JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q3. Instructions for Spiritual Warfare - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q3. (5:8-9) What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare? Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?

To put on the full armor of God, stand your ground and keep standing. It's the same instruction as Paul's except Paul's details the armor; belt of truth, breastplate of integrity & moral rectitude and right standing with God, feet shod with the firm-footed stability and readiness produced by the Gospel of Peace, the shield of saving faith that quenches all the flaming missiles of the evil one, the helmet of salvation and the sword that the Spirit wields, the Word of God.

Pastor Ralph, on Apr 24 2004, 07:54 PM, said:

... "Resist the devil. Be sober. Be vigilant." Our enemy (the devil) is both sober and vigilant; but with a completely different purpose. And if we are any less sober and vigilant than he ... spells trouble.
Love ...Bro. Al
The instructions of Peter are less in depth; but are with the same intent: help the sheep to stay on the right path.

TO RESIST THE DEVIL - TO STAND FIRM IN OUR FAITH - TO BE alert AND SELF CONTOLLED. DON'T GIVE IN TO WORLDLY THINGS, TO PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD.
VERSES ARE VERY SIMILAR- THE LATTER IS GIVEN IN MORE DETAIL. PRAY IN THE SPIRIT ON ALL OCCASIONS. BE alert..

Pastor Ralph, on Apr 24 2004, 09:54 PM, said:

Be sober, be vigilant, resist him, standfast in the faith.

The scriptures are very similar. Paul says to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, put on the whole armor of God so we may stand against the wiles of the devil. We wrestle against principalities, against powers, agaist the ruler of the darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness.

Q3. (5:8-9) What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare? Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?

Peter gives very practical instructions to handle the devil. Be self controlled, be alert, resist him, be faithful, and be willing to trade blows. Here Peter gives instructions to Christians to fight the enemy. Paul instructs the Ephesians on how to wear the full armor and fight the devil or rather resist him. Stand your ground. Peter says fight and Paul says wear the proper weapons before you fight. All in all, we are told to resist the devil and he will flee. If he doesn't flee and pesters us, we'd better stand our ground and fight like a true soldier with all the latest weaponry. Greatest weapon we have is Jesus. Allow Him to fight the battle for us. Sounds like a paradox but we are not supposed to be passive Christians. There is a dynamic force with us (Jesus) Let's use Him and scare the daylights out of the devil so that he will never ever venture to come near us. Glory be unto our Lord who gives us victory in the name of Jesus.

Q3. (5:8-9) What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare? Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?

In general, they tell us much the same. Peter says "do," and Paul says "how."
Peter: be self-controlled and alert. Resist the devil, stand firm in faith. Cast your faith on Him.
Paul: Put on the whole armor of God. Then he details what that armor is. He wants us to prepare ourselves for battle. Going to battle against satan without this preparation can leave us vulnerable to satan's evil!
I wonder if Peter is again speaking impulsively? I realize he had learned a lot about going to God for orders before acting--something he seldom did while with Jesus--but this almost sounds like he is counseling this in this instance. At least, he sounds like depending on ourselves more than on God! Just a thought--which I'd never considered before, so it is not throught through as thoroughly as it should be. Pardon.

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[color="blue"]3a.) Resist, standing firm, be that "rock". Typical Peter fashion, he is that man of action. But Peter also comforts us by reminding us that we are not alone, that many others are also suffering for Christ. And if I look at what other saints in North Korea, China, Vietnam, Nigeria, Sudan, Yemen, Eritrea, and on and on and on.....endure.. My suffering is nothing.[/color]
3b.) (5:8-9) Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?
[color="blue"]3b.) The messages are similar, however I think you see the difference in the background of Peter and Paul. Peter being the fisherman, not raised in the scholarly background that Paul was. Peter's verbal power is not as refined or diverse as that of Paul who [/color][color="purple"]"was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers"[/color][color="blue"], under Gamaliel[/color] ([color="purple"]Acts 22:3[/color][color="blue"]). Yet both with their differences are used mightily by Our Father.[/color]

Peter gives us instructions to fight Satan, to resist him - both a warning and an encouragement. Pauk tells us in more detail how to fight Satan by putting on the armor of God.

