The coming of God's Kingdom

It is quite interesting that as Jesus sent the Twelve out to proclaim the gospel of the coming of God’s kingdom, He deemed it important to give them power over demons and unclean spirits. This is not surprising, because proper preaching of the gospel necessarily entails the unmasking of such powers. The manifestation of the "powers" was to be expected as the gospel would be proclaimed; hence, the need to give the Twelve power over them. Surely, the evil forces manifested themselves as the Twelve went about preaching, and, just as surely, many demons and evil forces were cast out.

The overarching narrative of the great controversy between Christ and Satan needs to form the background template for our understanding of the world and our place within it as Christians. In the midst of this conflict, Christianity does not abandon its adherents to the mercy of the opposing forces. On the contrary, in Christ we have the promise of victory over those forces.

The Christian is not a helpless victim, at the mercy of the devil. (Can you see here, too, why it’s so important to understand the literal reality of Satan and the fallen angels?) But the Christian is not so much called upon to rise in opposition to the devil as to take a stand against him. The word translated as "resist" is the Greek anthistemi, which means "taking a stand against something." It is an attitude the Christian takes that causes the devil to flee. That attitude has to be one of complete surrender to Jesus, who alone has the power to cause the devil to flee from us.
Western Worldview of "truth-conscious" vs "power-conscious:  Acts 16:16–18 presents an unusual case. When the slave girl mentioned "the Most High God," her words expressed a great truth. Paul, though, would have none of it. He could see what was really going on. The supernatural powers that she had manifested, which were making money for her masters, were not of the Lord, and Paul knew it. When she cried out about these men being "servants of the Most High God" (NKJV), she was not talking about the true God but, most likely, about a Canaanite god who was also called Elyon (Most High). Notice how easily, merely through the use of certain common terms, error could have greatly compromised the truth.
Two extremes of Triumphalism and Defeatism: The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy’s power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper.

 

Related articles

• Lesson 10 - Facing Problems And Dangers - Lesson