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Eternal Warfare |
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“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
The Apostle Paul plainly identified the opposition of the New Testament church as the “rulers...the powers...the world forces of this darkness...the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”. Along with the greater counsel of the Bible, His description clarifies that the spiritual enemy of the ecclesia is Satan and the multitude of angels who chose to rebel against God before the foundation of the world (cf. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; Revelation 12:9; etc.). More specifically, Paul indicated that the devil and his angels are arrayed in a spiritual hierarchy of evil for the purpose of destroying the distinct church of the New Testament. As a result, the ecclesia of God is compelled to engage in “wrestling, struggle or hand-to-hand combat” with its spiritual enemy.[1] In the history of the church many different responses to the opposition of the devil and his angels have been presented, proposed, penned and promoted. Without biblical precedent, however, they are ineffective and even deceptive in origin. The Bible reveals only one approach that is effective against spiritual opposition. It begins and ends with Jesus Christ. His ministry provides the New Testament church with the necessary position, power and protection for standing firm and resisting every scheme of the devil. |
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Vindication: Renovation
According to eternal plan, God renovated the original, devastated, uninhabitable heavens and earth to be inhabited once again. His renovation was accomplished within the framework of covenantal law. The Renovation Covenant provided a protective, legal guidelines by which God unveiled and secured His eternal purpose and plan for the renovated earth and its inhabitants (Genesis 1:2-31). Congruent with predetermined stipulation, its legal framework served to clarify His intention beforehand. God’s subsequent fulfillment of covenantal stipulation demonstrated His veracity and served to further protect Him from accusation of wrongdoing. Consequently, His sovereignty would no longer be subject to challenge and would not be viewed as vulnerable and weak or susceptible to deposition. The renovated earth was perfect. It lacked nothing. Therefore, God pronounced every aspect of His renovation “good” and His holy angels rejoiced (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; Job 38:4-7). In harmony with His eternal plan, God allowed the devil and his angels access to the renovated heavens and earth. Banished from King and kingdom, however, their access to the renovated earth was necessarily moderated by law. Accountable by measure of law, the activity of the devil and his angels on the renovated earth was designed to contribute to the fulfillment of eternal purpose (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6; Romans 8:38; James 4:7; 1 John 5:18). The earth was not renovated to again serve as a habitat for spiritual, angelic beings, but a new type of creature; mankind (Genesis 1:26-30). In contrast to the angelic beings, humanity was created with a physical or material body. By stipulation of the Renovation Covenant, the human race was originally designed as one collective entity. When God said, “Let us make man in our image” He was not referring to an individual human being, but the entire human race (Genesis 1:26). The Hebrew noun for “man” ('adam) was used in a collective sense. The first man, Adam, was appointed by God as the representative, covenantal head of humanity. All of his descendants, the entire human race; past, present and future, comprise his covenantal body (cf. Genesis 1:26-27). According to the legal stipulations of the Renovation Covenant, mankind, represented by Adam, was given legal authority over the earth and its creatures. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26-28). God had planned beforehand to vindicate His nature in accordance with the newly renovated earth and its human population. The willingness of humanity to choose fellowship and obedience over selfishness and rebellion would provide vindication. |
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Fallen Angelic Response
While Satan wasn’t cognizant of the entire plan of God, he was clear about Adam’s purpose on earth. It did not go unnoticed by him that God had replaced him in the kingdom with an inferior being. Further, it was clear to Satan that Adam had been awarded representative authority over the renovated earth. Within the legal guidelines of the Renovation Covenant, Satan schemed to deceive Adam into relinquishing his legal, God appointed authority over the earth. The success of his scheme would not only allow him to regain authority on earth, but demonstrate to God that all of His creatures were incapable of obedience. Thus, the judgment of the devil would appear unjust and he would be exonerated. Fall of Mankind God had warned Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was the one condition of the Renovation Covenant and therefore, the means by which they could remain in covenant relationship with God. Aware of the conditional stipulation of the Renovation Covenant, Satan manipulated Eve into challenging God's covenantal command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Tragically, she chose to believe Satan’s lie and ate from the forbidden tree. As forewarned, Eve suffered separation from God, immediate spiritual death and, consequently, began the long slow decline to physical death. Relative to Eve’s transformation, Adam was forced to make an extremely difficult choice. He could reject his beloved bride and allow her to experience her appointed destiny without him. It would be both lonely and heart wrenching. Conversely, Adam could choose to remain in union with Eve by eating of the prohibited tree and join her in rebellious separation from God. Ultimately, Adam was forced to choose between God and His beloved Eve. Rather than Adam, Satan had originally deceived Eve into eating from the forbidden tree (1 Timothy 2:14). However, by his deception of Eve he was able to manipulate Adam into disobeying God. While Eve chose to rebel against covenantal stipulation because of deception, Adam did so willfully. As a result, he abdicated his God-given authority to rule the earth. Relative to the fall of Adam, the divinely appointed high priest of the earth and representative/representational head of humanity, the entire human race and its earthly habitat were subjected to a fallen state of degeneration and darkness. By the success of his scheme, Satan regained some of his previous status and authority. Therefore, he presently and temporarily holds the legal titles of “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). According to the Apostle John, “….the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Nevertheless, the present status and authority of Satan related to the renovated, fallen earth is but a distant shadow of the former glory he once enjoyed. Rather than ruling the pristine, original earth, however, his moderated authority extends only over the heavens and earth in their degenerated form, collectively described as the “domain of darkness” (Colossians 1:13). Under the fallen headship of Adam, the entire human race became legally unsuitable and organically incompatible with God: |
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Relative to its legal unsuitability and organic incompatibility, mankind was relegated to a fallen realm of existence apart from God:
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The fallen realm of existence is characterized by a distinct familial standing, citizenship, security, and style of governance:
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Under the fallen headship of Adam the human race was rendered both legally unsuitable and organically incompatible with God. Therefore, it was necessarily separated from King and kingdom.
