What the Bible says about Model Prayer
(From Forerunner Commentary)
God's will can be known through revelation, which is the supernatural disclosure of God's purposes and instructions through various means such as direct communication, inspiration, visions, dreams, and signs. As mentioned earlier, God has assembled these revelations in the sixty-six canonical books of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments.
Isaiah 8:16 prophesies that God's testimony—the fullness of His revelation, which Paul calls “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27)—would be bound and sealed among Christ's disciples, establishing the biblical canon for all time. If this is the proper interpretation of this verse, it precludes any “new revelation.” We have in God's Word all we need for salvation.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Five): Your Will Be DoneRelated Topics: God's Revelation | Jesus Christ's Model Prayer | Model Prayer | Model Prayer :Your Will Be Done | Whole Counsel of God
Even before Christ's ministry began, the prophet John prepared the way for Jesus' central message: “The kingdom of God is at hand!” Ironically, the idea of a “Kingdom of God” was not new. It is the Old Testament's core idea, for Israel was God's Kingdom on earth, the nation over which God ruled directly. John the Baptist's cry in the wilderness signified a change in understanding that Jesus would explain throughout His ministry and inaugurate through His church.
The Greek word underlying “kingdom” is basileia (Strong's #932), which means “a kingdom” or “a realm,” that is, the area or country that a king governs. However, it can also denote “royal or kingly power, authority, dominion,” a king's reign or rule, or even his royal dignity. So, it not only speaks of a king's geographical domain, but it also refers to his authority and right to govern—in other words, his sovereignty.
The idea of the Kingdom of God, then, is not limited to a specific place or even a particular time. It is the reign or rule of God wherever and whenever it is in effect. Thus, the apostle Paul can write in Colossians 1:13 that God's converted people have already been “conveyed into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” Jesus' ministry proclaimed the good news of the coming of that Kingdom, but not just its culmination in the dim mists of the future. He announced that the Father was opening an entrance into that Kingdom immediately for a chosen few (John 1:12-13; 6:35-40; see Matthew 22:1-14). Those who responded positively to His call would come under Christ's rule in this life (Luke 12:32; John 4:23-24; Acts 2:39; I Thessalonians 2:12; Hebrews 12:28).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Four): Your Kingdom ComeRelated Topics: "Thy Kingdom Come!" | Accepting God's Rule | Accepting God's Sovreignty | Authority | Basileia | Conveyed Into God's Kingdom | Dominion | God's Sovereignty | Model Prayer | Sovereignty | The Model Prayer
This verse leads into the model prayer, indicating that we should not pray with the idea that we are bringing something new to God. It also introduces the thought that the purpose of prayer is not to overcome God's reluctance to answer and give but rather to lay hold of His willingness to help us toward His perspective, the fulfillment of His purpose and into His Kingdom. The overall emphasis in our requests, then, must be inclined toward His purpose and will.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part EightRelated Topics: Conforming to God's Will | God's Perspective | Jesus Christ's Model Prayer | Model Prayer | Praying According to God's Will
It is interesting to note in this model prayer that sin is expressed through the image of debt, a true metaphor. Duty neglected, a debt to God, must be discharged by a penalty. All have sinned and the wages or penalty is death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). We are all under a peculiar form of indebtedness which we cannot pay and still have hope!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Passover, Obligation, and LoveRelated Topics: Death | Death Penalty | Debt | Debt as Metaphor | Debt, Our Unpayable | Metaphor of Debt | Model Prayer | Sin as Debt
In our culture, one's name means little, most often merely as a way of identifying and distinguishing people. We can glimpse how significant it was to people in biblical times when we realize that we link reputation or prestige to a person's name. We use phrases like “he ruined the family name” or “his name is mud” to express that someone is of low repute or character.
An individual's name meant far more than that in ancient times. Then, a person and his or her name were bound together, the name representing the person's essence. In the Old Testament, certain persons' names defined them. For example, Jacob means “heel-catcher,” characterizing his underhanded, deceptive nature, but God renames him Israel, “one who prevails with God,” after his conversion. Christ Himself is named Jesus, “Savior.” God's names likewise identify His character traits: He is Eternal, Creator, Almighty, our Banner, our Healer, our Sanctifier, our Peace, our Righteousness, our Shepherd, our Master, etc.