In spiritual warfare Perer gives a less descriptive way of warfare, but none the less is effective. Peter tells us to be self controlled-alert- resist the devil-be faithful - be willing to fight. Be strong, firm and steadfast and be restored in knowing we are the victors through the blood of Jesus. Paul on the other had tell us to put on the helment of salvation, breast plate of righteousness, belt of truth, shoes of peace, sheild of faith and sword of the word. When you read through Pauls words you know you are in a battle and need to be dressed for what is to come. To me Paul could also be telling us we do not have to wait to be attacked, but we can also be on the offensive. Protect your self at all times is what I believe is being to told to us. Put on the armour, and to protect the back side of us should be our fellow believers. It doesn't really say we have a covering on our back in Ephesians, but to me that is where we need to defend each other standing back to back, side by side. Being strong and stand firm is very important as putting on the full armour.

Pastor Ralph, on Apr 24 2004, 07:54 PM, said:

I. Peter instructs us to be sober, vigilant and steadfastly resist the devil in faith.
II. The instructions here and in Ephesians are very similar. It appears to me that Paul expands and details our sobriety and vigilance and the foundations of them. 1. Paul and Peter both agree that the devil is subtle as a lion stalking its prey and wily. In other words he seeks out his prey and works on him by "roaring", by "wiles" whereby he may pull us down. 2. If we are to be sober, circumspect or prudent we must know what we are doing. We must have understanding. If we are to be strong in the power of the Lord, we must know how to abide in it and not lean to our own understanding and might. 3. What are we supposed to be vigilant for? Is the devil going to come up to us and say "I'm the devil and I'm here to tempt you"? Most of the time we do not even know when we are being tempted. For the majority of us we have served the devil at one point as we were the children of wrath. There are areas of stronghold in our lives that we just take for granted that they are part of us. "It's just the way I am". Sorry. Therefore we need to know what to watch for, the Word must be living and abiding in us. Paul lays this out for us. There's books written on this subject which we all would do well to read. Jesse Penn Lewis' bood "The War on the Saints" is a good place to start. Of course the Bible is all we need and we need to feed upon it daily. 4. Paul and Peter agree that if we will do these things that we will stand and that God will use it to perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us. They indicate that God will cause all these things to work to the good of the called. 5. Paul and Peter both agree that there is a very real threat here and that the devil is a very real adversary. They agree that the battle is arduous and is no game. 6. Both talk about the importance of being steadfast in our faith. We don't have it all together in dealing with powers and principalities. We sometimes get our shoes on the wrong feet and get the rest of our armour messed up. However the shield of faith will cover us and protect us. It will be a shelter from the storm and a rock upon which to stand. If we simply know that we are bought by the blood of Jesus, that He will never never let us go nor forsake us and that we are dearly beloved, we have a shield, we have bedrock.

They are telling us to Resist the Devil. To stand firm, and put on the whole armor of God.

The Scriptures are similar.

What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare?
Be sober, be vigilant (stay alert), resist him, be steadfast in the faith, expect suffering.
How are these instructions similar or differnt than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17.
They are similar by alerting us to the war we are in but Paul gives a different analogy than Peter with a few more instrucions on how to fight this war and be victorious through Christ.

God Bless,
Jen

Stay sober, be vigilant resist and be steadfast no matter what to the end.
Lets pray for each other!!!

