Do You Know The Spiritual Enemies in Our Spiritual Warfare?

The Spiritual Enemies in Our Spiritual War

Introduction:

Ten years ago, I saw a panel-discussion about the then-recent attack on the US embassy in Syria. Eventually, an Islamic-American woman in the audience asked, “Why are you not answering ideological questions with ideology, and discussion, instead of proposing war?” (No one had mentioned Islam. Everyone had focused on the violent attack that had occurred, and had carefully ignored the reason behind the attack.)

A woman on the panel replied that the world has about 1.2 billion Islamic people, and (as the woman in the audience said) about 75% of them desire peace. However, she pointed out that the only ones willing to discuss matters were the peaceful ones . The remaining 25% (300 million people …nearly the population of the United States) do not want peace, will not discuss it, and absolutely commit themselves to the destruction of Western Civilization.

Active Involvement?

On the other hand, even most of those do not get “actively involved.” Obviously, it only took nineteen jihadists to destroy the trade towers, killing nearly 3000 people. During WW2, most Germans wanted peace…however, the Nazis overruled, because the peaceful majority didn’t resist them. Sixty million people died as a long-range result. She cited other examples in which the “peaceful majority” proved to be irrelevant: Only the violent minority made a difference. Sadly, only those willing to fight for their beliefs become relevant in history.

The Quran calls all Islamic believers to wage “Jihad” (violent “holy war”) against all infidels. In contrast, nowhere does the Bible tell Christians to use violence to achieve their goals. (Israel was commanded to fight, and they did. Obviously, they still do so today. But the Church is not Israel.)

Instead, the New Testament addresses Christians: A different sort of war is in view. Furthermore, the scripture says we are soldiers in a spiritual war, with deadly spiritual enemies, all of whom are absolutely committed to our destruction. If we want to earn eternal relevance, (and not fall prey to those enemies) we must embrace the fact of spiritual warfare: And…we must be personally involved!

So, How Do We “Stand” For God?

In Ephesians 4:1-6:9, Paul told us how to walk with the Lord. He changes the subject (though it is closely related) in Ephesians 6:10, saying how we should stand for the Lord.

We tend to think of “Christian warfare” as a lot of “guerilla-tactics:” Sneaking around, looking for a chance to “slip in a good word, edgewise.” Sorry. That is not what it is about! It is not to be a “battle of wits:” (Compared to the enemies Paul describes, here, we are nearly “witless.”) And remember: The people against whom we try to use our “spiritual zingers” are not enemies. They are working with our enemies, but they are truly victims, just as we ourselves have been.

**Be Strong In the Lord, and in the Power of His Might**

Paul’s first command is: “Be strong.” Notice that the command is to “my brethren”—born again believers—children, together, of their real Father in heaven. In John 8:44,Jesus said that the world’s people are not by nature the children of God, but of Satan. That sounds harsh, but it is simply the truth…and in Ephesians 2:3, Paul agrees that we all began in that position.

But as Christians, he commanded us to “be strong.” Notice, too, that that is not the whole command. If he only said, “Be Strong,” we all might join gymnasiums or lift weights, trying to “obey the command of God”…and we would all be wrong. He says, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His Might.” This has nothing to do with physical strength.

How Does God’s Strength Enter the Picture?

Read the story of Gideon, in Judges 6:11-16. (read it) Israel was a nation under siege, terrorized by roving bands of Midianite raiders. Gideon, of the tribe of Manasseh, was secretly threshing some wheat, trying to get it into storage without the Midianites seeing him. (The raiders had a pattern of letting someone else do all the work and then swooping in to steal the harvest.)

The Angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon. (From previous studies, we saw that “the Angel of the LORD” always turns out to be the LORD, Jehovah, himself…and, as we further discovered: it is Jesus, in the flesh! This is no exception. In verses 14, 16, and following, the LORD is doing the talking: He called to Gideon, saying “the LORD is with thee, thou Mighty Man of Valor.” And Gideon effectively said, “You’ve got the wrong guy! I am the least in my father’s house, and our house is poor in our tribe. I’m no ‘mighty man’ of anything!”

But the LORD commanded him, saying “Go in this thy might…have I not sent thee?”

God knew who he was dealing with—a scared young farmer, just trying to stay alive and feed his family: but He called him a “Mighty Man of Valor”…and then revealed what made him strong. In the first place, he said, “The LORD is with thee!” and, in the second place, he said “go, in THIS thy might: Have I not sent thee?”