Thus, the request in Matthew 6:9—and God's command in the third commandment (Exodus 20:7)—means more than just how we use or pronounce God's names. It implies that we revere what God's names stand for. He desires that we regard His names and thus Him and His character reverently, taking the pursuit of Him and His way of life seriously as a matter of profound aspiration.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Three): Hallowed Be Your Name
Jesus Christ's Model Prayer begins with three petitions that comprise a set: “Our Father who is in heaven, [1] may your name be treated as holy. [2] May your kingdom come, [3] may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-10, Lexham English Bible). In short, one who prays is to ask for God to receive due reverence, His plan to come to fruition, and His instructions to be followed. These three requests concern spiritual matters, indicating that such things should be top-of-mind for those who approach God's throne.
The third of these petitions, asking for the Father's will to be done on earth as in heaven, contrasts the obedience of God's heavenly servants with the general disobedience and rebellion among earthly humans. When God commands an angel to do something for Him, the angel responds immediately and carries out his task thoroughly (Daniel 9:20-23; 10:10-14).
However, in Romans 8:7, the apostle Paul describes human beings as at “enmity [hostile, hateful, having deep-seated ill-will] against God; for [the carnal mind] is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” Through David, speaking of “the children of men,” God says, “They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:2-3). The petition requests, not just help for the petitioner in obeying Him, but a sea-change in the attitude of humanity toward God and His instruction.
God's plan involves bringing all humanity into subjection to the Father (I Corinthians 15:23-28). Paul, quoting Isaiah 45:23, writes, “As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Romans 14:11). The prayer's third petition looks forward to this day while reminding the Christian that he must himself imitate the Father's angelic servants in carrying out God's will with enthusiasm and devotion.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Five): Your Will Be DoneRelated Topics: | Enmity against God | Enmity toward God's Law | God's Will and Purpose | Model Prayer | Model Prayer :Your Will Be Done | Submission to God's Will
When I played Little League baseball in the Columbia, South Carolina, area, it was the practice of our league to gather one team around first base and the opposing team around third base. All the players and coaches would take a knee and reach forward to grab part of a bat that someone placed upright on the base or stack their hands on top of it. Once everyone was situated, the head coach would say, "Take off your caps and bow your heads," and we would all begin to recite the Lord's Prayer in a rapid-fire monotone, hoping to beat the other team to the end. Once done, the players and coaches scrambled back to their respective dugouts, and the umpire called, "Play ball!" God had been invoked and all was well.
Did anyone at the ballpark ever stop to consider if the Lord's Prayer—which is a misnomer; it should be "The Disciples' Prayer" or "The Model Prayer"—has anything to do with baseball? The word does not appear in Matthew 6:9-13 or, in fact, in the Bible. The prayer that Jesus gave His disciples to teach them to pray is about God the Father, His holiness, His name, His Kingdom, His will, His power, His glory, and His eternity, as well as requests for daily providence, forgiveness, guidance, and deliverance. Nary a word about curveballs, double plays, or stealing second base.
Memorizing the so-called Lord's Prayer is a wonderful thing to do. Parents should make it their aim to teach it to their children. But unlike many in nominal Christianity, we need to go further and teach our children that the prayer is not one to be mindlessly repeated but a guideline for our personal, private prayers to "our Father in heaven." It maps out the general attitude and subjects of prayer that we should take to heart and cut deeply into our memory.
It is a wonder that so few who frequently use Matthew 6:9-13 both publicly and privately know what Jesus says—no, commands—in the immediately preceding verses:
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:5-8)
Christ plainly says that public prayers made expressly to be seen by others are hypocritical, and prayers that are repeated vainly (meaning "carelessly," "uselessly," or "thoughtlessly") are heathen! Obviously, this does not mean that He forbids public prayer; there are many examples of proper public prayer in Scripture (see, for example, I Kings 8:22-53; Ezra 9:6-15; Nehemiah 9:5-38; John 17:1-26; etc.). Public prayer is a necessary part of opening and closing religious services. What Jesus denounces is making a show of praying to enhance one's reputation as a "religious" or "righteous" person, as well as repetitious, canned prayers and overlong, tedious prayers.
