Of all the series of messages I’ve taught at 3D on Tuesday evenings, this series, “Dressed to Kill” has been my favorite .... by far! Perhaps it is because of the endless rich truths in this incredible Epistle, or perhaps it is because I have found in these pages the true source of my identity in Him. Maybe it is the portion on worship, which is why I was created ... or the incredible provision and protection we find in taking up the armor of God. Whatever the reason, these 24 teachings have changed my life as much or probably more than they did the ladies of 3D. Here are some of my favorite truths we learned:
“We are to walk as divine, in human form!” ALS
The Christian really operates in two spheres: the human and the divine, the visible and the invisible. Physically, he is on the earth in a human body, but spiritually he is seated with Christ in the heavenly sphere — and it is this heavenly sphere that provides the power and direction for the earthly walk.
“If children, now heirs”
Membership in God's family brings privileges that boggle the mind. All God's children are heirs of God. An heir, of course, eventually inherits his father's estate. That is just what is meant here. All that the Father has is ours. And we are joint heirs with Christ – we share in His Finished work & in His Kingdom reign.
“Grace is lavished on us”
The original greek word for lavished means to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also to cause to superabound or excel! This tells us that: we super-abound in the quantity & quality of grace; we have grace in excess & abundance,
no matter what, “we have enough to spare”; we are forever increasing in grace; we forever remain in grace … are positioned in grace!
Law vs. Grace
Paul’s epistles so clearly describe the difference between living under the law vs. living under grace. Paul was given the task of “educating” believers on how to live under the New Covenant. He put form to the results of the work of Calvary, and built the foundation of the New Testament church on “Grace”. In our study, we charted the differences between law and grace, such as: under the law you had to achieve blessings, under grace the blessings are unearned and unmerited. The law cannot be fulfilled be human effort, but Jesus came and fulfilled the requirements of the law. The law is never a finished work, but Grace is a finished work. The law demands righteousness, Grace imparts righteousness. Under the law, there is condemnation, but under grace, Jesus paid it all to liberate us! And perhaps my favorite: under the law we are dominated by its demands, but under the grace, we have dominion!
The Mysteries of God
The New Testament denotes the term “mysteries” being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by divine revelation. It is revealed in a manner and a time appointed by God and to those who are illumined by His Holy Spirit. Ordinarily the term is used of knowledge withheld, but Scripturally the term is used of truth revealed! New Testament terms associated with the mysteries of God, “made known, manifested, revealed, preached, understand.” Paul speaks of this mystery being hidden from past generations ... Why ???? Well, it is because of the Old vs. New Covenant! Until Christ died, there was no inward work of the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom within the life of the believer! But ... It’s a new day, baby!!!! Paul declares that they are Manifested – to make visible or known what has been hidden or unknown - To His Saints – the consecrated … identified as holy, holy ones, the Holy place, most holy, sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. That’s who we are! The Saints, the conscreated ones ... His mysteries are made manifested to those consecrated to His sanctuary!!! The Spirit initiates the perception and apprehension of spiritual truths, they become visible and known to us as we consecrate ourselves in the Holy of Holies!
“For this reason, I bow ...”
After all this incredible revelation Paul pours out of our position in Christ, in the New Covenant, in chapters 1-3, He then moves into a passage on Worship! I love the breakdown of Eph 3:14-21, here we discovered many “heart motives of the true Worshiper” such as:
- A WORSHIPER UNDERSTANDS THE POWER OF BOWING HIS KNEE
- A WORSHIPER HAS POWER IN THE INNER MAN
- A WORSHIPER IS FREE
- A WORSHIPER HAS HOLY CONFIDENCE
- A WORSHIPER KNOWS THE POWER OF UNIFIED WORSHIP
- A WORSHIPER HAS THE POWER TO GRASP
- A WORSHIPER’S EXPERIENCE SURPASSES HIS KNOWLEDGE
- A WORSHIPER IS ALWAYS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING FILLED TO THE
FULLNESS OF THE REVELATION OF GOD, EVERYDAY!!!
- A WORSHIPER IS TOTALLY ABANDONED
- A WORSHIPER HAS REALIZED THE POWER OF THE ASCENT
- A WORSHIPER IS MOTIVATED BY THE EXPECTANCY OF GLORY
- A WORSHIPER IS DEEPLY PASSIONATE TO DO ANYTHING TO ACCOMPLISH
THIS END ... The Glory Revealed IN The Church !!!!
“In the Spirit”
As Paul proceeds with the second half of the book of Ephesians, he really plays out how to practically apply the revelation he taught in the first half of the book. He begins with the priority of UNITY in the Body of Christ. He tells us of the grace He gives to us that empowers us to walk in unity. He gives us the grounds for unity, what truly unites us. He reveals the gifts God has given to the body to guide us into a demonstration of unity ... the 5-fold ministry gifts. Paul then closes this section with the growth and the evidence of unity in the body ... how we demonstrate that we have grown into unified body! When we truly understand that this was Christ’s greatest desire for his people, we can see why Paul so emphasized this calling for us!
“Dressing to Kill”
We spent the last 2 months of this series really digging into our collateral textbook, “Dressed to Kill” by Rick Renner. We discovered an incredible picture on what it means to put on each piece of the armor of God. I loved the historical understanding we gained on each piece of weaponry and how it parallels the spiritual aspect of it’s usage and purpose. We now know how to walk in everything from KILLER SHOES to a blinged out breastplate, to an intricate helmet!!!! WE even know how to launch both a short range and long range weapon to annihilate the enemy and all his tactics!
I don’t know about you, but my goal in life right now is to expose the enemy’s tactics and equip a body to not only defend themselves but to offensively take their place as a new breed of people that will walk and live in a royal, victorious fashion ... knowing who they are IN CHRIST, in His grace and in His Kingship!
And by the way .... you are lookin’ good in those Killer Clothes!!!!!!!
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