These two facts were what guaranteed Gideon His strength: As a called individual,

God was with him, and
God was sending him on a mission!

(Well! Wouldn’t it be nice if we had those two things?) You know the answer to that: We do!

Our Source of Strength

How do I know God is with us? Because Jesus guaranteed it, over and over. In John 14:16,He said that the Holy Spirit would be with us forever(remember: The Holy Spirit is God.) And, in John 14:18, He said that He himself would not abandon us. In John 14:23, He said that He and the Father would take up their abode with us. And, (Matthew 28:20) in the context of the Great Commission, he gave His promise “I am with thee always, even unto the end of the age!” So: There is no doubt that God is with us: The only question remains: are we with Him?

God went to a great deal of trouble to get Gideon to walk with him. We like to remember Gideon “laying out the fleece,” but we forget that this was specifically an act of doubt. Jesus had just appeared to him in person, and had given him a command. Gideon responded with “How do I know it is really you, or that you are sending me?” The two incidents with the fleece, and the subsequent “night-prowl” into the enemy camp all were given to allay his fears. The Lord really wanted him to do the job, and He really went a long way to “get Gideon on His team.”

**Are You Really On God’s Team?**

So, what does it take to get you on God’s team? He already died for you. (Of course, he died for Gideon, too, but Gideon didn’t know that.) He gave you the indwelling Holy Spirit; (Gideon didn’t have that blessing either.) He gave you the whole Bible. (Gideon may have seen the Torah, but probably only from a distance. We don’t even know for sure that he knew how to read: this was during a very dark period in Israel’s history.) The fact is, today, we have been given more evidence and more blessing than any other group of people in History.

You may think, “Ah, but Israel had the plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the Manna in the desert, not to mention the miraculous gushing River of Water from the Rock.” Yes, they did, and they soon forgot them. Gideon had never seen any of those things! He had only heard of them.

You have the written record of those miracles, and you have your own copy of the whole Bible…do you read it? Do you believe Him? God wants you on His team, and He has already promised to be with you. He has already called you, and He has already sent you.

Where Has He Sent Us?

Matthew 28:19, 20 “Go ye therefore and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We treat the Great Commission as if it were the marching orders for eleven or twelve men, but not for us.

But let’s read the rest of it: “…teaching them (that’s us) to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Yes, the Great Commission is to all Christians, throughout all history, in all places, in all the World.

God told Gideon nearly the same things He tells us: “Go, in this thy might: have I not sent thee?” But his marching orders were quite different. He was to wage physical war against the Midianite raiders who were destroying Israel. We are to fight a spiritual war against the spiritual forces of wickedness in this world…not against flesh and blood.

As with Gideon, He says, “be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His might”…not our own strength. Gideon had nothing to offer God except faith and obedience: The same as we have.

Our Defense Against Evil

So, what is to be our defense against the evil in the world, and, more importantly, against the invisible, active agents of evil around us? (Wait! What’s this “invisible” stuff? Where did I get that?) We will find out in the next few verses that ALL our real enemies are invisible. So, how will we defend against such an invisible enemy?

He commanded us to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the “wiles of the devil.” The word, “Devil” means “accuser.” Satan means “adversary,” or “enemy.” But in this case, we see that ALL of our enemies are under the headship of that one Enemy, the Devil, who (1^st Peter 5:8) “Walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour.”

So, any human defense will be useless; only the armor of God will suffice. The World feeds people video games and movies, many with the idea that “humans can fight demons…” shooting at them, etc. Think! They are invisible. Also, they are completely immune to anything humans can do, let alone bullets, blades and other such nonsense. In verses 14-18, God gives the only weapons that have any effect. We won’t get there today, but you can read ahead and see them: We have a handful of primarily defensive weapons and two potentially offensive weapons. And none of them are in any way connected to human ability or strength.

Gideon’s Experience, And Ours

Think of Gideon again: If you recall, the way God ordered the battle was first to take away all but 300 of Gideon’s troops. Next, God ordained that both hands of each of those 300 soldiers were full: They could not use any weapon in the battle! And, finally, He commanded them to:

Stand
Shine a light(remember the jugs and the torches?) and
Sound an alarm (Alternating between Blowing a trumpet and Shouting.)

Consider: Isn’t that also what He commands us to do?