Overall, Jesus warns us against two mistakes when praying: making them about us and making them meaningless. Doing either (or both) will ruin their effectiveness and actually work at cross-purposes to spiritual growth. When we pray, we must remember it is a formal conversation with the divine Governor of the Universe. We have not entered His court for our own gratification and glory. We certainly do not want to bore Him by endlessly repeating the same five words or giving Him the expanded War and Peace version of our pitiful lives. To the contrary, we are before Him to praise Him, to thank Him, to beseech Him for help both for others and ourselves, and to praise and thank Him. I repeat myself for emphasis.
What would we think of a friend who came to the front door each morning, and upon opening it to admit him, he said the exact same thing that he had said the past 532 straight mornings, droning on for half an hour without coming up for air? We might love him as a friend, but we would surely think he was a bit strange and wasting our time with his endless repetitions. We would soon tune out his robotic, one-sided conversation.
We are blessed that God is far more patient and understanding with us than we would be to such a bore. He listens to our petitions whether we are eloquent or mind-numbingly incoherent (see Romans 8:26). Yet, notice that Jesus tells the disciples—us—that the Father knows what we need before we ask Him. We are not springing anything on Him that He has not already figured out. So there is no need for us to meander, be vague, or employ some kind of rhetorical device that is "guaranteed" to convince Him that He has to intervene immediately. There is no need to try to impress Him with our knowledge, persuasiveness, or righteousness. He wants us to be ourselves and to speak with Him as family members do—with, of course, the proper reverence for who He is.
What is most important—what He is looking for—is a "poor and . . . contrite spirit, and [one] who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). If the attitude is humble, focused on God's will and His plan for us, He will hear and respond. More importantly, we will be drawing closer to Him and taking on aspects of His character that are so essential to Christian life and the Kingdom of God.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Vain Repetitions
This is apparently the only material request in the entire model prayer; all the other requests are for spiritual aid such as forgiveness, protection, and guidance. With this in mind, is Jesus telling us to ask for physical food every day? A literal meaning is often the most likely understanding, yet the continuing context of the chapter suggests He had more spiritual matters on His mind. Just a few verses later, in Matthew 6:25-26, 31, He teaches:
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or, "What shall we wear?"
The close proximity of these instructions makes it clear that, in telling us to ask God for our daily bread, Jesus does not have physical food foremost in His mind. What, then, is this "bread" that we are to ask for? John 6:35 provides an answer: "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.'"
The Bible uses the word bread to mean "that which is taken into the body and provides nourishment." Scripture presents two basic types of bread, leavened and unleavened. Leavening consistently symbolizes the corruption of sin (for instance, I Corinthians 5:8, "the leaven of malice and wickedness"). Thus, a Christian has a choice of spiritual nourishment that he can take into himself: He can choose sinless, healthful bread or sinful, corrupting bread. This latter bread comes in a range of varieties from sinful and unhealthy to evil and downright poisonous bread.
The manna with which God fed the Israelites while they journeyed through the wilderness was symbolic of Christ, the Bread of Life (John 6:49-51). The account of the giving of the manna in Exodus 16:4, 14-21, 26 shows that the Israelites had a part to play in receiving nourishment from it. They were required to rise early and gather their daily amount before the sun "became hot" and melted it away, or they would go hungry for that day—and perhaps for the next day, if it were a Preparation Day for the Sabbath.
In "the Lord's Prayer," Jesus is instructing His followers to rise early every day and ask God to send the unleavened, sinless Bread of Life to dwell in them. Without the indwelling of Christ through God's Spirit, there is no spiritual life in us (John 6:53, 55-58).
