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Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Eternal Enmity
Beloved,
do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent
that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is
revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.—1 Peter 4:12-13
There
are two spirits in the earth, the Spirit of God and the spirit of
Satan, and these are at eternal enmity. The ostensible cause of
religious hatred may be almost anything; the true cause is nearly always
the same: the ancient animosity which Satan, since the time of his
inglorious fall, has ever felt toward God and His kingdom. Satan is
aflame with desire for unlimited dominion over the human family; and
whenever that evil ambition is challenged by the Spirit of God, he
invariably retaliates with savage fury....
It is possible within
the provisions of redemptive grace to enter into a state of union with
Christ so perfect that the world will instinctively react toward us
exactly as it did toward Him in the days of His flesh....
It is
the Spirit of Christ in us that will draw Satan's fire. The people of
the world will not much care what we believe and they will stare
vacantly at our religious forms, but there is one thing they will never
forgive us-the presence of God's Spirit in our hearts. They may not know
the cause of that strange feeling of antagonism which rises within
them, but it will be nonetheless real and dangerous. Satan will never
cease to make war on the Man-child, and the soul in which dwells the
Spirit of Christ will continue to be the target for his attacks. The Warfare of the Spirit, 3-4.
"Lord, thank You for victory through Jesus Christ. Amen." |
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