Stand fast
Shine the light of a holy life (Philippians 2:15, 16; Matthew 5:15, 16)
Sound the alarm of the Gospel—both the “bad” news and the “good” news.

But our enemies and our armor are quite different from those of Gideon.

Who Are Our Enemies?

God’s Word says we have three major enemies, all under the leadership of one Enemy; Satan. He also has henchmen that we call demons, but the main way God lists our enemies is as:

The World
The Flesh
The Devil

(So, why do I say that they are all invisible? We see the world around us every day, don’t we?) No, as a matter of fact: We see the people of the world: people for whom Jesus died. 1^st John 2:2 states that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world: He is the satisfaction of the Righteousness and Holiness of God on their behalf. So, if you think you “see” one of your enemies, remember that he or she is definitely someone for whom Jesus shed His precious blood. And we are commanded to reach out to them with the Love of God.

Our Three Enemies

“The World” that is our Enemy is the World system (of thinking, values, and motivation) controlling all the nations, politicians, and unbelievers of every kind. The people themselves are just sinners for whom Jesus died. The system is, and always shall be, the enemy of your soul.

“The Flesh” refers to our old sin nature, fully given over to self-will. (Even God can’t repair it or redeem it: So, He will do away with it through physical death.) In the believer’s case, this will provide eternal freedom from sin: when the body is resurrected, the only remaining nature will be the new nature. For the unbeliever, it means eternal loss, as the only resurrection they face is the resurrection of the damned; eternal separation from God in the lake of Fire.

“The Devil.”—Satan himself—is the leader of all his armies: not only the invisible evil hosts named here (the “principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world” are angelic beings) and the “spiritual wickedness in high places,” but also of the World and the Flesh, according to Ephesians 2:2, 3. (He is the “Spirit that now works in the Children of Disobedience.”)

Our Goal: To Stand

And, against all these enemies The Lord says to do what? Just stand! But as we stand, He calls us to shine as lights in a dark place (Philippians 2:15), and to sound the alarm of the Gospel, so that we serve as ambassadors of God (2nd Corinthians 5:19, 20.) We are offering His terms of salvation to all who are willing. We cannot re-write history. God will carry out His judgment in His own time. We will let God handle the judgment of His enemies. We are only to reach out to them in Love.

(Next time: The Armor)

Father God, help us to see your presence and your command as the full and sole source of our strength, and to take that command as our own personal marching orders, in Jesus’ Name, and for His sake.

September 15, 2018September 15, 2018

Watch out for Robbers!

Complete in Christ

Colossians 2:8-17

Introduction:

We have been studying through the Epistle to the Colossians, and have read of Paul’s concern for the churches to whom he was writing, and, by extension, his concerns for us, as believers. One of the things that he warns against is those who would rob us of our liberty in Christ: those who will try to convince us that God has not given us the whole truth, and that there is something else we need, in order to be in good standing with God.

Guard against Robbers

⁸Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
⁹For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Notice the three-fold attack of the Enemy here, in verse eight:

Through philosophy and vain deceit (Who is the deceiver? The “Liar and Father of lies”.)
After the traditions of men (Human reasoning…appealing to my old nature, the “flesh”)
After the rudiments of the world (elementary concepts, not embracing spiritual realities)

We are warned that, collectively, these three are not “after Christ.” Remember who our three enemies are? The World, the Flesh, and the Devil! And here they are again!

The fact is, we tend to like “philosophy;” in fact, the word “philosophy” means “love of wisdom”. But the problem is that there are many sources of such “wisdom,” and not all are from God. One of the three things that attracted Eve to eat the Fruit, was the fact that it was “to be desired to make one wise.” But that “wisdom” was not from God: it was a deadly trap!

James 3:13-18 points out the three other sources of “wisdom,” all of which are in opposition to God. He shows the “works” that are associated with such “Earthly, Sensual, or Devilish” “wisdom”, and then contrasts it with the “fruit” of Godly Wisdom.

¹³Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
¹⁴But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
¹⁵This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

(There are those three enemies again: The world, the flesh, and the Devil!)

¹⁶For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

The wisdom we need must come from the only good source: In Proverbs 2:1-7, God says that His Word is the only reliable source. Do we have a teacher we especially like to hear? That is good; but we still need to read the scriptures on our own, as well, and measure his words against God’s Word. As did the Berean believers, we need to “Search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so.” (Acts 17:11)

Things that sound good, are not necessarily good teaching. Compare scripture with scripture. All scripture has to agree with all other scripture. If we are taught something that seems to contradict the rest of the Word of God, we need to stop and read carefully: something is definitely wrong.

