Discipleship Lesson 10

MY SPIRITUAL WEAPONS MY BIBLE

I. INTRODUCTION

Many good-intentioned soldiers of the Lord are wiped out in the spiritual battle because they do not use the correct weapon. It is impossible to fight a war with spiritual beings using physical weapons. 

The only things that will harm the spiritual forces of evil are spiritual weapons. 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5 indicates that even though we are physical, our weapons are not.

II. THE BIBLE IS THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

EPHESIANS 6:17 teaches us that the Word of God is the “sword of the Spirit.” 

If we are going to give Him a weapon to use in our lives, we are going to have to be students of the Word, and at the same time make sure we have a good relationship with Him.

2 TIMOTHY 2:15 urges us to be approved workers that know how to use God’s Word correctly. If we do not know the Word, the Holy Spirit does not have anything to grab hold of to use us. The more Bible we know, the better we will be able to fight for the honor and glory of our Lord.

Remember that Jesus set the example for us as far as being a student of the Scriptures is concerned. Each time He met Satan in the “temptation in the desert” incident, He retaliated with the words, “It is written…it is written…it is written.” He told the Pharisees that they had many errors because of their lack of Bible knowledge. If our Lord was dedicated to the study of the Bible, we must follow His example.

HEBREWS 4:12 indicates the power the Bible has, comparing it to a “two-edged sword.” Could you imagine how bad a two-edged sword could cut an individual? The Bible penetrates deep into the soul and is potent enough to discern the heart’s thoughts and intents!

JOHN 14:26 talks about the Counselor, the precious Holy Spirit, who comes from the Father to teach us and remind us of the things Jesus taught and said. It was the Holy Spirit who told the apostles of Jesus’ words and deeds as they sat down to write the Gospels of the New Testament. Just as He reminded them, He will also remind us of the things we have gone over in the Bible when the time comes. But what will He bring to our memories if we never study the Bible? He cannot deliver to our minds things that we have never seen or read before.

We must realize that without the help of the Holy Spirit, we will never be able to utilize God’s Word to the maximum power. We must remember that the Bible is a sword, but it is the “sword of the Spirit.” It does not belong to us. The only one who can yield it 100% correctly is the Spirit. For this reason, we need to be obedient to Him. This is the only way we will be able the Bible will accomplish its intended purpose.

III. THE BIBLE IS MORE THAN A BOOK. IT IS A COMPLETE LIBRARY

  The Bible is a compilation of 66 books, making it a complete library! These 66 books can be divided into two groups. 

The first group of books was compiled before Jesus’ personal ministry on earth. This group of books is grouped under a section titled “Old Testament.” The second group of books was written after Jesus’ ministry on earth and is found in a segment we call the “New Testament.”

The books of the Old Testament are 39, and we can divide them the following way:

   BOOKS OF THE LAW – 5 Books – Genesis to Deuteronomy

   BOOKS OF HISTORY 12 Books – Joshua to Esther.

   BOOKS OF POETRY – 5 Books – Job to Songs of Solomon.

   BOOKS OF MAJOR PROPHETS – 5 Books – Isaiah to Daniel.

   BOOKS OF MINOR PROPHETS – 12 Books – Hosea to Malachi

   There are 27 books in the New Testament, which can be divided in the following manner:

   BOOKS OF BIOGRAPHY – 4 Books – Matthew to John

   BOOK OF HISTORY – 1 Book – The Acts of the Apostles

   EPISTLES (letters) – 21 Books – Romans to Jude

   BOOK OF PROPHECY – 1 Book – Revelations

IV. HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

If we want to find the treasures in the Bible, we will have to do more than just look at it from time to time. We will have to dig in! This is the only way we will be able to find the treasures that are waiting for us. 

But, to dig deep, we are going to need some special instructions.

There are three study instruments that theologians (those who study the Bible), use to help them find treasure: (1) OBSERVATION. (2) INTERPRETATION. (3) APPLICATION. Each one of these instruments will help us dig just a little bit deeper.

Before we start digging, we have to have some knowledge of the terrain. Therefore, it is intelligent to read over the area we are going to study to get an idea of where we are going to dig.

OBSERVATION – What does the verse say? With this first instrument, we write the verse down in our own words. If the verse contains words, places, or names we do not know of, it would be a good idea to look them up. We will find many times that one word is the key to understanding the entire verse.

INTERPRETATION – What is God saying? With this second instrument, we write down what we think God is personally trying to teach us. What is it that God wants me to see with this verse? What is He saying to me, be it directly or indirectly?

APPLICATION – What does God want me to do with this verse? This third instrument is the most powerful of the three. You see, if we are not going to apply what we have learned, we have wasted our time. It would be like finding money and burying it. We must write down what God wants us to do with the verse. Are there attitudes we need to change? Is there something God wants us to do? Write it down and get it done!

To use this instrument correctly, we must: 

Use the following example as a guide.

EXAMPLE OF A SPIRITUAL NOTEBOOK:

BIBLE STUDY: JAMES 4:4

OBSERVATION – You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 

INTERPRETATION – God says that if I am a friend to the world, I am unfaithful to the relationship I have with Him. He compares my unfaithfulness to adultery. God takes my relationship with Him seriously. This is no laughing matter to Him.

APPLICATION – As I go about my business today, I will be tempted to be friends with the world, betraying my relationship with God. I must remember being faithful in my relationship with God and doing things, as He would want me to do them.

PRAYER: Write down the person or things for which you prayed for today.

FELLOWSHIP: Write down the name of the believer you had fellowship with and what you did.

WITNESSING: Write down the name of the non-believer you witnessed to and how you did it.

SPIRITUAL NOTEBOOK

BIBLE STUDY:  We are going to begin using Observation, Interpretation, and Application this week.

1. 2 Timothy 2:15

2. Hebrews 4:12

3. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

4. John 14:26

5. Ephesians 6:17

PRAYER: Write down the person or things for which you prayed for today.

FELLOWSHIP: Write down the name of the believer you had fellowship with and what you did.

WITNESSING: Write down the name of the non- believer you witnessed to and how you did it.