderful privilege of the relationship with God as our Father. It is according to God’s purpose, according to His heart of love; it is the way in which He has secured an answer for Himself. How wonderful that we have the privilege of entering in to what God has purposed in His heart for Himself. The greatness of it is beyond words, but I trust that we might have some sense of the great privilege that is ours to be able to enter into that purpose, not only individually but collectively.

But there are conditions which are necessary in order for us to be maintained in what is according to God’s heart and mind in view of what is to be for Himself. There are conditions that are pleasing to Him which are found in persons who overcome in working things out together – encouraging one another, building one another up. It is a very positive thing to consider these conditions which can be found amongst the saints, conditions in which God finds pleasure, the result of the work of the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit in us.

We had recently in Denton the verse in Malachi which says, “they that feared Jehovah spoke often one to another”, Mal.3:16. Jehovah observed it, and there was a book of remembrance written. It touched my heart that what is for God is built up collectively under God’s eye as we provide conditions that are pleasing to God. God took account of those who feared His name, who spoke often one to another; there was unity of heart and spirit and there was love among them. They were occupied with what was for Jehovah; nothing was going to distract them, or mar it, and they were speaking to one another about it. God took account of it and it was pleasing to Him, so this book of remembrance was written, as though what they had been saying was something for Him to reflect upon – I say that reverently – something so pleasurable to Him that He wrote it down in a book of remembrance. That should encourage each one of us, that what is for God is to be maintained. We might see a brother failing, a sister struggling. The exercise should be to lift up and to encourage, not merely in meeting the need, but to help persons to walk according to the mind and heart of God, to lay hold of the enjoyment of divine things and what is for God’s heart. I trust that we have experienced it. Unity of heart comes with seeing what is for God’s pleasure and collectively working it out, so that there is an increase for Him from our hearts and our souls.

The Lord says to Philadelphia, “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an opened door, which no one can shut, because thou hast a little power, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”. That is available to everyone here. You have the opportunity to keep the Lord’s word and not deny His name, to be for Christ. That is your privilege, dear young believer, it is your opportunity. How I wish I had committed myself earlier. Do not delay in committing yourselves to what is for the pleasure of God and what is for Christ. I can assure you that you will never regret committing yourself to Christ. This is available to each one: “Thou … hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”. There is what goes through in faithfulness, and that is what God is looking for. It may be that we become discouraged by the breakdown and ruin that has come in. The testimony in man’s hands has failed, and now it is a day of small things. Malachi’s time was a very difficult time, but there were those who thought often upon God’s name, and they were often together even during that difficult time. When we get over to God’s side and see things the way He sees them according to His purpose, we will not be discouraged. There will be a spiritual vitality within us that enables us to go on for God, because we see that what He has purposed and what He desires has not changed at all. We can see things as God does; His thoughts remain the same and it is for us to enter into them, by remaining faithful. You might ask yourself, What is God looking for in a day of confusion and disunity? He is looking for persons who remain faithful to the light that they have.

You may say to yourself, ‘I do not have a great amount of light. I have not laid hold of things to the extent that I could’. That is not the point. The point is, are we each faithful to the light that we have been given? God is asking you to walk in faithfulness to the light that you have. The Lord Jesus took account of that in Philadelphia. The conditions there were so pleasing to Him and He took account of their faithfulness. He said, “I have set before thee an opened door, which no one can shut, because thou hast a little power, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”. That opened door was accessible to the saints in Philadelphia because of their faithfulness. If you are faithful to the light that you have, then God will give you greater light. If you are walking in faithfulness in the light that you may have, then more will be opened up to you. I love the thought of this opened door. It speaks of all that is available for you to come into if you are faithful to the light. Ephesian truth would be included in what is available through this opened door, and that is what God desires for us. He makes it available to us to lay hold of and to enter into and to walk in.

That leads me to the panoply of God. We have the highest level of truth presented to us in Ephesians – how we have been chosen in Christ before the world’s foundation, marked out for sonship, brought into favour in the Beloved, blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph.1:3-6). There is no higher level of truth than what is presented to us in this epistle, and it is available for each one to lay hold of. But then the reason that the panoply of God is mentioned here is because there is still the need to overcome, to stand for that truth. This conflict is not in the wilderness; this is the spiritual side of things, just like in the Old Testament when the land was in view. The wilderness had been used to prove the people of Israel, but the land was what they were to enter into, speaking in type of a spiritual realm. So they crossed the Jordan. For us it means not the death of Christ for us, but our death with Him; we have died with Him and we have been raised with Him (Col.2:12). That is where there is enjoyment. Having died with Him, self is set aside. There is nothing to hinder, nothing to mar; we can be at perfect liberty in the presence of God and with Christ. We have been raised with Him, placed on new ground in a spiritual area in which we can fully enjoy everything that is according to God’s heart and respond to Him.

