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Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Nature of our spiritual warfare (part three)

 

Men and angels were created and ordained for different responsibilities. Angels were created to worship God, and to minister to those who will inherit salvation. For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are My Son; today I have begotten you. Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be My Son"?

Again, to which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (Hebrews 1:5, 13).

But to Jesus He said: "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy" (Hebrews 1:8-9).

Man's present situation is, "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 

Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing Your praises." And again, "I will put My trust in Him." And again He says, "Here am I and the children God has given Me" (Hebrews 2:9-13).

This is what triggers the jealousy, the envy, the hatred, the animosity in Satan against human beings. Consider a being which the bible described as, "The model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God: every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl; your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you" (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

Consider what is going on in the mind of a being created with such splendor, now cast down to the earth, to be dominated by man who was formed from the dust of the ground! What is even more outstanding is that, man was created in the image and likeness of God. Signifying that, apart from being destined to have the same characteristics as God, they are destined to be one with God.

In praying for all believers Jesus said, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as You in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me: I have given them the glory that you gave Me, that they may be one as We are One: I, in them; and You in Me" (John 17:20-23).

Believers are God's workmanship, signifying that they are the materials, and the finished product which God is creating. They are regarded as God's field, God's building, and fellow workers with Him. (1Corinthians 3:9).

The work that is being done is in Jesus Christ, whose body is God’s spiritual temple, and believers are part of that body. God's plan began with Jesus Christ in the Father, mankind in Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ in the believer, and God the Father in Jesus Christ. This completes the construction of God's spiritual temple, and God's purpose for man.

Therefore, let us not loose heart in going through this spiritual battle. Although outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen: For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2Corinthians 4:16-18).

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him; having the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that we may know what is the hope to which He has called us, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints: And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power in us who believe, according to the working of His great might which He accomplished in Christ when He raised Him from the dead : And made Him sit at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph


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