rjones
Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 314
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph.6:12).
Jesus came into the world to destroy Satan's power (1 John 3:8). Satan is called "the prince of this world" (John 14:30; 16:11), "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and "the enemy" (1 Peter 5:8). Satan rules through a network of demon spirits called "principalities and powers." God has now called us to be actively involved in the battle with Satan.
Before we can play our part in the battle for people's lives, we must understand what Jesus has already accomplished. If we do not first have a revelation of the finished work of the Cross, we will end up struggling to do what has already been done.
Spiritual warfare is not trying to complete the work of the Cross. Spiritual warfare is enforcing a victory already won. We are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from victory.
Just before Jesus went to the Cross, He made this declaration:
"Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out" John 12:31.
We do not need to try to break the power of principalities over communities. That power has already been broken at the Cross. The "strong man" has been bound and we are now plundering his goods (Matthew 12:29). We are now called to enforce the victory already won on the Cross - through prayer (Eph. 6:12-18), the preaching of the Gospel (Acts 26:18) and the display of God's power over the enemy (Lk. 10:19).
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ".
(2 Cor.10:4-5).
Even though he has been defeated at the Cross, Satan seeks to hold out against God's authority by building spiritual strongholds. These strongholds are the lies which blind people's minds and oppose the knowledge of God (2 Co. 4:4). They are the strongholds of dead religion, philosophies and self-centredness - everything that is the opposite of the Gospel.
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" Matthew 16:19.
When we bind (restrict the power and activity of Satan) and loose (set free that which has been bound by Satan), we are exercising authority that comes from God's throne. In the original language of the Bible, Matthew 16:19 means: "Whatever you bind on earth will have already been bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will have already been loosed in heaven." The directives flow from God's throne to us, not the other way around. We enforce God's will "on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt. 6:10).
When Jesus returns, the structure of Satan's kingdom will be totally dismantled. Until then, God's purpose is that "now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 3:10).
"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands...to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord" Psalm 149:6,8-9
Jesus came into the world to destroy Satan's power (1 John 3:8). Satan is called "the prince of this world" (John 14:30; 16:11), "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and "the enemy" (1 Peter 5:8). Satan rules through a network of demon spirits called "principalities and powers." God has now called us to be actively involved in the battle with Satan.
Before we can play our part in the battle for people's lives, we must understand what Jesus has already accomplished. If we do not first have a revelation of the finished work of the Cross, we will end up struggling to do what has already been done.
Spiritual warfare is not trying to complete the work of the Cross. Spiritual warfare is enforcing a victory already won. We are not fighting for victory; we are fighting from victory.
Just before Jesus went to the Cross, He made this declaration:
"Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out" John 12:31.
We do not need to try to break the power of principalities over communities. That power has already been broken at the Cross. The "strong man" has been bound and we are now plundering his goods (Matthew 12:29). We are now called to enforce the victory already won on the Cross - through prayer (Eph. 6:12-18), the preaching of the Gospel (Acts 26:18) and the display of God's power over the enemy (Lk. 10:19).
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ".
(2 Cor.10:4-5).
Even though he has been defeated at the Cross, Satan seeks to hold out against God's authority by building spiritual strongholds. These strongholds are the lies which blind people's minds and oppose the knowledge of God (2 Co. 4:4). They are the strongholds of dead religion, philosophies and self-centredness - everything that is the opposite of the Gospel.
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" Matthew 16:19.
When we bind (restrict the power and activity of Satan) and loose (set free that which has been bound by Satan), we are exercising authority that comes from God's throne. In the original language of the Bible, Matthew 16:19 means: "Whatever you bind on earth will have already been bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will have already been loosed in heaven." The directives flow from God's throne to us, not the other way around. We enforce God's will "on earth as it is in heaven" (Mt. 6:10).
When Jesus returns, the structure of Satan's kingdom will be totally dismantled. Until then, God's purpose is that "now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 3:10).
"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands...to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the Lord" Psalm 149:6,8-9
