7/17/2020
When Satan comes against us in the world he looks for the chinks in our armor, but our defenses are complete in the perfect protection of God. Our fear of the dark one comes because we don’t understand the war being waged. We think that victory or defeat depends on the earthly wounds we sustain in mortal battles, and we assign might to others by what occurs in the here and now. Yet, though our bodies, loves, and possessions might suffer, and though we be pierced while upon our crosses, these wounds are of little consequence because the war is not over our physical selves, but for the disposition of our souls.
“no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.””
Isaiah 54:17 ESV
The serpent convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, but that bite of its flesh didn’t harm her physically. She didn’t suffer a fatal mortal wound, but rather a crippling spiritual blow... and Adam followed her in kind. Satan’s weapon that day was his lying tongue, and I am certain he was pleased with himself when Adam and Eve succumbed to it, but though they felt ashamed, and thought themselves lost, God had other plans, and Satan’s apparent triumph was not allowed to succeed. Physically they ate of the fruit, and spiritually they received a wound, but Jesus the Christ would snatch away Satan’s victory, and He did this by God’s plan which was laid from the foundation of the earth...
“but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
1 Peter 1:19-21 ESV
Even while the pleasing taste of the fruit was still fresh on the palate of Adam, and as he, and Eve, felt that they were lost, God had already set in motion a chain of events that would insure His victory. From before her first taste, from the moment Eve determined she would take that physical bite, God’s spiritual counter move was in play, and Jesus Christ His Son was moving towards the cross... towards victory over sin, and to seal the defeat of death by redeeming the souls of the smitten.
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”
Romans 5:18-19 ESV
The evil one used a physical action in an attempt to destroy the spiritual righteousness of Adam and Eve, and thus convince them that by eating the fruit they were doomed, and their souls were lost forever. He presented them with a mortal wound, and meant for them to believe the second great lie... that they were spiritually defeated. In our lives we are attacked, face pain, suffer, experience disappointment, and are presented with that same lie, but though we suffer these things in the world, our victory is sealed in Heaven. The only way we can be defeated, truly defeated, is if we believe the lie, and forsake our redemption by turning away from Jesus.
“because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.””
Romans 10:9-11 ESV
So Satan will try to convince us that the battle for our souls is lost by attacking our homes, our health, our physical lives, even through the deaths of our loved ones, and by causing us pain in so many earthly ways, but these are just battles in a far greater war, and although they are hard for us now, our victory is sealed at judgement when our faith in Jesus Christ marches us triumphant before the throne of God to announce us, and our Father welcomes us home.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1-4 ESV
Don’t be fooled by the secular battles in our lives, because they are just shadows meant to mask the real spiritual war we are in. Take heart when suffering because by our faith God will lead us through them, and know that if we don’t succumb to the lie, that our salvation is sealed in Christ... our souls are eternally His.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for seeing the physical battle that would transpire in Eden, and the spiritual wound mankind would receive there. Thank you Lord for sending your Son Jesus Christ on a mission to redeem us that began before the foundation of the world, and healed us by your grace. Open every eye Merciful Father to your goodness, your love, and the victory you have already won for our souls... if we would but accept it. Whisper in our ears Father, and beckon us to come to you. Don’t let the lies of the world lead us to disbelief, or doubt. Help us in our unbelief, and strengthen us in our faith, so that we will realize that you have already won our souls, and we will glorify you in that truth. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who is victorious over every tongue that would speak out against us in judgement, and every weapon that is drawn to do us harm in battle. Hallowed be your name on earth as it is in heaven, and great are you who has defeated all sin and death through your Son Jesus. Praised be your name as we win spiritual victories in the midst of our earthly suffering and strife. Merciful are you Father. You hear our prayers as we call out to you, and wonderful are your responses to the pleas we lift up in compliance with your will, and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amazing are you, and all glory is yours Lord. Your love never fails nor fades away, and our place is set at your table now, and forevermore. We are called to dine with you, even in the presence of our enemies, whom you can vanquish with a Word... “Get thee behind me Satan.” We fear them not because our souls are eternally yours, and your love, peace, and rest is our portion forever.
“You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!””
Romans 8:9-15 ESV
Rich Forbes