We must be self-controlled-that is to keep on the path, even though we see many others taking shortcuts.We must always be ready for, and expecting, an evil attack (or the coming of our Lord!) at any time. We must don the full armor of God, and never lose our faith when the inevitable trials come upon us. We must always be ready and willing to gladly suffer the persecutions imposed upon us by a world that does not love Jesus.
The message in Ephesians is very similar in its teaching. Here we are also instructed to to rest in the truth of the Word, and ever be prepared to war with evil as Christian soldiers.
Peace in God=War with Satan

Q3. (5:8-9) What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare?
Peter tells us to be self-controlled, be alert, resist Satan, keep the faith and be willing to suffer. If we live a godly life, we will be persecuted in one way or another, so we need to be diligent and keep our eyes on Jesus.

Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?
The instructions are very similar. Paul tells us to put on the armor of God, Peter tells us to keep the faith and be willing to suffer.

Peter's instructions consist of

(a) be sober (of sound mind, not operating on drugs and alcohol stimulation, anger, fear or pain).

( be vigilant, (open your eyes, be aware and sensitive, not head in the sand, or careless of reality and opportunity)

© resist satan - know where he is operating or could operate, pounce on him the moment he plays his hand, recognise the lie and refuse to adopt or submit at all to it.

(d) Be steadfast in the faith, ie constantly enlarging your understanding of the Word of God, constantly obedient, doing all you can and standing firm, immovable, meeting with other christians for exhortation and doing all that scripture and the Holy Spirit suggest.

(e) Expect suffering as Christ suffered in identifying with us, and like Him, look ahead to the glory.


Similarities

Both warn of satan's activities, calling him wily, or the adversary.

Both advise strength in the Lord and His power, cf be steadfast in the faith (strong, knowledgeable, aware, obedient)

Standing and resisting satan are similar.

Both demand alertness and awareness constantly

Differences

Paul explains the satanic forces in greater detail, showing that we are not just fighting people (flesh and blood).

He draws a picture of the armour of God, identifying a weaponry for our use.

We are to be aware of Satan's existence,but we are not to cower in fear. Peter gives us five instructions we must follow in order to obtain victory over the devil.
1) self control-we can't be carnal Christians-we need to be disciplined in all areas of our life
2) be alert-we need to be aware of what is happening around us-we can't just live in our own little world like many Christian groups attempt to do
3)resist him-we are to take a firm stand against sin and constant temptation-we can't just resist sin some of the time, giving into our sinful desires the rest of the time.
4) keep your faith-takes both faith and courage to face our enemy
5) be willing to suffer-need to be willing to suffer persecution and/or hardship for our faith
We can experience spiritual victory over Satan. He is not invincible. He can be defeated thru faith and prayer.

Q3. (5:8-9) What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare? Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?

Stay in control over the way you lead your life. Do not live carelessly. Be sober.
Be vigilant, alert. Always remain wary because the devil will take every opportunity.
Resist the devil by remaining firm in the Christian faith. Continue to live in accordance with the truth of God's Word.
Be willing to suffer persecution.

Paul and Peter both refer to faith, truth in the Word, being alert or watchful, obedient in the way we conduct our lives.

They differ in that Paul uses more symbolism whereas Peter's instructions are more to the point. Both are very effective.

In Peter's instructions, it looks as though we are fighting Satan on our own, though with the full backing of Jesus Christ, because of our faith. In Paul's instructions , he figuratively assures us, becuse of all that armour, we are more ready to figtht and defeat the enemy. Both Peter and Paul give us excellent and practical methods of standing against the guiles of the evil one, only differing in the way they are expressed.

5:8-9) What instructions does Peter give us to guide us in spiritual warfare?
We must ever be watchful and stand firm when he attacks, trusting the Lord to be with us in the midst of whatever Satan tries to do to us.
Sometimes we might feel alone and helpless when trials or troubles come our way, but we must stay focused on Jesus. We should remember that other Christians have gone through trials also, and we should pray for each other and encourage one another.

Extra credit: How are these instructions similar or different than Paul's instructions in Ephesians 6:10-17?
The instructions are somewhat similar, but Paul stresses that our strength to fight Satan comes from the Holy Spirit living in us, and we must use every piece of God's armour in resisting the enemy. When the battle is over, we will be standing; and Satan will be defeated!!