Don’t underestimate Christ

Verse 9 is an important truth regarding the Deity of Christ. This is a crystal-clear statement that “in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead, bodily.” We have a very human desire to “reduce” God to a humanly understandable level. That is not a good thing to do: He is not a human, except as He has chosen to appear, in the person of Christ. He is the immortal, immutable, omnipresent, omnipotent Creator, and the God of all time and eternity! Why should I expect him to be something I can casually read about, consider for a moment, and grasp completely? There are so many comparatively small things within His creation, which we can study all our lives and still not understand: why would we expect the Creator to be simpler than His creation? Entomologists may give their whole lives to understanding a particular type of insect: Isn’t it obvious that the Creator of all things, including that insect, is more complex and harder to grasp than the insect, let alone the rest of creation, from silkworms to supernovas?

I can’t even grasp all the things that humans create: I use computers and cell-phones on a daily basis, but, when experts try to explain to me how they work, I only understand them in general terms. Regarding the specifics of why something doesn’t work, I have no idea what’s wrong.

Jesus encompasses all of who God is: He is God; and the entirety of the fullness of the Godhead was and is present in Him, in His human body. And, He says that we are complete in Christ!

You are complete in Christ!

¹⁰And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

This is an important truth, all in itself: You are complete in Christ! He is the head of all things, above all authority and angelic beings, whether holy or fallen, and He says we are complete, in Him!

So, what should I do when someone comes along to tell me, “No! You are not complete! You are missing this one little thing about which God didn’t bother to tell you!” What then? Doesn’t that comment sound remarkably similar to the Serpent’s temptation of Eve, in the Garden? “You shall not surely die! (Hisssss) God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil!” (Hisssss) (Genesis 3:4, 5)

Learn to recognize Robbers

Beware the voice of the Serpent in all such appeals! At minimum, this sort of suggestion calls into question the character of God! Any teaching that diminishes the deity of Christ, or questions the holiness or wisdom of God Himself, is ultimately from the pit. This is not meant as some sort of “knee-jerk, reactionary name-calling.” We simply need to be realistic about God’s Word: there is an Enemy, and this is one of the ways we perceive his hand. We see his character in the teachings of his workers: they seek to make us doubt God’s written Word, and to not trust Him.

We also must look to see God’s character in the teachings of His servants. God’s faithful servants teach us to understand and trust in the written Word of God, which draws us closer to the Living Word, Jesus! They confirm that God’s Word is complete, and holy, and that His character is Holy and Righteous, and Good, and that He is entirely trustworthy. The Holy Spirit never teaches contrary to the Word of God, nor does He cause us to doubt the character of God.

I have had people tell me that “there were things left out of the Bible, you know;” and that I, as a Bible-believing Christian, am living in ignorance, because I “don’t know the whole story.” Now: who is most likely to bring me such an idea; trying to convince me that “God is not giving me the straight story?” Is this a true “servant of light,” or is it, more likely, a minion of Satan appearing as an angel of light? (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.)

We need to learn our wisdom from God, by becoming so familiar with His Word that every false doctrine “sticks out” as having “something amiss.” In every such case, so far, I have been able, through God’s Word, to satisfy myself that the person bringing the message was not a servant of God; their message was utterly contrary to God’s Word, and contrary to Grace, as well. We are complete in Him. We simply need to feed on His Word, and become strong.

What is the result of our Position in Christ?

Verses 11-15 tell us some precious truths that are entirely due to our position in Christ:

¹¹In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

¹²Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

The “circumcision,” here, as well as the “baptism,” have nothing to do with our physical body. Jesus, by His death at the Cross, has “put off” the flesh, once for all. We are no longer slaves to our old sin nature. It is still present, but it has been “put off” at the Cross, and we can trust in that truth, on a daily basis. This is entirely a “positional” truth: it is true because we are in Christ.

The baptism in question, here, is also not the physical baptism with water, but the Holy Spirit baptism addressed over in 1^st Corinthians 12:13. Every believer has been “baptized” into Christ, whether they know it or not. Because of that baptism by the Holy Spirit, into the Body of Christ, we have been identified with Him in His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension, with the result being that, from God’s perspective, we are already seated with Christ in Heaven.

