Songs of Solomon 6:4 describes the Shulamite after her transformation and Maturity as one as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem but as terrible as an Army with banners! Learn how Songs of Songs relates with Ephesians as we glean the Characteristics of The Overcoming Church!

1. THE OVERCOMING CHURCH

2. Objectives
To rediscover the Church and her dominion mandate.
To identify the characteristics for the overcoming Church.
To Identify and find out how to overcome the enemies
against our dominion as the Church.
To see and appreciate the best safeguard against doctrinal
winds.
To embrace Growth Into Christ In All Things.

3. Foundational Texts
Songs of Songs 6:4
KJV: ‘O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem, terrible as an Army with
banners!’

4. Foundational Texts
Ephesians 4:11- 16
 NKJV: 1 1And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to
the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the
edifying of itself in love.

5. Introduction
The subject of the book of Ephesians is the church.
Ephesians covers seven aspects of the church:
The Body (1:23)
The New Man (2:15)
The Kingdom (2:19)
The Household of God (2:19)
The Dwelling Place of God (2:21-22)
The Bride, the Wife, of Christ (5:260)
The Warrior (6:12)

6. Exposition 1
In Song of Songs 6:4
Tirzah was noted for its beauty, hence it became the residence of several kings.
Jerusalem is a sign of royalty.
The more heavenly we are, the more royal we become. To be royal is to reign like a
king.
Romans 5 says that those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness will reign in life (v. 17).
Jerusalem also denotes maturity in life for God’s building.
 For the building of the Body of Christ, we need the maturity of life. Ephesians 4:12-
16, which speaks of the building up of the Body, tells us that we need growth to reach
maturity so that the Body of Christ can be built up.

7. Exposition 1(B)
Notable Characteristics of the lover as described in this verse:
 She Being Terrible as an Army with Banners: The lover of Christ is
also “terrible as an army with banners” lifted up as a sign of victory.
This indicates that her becoming beautiful as Tirzah and mature as
Jerusalem is due to her victory over the enemies.
Only by being an overcomer, one who overcomes the enemies can we
express beauty, dominion and Maturity.
The overcoming Church is a terrible Church! It does not live in
harmony with the enemies, it is terrible against these enemies! O
Hallelujah.

8. Exposition 1 (C)
The nature of the enemies we are to overcome for us to arrive at Maturity:
Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not [a]carnal but mighty in God for
pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts
itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is
fulfilled.
The 7 strongholds of Canaan:
Hittites [Terror]: They were giants who brought fear, confusion and discouragement to
others.
Girgashites [Clay dweller]: They built their houses using clay instead of stones. Shows
they were not stable in their mindset, they were always in haste. Clay is also
impermeable by water.

9. Exposition 1 (D)
The Amorites [Hill dweller]: They were people who were arrogant and boastful in
their speech. The Amorite stronghold is associated with finding fault in others.
The Canaanites [Merchant]: They valued and developed the arts and Sciences. Their
chief characteristic was pride in their intelligence. They were also a fertility cult.
The Perizzites [City without walls]: they were people who had separated themselves
and lived in unwalled villages. They had no restrictions and no discipline.
The Hivites [Villager]: They lived in the northern section of Canaan below Mount
Hermon. The Gibeonites who made a peace treaty with Joshua were Hivites.
The Jebusites [To tread down]: The site on which the temple of Solomon was built
belonged to Araunah, a Jebusite from whom it was purchased by David who refused to
accept it as a free gift. The Jebusites were mockers.

10. The Special Gifts: The Fivefold Ministry
Ephesians 4:11-16
“Gifts” here does not refer to the abilities or enablements
for varied services, but to the various gifted persons in verse
11—apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and
teachers.

11. FOR THE PERFECTING OF THE
SAINTS
 verse 12 we see the reason for Christ’s giving of the gifts: “For the perfecting
of the saints unto the work of ministry, unto the building up of the Body of
Christ.”
The saints are perfected “unto the work of ministry.”
The Greek word translated “unto” means “resulting in.”
Therefore, the perfecting of the saints results in the work of ministry.
The many gifted persons in verse 11 have only one ministry, that of ministering
Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, the church.
Whatever the gifted persons in verse 11 do as the work of ministry must be for
the building up of the Body of Christ.