Why is it important that we ask each and every day for this? It is important because God, in His concern to preserve our free-moral agency, will not enter in and live in us uninvited. God is not like an evil demon that will possess us and take control of our lives against our will. He wants us to choose willingly to believe and obey Him and to seek a relationship with Him.
Like a boat trying to dock against the tide, if we do not actively pursue God, then we will slowly drift away from Him (Hebrews 2:1). The cares and pulls of the world seem to distract us easily, and we lose our focus on God. If we are ignoring Him, God may soon become unsure whether we are still choosing to walk with Him. He will try to get our attention back where it should be—on Him and His righteousness—through trials or other circumstances.
Yet ultimately, in order not to override our choice in the matter, God will allow us to slip away unless we repent and actively seek Him and ask for His Spirit. Without God's Spirit in us, we are trying to live and overcome on our own. If Jesus Himself says, "I can of Myself do nothing" (John 5:30), what chance does an individual have to overcome without Christ in him?
Staff
Ask and It Will Be GivenRelated Topics: Ask, Seek, and Knock | Bread of Life | Bread of Sincerity and Truth | Bread, Symbolism of | Christ as the Bread of Life | Daily Bread | Jesus Christ as Bread of Life | Jesus Christ's Model Prayer | Lord's Prayer | Model Prayer | Prayer | Prayer as Contact with God | Praying Daily | Righteousness, Seeking God's | Seeking God Daily | Seeking God Early | Seeking God First | Seeking God's Righteousness | Unleavened Bread | Unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth | Unleavened Bread, Symbolism of
In Deuteronomy 8:3, God draws a straight line between the Israelites eating bread He supplied from heaven and consuming and using His Word. The miracle of the manna was a daily lesson to impress on them that real living requires the individual to conduct his life in obedience to God's instructions. He urges them in Deuteronomy 30:15-20 to “choose life,” which He defines as “to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you . . .” (verse 16).
Jesus' response to the Devil's temptation in Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4, where He quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, strikes the same chord. He was famished, having fasted for forty days, and Satan suggested that He could save Himself the weakness and pain by turning stones into physical bread, something the Creator God could easily do. But Jesus understood the Adversary's temptation: to put His physical life before His spiritual life. He would never do this, knowing that, as the apostle Paul would later put it in Romans 14:17, “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Our requests for daily bread, then, also cover instruction from God through His Word to enhance our walk on the path to His Kingdom. As Peter advises in II Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Paul concurs, writing, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16), “increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10), and “rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). Scripture commends the Bereans of Acts 17:11 for “receiv[ing] the word with all readiness, and search[ing] the Scriptures daily,” just as the Model Prayer suggests.
But bread has an even higher antitype. In John 6:32-40, 48-58, Jesus Christ titles Himself “the Bread of Life”: “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). Our Savior not only gave His life in sacrifice for the remission of sins, but He also says He gives His flesh and blood to those who believe in Him so they can have eternal life.
The metaphor Jesus uses in this chapter—which the Jews considered to be horrific and macabre—parallels others found in Scripture like “putting on Christ,” “putting on the new man,” and “walking in His steps.” Notice John 6:56: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” The verbs “eats” and “drinks” are active case present participles, suggesting ongoing activity. Those who continue to feed on or ingest Christ—symbolic of learning about Him, obeying Him, imitating His example, and growing spiritually—remain in an active relationship with Him.
When we ask God to give us our daily bread, we ask for far more than food for our stomachs. We request complete nourishment for our bodies, our minds, and our spiritual lives, for the only sure, life-giving sustenance comes from God Himself.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Six): Our Daily BreadRelated Topics: Bereans | Choosing Life | Christ as the Bread of Life | Christ Became Flesh and Blood | Daily Bread | Daily Spiritual Bread | Eating Christ's Flesh | Eating of Christ | Grow in Grace and Knowledge | Manna | Manna as Source of Strength | Model Prayer | Putting on Christ | Putting on the New Man | Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
Among the three personal requests Jesus includes within His Model Prayer—for daily sustenance, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil—only the middle one receives additional comment (verses 14-15). His instruction clarifies the second half of the request in verse 12 (see Luke 11:4): “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (emphasis ours throughout). Our Savior wants to ensure that His disciples do not miss the severe implications of seeking forgiveness while withholding forgiveness from those who have wronged us. As God freely forgives those He calls—despite their horrendous sins against Him—He expects the elect to follow His example and show mercy to others.
