“Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly…” Psalm 60:11,12
Throughout Scripture we are brought face to face with the incapacity of the natural man to wage a successful warfare against the powers of darkness, those principalities and powers arrayed against him in his quest to honor and glorify God on this earth. Paul, in his letter to the believers in Corinth made it very clear that this warfare in which the followers of Christ are engaged, is first and foremost a spiritual one, and one which can only be fought successfully with the weapons which God supplies in Christ by the Spirit. He affirmed this by writing: “For though we walk according to the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” (2 Cor. 10:3) Why is this so?
From the first appearance of Satan in the Garden of Eden, when he tempted Adam and Eve, to this very day, there has not ceased to be the conflict between him and God. Satan’s appearance in the Scriptures spans thousands of years, him appearing at critical times in order to bring destruction and death, or to hinder and distract with regard to the will of God being done on earth. From his confrontation with David, successfully tempting him to number the people, when his whole trust should have been in God, and not the people, to when he confronted Christ in the wilderness, seeking to turn Him aside from total trust in, and obedience to the Father, we see him ever pursuing his objectives to steal, kill, and destroy. When he could not conquer Christ by turning Him aside from accomplishing the perfect work of redemption on Calvary, he redirected his attention to the “mystery hid from the foundation of the world,” the church, and the blessed union of Christ with every member of His body on earth, the living church. The extent and intensity of his work to now turn aside the true disciples of Christ from knowing and doing the will of God and working towards the coming of the kingdom on earth, has not diminished. On the contrary, it has intensified, because the day of Christ’s return is ever approaching. It is for this reason, and others, that the Apostle Paul brings before all of Christendom, the fact and force of this conflict, its nature, but also, the increasing revelation of its Victor, the Lord Jesus Christ. He writes to the Ephesian believers, and to believers throughout the almost two thousand years since his words were penned: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (the deceptive devices) of the devil.” (6:11) Paul puts before us the reality of the spiritual conflict so clearly, not only awakening the church to the reality of it, but giving direction concerning what is necessary to overcome, and to conquer in it.
In perhaps one of the clearest declarations in Scripture concerning the nature and outworking of this conflict Paul wrote: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (6:12) Paul’s point is that the church cannot neglect to face the reality of this spiritual conflict, nor can she avoid to engage in it. The calling of the church is to overcome the onslaught of the enemy, his resistance, and design to destroy. Where does one begin in learning God’s way to address this very difficult challenge?
The answer is found in the One who is the Beginning, the Lord Jesus. From the day of His declaration on Calvary, “It is finished,” proven by His resurrection from the dead, to His ascension into heaven, and now seated at the right hand of the Father, Christ is the absolute Victor, dwelling in every believer, as the One who is “greater than he who is in the world.”
Dear Father, Be our victory today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.