“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (of the flesh), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4
Dear Ones:
It would be a very naive thought to believe that the spiritual conflict that Christ knew, lived, and overcame, is not our own. We can say with certainty, that we could never experience it in the same intensity, nor intricacy, in its vast content, nature, and out working. What we can say, however, is that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered ALL of His enemies, and we are one with Him, the victorious King. It is essential that we understand that as believers, we have the same spiritual enemy as Christ. Not only do we see Satan specifically mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, but Paul would go on to speak of “principalities and powers,” as those entities which oppose God, and the believer.
In the confrontation of Christ with Satan, related to us in the Gospels, as well as the account of the Fall in the Garden of Eden, we discover the strategy and scheme of our enemy. His tactics are camouflaged with “beauty” and “innocence.” However, the essence of his objective is to cause a DEVIATION. What do we mean by this? When the Lord would tell Joshua to not turn to the left or the right, in regard to obeying God, He spoke of straightforward devotion. What a contrast with Satan, who always seeks to cause us to deviate from the truth in some way. The effect of such a deviation is to create in our hearts and minds, a discrepancy, a dissonance, between what God SAYS and what He IS. This is the first “wedge” that the enemy seeks to drive into our hearts, seeking to not only present another “will,” but to deceive us into choosing it. The second aspect of Satan’s strategy is to seek to destroy the “reign” of Christ in us. His assault is aimed at dethroning the Lord Jesus as the sole monarch, and thus destroy His kingdom in our hearts. To disobey God at one point is the prelude to the dethroning of Christ as King. The last, and ultimate goal, in Satan’s strategy is to completely disassociate in our hearts and minds the truth of God with regard to WHO He truly is, deceiving us to believe what we “imagine,” or “speculate,” Him to be. This final assault is directed specifically at the “hallowing of the name of God, that holding of God to be Holy, uniquely worthy, of all worship and devotion.
This is the nature of Christ’s spiritual war, and our own. It is a struggle for not only the knowledge of the truth of God in Christ, but the knowledge of His ways and adherence to them, by which a person can TRULY know and glorify Him. It is a very personal, individual, conflict, for it is one where every aspect of our being is appealed to, and engaged in.
Dear Father, in this very real warfare, where Satan and the powers of darkness would seek our destruction by making us believe a lie, give us abundant grace to truly SET the Lord Jesus ever before us, quietly gazing upon Him with steadfast resolve. Strengthen our hearts to rejoice in Him always, delighting in Him, and living by the faith of the Son of God. Give us grace to refuse every lie and contradiction to Christ, to seek first His kingdom, and to live always to hold Thy name as holy, forever worthy of ALL blessing and honor. We thank and praise Thee, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad
A very real battle and a very sure victory….
In Christ alone!