The verb tenses in this request, faithfully translated into English, are instructive. The petitioner asks God to forgive him as he has already forgiven those who have sinned against him. Luke's version of the Model Prayer adds a slight twist, reading “for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us,” which in Greek is in a continuous tense, perhaps better rendered, “as we keep forgiving.” These tenses suggest that God's original forgiveness at justification is a singular act of grace on His part, but our ongoing forgiveness contains a condition: If we fail to reciprocate forgiveness toward others, God may withhold His mercy from us.
The Greek word behind “forgive” in Matthew 6:12 is aphiēmi (Strong's #863), which in classical Greek meant “to send off” in a variety of nuances: “to hurl [a spear],” “to release,” “to let go,” or “to let be.” In Scripture, it is often used in the sense of “to leave,” as in Mark 1:20, where Zebedee's sons “left” their father to follow Christ. It can also mean “to set aside,” used in Mark 7:8 to describe the Pharisees “laying aside” God's law in favor of their traditions. In Mark 12:19, the Sadducees try to entrap Jesus with a story about a man who dies and “leaves his [childless] wife behind.” When the woman anointed His feet with costly oil in Mark 14:3-9, Jesus uses aphiēmi in the phrase “let her alone” (verse 6). Sometimes, it can mean “to allow” or “to permit,” as in Mark 5:37, where Jesus allowed only Peter, James, and John to witness His transfiguration.
The Greeks used aphiēmi to mean “to remit” or “to forgive or pardon” in both a secular (to forgive monetary debt) and religious (to forgive a fault or sin) sense. It describes a dismissal or release from obligation. As its many usages suggest, the spiritual sense not only implies absolving a sinner from paying what he owes (Mark 11:25), but it also retains the undertones of “laying aside,” “leaving behind,” “letting go,” and “leaving alone.” When God forgives someone, the debt is wholly removed, never to be revisited or reinstated; it is “laid aside,” “left behind,” “let go,” and “left alone.” It should be the same when people forgive others.
Notice how Jesus phrases this request: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” It may seem insignificant, but in this way, Jesus emphasizes the human element of the process of forgiveness: We are to forgive the person, not just the infraction. If a person remits a debt on a purely business or legal level, the forgiveness is real, but it has a negligible impact on the relationship between the debtor and debtee. The transaction has been essentially faceless and emotionless, and while the debtor is undoubtedly grateful, there is scant guarantee of a continuing association.
Instead, God desires not just forgiveness but also reconciliation. The debt, offense, or sin has caused a breach in the relationship, and forgiveness removes the hindering element so the involved parties may return to peaceful, positive, harmonious interactions. He has reconciled us to Him through the blood of Christ (Colossians 1:19-21), and He wants us to reconcile with others, especially those in the faith from whom we have become estranged by sin or offense.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Seven): Forgive Us Our Debts
Peter asks in verse 21, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” He probably thought seven times was extremely magnanimous and merciful, as his figure was well beyond the three times rabbis taught was sufficient. Yet, Jesus demolishes His disciple's reasoning, answering, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Effectively, He teaches there is no limit to how often we should forgive a brother for trespasses against us.
The parable supplies the reason for Christ's insistence in His Model Prayer that we always forgive: The Father, seen in the character of the king who remits the ten-thousand-talent debt, has shown us boundless compassion by forgiving us of our many egregious sins against Him. He asks the unforgiving servant, who would not pardon a coworker's pittance of a debt, “Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (verse 33). In the next verse, Jesus says the one who would not forgive was “delivered . . . to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him”—the entire ten thousand talents!
