spiritual amnesia

We live in a world beset with an acute case of amnesia. We forget that ours is a dual reality – that beneath the skin of physical existence is a spiritual realm. We forget that Satan is not the villain in a bedtime story, but a very real antagonist possessing very real angelic power. We forget that he is hell-bent on our destruction. We forget that we are freedom fighters in an all-out war for the unclaimed souls of humanity.

 

And we forget the strength that lies within us. Perhaps we need a reminder.

 

It is far-too easy to lose sight of the battle which rages just beyond the reach of our senses: We cannot see it, nor do we hear it, and we have never touched it. But it is there. The hater of our souls would have us believe that all such talk of combat is purely metaphorical, or that it is confined to the spaces of heaven and hell; certainly it never touches our lives. Oh, the master of deception, the father of lies, the spinner of stories! It is a fatal fiction we believe. This is why Scripture tells us – in no uncertain terms – that we walk “by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NIV).

 

I constantly witness this devastating naïveté in my students. It is painfully evident as they speak to me of their heartaches and problems. Of course, some of this is simply the product of a fallen world. But it goes without saying that the accuser capitalizes on every human weakness, every insecurity, every fracture within our homes and relationships. He lurks in shadows, sowing the seeds of discord. The cunning snake, he smells weakness and coils himself, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Our first line of defense, then, is to recognize what is really going on.

 

As John, beloved friend and confidant of Jesus, said, “Every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (1 John 4:3, NIV; emphasis mine). John, like his fellow apostles, operated under the belief that the spirit of the Antichrist – i.e. Satan – was already at work. We would be wise to do the same.

 

And yet, we need not fear, for the record does not end there. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than that one who is in the world” (4:4, NIV). It is true that Satan stalks our earth like a predator, hunting the weak and the sick. But his ferocity is more than matched by that of Judah’s Lion: “I’m the Holy One and I’m here – in your very midst… I will roar like a lion – Oh, how I’ll roar!” (Hosea 11:9-10, MSG). He is right here, standing shoulder to shoulder with us, fighting on our behalf.

 

In Jesus, the outcome of this battle is already assured. “Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us” (Romans 8:38, NLT). God did not merely edge out a win over Satan; there was never a deadlock between the forces of good and evil. The triumph is overwhelming. Consider the words of Paul, writing to the church at Colosse: “Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (2:15, NIV). Jesus shamed our adversary, making slaves of the slavers, binding them in the very shackles which once bound us. It is ours to stand in this victory.

 

We must remember that we are coregents with Jesus himself: “If we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17, NIV). We bear the mark of his signet, which means that we bear his authority (Ephesians 1:13). We are the spiritual successors of Peter, to whom Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19, NRS). We speak on behalf of the King when we align ourselves with the purposes of his Kingdom; we voice the full authority of Jesus when our words echo his Word.

 

Let us remember.