Paul
the apostle shared with the church members in Corinth how he and his
companions were, “in all things
approving ourselves as the ministers of God”,
and he added these adverse conditions, “
in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in
stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in
fastings, by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness,
by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,”.
In
chapter six and verse seven of Second Corinthians, Paul adds to his
list as he wrote, “the word of truth, power
of God and armor of righteousness”
where we read:
By the
word of truth, by the power of God,
by the
armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
The verse begins, “by
the word of truth, by the power of God, ...” Paul began
with the words, “by the word”
which means “through
what is declared, a though, aphorism, weighty saying, dictum, maxim
and discourse” “of truth”
or “what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of
man according to moral and religious truth”, “by the
power” or “though the
strength and ability” “of God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit”. The
“true” declaration and discourse and God's “strength and
ability” were mentioned by Paul.
The verse goes on to say,
“by the armor of righteousness on the
right hand and on the left,”
Paul continued with the words, “by the
armor”
which means “through the arms and weapons used in warfare” “of
righteousness”
or “the state of him who is as he ought to be, righteousness and
the condition acceptable to God” “on
the right hand”
which means “to the right side or place of honor and authority”
“and on the left”
or “to the left side of the body”.
Both sides of Paul were covered by the “defensive and offensive”
of God's “armor”.
When
we think through these words of
Paul, we see how God's word, power and “armor” were important to
he and his companions' success in “ministry”. Though
“suffering and affliction” came upon them, they were able to
sustain their missions by relying upon God's ample supply. Jesus
Christ desires to give every person His “word, power and armor”
to equip them for “trials and tribulations” that come their way.
The solution is simple: “For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved”. (Romans 10:3)
Next
time we see Paul continues his list with, “honor,
dishonor, evil report, good report, as deceivers, and yet true”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then,
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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