Jesus grimly summarizes His point in verse 35: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” God is serious about His people forgiving one another. It is a necessary first step to restoring harmonious relationships and living in peace. It is an act of love toward our neighbor that reflects the outgoing concern of God Himself toward us, a necessary component of the godly character He is creating in us.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Seven): Forgive Us Our DebtsRelated Topics: Forgive Seventy Times Seven | Forgiveness | Model Prayer | Parable of the Unforgiving Servant | Seventy Times Seven
Interestingly, in the model prayer (Matthew 6:12), sin is expressed as debt. It is a true metaphor because duty neglected in relation to God is a debt owed to Him, one that must be discharged by paying a penalty. All have sinned (Romans 3:23), and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We are all under a peculiar form of indebtedness that we cannot pay and still have hope!
Simon and the woman each portray a class of sinners. Though all are sinners, some have incurred more debt through the way of life each has lived. Some are outwardly respectable, decent, and clean living, while others have fallen into gross, sensual, and open transgression. In this regard, Simon was a great deal "better" than the woman, who was coarse and unclean. She had been wallowing in filth while he attained civic respectability through rigid morality and punctilious observance of civility. He had far less to answer for than she, but he had also received a great deal more from his morality and righteousness than she had. God is not so unfair as to withhold blessings from people for the right they have done. Yet, regardless of the relative size of each one's debt, neither was able to pay it!
We all are sinful and stand in the same relation to God as these two debtors. One's sins may be blacker and more numerous than another's, but upon considering degrees of guilt and the complex motivations behind each one's sins, we may not be so quick to judge the woman's sins worse than Simon's. From this perspective, they were equal. His sins were clothed with respectability, but he still could not meet his debt. Jesus says, "They had nothing to pay." That also precisely describes our position in relation to each other.
What does this mean practically in regard to Jesus Christ and our sins? No depth of guilt, no amount of tears, no amount of self-flagellation or discipline, no amount of repentance can work this into a payable debt. Some of these are certainly required by God and are good to do, but forgiveness, the payment of our debt incurred through our personal sins, is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). It comes by God's mercy through the blood of Jesus Christ (I John 1:7). We absolutely cannot pay it ourselves and still have hope of eternal life. If it could, God would owe us something—He would be indebted to us! That will never, never be.
John W. Ritenbaugh
An Unpayable Debt and ObligationRelated Topics: Debt as a Metaphor of Sin | Model Prayer | Our Debt to Christ | Sin as Debt | Unpayable Debt and Obligation | Wages of Sin is Death
We all know the titanic struggle Paul describes in Romans 7, where he talks about wanting to do what is right yet doing what is wrong instead. He cries out, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (verse 24). Paul supplies the answer in the next verse. The Amplified Bible reads, "O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord!"
The solution to the evil present within us is deliverance from this body of death through Jesus Christ. This does not happen at baptism or through a quick prayer but through the relationship that the blood of Christ makes available, as well as through taking on His image over the course of our lives. Our ultimate deliverance does not come until the resurrection, but along the way, through our submission to God, He overcomes and delivers us from the evil within us and around us. Paul thus concludes his letter to the Romans with a confident declaration: "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly" (Romans 16:20). The apostle similarly encourages the Corinthians: "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).
This is not at all to suggest that we sit back and coast. We are told to resist the Devil, a very active approach (James 4:7; I Peter 5:9). Paul commands us in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God to stand against Satan. The metaphor of the armor of God is perfect in showing the respective responsibilities of God and the Christian. Every single piece of the armor of God is one that He gives to us. We do not have to create the armor of God—we "only" have to use it. We cannot gird our waist with truth unless He first reveals it. We cannot forge our own breastplate of righteousness, for He has to supply the righteousness. We cannot shoe our feet without first hearing the gospel of peace. We cannot raise the shield of faith unless we receive faith as a gift. We cannot craft our own helmet of salvation, for salvation can only come from God. Even the sword of the Spirit—God's Word—is given to us, as is the understanding of how to apply it. God gives us the means to resist Satan and his evil, but God is still the driving force and the One who actually brings about the victory.