When we come into this spiritual side of the truth, we find that there is spiritual warfare. The enemy is dead set against the enjoyment by believers of divine things in a spiritual sense, and so there will be conflict. This can be very subtle; it refers to the artifices of the enemy in this scripture. It may be something that you do not see right away, but the enemy is a very crafty adversary. He would try to bring in things that would shake us, or cause disunity, to distract us from the heavenly side of the truth, to take away from the spiritual experience and enjoyment which God desires us to enter into. So we need the armour, and how wonderful it is that it has been provided.

The first thing Paul says is “be strong in the Lord”. That is an important principle. Do we truly believe that all of our strength is found in another Man. There is nothing in nature that enables me to enter into these spiritual things; it is all on the basis of the strength and power that is found in another Man, the Man who is perfect, who has completely fulfilled everything that was in the mind and heart of God. Christ has secured everything that is for God according to His purpose, and He desires that we would be with Him in that. How wonderful it is to be found in that place as in Christ, in association with that blessed One. I trust that the reality of it may lay hold of each one of us. Paul said that he would boast in his weaknesses, that the power of Christ might be known by him (2 Cor.12:9). Another example is Gideon; he felt his insignificance, his weakness, but he knew that everything was possible with God. The greatness of all that is to be entered into by us is assured in God, One who can never fail, and Christ is the One who brings it to light and makes it available to us.

Then Paul says, “Stand therefore, having girt about your loins with truth”. That is first part of the armour. We will be able to stand only as having our loins girt about with truth. Think of the importance of the truth. I am not only talking about doctrine, but also about the practical application of truth, the actual entering in and enjoyment in reality of what has been revealed in Christ. How much the mind and heart of God, and His will, have been made known to us in a blessed Man who said, “I am the way, and the truth …”, John14:6. Grace and truth subsists in Him; it is available. Think of the grace of God in the way that He has moved to secure persons for Himself. God moves in grace not only to meet need, but to secure what is to be for Himself in His creature. The truth has been made available to enter into, not just as doctrine, important as that is, but in its practical application, helping us to walk according to what Christ has revealed of God and what is for His heart. It is not just knowing the attributes of God – how wonderful they are – and not just knowing the way that He has moved – how precious that is – but knowing the heart of God. That is to lead us into an understanding of what is in His heart, and what He desires us to enter into. That is the result of the truth applied; our walk would correspond with it as our loins are girt about with truth.

Then Paul goes on, “having put on the breastplate of righteousness”. This breastplate is so important; it is to be put on. Have you put it on? Are you using what God has made available to you, to enable you to stand? It is available to you – put it on! That would be God’s word to you. Put it all on, for we need each and every piece of this armour. We may prefer the sword, or the helmet of salvation, but God is bringing before us the importance of putting on every piece, because if you do not do that, you will be vulnerable. There will be points of attack available to the enemy, where he will get in to shake our faith, or cause disruption amongst the saints. He would bring in disunity and what is disruptive, what is opposed to God. and he might try to use any one of us. It is so important that we put on the whole armour of God, so that we might be preserved and kept, so that we might be able to stand and be secure, and maintain what is for God in a spiritual sense.

The breastplate of righteousness is not just doing what is right, but it is being in the reality of what is right. It is not going on in a legal way, but it is the reality of God’s righteousness being worked out in my own soul and coming out in the saints. It also brings before us the need to maintain a pure conscience. This particular piece of armour would help us to ensure that our consciences are pure. When my conscience is not clear, the enemy can use that to bring in disruption. It might not be that I have done something wrong, although that could be part of it, and if it is not judged there will be a guilty conscience, there will not be the enjoyment of divine things, there will not be liberty. We will be distracted, we become occupied with self. But we are to have a pure conscience not only on the basis of our walk, but also on the basis of what we hold in our hearts. It may be that we are doing all the right things outwardly and saying all the right things, we may be doing what is expected, but the reality is not there. We want the reality of it, and I believe the breastplate of righteousness helps there, so that what we profess is livingly in our hearts and seen in our walk, true and genuine and real.

