The Real Battleground - Part One
by Darryl Robbins
Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God,
that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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 6:10-12
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 strongholds), 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
This present Church Age, in God's
own timing, will come to it's conclusion and intended purpose. Doing so,
it will fit perfectly into the grande scheme of all other Ages; those that
have come before it and those that are yet to follow. The sum total of
all the ages combined will produce that which was intended by God from
the beginning------a great host of sons and daughters, immortal in being,
who, in their earthly time of mortality heard the voice of His Spirit call
out to them. Answering, they were made new creatures by birth and added
to His body, the Church.
To understand the great importance
that God has placed on this present Church Age, we must view it in relation
to the Age that preceded it and the Ages that are yet to follow. In doing
so, we shall come to see why this present hour is a time of intense spiritual
warfare; second only to the great spiritual battle that was won by the
Captain of our Salvation at the cross of Calvary. His victory in that battle
now makes it possible for us as believers to engage in and win our present
warfare.
The previous Age can best be described
as the Age of Law. In it, God gave humanity His commandments and laws which
were an expression of His nature and holiness. The Age of Law witnessed
man's futile attempt at pleasing God through the keeping of the law. Man's
fallen, corrupt nature made it impossible to keep the law. The carnal mind
is at odds and at war with God . It is not and cannot be subject to God's
laws. It cannot please God. (Romans 8: 7,8)
Unable to meet the demands of the
Law, God extended mercy and grace to man in the form of animal sacrifice,
providing a cover and atonement for sin and failure. This would allow God
to continue in relationship and fellowship with man, though not to the
full extent and expression of what He ultimately desired. Too, the law
and sacrifices would be a schoolmaster that would teach man the hopelessness
of self-effort in trying to please God and would point to a Substitute,
The Perfect Lamb that would deal with the sin problem once and for all.
(Galatians 3:24)
At the appointed time Jesus came.
He kept the law perfectly. He was the fulfillment of the law. With His
coming, the Age of Law would soon be forced to give way to the Age that
would follow, the Church Age. In His death, burial and resurrection into
immortality, the price and penalty for the sins of humanity was paid in
full, once and forever. Ascending into Heaven and being seated on the throne,
He, by the power of an endless life, is worthy to hold claim to the title
of Savior And Lord. Soon after He entered into this exhalted position,
He would freely dispense and give out the eternal life of Himself to those
who would believe by faith. Anointing with power those who had followed
Him while on earth and giving new birth to the three thousand that believed
on the day of Pentecost, He closed the door on the Age of Law by blowing
open the door the Church Age, He Himself being the first to make entrance,
and rightfully so, as Head of the Body.
Allow me to define the term 'Age'
for you. It will help in your understanding and make the issues we intend
to address much clearer.
'Age', as we are using it in this
article would be defined as follows; a specific period of time in which
God intends to, and in fact will, accomplish a specific thing.
There are some absolute and unchanging
principles that apply when we are talking about these specific time periods
or Ages. Allow me to list a few of these principles.
1. The accomplished purpose of
one 'Age' serves as the foundation on which the following 'Age' is to begin.
2. Nothing or no one can stop any
'Age' from accomplishing the specific thing it was intended to accomplish.
3. The sum total of all things
accomplished in every 'Age' will result in the fulfillment of the Fathers'
ultimate intention, which He had in His heart before the foundation of
the world.
4. Light and darkness, Good and
evil are at war with each other throughout the course of each Age, the
warfare intensifying near the close of each Age.
5. The intensity of spiritual warfare
spills over into the Age that is to follow in an all-out attempt to destroy
the fulfillment of that Ages' purpose.
Again, as I now see and understand
it, these principles are absolute and unyielding. Since they are absolute,
unchanging principles, the order in which I have presented them is totally
irrelevant. In other words, principle number one is of no more importance
than principle number four. Principle two does not outrank principle number
three. In fact, they can be studied, compared, and re-arranged in any order
you would choose and they would still remain absolute and unchanged.
The Real Battleground - Part Two
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