attacking the enemy...

theseldomscene · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 7817

by revjp...

2 Timothy 2:3-4 AMP Take [with me] your share of the hardships and suffering [which you are called to endure] as a good (first-class) soldier of Christ Jesus. (4) No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of [civilian] life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.

Paul’s view of ministry, like Matthew Henry’s, was that it involves “spiritual warfare with spiritual enemies, and for spiritual purposes.” And this view of ministry elicits the imagery of a soldier, equipped for battle (Ephesians 6:13-17), fully trained and ready to obey orders, “with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left”

2Co 6:7 By [speaking] the word of truth, in the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand [to attack] and for the left hand [to defend];

We see this image of a soldier again used in Philippians 2:25, where Paul calls Epaphroditus three things:

- Brother

- Fellow-worker

- Fellow-soldier

In many ways, these three descriptions show the balance we must have in ministry, seeing other Christians firstly as brothers and sisters in Christ (a focus on shared relationships), then as fellow-workers (a focus on shared ministry), and finally as fellow-soldiers (a focus on shared warfare).

Holman Bible Dictionary defines “soldier” as:

“A person trained to fight, usually on active military duty.”

As Christians, we are soldiers on active military duty. We are not just recipients of the purpose of God; we have been enlisted into the purpose of God. In this sense we are more than just warriors. A warrior is a lone fighter. By contrast, a soldier fights a cooperative battle, as part of a military unit with a common purpose and under common orders. Part of our training as soldiers is to learn more about what that common purpose is and what those common orders are.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 AMP For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, (5) [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),

In this passage, we see how Paul “wage[s] war.” This is what Paul means when he says that his “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Paul used terminology understood well by his readers, terms like “strongholds” (or “military fortresses”) and “weapons”. Immediately, the Corinthian Christians would have imagined a Roman army laying siege to a city, preparing its formidable array of engines of war, such as battering rams and catapults. Paul is not mincing his words when he describes how he will deal with these spiritual strongholds. He shows an aggressive, take-no-prisoners view of this warfare.

How does Paul approach the battle? Looking through these verses shows us that spiritual warfare involves two simple steps:

Observation: Wherever there is resistance to the Gospel, you can be sure there is a spiritual stronghold entrenched, whether it be in an individual life, a church, a community or a nation.

Discernment: As you pray for a person or a place, God can open your eyes to the nature of the barriers erected by the enemy against the Gospel.

Through observation and discernment, we learn to see the obstacles that would hinder the impact of the Gospel. Invariably, they will be what Paul describes as:

‘Arguments’, ‘Theories’, ‘Reasonings’, or ‘Every proud and lofty thought or purpose that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’

All these descriptions could be condensed down to one word: “lies.”

A stronghold is simply a construct of lies and deceit, woven together into the form of philosophies, cultural mindsets and godless thinking.

Identifying a stronghold is part of the battle, when we have identified the stronghold we must then identify and understand God’s strategy to deal with that stronghold.

One of the easiest traps to fall into is thinking that just because a stronghold has been identified, that no further discernment is needed. Many Christians expend much energy trying to rail against the perceived stronghold, taking a ‘brute force’ approach to the problem.

But remember what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

What Paul is saying is that the weapons we use are not the weapons of this world and the strategies that we use are not the strategies of this world. Both are God-given and, when used properly, they have “divine power to demolish strongholds.”

Identifying a stronghold is not enough. God’s strategy for dealing with that stronghold must also be identified. God has his ways of dealing with a stronghold of lies and that is with the truth of the Gospel - but it is a targeted truth. For every stronghold of deceit that the enemy would erect, the Gospel itself holds the key of truth. As you wait on the Lord, the Holy Spirit will reveal this targeted truth and through prayer and proclamation, this Gospel strategy will begin to make inroads into your community.

As you move forward in the ministry that God has given you, you need to beware of two equally disempowering extremes:

- Ignoring spiritual strongholds

- Looking for every spiritual stronghold

There is always a danger that a Christian can become so focused on spiritual strongholds that he loses sight of the bigger picture of ministry. There is nothing that Satan likes better than when we focus on him. He loves the attention and he knows that loss of focus on the Lord will weaken the discernment and spiritual authority of a Christian.

If we look at the book of Acts and read Paul’s letters, we find that Paul seems little concerned with the strongholds that infested the cities he preached in. He was much more concerned with the strongholds that infested the churches he established, for he knew that if undealt with, these strongholds would disrupt church life and hinder the church’s mission.

There is no doubt that Paul “wrestled” with principalities and powers, but whether those strongholds were identified in a city or in the church of that city, Paul’s response was always the same:

He preached the Gospel!

cballard · Grizzly Bear Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 728 Location: WV

What was the Gospel Paul preached? He didn't have any Gospel to preach except the OT. He had to preach an oral truth handed down by the Apostles. I think of the NT as the Gospel. I would change the ending of RevJP's thoughts to:

He preached the Truth!

theseldomscene · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 7817

paul said...in...

1cor1:17 for GOD sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel: not with words of wisdom, lest the cross be made of none effect. for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishnessbut unto us which are saved it is the power of GOD.

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 7003 Location: USA

I guess the truth is in scripture...
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cballard · Grizzly Bear Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 728 Location: WV

RevJP said:

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 7003 Location: USA

cballard, you are arguing that Paul preached 'scripture' and Paul is stating that he preached the Gospel.

The Bible tells us what the gospel is in 1 Cor. 15:1-4,

Now I make known to you brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..."
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theseldomscene · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 7817

thank you for saving me to trouble sir... Very Happy

cballard · Grizzly Bear Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 728 Location: WV

I'm not arguing anything here. Perhaps I'm trying to get it straight in my own mind logically.
[b]that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures..." /b]
Yes, I understand Paul preached the gospel which is the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. As I understand it, Paul's point in these verses was to correct some of the Corinthians who were denying the resurrection. The Scripture Paul is referring to to clear up their thinking must be OT scripture, right? That's the only thing I'm doing is trying to understand what the gospel meant in Paul's day and what Scripture meant in Paul's day.
RevJP wrote:

theseldomscene · Banned Joined: 17 Mar 2005 Posts: 7817

peter who lived in paul's day understood paul's writings to be scripture...as well as other writings...

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 7003 Location: USA

The Gospel is the foundation of Christian theology, setting it apart from other all other religions, particularly other Judeo-Christian-Muslim traditions, by the manner in which it relays the hope of salvation. The word gospel originates from the meaning of the New Testament Greek word evangelion meaning "good news". This meaning was transmitted literally into Old English as godspell, eventually becoming gospel. The Gospel is epitomized by Jesus Christ in the following proclamation: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (Mark 1:15)
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cballard · Grizzly Bear Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 728 Location: WV

theseldomseen wrote: