The Armor of God
By Dr. Jerry Lloyd
OUR ARMOR
The second line of defense after forgiveness is our armor. The main passage to which we refer when considering our armor is Ephesians 6:10-20.
In this section about the armor, we expect to review the importance of this spiritual warfare, the weapons of the opposing army in this war, the enemies fighting against us, our own armor, and reintroduce some of our weapons. However, the main thrust of this section will be to acquaint us with our armor.
Ephesians 6:10-20 says this: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 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, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Verse ten of this passage sets the stage by expressing the importance of these truths. The word “finally” is not expressing the end, but rather the culminating crux of the situation. He is emphasizing the finality of failure in this area. This is a matter of life and death, literally. Then God tells us to battle in His strength, rather than our own fleshly strength.
Satan Is Looking for Weakness
In verse ten we also see two things. First we are commanded to put on the whole armor. The English gives a very good rendering of the Greek word, however, the words “whole armor” are translated from one Greek word, πανοπλίαν[1]. The first three letters give a clue as to the idea of “wholeness.” They form the prefix “pan” which means “Involving all of or the union of a specified group.”[2] This emphasizes the point that we must take on all of the whole armor of God.
We can see the importance of this in sports. Sports teams have scouts that evaluate the weakest points of their opponent so that they can attack the weakest point. So it is in war. However, in war victory can be a matter of life and death. So it is with the warfare of the flesh and the spirit. Satan will direct his attack to take advantage of the weak spots of the believers.
The Devil’s MO (Mode of Operation)
In verse eleven we understand that God is ready to expose the “wiles of the devil.” The word for “wiles” is μεθοδείας[3]. This Greek word is pronounced something like “methodeias.” Eias is simply the suffix, so the root work is pronounced “method.” So God is about to reveal Satan’s method to us.
In verse twelve we see a somewhat controversial and surprising statement. Against whom are we fighting? “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.”
There are many good Bible teachers who believe that this statement refers to the teaching that Satan’s[4] fallen angels have a sophisticated organization[5] and rank in his army. This should give us pause. Satan is not just running around willy-nilly poking people with a pitch fork as he tries to get people to sin. He has an organized ingenious plan to defeat our purposes.
Satan’s Use of Government
However, I do not really think that these facts are what God is talking about here. I believe that Satan is, actually, behind the workings of much of human government. There are two reasons why I feel this way. First of all, the idea about angels personally interacting with man came from ancient documents written between fifty to two hundred fifty years before the time of Christ. All of these ancient documents are heretical. Most of them were found among the Dead Sea scrolls, but they included the teachings of the origins of mysticism and Gnosticism. I am resistant to basing my beliefs on heretics and mystics. Some of the heretical teachings included the idea that angels had fathered children[6]. Enoch saw them in heaven when he ascended up in a vision and then wrote about it. Howbeit, the book of Enoch was not written until 3,750 years after Enoch lived, so the book, while quite old, was, obviously a fabrication. These heretics also taught that angels and human soldiers[7] would fight side by side against the forces of Satan.
The second reason I feel this is speaking of the fact that Satan is orchestrating the events carried out by what he can control of human government is because of Satan’s history, and governments’ increasing antagonism toward Christianity. I asked myself, why would God make such a statement? Obviously, it was to prepare us for the battle for which we need the armor of God.
We understand that the spiritual war is a battle for the mind. So how might government affect the battle for our mind? Our mind is programmed by our five senses, but primarily by what we see and hear. Who dictates what we can see and hear? Under the guise of free speech the government has opened the air waves and performance venues to pornography, vulgarity, profanity, and immorality, while forbidding any condemnation of sexual perversion, murdering the most innocent among us, and exposure of violent religions. Yet they defend people’s rights to ridicule Christian doctrine, beliefs and lifestyles.
In our nation’s first government document for example, the Declaration of Independence[8], it is declared that: “All Men are created,” and that “…they are endowed by their Creator.” Yet, contrary to our first legal document, we are forbidden from teaching that “We hold these Truths to be self-evident that all Men are created.”
The first amendment to our Constitution, without which the Constitution would not have been ratified, stated: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of (religious) speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble…” These words were written to protect religious and political freedom of speech. Censorship of pornography, vulgarity, profanity, or immorality were not the purpose of the first amendment, nor was there any mention of separation of church and state in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights. That perversion came a century later.