12. ARRIVING AT THREE THINGS
Verse 13 continues, “Until we all arrive at the oneness of the faith
and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, at a full-grown man, at
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
According to this verse, the perfected saints will arrive at three
things: at the oneness of the faith and of the full knowledge of the
Son of God, at a full-grown man, and at the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ.
 Christ has a fullness, the fullness has a stature, and the stature has a
measure. We must arrive at the measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ.

13. The Purpose of Arriving in the three
Things
Verse 14 says, “That we may be no longer babes tossed by waves and carried
about by every wind of teaching in the sleight of men, in craftiness with a view to
a system of error.”
This verse is the continuation of verse 13. The word “that,” which may also be
rendered “in order that,” indicates that the result of arriving at the three things
in verse 13 is that we are no longer babes tossed by waves and carried about by
every wind of teaching.
 Therefore, arriving at the three things in verse 13 has a purpose, and this
purpose is that we be no longer babes.
Babes are those believers who are young in Christ, who lack maturity in life (1
Cor. 3:1; 13:11; Heb. 5:13). In the first stage of our spiritual life, we Christians
are all babes.

14. Winds and Waves
Verse 14 indicates that the babes are tossed by waves.
The Christian life is like a journey on the sea, where there are many storms.
As Christians, we should not expect our journey to be calm, with no waves or
winds.
The waves and the storms come not only upon individual believers, but even
upon the church.
There are times when the church experiences waves and is in the midst of
storms.
Paul’s concept here is not that we can avoid the waves and winds, but that we
can be kept from being tossed by waves and carried about by winds.

15. Winds and Waves
Actually, few Christians are tossed by difficulties, but many are
tossed by waves and carried away by winds.
One may wonder what the waves and the winds are.
They are the various teachings, doctrines, concepts, and opinions.
As the church is journeying on the sea, Satan will seek an
opportunity to send in some appealing teachings, concepts, and
opinions to entice the believers.
His purpose in doing so is to carry them away from Christ and the
church.

16. The Safeguard: Christ and The Church!
Satan can use almost anything to distract us from Christ and the church.
He used even the words of Scripture to tempt the Lord Jesus in the
wilderness.
There is no better safeguard than Christ with the church. Do not accept
any teaching that cannot pass the test of Christ and the church.
In verse 14 Paul does not speak of the wind of heresy, but he speaks of
the wind of teaching.
Any teaching, even a scriptural one, that distracts believers from Christ
and the church is a wind that carries them away from God’s central
purpose.

17. Speaking
the Truth in Love
Holding to truth in love means to handle, embrace, and
speak Christ with the church.
Others may teach differently, emphasizing doctrines or
opinions that distract people from Christ and the church.
However, we should not speak in such a way. Rather, we
should speak those things that bring us into contact with
Christ and that build us up as the Body of Christ.
To speak in this way is to handle the truth.

18. Growing Up Into The Head, Christ
By holding to truth in love we grow up into Christ in all things.
To be no longer babes (v. 14) we need to grow up into Christ.
This is to have Christ increase in us in all things until we attain to a full-grown
man (v. 13).
The word Head here in verse 15 indicates that our growth in life with Christ
should be the growth of the members in the Body under the Head.
If we would be no longer babes tossed to and fro and carried about, we need to
grow. But we should grow up into Christ, not up into ourselves or into something
else apart from Christ.

19. In All Things!
In verse 15 Paul tells us that we must grow up into the Head in
all things.
 In certain aspects you have grown up into the Head, but in
other aspects you probably have not.
If we bring to the Lord this matter of growing up into Him in
all things, we shall see that there are many small things in which
we have not yet grown up into the Head.
 How much we still need to grow up into Christ! May this need
for growth touch our heart and turn us afresh to the Lord.

20. Q & A Session
THE END