Built for personal, self-paced study alongside or instead of the class itself, this workbook follows the same five passages and repeats a consistent shape each week — Executive Summary, Class Recap, Going Deeper: Original Language, Going Deeper: Cross-References, Historical & Cultural Background, Theological Reflection, and a look From the Old Testament — so a reader always knows where they are, however far they’ve gotten. It asks more of a reader than the class itself does, going further into the Greek text, into cross-references the class has no time for, and into Old Testament background that only gets a passing mention in the room, but it asks that only because it trusts a reader to bring their own life to the text.
Week 1, Ephesians 6:10-13, goes deeper into κράτος, ἰσχύς, and ἐνδυναμόω — the reserve of power, the strength inherent in a person, and the command to be empowered — cross-references Ephesians 1:18-21 and 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, and turns to Daniel 10’s Prince of Persia and Job 1’s Accuser who needs permission.
Week 2, Ephesians 6:14-20, studies περιζώννυμι (“having girded”) and προσκαρτέρησις (“perseverance”), sets Isaiah 11:5 and Colossians 4:2 alongside the passage, and returns to Isaiah 59:16-17’s picture of God wearing His own armor and Isaiah 52:7’s beautiful feet bringing good news.
Week 3, 1 Peter 5:5-11, works through ἀντίδικος (“adversary”) and ἐπιρίπτω (“casting”), draws the cross-reference to Luke 22:31-32’s account of Peter’s own sifting, and looks back at the whole of Job’s trial and the snare of the fowler in 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
Week 4, James 4:6-10, studies μοιχαλίς (“adulteresses”) and φιλία (“friendship”), sets Jeremiah 3:20 and Isaiah 54:5 alongside 1 John 2:15-17’s New Testament parallel, and follows the Accuser through Zechariah 3:1-4’s courtroom scene to Revelation 12:10-11’s overcoming of him.
Week 5, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, closes with στρατεύομαι, the verb of the warfare itself, a cross-reference to 2 Timothy 2:3-4’s good soldier, the Roman military-court background behind “punish all disobedience,” and a last look at David and Goliath alongside the dragon’s certain defeat.
Every week ends the same way, with Personal Reflection & Journaling questions and a Prayer Focus — not a summary to skim, but material meant to be worked through slowly, one week and one question at a time.
Use it alongside the class or entirely on your own. It asks more of you than the class does, but only because it trusts you to bring your own life to the text.