Paul goes on to say, “shod your feet with the preparation of the glad tidings of peace”. We are to be found walking in the spirit of peace; it is really the spirit of Jesus. It was what was seen in the way that He walked and moved. He was not a contentious Man; in everything that He took up, He brought in peace. Even when faced with conflict, He was characterised by peace. He could say not only that He left peace but “I give my peace to you”, John 14:27. That came out in the spirit in which He moved, the way that He faced conflict, the way that He faced the enemy – it was in the spirit of peace. I love that portion in Ephesians where Paul writes about the “uniting bond of peace”, Eph.4:3.. That should be found amongst us; despite the enemy’s efforts, he cannot prevail against those who are found united in the bond of peace. May we be encouraged to take things up in that spirit. The enemy would stir up contention and strife among us, and we can become distracted from the holy things of God rather than being occupied with the pleasure of God. We are to be marked by the spirit of peace. In the spirit in which matters are taken up, it is essential to maintain what is ultimately for God. If there is confusion, our desire would be to clear things up in the spirit of the glad tidings of peace, which brings us back to the importance of what is ultimately for the heart of God. If we keep that before us, there will be unity of exercise in our hearts and the enemy will not be successful in bringing in strife and contention. May we be encouraged in the glad tidings of peace.

Then, “besides all these, having taken the shield of faith with which ye will be able to quench all the inflamed darts of the wicked one”. This brings before us the greatness of God, that One who is unfailing. All that He has said will come to pass; there is no doubt about it, and we can move on that line as having the shield of faith. It is to be carried; do not set it down, keep it in your hand at all times. It enables us to withstand any attack of the enemy from any direction, above or below. It is ready to be used when needed, that wonderful shield of faith, knowing that God is for us. I think that is the primary aspect of the shield of faith, that God is for us. If God is for us, who can be against us (Rom.8:31)? That is a verse which I desire truly to lay hold of, as having the shield of faith to withstand every attempt of the enemy to attack and to disrupt what is for God.

Paul goes on to speak of the “helmet of salvation”. It is so much needed in the spiritual warfare that is taking place. There should never be any doubts in relation to salvation and what God has in mind for us as being saved. Scripture takes up salvation on the basis not only of what we have been saved from but what we have been saved for; the helmet of salvation would help with that. As we go through spiritual conflict, there would always be that assuredness in our hearts as to the greatness of what Christ has done and what He has secured for God, and my standing before God. That will never change; my standing before God is in Christ. And not only do I understand my standing before God, but I also understand that He has provided everything I need so that my state might be in correspondence with my standing before Him in the enjoyment of everything that He has for us to take up livingly. The helmet of salvation would give us a wonderful assurance about what God has secured for Himself and the unfailing way in which He has brought us into it.

Lastly, “the sword of the Spirit” is mentioned. This is not exactly armour. Everything else in the panoply is defensive, but then we have the sword of the Spirit that is to be taken up while wearing the armour. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, which would be used to fend off the attacks of the enemy, and it involves the power of the Spirit. It is easy to quote from Scripture, but is it being used in the power of the Spirit? Is the word of God, dearly beloved, not only what we find in Scripture, but what we experience as His word for the time we are in. That expression “a word in season” (Isa.50:4 KJV) is important. It is God speaking, the Spirit of God bringing out God’s word in relation to what is needed for the time according to the state of His people. May we be exercised to take Scripture up in that way as the sword of the Spirit, God’s word in the power of the Spirit.

Finally, Paul refers to praying. There is nothing more important than prayer, because it is communion with divine Persons. We can pray in relation to our day to day needs, and in relation to the saints, with all liberty, knowing that God hears and cares and understands. The enemy operates to bring in disunity and confusion. May it be that we have the saints continuously on our hearts and in our prayers, not just praying about our day to day needs, but praying in relation to what is for God’s heart in the saints. I need to be more engaged with what God is doing in His saints, and being available in whatever way that I can to support that. The power of prayer is available to all, prayer in genuine exercise and reality of heart and soul, in love for God and for the saints. There is great power in prayer.

May we be encouraged in these things for His name’s sake.

Calgary

16 February 2019

Scotie Selman

Edited and Published by John Brown and Paul Martin

36 Laverock Park Linlithgow EH49 6AT

email notesofministry@virginmedia.com or paul@nofm.co.uk

Printed by Crystal Print, 22 Western Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 9DZ

Tel: 01277 650 661

← Previous 5 of 7 Next →