The government has decreed that we must allow homosexuals to teach in our public schools, we must teach “alternate lifestyles,” tolerance of sexually perverse choices, and the religion of evolution. We must turn a blind eye toward underage sexual activity, and provide contraceptives and abortions for children that are too young to take an aspirin without a signed note from their parents.
The point is, our battle is with ungodly government, but make no mistake about it; the devil and his workers are working feverishly behind the scenes of government to win the battle for our minds.
The realm of Satan’s working is introduced in Ephesians 2:2 where God says, “In time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” Satan works in the course of this world. So according to Ephesians 6:12 we are battling, “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.”
Satan’s Goal
To understand the methods of Satan, we must see his chosen purpose. In II Corinthians 4:4 we read that he is trying to “blind the minds[9]” of unbelievers. He does that in three main ways. First he simply tries to keep believers quiet about the plan of salvation. Government is making every effort toward this same end. If he cannot keep us from sharing the gospel, then he will try to get us to hide the gospel with an unclear or unscriptural presentation. In II Corinthians 11:3-4 God tells us that Satan tries to corrupt the gospel by getting away from the simplicity of it.[10]Usually, he tries to get his ministers to add some form of human righteousness to God’s work on the cross.[11] Finally, if he cannot keep you from sharing the plane of salvation clearly with the lost, then he will try to get you to lose your believability by getting you to commit some open sin. We will speak more about this last point as we learn about feeding the flesh.
Does Satan work through government? Isn’t God the ruler of the universe? Didn’t He create the principalities for His glory? In Colossians 1:16 we learn that God did indeed create the governments of both this world and the spiritual realm. “By him (Jesus Christ cf. verse 13 & 15) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” Furthermore God is sovereign over these realms. Daniel 2:20 & 21 says, “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever:… He removeth kings, and setteth up kingdoms.” and in 4:17 God says, “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” However, God has explained that He sets up men according to the wickedness of the people. If the people are bent on following the ways of Satan, then God will give them a man to rule them that will obey the direction of Satan. Consequently, Satan told Jesus in Matthew 4:2-11, “The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” So now the principalities and world’s governments are for the most part under Satan’s authority. That is what we find in Ephesians 6:12: “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.”
The Fall of Satan
It is interesting that, when we study the fall of Satan or Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-17, we usually stop at verse fourteen just after we see the five “I will’s” of Satan’s prideful heart’s desire (cf. Ezekiel 28:17[12]). In verses sixteen and seventeen, God reveals that the results of Lucifer’s fall is played out before governments and rulers: “They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof.” These verses, actually, demonstrate Satan’s activities now, but transcend time to his future end that is described in the complete book of Revelation, but is culminated in Revelation 20:7-10: “When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Satan’s Offer
In Luke 4:5-7 Satan “Shewed unto him (Jesus) all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.”
In Ezekiel 28:2 God demonstrates Satan’s relationship with government when speaking of the King of Tyrus. Interestingly enough, he calls him the prince of Tyrus instead of the king. “Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God.”
The reason that God only calls him a prince is because the real king of Tyrus was Satan himself and God demonstrates that clearly by referring to the fall of Satan in relation to the King of Tyrus according to Verses 12-15. “Ezekiel 28:12: Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus… Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God… the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub…Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty.”
In Daniel 10:13 God points out: “The Prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, (the arch angel) one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”
In Revelation 2:13 God sympathizes with the Christians in Pergamos, because He said, “Thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is.'”
So Satan is actively involved with the government of men, and is the master-mind behind many of the leaders’ agenda. He uses government to try to abridge and regulate the things that will strengthen believers’ spirits such as church, public media, literature, and canvassing, while he promotes ungodly philosophies[13] in the name of science falsely so called[14], and profanity, vulgarity, pornography, and immorality in the name of free speech. Therefore, God warns us in I Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith.” In II Corinthians 2:11 we are encouraged by God that we do not have to be ignorant of His devices: “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
The Fall of Man
In Genesis 3:1-6 we see Satan’s first work against a human when he confronted Eve and enticed her to sin. The first thing he did in verse three was he caused her to question the word of God. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” The next thing we see happening is Eve added to what God had said in verses 2-3: “The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die,” (Compare Genesis 2:16-17[15]). In Genesis 3:4 we see that the old serpent, the devil told the first lie. “The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.” In I John 2:14-17 God tells us the three areas in which we will be attacked. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (1), and the lust of the eyes (2), and the pride of life (3), is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Notice that these are the very three areas in Genesis 3:6 that Satan used to influence Eve to sin: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (1), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (2), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (3), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.” It is also significant that these are the same areas in which Satan tempted Jesus[16]. So the spirit is at war with the flesh as we studied in Galatians 5:17[17] and Romans 7:23[18].