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Utter Defeat
Satan was utterly defeated by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ: |
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Satan was utterly defeated by the redemptive work of Christ. As a result, his authority over the redeemed who comprise the New Testament church was abolished. However, Satan continues to have limited authority over the fallen world, the present abode of the ecclesia of God.
Nevertheless, Satan’s ability to influence the redeemed was significantly diminished. Concordant with the redemptive work of Christ, he was bound; his abode plundered (his abode is his realm of authority; the “domain of darkness”); and his works destroyed (Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27; Colossians 1:13; 1 John 3:8). In addition, he is without armor; disarmed; and powerless (Luke 11:22; Colossians 2:15a; Hebrews 2:14). Moreover, the devil and his angels were made a public spectacle (they were exposed as shattered, empty and defeated to the heavenly host) (Colossians 2:15b). In spite of his defeat, Satan deceptively “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He strives to keep the New Testament church from knowing his deepest, darkest fear; he was utterly defeated by the redemptive work of Christ. Powerless, bound, unarmored and disarmed, Satan was left with only one means to oppose the object of his intense hatred and jealousy, the distinct church of the New Testament. His sole weapon against the church is falsehood. Jesus said, “[Satan]…does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). |
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Spiritual
The lies and deceptive schemes of the devil and his angels are spiritual in nature. They are derived from a fallen spiritual being that exists in a fallen spiritual abode. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Spiritual lies that are derived from a spiritual source can influence life in the physical realm. However, they cannot be defended by physical weaponry. Deception that is spiritual in source and nature can only effectively be combated by means of spiritual weaponry. “…the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely (and thus, spiritually) powerful” (2 Corinthians 10:4). Satan very much enjoys spending time with the believer that attempts to employ the physical weaponry of the flesh in spiritual battle. He is not moved or intimidated by unbiblical strategies, formulas, religious prayers, etc. All temptation to fight a spiritual battle in the physical realm with fleshly weapons must be resisted. Instead, the New Testament church is to “…be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might”, “put on the full armor of God” and “…resist [the devil], firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (Ephesians 6:10-11; 1 Peter 5:9-10). |
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New Testament Church
The New Testament church has a distinct purpose in the eternal plan of God (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 4:3; Revelation 13:8). It was designed not only to vindicate His nature from angelic challenge and accusation, but to repopulate His kingdom. The purpose of the New Testament church provides the fallen angels with motive for warfare. The divine nature is vindicated when the New Testament church responds to satanic scheme and assault by faithful submission to the Savior, evidenced by the practice of intimate, shared life fellowship. Accordingly, the living (zoe) Savior graciously defends His ecclesia in the only manner possible, in perfect agreement with the attributes of His nature. As a result, the heavenly host, both holy and fallen, is privileged to witness a demonstration of the true attributes of the divine nature on earth, in a concurrent and unbiased fashion. Vindicating the nature of God, fellowship between God and His beloved New Testament church provides a painful reminder to the devil and his angels of the sovereignty of God, the foolishness of their choice to rebel against Him and their consequent loss. It is a source of public humiliation that ultimately reveals them as foolish, weak and defeated. Thus, they view the New Testament church with intense hatred. The purpose of the New Testament church is not only to vindicate the divine nature, but to repopulate the kingdom of God. As previously indicated, it suffered a significant reduction in population with the banishment of the fallen angels. The fallen angels recognize that they are being replaced in the kingdom by undeserving, inferior, human beings. Consequently, they view the New Testament church not only with intense hatred, but with great jealousy. In accordance with His eternal purpose God allows the enemy of the New Testament church to continue to prowl “around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Although without authority, Satan remains steadfast in his attempt to put an end to the ecclesia. © 2018 James Hiatt |