Wednesday: Stewards of Spiritual Truth
When we think of stewardship, we think of tangibles and rightly so. But as we have now seen, stewardship goes beyond that. Like tangible possessions, intangible gifts come from God as well. These intangibles are spiritual possessions that God gives to us (1 Pet. 4:10) so that we can, in Christ, develop Christian characters and become the people we can be in Him.
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Thus, we must manage intangible gifts even more carefully than tangible ones, because they are infinitely more valuable.
Read Ephesians 6:13-17. What have we been given by God that we are to be stewards of? Why is the proper management of these things so crucial to us?
“The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NKJV). The world, and all that it offers, cannot offer us the redemption that we have in Christ. Redemption, a gift God gives to us, is our most valuable possession. Keeping the reality of this redemption always before us helps us maintain perspective in our stewardship of other possessions given to us from God as well.
“Only in the light that shines from Calvary can nature’s teaching be read aright. Through the story of Bethlehem and the cross let it be shown how good is to conquer evil, and how every blessing that comes to us is a gift of redemption.” – Ellen G. White, Education, p. 101.
Redemption is ours only because Jesus paid the ultimate price. Paul clearly states, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7, NKJV). The words “we have” mean that we have “redemption.” It is ours, but only because God has given it to us. How crucial, then, that we keep on “the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11, NKJV), in order that the evil one doesn’t come and take it away. For the only way he can do this is if we allow him to, which will happen only if we don’t obey what is revealed to us in “the word of God” (Eph. 6:17). Our greatest protection is by obeying, in faith, the light we have been given.
| Read again Ephesians 6:13-17. How do we put on the armor of God, and in what ways are we stewards of all that we have been given in that armor? |
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Ephesians 6:11-12
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
This is one of the KEYS to understanding spiritual TRUTH.
One of the ormor of God is salvation represented by helmet.(Ephesians 6:17).Practically a helmet prevents a soldier on the head and this gives him great hope of coming out of the battle victorious. Same christian life is full of endless battle, where salvation gives us great hope that at the end of this battle we have hope of final salvation when Jesus comes to take us home.
What exactly is the Apostle Paul referring to in Ephesians 6:13 where he says "...that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand."? He uses the word "withstand" (in the evil day) and then goes on to use the word "stand" after saying "having done all." What exactly does he mean by the evil day and also by where he says having done all "to stand"? So, two things: 1. "to stand," and 2. the "evil day."
Ephesians 5: 15-16 sheds some light on this:
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the "days are evil".
It is essentially a metaphor for the fact that we are surrounded by evil and need to guard against temptation.
"Stand" is a judgement term. Even today, when the accused receives the verdict he is asked to "stand."
Where does one need to stand? What day will most of the world see as "THE evil day"?
Ps 24:3 "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?"
Rev 6:16,17 "And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
Stand = able to endure the glory of God
Evil Day = "day of His wrath"
A couple possibilities to consider.
It is important for every Christian to be armoured in the word of God. Believing that God is on our side if we are faithful in that we do. Faith is what made the Daniels to stand the test of time.
When we accept Christ as Lord and Savior, we enter by covenant into His service. While in this sinful world, it will require fighting the "good fight of faith" in order to stand faithful and true to our high calling in Christ. Satan will bring his evil subjects against the people of God with many enticements, temptations, and even force, all which the faithful must stand against.
This armor is "put on" by prayerful study of the Word of God which is treasured in one's heart, that they might not sin against God. Only with minds fortified by the scriptures can any hope to stand in the evil day(s).
It was such armor that David wore against the Philistine giant.
The aim of the School is the Spiritual upliftment of the individual in order to materialise the Plan for our Humanity on this Earth. The School is not about leaving the world, it is about living in the world but not being of the world, not being worldly.