Satan’s Limits
Do not misunderstand. Satan is not omnipresent. He cannot get into the mind of a believer and insert thoughts there. However, he uses government approved, controlled, and censored media, and the world’s advertisements, programming, and philosophies to program our thoughts, imaginations, and lusts. Then what should be our attitudes toward government officials and the perversions happening in our society?
Our Response
First we must be in subjection to the government that God has allowed to rule over us. Titus 3:1 tells us: “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work.” We should use our attitudes toward government as opportunities to demonstrate our Christian faith. In Daniel chapter six we learn about Daniel and the lion’s den. Why was Daniel cast into the lion’s den? Because he prayed. Now if our government should forbid our praying in public, most believers would not care. However, there are some that would defy the law and pray in public anyway, as well they should. However, if you are not praying in public now, do not be a hypocrite and start praying in public after it becomes illegal. Daniel had been praying on his terrace long before the decree was made that it was illegal. If it became illegal to leave a tract with your tip at a restaurant, do not start giving out tracts if that has not been your habit in the past. That would be hypocritical. If the government made it illegal to attend church, that is not the time to start attending church.
The apostles were arrested for preaching in public. What was their response when they were ordered not to? In Acts 4:19-20 they said this: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” In Acts 5:29 they said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
On the other hand Paul said this about the rulers themselves: “Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.”[19] In Matthew 22:21 Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” Finally, God tells us in Romans 13:1-7 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.”
God Established Government as a Gift for Mankind
So God established government to protect the good and punish evil. Remember, the government of which God was speaking here was the same government that was at that time or soon would be killing Christians because of their beliefs. Therefore, what should we do? First of all we should pray for them. In I Timothy 2:1-2 God says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Secondly, we should submit ourselves to their authority. I Peter 2:13-14 says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.”
Man Gave His Government Over to Satan
So we must understand that government is generally not Christian friendly, therefore, we should not expect it to be. Instead, we must put on our armor so that we can be able to live a quiet and peaceable life and receive praise of the same as we faithfully and inoffensively share the plan of salvation.
What Is the Armor of God?
We should note that the armor of God deals primarily with the characteristics of a godly life, not tactics of legal wrangling or military strategy. So what is the armor of God?
The Whole Armor
Ephesaisn 6:13-17 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Belt of Truth
In verse 14 we see that the girdle or belt is truth. Your belt is that on which your weapons are hung. Without truth, no one that knows us will believe what we have to say about the gospel. The belt is also that which is used to prepare you for action. When a soldier was going to run or fight, he would reach down between his legs and grab the bottom of the back of his garment. Then he would pull it up in front of him and tuck it in his belt, kind of like a diaper, to get it out of the way. Now he was ready for action.
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The second thing in verse fourteen was the breastplate of righteousness. It could be made of leather, chain mail, or bronze, and would protect the vital organs. If we as Soldiers for Christ do not keep a righteous testimony before the world, then we will not be able to bear fruit by winning souls, because they will not believe our witness. We will be fruitless or dead.
Feet Shod with Preparation
In verse 15 we are told that our feet should be shod with preparation of the gospel. The phrase “of the gospel” is an adjectival prepositional phrase modifying the noun “preparation.” The main idea is that your feet should be shod with preparation. You should not enter into the battle haphazardly, but should enter in prepared for the battle. How do we prepare for the battle?
Prepare by Studying to Answer
In Proverbs 16:1 God tells that we need to be prepared to give an answer. “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.” In the previous chapter of Proverbs God tells us how to get the answer. In Proverbs 15:28 God tells us, “The heart of the righteous studieth to answer.” In I Peter 3:15 He commands us to be ready to give an answer to every man: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” That is why it is so important for us to study God’s Word as we will see again when we study about how to feed the spirit. God commands us to study in II Timothy 2:15 where God says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
As you study, you will find that there are some things that are hard to be understood[20]. God gives us the solution to this problem as well. In James 1:5 God promises, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” It may be several months down the road, but there will be times that you are studying God’s Word and it will seem like a light will come on. That passage that you failed to understand earlier will all of a sudden make sense. Then you may very well be surprised that in just the next few days someone asks you a question about that very thing or that very verse.
