In Hebrews 2:14 the Apostle Paul tells us that “the devil has the power of (spiritual) death.”  He exercises that power at will and very effectively.  He earned such power over those he controls by “violently” defeating Adam.  He spiritually attacked Eve and defeated her.  She in turn attacked Adam and defeated him.  Their descendants have been attacked and defeated by Satan and his servants ever since.  But God has always had a “remnant”–a small group of true believers who hold to His Law of life in spite of the devil’s attempts to deceive them.

God’s people have been given “power over all the power of the enemy” (Lk. 10:19).  The enemy (Satan–the devil) is “the god of this world” (1 Cor. 4:4).  It is the nature of gods to rule those who are subject unto them.  With the exception of a few true believers (Mat. 7:13,14), Satan rules the whole of mankind.  Those few whom the Biblical God rules (His remnant/Very Elect) exert power over Satan and company relative to their personal lives.  The Lord has appointed some of His Very Elect saints to use His power to help others in their fight with the devil.  That power comes from His Holy Spirit that true converts receive from Him.  This gift–“the promise of the Father,” was made possible by Christ’s death and resurrection (Acts 1:4,8).

The enemy’s self-appointed job is to tempt converts into sinning, thereby separating the sinner from God (Isa. 59:2), making him vulnerable to Satan’s temptations.  Separation from God comes in the form of the removal of His Holy Spirit from the sinner, making him low-hanging fruit for the devil to harvest.

King David, who knew first-hand about such things as sin, the Holy Spirit, temptation and power, spoke to this Truth in Psalm 51.  Here we find him under deep conviction after being rightly accused by the Prophet Natan of both adultery and murder.  In verse one we find David crying out for mercy and cleansing from the Almighty.  He admits that he deserves punishment.  He begs to be forgiven and to be made right with God.  Then, in verse 11, he culminates his prayer by voicing the “bottom line” concerning God’s punishment for sin, saying: “DO NOT CAST ME AWAY FROM YOUR PRESENCE, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE YOUR HOLY SPIRIT FROM ME” (vs 11).  David knew that without the Holy Spirit empowering him he had no chance against Satan’s temptations.  Satan’s spiritual devils would rule him (David) and sin would become as common as the beat of his heart.  David understood that spiritual violence on his part was necessary in order to keep the enemy at bay.  Having received the Holy Spirit early on in life, he had let down his guard (had not remained vigalent and violent), leaving him vulnerable to the temptations of a beautiful woman.  Bathsheba decided to take a bath in sight of David’s residence in broad daylight.  She had to know he could see her.  Satan used her to tempt the king.  DAVID DID NOT FIGHT VIOLENTLY against the temptation, leaving himself open for the entrance of a demonic spirit.  The rest–a victory for Satan–is history.

With this in mind, let us delve into the subject of spiritual violence that must be an ever-present part of mankind’s sin-prevention system.  Any letdown on man’s part, even a momentary one, creates an opening–a chink in his protective armor–which allows evil spirits to slip in and plant a seed sin.  If one does not immediately and violently expel the seed and repair the breech, the seed will sprout and sin will be born (Jam. 1:14,15).  Sin begets sin.  One sin inevitably leads to another sin.  What began as a long look at a naked woman ended up in the birth of an illegitimate child, the death of the child, the murder of Bathsheba’s husband and the punishment of a nation.

No one is immune to Satan’s wiles.  Neither was Jesus of Nazareth.  If He was immune and unable to sin, as many contend, why did Satan tempt Him time and again?  Read Sin is a Choice.  Key word–Choice.  What was true for Jesus is true for the rest of mankind–Satan’s war against us ends only at death.  Until then, we must violently fight against his temptations.  For those whom God has called to go on the attack against him (Satan), the war involves offensive, aggressive spiritual violence.

It is important for God’s apostles and the church they lead not to forget that Satan’s victims are not our enemy.  Though they reject us, and in some cases hate us, they are not the object of our God-directed, verbal, Holy Spirit directed “violence.”  The Apostle Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 6:10-18 where he is writing to the congregation and describing the defensive actions they must take in order to “quinch the fiery darts” of temptation.  Then in verse 19 he writes about going on the offensive which God’s messengers must do in their war against the devil and his helpers.  Paul refers to their instruments of warfare as “utterance”–the proclamation of the Gospel.  In Revelation 1:16; 2:12,16 and Ephesians 6:17 we find the Word of God described as the “SWORD of the Spirit.”  On the physical level a sword is an offensive weapon designed to do one thing–kill.  In that a spirit cannot die or be killed, God’s Word is to be used offensively to render the enemy helpless and powerless and to repair the damage he has done to his victim by convincing him to sin.  His sin leaves him open to Satan-induced physical and mental disease, “natural” calamities, financial problems–everything God warns about in Deuteronomy 28:15-68.  In David’s heart-felt prayer (Ps. 51), he was asking God refrain from cursing him because of his sins (1-11).  I recommend that you read that passage carefully, remembering that this was the “man after God’s heart,” the anointed and appointed King of Israel.

In Ephesians 6:12 Paul tells the church: “We wrestle (war) not against flesh and blood (Satan’s human victims), but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN HIGH PLACES.”  IN THIS WAR, WAGED BY GOD’S APOSTLES, HIS WORD IS THE SWORD THAT COMES OUT OF OUR MOUTHS.  This is the same sword that came out of Christ’s mouth as described in verse 17 and in Revelation 1:16; 2:12 and verse 16 where we find Jesus telling His ENEMIES IN THE CHURCH at Pergamos that He would “fight against them with the sword of My mouth.”  Notice that He said He would FIGHT AGAINST HIS ENEMIES IN HIS CHURCH USING HIS WORDS–THE GOSPEL.  “Against” indicates an offensive move–going on the attack.  God’s messengers attack the “rulers of the darkness of this world” with their Words backed by their faith that those Words will do what they were designed to do–put Satan and his minions on the run by undoing the damage they have done (healing, delivering, protecting against natural events, etc.).  Because the Gospel is the weapon of choice for Jesus Christ, it should be for all who go forth into battle for Him.  Because those in the Institutional Church neither know nor believe nor obey that Gospel, they are helpless against their enemies in high places.  Whatever happens to the unchurched happens to them.  In the eyes of God, there is no difference in the churched and the unchurched.

When I write and speak against the Institutional Church System, I am not coming against those within those groups, but rather the spirits that control them.  I do what I do because I love those whom Satan has blinded and enslaved, who are at his mercy, to whom he does whatever he wants to do.  I do not war against those precious human souls, but against the evil powers that hold them captive through their false prophets and the spirits that guide them.  I come against those powers with the Word of God with which I pronounce spiritual Truth as well as physical healing and deliverance for their victims.

God’s messengers, having no power of their own, use the power of the Holy Spirit–EXACTLY AS DID JESUS.  Jesus commands that His apostles follow His example.  He says to us: “… as you go, preach, saying ‘the Kingdom of Heaven (God’s church) is at hand,’ heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely you have received, freely give” (Mat. 10:7,8).  In the following posting we will look at some specific examples of such actions being carried out by the original apostles anciently and by His end-time messengers who today are serving Him in the same power–the power of God’s Holy Spirit.  To those who believe and obey Him without question or hesitation He promised that they would do everything He did and even greater things (Jn. 14:12).  L.J.