Water baptism only reflects this “real” baptism. It is an outward symbol of a spiritual reality, just as circumcision was supposed to have been for the Jews. Again, these are true because we are in Christ. There is nothing for us to do, to obtain these things: they are already true of us, in Christ.

The next verse is in the same category: it is true for all believers, because they are in Christ.

¹³And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Notice that this is all past-tense: I was “dead in sin:” I have been “quickened” (made alive—resurrected) with Christ. My sins already have been completely forgiven: all our trespasses have been forgiven; past, present and future. Remember: when Jesus died for you, all your sins were in the future! He died for all your “future sins,” because all of them were in the future when He died. You have never “surprised God” by your sins. He knew them all, from eternity past. He chose to include them in His sacrifice at the Cross.

¹⁴Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

The Law, which spoke against me, in my condemned state as a lost sinner, has been blotted out: erased, as it were, where it once condemned me. The condemnation of the Law was nailed to the Cross along with our sins. Is the Law still God’s Word? Absolutely! But it no longer condemns me: because I died with Christ, the Law has been fulfilled, as it applies to me. It condemned me to die, and I died: “End of story!” So, all of its judgment against me has been nullified, in death.

¹⁵And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

The word “spoiled” here, means “looted,” or “robbed.” In what way did Jesus “loot” or “rob” the demonic hosts at the cross? He took back the souls of all believers from the one who had long enslaved them! He purchased us, actually, with His blood, and through His death. But the key, here, is that Jesus triumphed over Satan at the Cross. This was the fulfillment of the “Seed of the Woman” prophecy in Genesis 3:15. This is where the “Serpent’s head” was “crushed.” What was expected to be a victory for Satan, and an ignominious death for the Son of God, turned out to be the Absolute Triumph of God, in Christ, and the crushing defeat of the Evil One.

How should we respond to this truth?

¹⁶Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
¹⁷Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The result, then, of the final “setting aside of the Law, for righteousness,” is that we are also free from the trappings of the religious law adhered to by the Jews. (See Romans 10:4—“For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”) There are still people today who want to place themselves back under these Laws, though God tells them to not do so, right here in this passage.

What is worse, is that, they usually want to place others under that condemnation, as well. They are not satisfied to be a slave themselves: they want you to be one, too. The cults all fall into this category, as they all (either explicitly or, by implication) deny the efficacy of the blood of Jesus, saying that we must work to earn salvation, or work to maintain a right standing before God.

They go out of their way to convince us, because they themselves have been convinced that, in order for them to be saved, or to receive reward, they have to draw others into the same bondage. The cults are not doing it out of concern for your soul, but for their own. A Christian may share his or her belief, too, but he or she has no obligation to do so, and, as a rule, nothing to gain by it. They seek to free others from bondage, not enslave them. They are not concerned, as a rule, with what church you attend, but, whether you receive the free gift of God: eternal life in Christ. They may also invite you to their church, of course; but, if they are faithful servants of God, the real issue is the salvation and freedom of your soul.

Is there anything “wrong” with keeping the feasts, or observing the Sabbath? No, there isn’t! If you enjoy the celebrations, that is fine, but we are under no obligation to such things. We are not to be placed under further bondage: instead, the Holy Spirit sets us free from the bondage of sin, and does not place us in bondage to the Law. He truly sets us free to live for God.

Finally, Paul points out that all the things of the Law (the feast-days, the dietary laws, etc.) were, collectively, at best, only a picture of the coming reality of righteousness in Christ. Jesus is the Reality! He asks that we not allow ourselves to be robbed of our freedom in Christ by others, who, themselves, have rejected it.

This is, unfortunately, an extremely common trait among humans: we don’t want others to enjoy something that we, ourselves, don’t have. So we judge one another, and try to make each other feel less content with God’s supply. Paul warns us to not allow this to happen to us, and (by application), we are not to do it to others, either! You are complete, in Christ. Rejoice in that truth, and don’t allow anyone to steal your joy, by causing you to doubt it.

Lord Jesus, please allow us to meditate upon the truth that we are complete in You, and help us to grasp the importance of clinging to that truth. Help us to learn contentment without falling into complacency. We do want to grow, but we do not want to be tormented by vain ambitions. Glorify yourself in us, in Jesus name.