July 20, 2021
Discovering Christ in Ephesians
~Understanding Strong Holds~
We saw from our last discussion that when we empty God’s armoury and put his armour on ourselves all we fight against is just wiles: tricks, lies.
Then we hear the apostle continue;
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12
Please pay very close attention because the devil has used this verse to deceive many of us into some kind of wrong spiritual warfare.
Yes, there is a wrestling. The word of God does not promote laxity neither does it promote passivity. Therefore there is an active participation on our part through the power of the Spirit in enjoying the victory we have in Christ.
And again it is worthy also of note that our warfare is not with flesh and blood, it is not a physical war so we don’t need guns and spears neither do we need kitchen knives.
The wife or husband is not the problem, neither are our neighbours but there is a spirit behind their actions.
So the wrestling is “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
However remember that the force of all these hosts put together amounts to nothing but “wiles.” Just mere tricks, cunning craftiness.
But why wiles? Because all principalities and powers are already disarmed;
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15
Naturally speaking, you are a soldier of Christ with the armour of God, what will you expect an unarmed person to do? Is it not to trick you to give him your gun with which he can use to hurt you?
This is what the devil does, he no longer has power over a born again Christian. He is stripped of all power and authority. Hear the statement of Jesus;
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:18-19
Observe carefully this statement “I beheld Satan as lightning ‘fall’ from heaven” It does not say he came down from heaven as the son of man did, however, he fell. And this heaven is not literal but a symbol of a place of authority.
This is why the next statement is “behold I give you power.” He is empty, this is why he is restless, he doesn’t want you to get offensive. He feeds on our ignorance. He depends on the power we give to him through fear and ignorance.
We are the ones that can exalt him so he can use the power we have placed on him to harm us. This warfare stuff is clearly explained here;
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Observe this semi – colon sign ; following strong holds; which tells us the statement has not ended, these strong holds are what followed as the conversation went on.
So what is the warfare? What is the wrestling?
“casting down”
What do we cast down?
∆ “Imaginations”
∆ “every high thing that exalteth itself against the KNOWLEDGE of God”
∆ “bringing into captivity every THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ”
I don’t see fire balls here, all I see is wiles. Imaginations, knowledge and thoughts, all these cannot happen outside of us, hence the battle is in between our ears.
Thus his weapon is his mouth!
The battle ground is our minds.
Remember we shared that we are the ones that give him power. When we exalt him above what the scriptures say of him, when we exalt him above the knowledge of God, whatsoever we say he is, that is our power in action through him.
This is why we cast down “every high thing that exalteth itself against the KNOWLEDGE of God”
Long before the sickness, you thought you could be sick, long before the devil had that authority over you, you gave it to him.
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Proverbs 23:7
This is why we are asked to cast down Imaginations; the movies have fooled us, given us a wrong picture of the devil with horns instead of a little thing with a large mouth. We are to cast down anything contrary to the abundant life Christ has given us in him.
I pray the Holy Spirit uses my feeble way of expression to set you free from the fear of Satan.
Confession.
Glorious father, what a privilege to be called your son. You have delivered me from the power of darkness into the kingdom and authority of Christ.
I am the power of God in Christ Jesus. The life and nature of God is at work in me. I am created in my father’s likeness, a consuming fire. I am a terror to principalities and powers.
The victory of Christ is functioning in my body, home, and business as I exercise the authority of Christ everywhere I go. Hallelujah!
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Jahfas Victor Ahua
Living Hill Christian Church