Nena Arias | March 13, 2023
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood”
(Ephesians 6:12)
When Jesus died on the cross he said, “it is finished” meaning that the work of redemption and the victory over sin had been accomplished. The judgment of sin was complete, and forgiveness was made available through the shedding of Jesus’s sinless blood. Revelation 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” The victory of Jesus over sin and the devil was complete, so, why does it seem like the devil still has the upper hand in all of the world today judging by the abundant sinfulness that is so prevalent?
When we celebrate Easter every year, we celebrate the victory of Jesus over death and the completed work of redemption so that every born-again believer can have eternal life just like God told us in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
It is estimated by the World Atlas that there are 2.2 billion Christians in the world. That makes Christianity the largest monotheistic faith in the God of the Bible. Faith in Christ is predominant on this planet. If we believe and accept Jesus’s victory over sin, and we are the largest group of people in this faith, why is sin so prevalent and controlling everything?
Do we know what’s going on? Are we aware that there is still a very real war going on here?
Scripture teaches us that there is another dimension that we must be aware of, not just what is happening here in the world. There’s a whole other dimension that is more real than what we see. It is very powerful and influences our experience and yet it is largely outside of our immediate perception. The apostle Paul describes it this way in Ephesians 6:12, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Many Christians know this verse by memory, but do they know what it really means and are they on alert on a daily basis that they are engaged in this merciless spiritual war? Do they know their “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Christian, you are constantly being hunted by the enemy of your soul! Are you alert and always aware of this? Are you aware that in the natural we are no match for this formidable enemy who knows our weaknesses only too well, and he is constantly appealing to them to make us fall?
Dear fellow believer, it is high time to take this enemy very seriously. Don’t look at humans as your enemies, it is the forces behind their words and actions that are influencing them and want to get to you. Do you what is hunting you?
Believers must take this dimension seriously and be on alert to know how to combat it. Jesus had to face this battle face to face with the devil in the wilderness. What makes us think that he won’t do the same with us knowing that through Christ we have the same power to defeat him and destroy his works?
You might say, well that was Jesus and yes, he was a tremendous threat to Satan, is it any wonder that he would come after him? What about you? Do you not present any kind of threat to Satan’s realm? In Luke 22:31 it says the devil spoke to Jesus about Simon Peter the following, he said: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift you like wheat…” If the devil had the audacity to “demand” permission to shake up Peter, Jesus’s hand-picked disciple to destroy him, do you think he won’t come against us with everything he is allowed to attack us with? It wasn’t just Peter he was after. He was after all of the disciples. Satan knew the threat they all presented to his realm.
The only ground the devil has to attack us on is the ground we concede to him. This answers the question we are addressing in this topic of why a defeated devil seems to be ruling the world today. Too many believers are allowing themselves to be beat up by the enemy forcing them into submission to his agenda. If by nothing else by cowardice. Intimidation is a powerful weapon the devil has against believers. He knows he can control with that one weapon and keep believers cowering in a corner.
If the World Atlas is correct and there are 2.2 billion Christians in the world, shouldn’t we be making a greater impact and taking dominion to a greater degree for the kingdom of God in the world than we are doing?
It is high time to know who we are in Christ and start acting like it.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
(Ephesians 6:12)