Re: Eph. 6:10-18 and Vernon's opinion

Roger wrote, "I have no idea what Eph. 6:10-18 has to do with
non-evolutionary non-Old Earth creationism?... Please explain the relevance
of this passage, Vernon."

Here, through the Apostle Paul, the Lord is revealing truths that would
otherwise be completely beyond our powers to determine for ourselves, viz
(1) the reality of the spiritual battle that faces every Christian in this
life; hence, the actual existence of a hierarchy of powerful supernatural
beings whose prime objective is to sever our relationship with the Lord and
entrap our souls by destroying the authority of the Scriptures and the
Gospel of Christ;
(2) such powers hide behind the persons with whom we have contact in our
daily lives; we are informed that those individuals and organisations which
seek to deflect us from our Christian walk are really the dupes of Satan -
as putty in his hands, they unwittingly fulfil the requirements of his
agenda;
(3) the nature of the 'full armor of God': (a) the belt of truth; (b) the
breastplate of righteousness (i.e. belief in the unique power of Christ to
save sinners); (c) a full accepance of the gospel of peace; (d) the shield
of faith; (e) the helmet of salvation; (f) the sword of the Spirit (which is
the word of God); (g) constant prayer.

Roger, I believe the foregoing is particularly apposite to my thesis, for I
am struck by the glaring omissions in the armour of fellow Christians on
this list. For example, those who refuse to examine the evidence that
supports my claims clearly have no interest in buckling on the 'belt of
truth'; and as for the 'sword of the Spirit', where are we to find a
generally-acknowledged 'word of God'? (surely, only by accepting the Bible
as God's unadulterated, and unadulterable, revelation to man!). Further, you
must agree that the philosophy of evolution is no friend of the Bible. In
the hands of atheists and TEs it behaves as a cancer, progressively
destroying the authority of the Judaeo-Christian Scriptures, and
substituting confusion - surely a high-priority objective in the satanic
agenda!

Finally, let me say that I, personally, have found "The Screwtape Letters"
of C.S.Lewis to be most helpful to the understanding of this much neglected
of life's realities - and strongly recommend that you read it in conjunction
with Ephesians 6:10-18.

Vernon
www.otherbiblecode.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger G. Olson" <rogero@saintjoe.edu>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 1:11 AM
Subject: Eph. 6:10-18 and Vernon's opinion

> Vernon Jenkins wrote (inter alia)in response to Michael Roberts:
> "...
>> (3) You appear to exhibit a certain ambivalence toward Paul's solemn
>> advice
>> to Christians, as it is succinctly expressed in Ephesians 6:10-18. Can
>> you
>> please clarify your position in respect of this?
>
> ..."
>
> I have no idea what Eph. 6:10-18 has to do with non-evolutionary non-Old
> Earth creationism? Here is the passage from the NIV:
>
> "10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the
> full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
> schemes. 12For 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.
> 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
> comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
> everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
> around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and
> with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of
> peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which
> you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the
> helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
> 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
> requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all
> the saints."
>
> Please explain the relevance of this passage, Vernon.
>
> Roger
>
>
>
Received on Mon Feb 21 17:21:09 2005