In the model prayer, notice that Jesus teaches us to pray, "Deliver us from evil" (Matthew 6:13; Luke 11:4). We need deliverance from evil every day, just as we need "bread" (Christ) and forgiveness every day. Some translations insert the word "one" after "evil" so it refers to Satan, but it can be limiting to focus solely on Satan, overlooking the evil he has spawned. This world is evil, as is our corrupted human nature. Each day, then, we need to be delivered from the evil that is external to us and from what is already in us. Jesus teaches us to ask for this deliverance because we cannot accomplish it alone.
Reflecting on Revelation 12:11 and those who overcome Satan "by the blood of the Lamb," we can see that the first step in overcoming is to grasp what the blood of the Lamb does for us and how much we need Him to do anything. This is why He says, "Without Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5) and why Paul writes, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).
The second way Satan is overcome is "by the word of their testimony." A better translation is "they overcame him . . . because of the message of their witness," which includes much more than just public preaching or a verbal confession of faith. Their testimony or witness is solidly grounded in the way they live. When Paul outlines the qualifications of a church leader, a requirement is that he "must have a good testimony among those who are outside" (I Timothy 3:7), meaning he has a solid reputation that only comes from right living. Thus, a good testimony depends on a life that is consistent with the message.
Clearly, we cannot be mere observers when it comes to overcoming Satan. True overcomers make use of all that God provides through the blood of the Lamb, resulting in empowerment to live God's way—something that is not possible for carnal man (see Romans 8:7). Their conduct, which will be according to God's law (Hebrews 8:10), demonstrates the indwelling of God's Spirit, the same power that allows a man to choose God's way over the ways of Satan, his world, and corrupt human nature. Overcomers are not sinless by any means, but the overall trajectory of their lives is one of walking ever closer with God. Their life with Him is the message of their witness, and as they walk closer with God, they move farther away from Satan and his way. Satan is overcome through the deliberate practice of living by God's standards.
David C. Grabbe
How Did They Overcome? (Part Three)Related Topics: Acceptance of Truth | Act of Faith | Armor of God | Armor, Spiritual | Breastplate of Righteousness | Corrupt Human Nature | Deliver us from the Evil One | Helmet Metaphor | Model Prayer | Overcoming Satan's Influence | Resist the Devil | Shield of Faith | Sword, Bible as Sword | Whole Armor of God
Technically, discussion of personal will involves an individual's volition: the ability to make conscious choices and decisions, including communicating intentions (wishes, desires, plans) and issuing commands to make his will known. God created human beings in His image and likeness, and since men and women have personal wills, we can be sure that God does as well. As He is the Supreme Being, His will prevails in the universe. He has revealed His will throughout His Word, the Bible, and it will be done (Isaiah 55:11; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 6:17). His will, then, is what God wants to occur both in His overarching purpose (see Ephesians 1:11; Revelation 21:1-7) as well as in individual lives (see Jeremiah 28:11; I Timothy 2:4).
The apostle Paul assures Christians that God's will is “good and acceptable and perfect.” In one sense, our lives as servants of Christ, through a process of transformation of the mind from carnal to godly, are dedicated to discerning His will, realizing its wonders and benefits, and conforming to its demands until we share the mind and character of God (Hebrews 13:20-21). As Jesus says in John 7:17, “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.”
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Five): Your Will Be Done
While the words of God's revealed will have been read by millions or billions of people in the pages of the Bible, they cannot be understood except in the most basic way without the engagement of God's Holy Spirit. As Paul writes, “Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (I Corinthians 2:11; see John 14:16-17, 26; 16:13-15). Without the anointing of the Holy Spirit given through the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; 9:17; II Timothy 1:6), Scripture's revelations are veiled in mystery. Yet, with it, an individual can “have the mind of Christ” (verse 16).
In the context of His parables, Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 13:11, 16, “[I]t has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [the great multitudes] it has not been given. . . . But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.” This remarkable, unique gift of His Spirit puts all of God's people under the obligation to seek His will in everything and practice it with understanding and diligence. In this way, the saints put on the new man day by day and make a proper witness of God's grace and righteous way of life.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Model Prayer (Part Five): Your Will Be Done