The Fight (Spiritual Battle) Part 6
As we continue on in our series on spiritual battle we will be looking at the arrival of Jesus.
John 1:1-14 (NIV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In order for God to clean up all the mess that comes from giving His family free will, He had to become a man to fulfill the covenants He had made and to defeat the power of sin and the power of death. This was accomplished at the cross (power of sin defeated) and the resurrection (power of death defeated).
Everlasting life in God’s family is now available to everyone who believes in what Jesus accomplished in and through the cross.
Romans 8:10-11 (NIV)
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Don’t Underestimate the Enemy as we Engage in Spiritual Battle
We might be tempted to think that the enemy is not all that smart. After all, if the events of the cross overturned the effects of what Satan had done at the fall, why would he and all the powers of darkness get behind the events to kill Jesus? If they had just left Jesus alone, God’s plan would have failed.
1 Corinthians 2:6-8 (NIV)
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Satan, demons, rulers, powers of darkness, principalities didn’t know what God’s plan was. They knew who Jesus was, but they did not understand what killing Him would result in. The enemy not knowing doesn’t demonstrate a lack of intelligence on their part, it demonstrates the lengths God went to so that you and I could be a part of His forever family. Our spiritual battle is against an intelligent, deceptive, crafty, ruthless evil. Fortunately, we are not alone. We have the Holy Spirit and the armor of God.
Steve Lawes is a church encourager and the lead pastor of Keys Vineyard Church.