Our Tutor
If we are commanded to study, and, of course, we are, where does God come into the equation? How does the Holy Spirit give us the answers we need? In John 16:13 Jesus tells us, “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” As we study God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth, will guide us. This is called the doctrine of illumination. Even when we study God’s Word, there will be times that people ask us questions that we cannot answer. If we have not studied the answer to that question, then that is our fault, but many times God knows that the person asking really does not want to hear the truth. They just want to get us off track or stump us with a difficult question. So, if they ask you a question about that which you have studied, but you cannot remember the answer, do not worry about it. God has promised to help you remember the things which you study. God did not want you to waste time with that particular question at that time. God promises in John 14:26: “The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” So if you have studied the answer to their question, and just cannot remember the answer at the time you are asked, that is because the person who asked the question did not really need to hear the answer.
The Shield of Faith
In Ephesians 6:16 God tells us about the shield of our armor. When we think of a shield, we usually think of a small defensive apparatus that is buckled on the soldier’s arm. That was actually called a buckler. The shield spoken of here differed from the buckler in that it was almost as tall as a man. The soldier would hide behind it and it was usually carried by another soldier or an armor bearer. The picture here is the shield of faith is strengthened by the assembly. The shield was of little use by a soldier when he was fighting by himself, but together, as they assembled together, they would form a kind of wall behind which the soldiers would fight. So the shield of faith was strengthened and helpful only as it was used in conjunction with the assembly.
The Crown of Salvation
In verse 17 we learn about the helmet of salvation. The helmet not only protected the head of the soldier, but it would reveal his rank. The king’s helmet would many times incorporate a crown. The helmet or crown would be the tallest part of the soldier so his rank could be easily seen by his soldiers. Usually, a soldier’s rank was earned by experience and victories. In the case of a Christian, the crown could be thought of as the encouragement of the experience of having led people to Christ. This will make us more bold in our witness. In Philippians 4:1 Paul calls those he had led to the Lord his crown: “My brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” And in I Thessalonians 2:19 he says, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”
The Sword of the Word of God
The final piece of our armor is the only offensive piece. That is the sword. What is our weapon as we fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil? It is the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 agrees: “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Guidance and Strength Through Prayer
In verse 18 we are encouraged we are instructed that for which we should pray. Prayer is how God’s troops communicate with their commander. The subject and purpose of prayer will be explained in greater detail again as we study about how to feed the spirit.
Epilogue
Satan uses government to restrict our religious beliefs and convictions on the job, in public, with our children and their education, and even in our worship, beliefs and teachings in our church and families. He does this by transferring power and authority from local government and locally elected officials to appointed officials in a central federal government that is not subject to reelection.
Conclusion
Therefore, we need to be faithful to the assembly to be better trained to answer every man, and so we can be encouraged to be more faithful in our witness. And we need to protect our relationships to government and others by putting on the whole armor of God.
Dr. Jerry Lloyd
Footnotes
[1] Jay P. Greene, Sr., Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Third edition. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), p. 603.
[2] The American Heritage Dictionary Second edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985), p. 896.
[3] Jay P. Greene, Sr., Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Third edition. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), p. 602.
[4] Oliver B. Greene, The First Epistle of .Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians, (Greenville: The Gospel Hour, Inc. 2011), p. 221.
[5] J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee Volume V, (Pasadena: Through the Bible Radio, 1983), p. 279.
[6] Peter Shafer, The Origins of Jewish Mysticism. (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2011), p. 74.
[7] William S. LaSor, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament (Grand Rapids: William E. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), p. 83.
[8] The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United states of America p.1
[9] II Corinthians 4:4 “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
[10] II Corinthians 11:3-4 “As the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted (away) from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
[11] II Corinthians 11:13-15 “Such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.”
[12] Ezekiel 28:17 “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”
[13] Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”
[14] I Timothy 6:20 “Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.”
[15] Genesis 2:16-17 “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
[16] Matthew 4:4-8 “When the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (the lust of the flesh). But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple (lust of the flesh), And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him (lust of the eyes) all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.”
[17] Galatians 5:17 “The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
[18] Romans 7:23 “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”
[20] II Peter 3:15-16 “Our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures.”