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Ephesians 6:13-17
(13)Therefore put on the full armor of God, so
that when the day of evil comes, you may able to stand your
ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (14)Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (15)and with
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel
of peace. (16)In addition to all this, take up the shield of
faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of
the evil one. (17)Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of
the spirit, which is the word of God.(NIV)
Breaking it down
In the Christian life we battle against rulers
and authorities. (the powerful forces of fallen angles headed by
Satan, who is a vicious fighter). To withstand their attacks,
we must depend on God's strength and use every piece of armor.
Paul is not only giving this counsel to the church, the body of
Christ, but to all individuals within the church. The whole body
needs to be armed. As you do battle against "the powers of the
dark world," fight in the strength of the church, whose power
comes from the Holy Spirit.
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Romans 15:7
(7)Accept
one another, then, just as Christ has accepted
you, in order to bring praise to God. (NIV-Life
Application Bible)
Breaking it down
To accept Jesus'
lordship in all areas of life means to share his
values and his perspective. Just as we take
Jesus' view on authority of Scripture, the
nature of Heaven, and the resurrection, we are
to have his attitude of love toward other
Christians as well ( have a "spirit of unity").
As we grow in faith and come to know Jesus
better, we will become more capable of
maintaining this attitude of loving unity
throughout each day.
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