“He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church.”
Ephesians 1:20-22
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Ephesians 6:12
An elderly woman told me once when asked how she was doing, “I’m as weak as dirty dish water.” Now what was she saying? What comparison was she making? Did she view herself as having no more value than dirty dishwater? No. She was telling me she had no strength left. Just as dishwater loses its strength after all the dirty dishes have been washed, so this woman, at the end of her days, felt she had little strength left for living.
In the same way, when a writer uses a metaphor or employs hyperbole, he is emphasizing some greater truth or reality. Authors employ these literary techniques as a part of a larger, literal narrative. A true story is told, but at points, the author emphasizes some fact or truth by using a metaphor or hyperbole. In John 15, Jesus used the metaphor of the vineyard, the husbandman, the vine and the branches to emphasize the importance of being productive disciples. Just as branches on a grapevine produce fruit, so we, as followers of Jesus, produce “fruit” only as we are in a dynamic relationship with Jesus.
Paul used the metaphor of armor (based on the armor of a Roman soldier) to communicate several larger truths. Earlier, we pointed out the paradoxes involved in this metaphor (can you put on and take off your salvation?). I think another paradox is found in the identity of the enemy and the struggle we face daily. The verses above illustrate this seeming contradiction. We fight a defeated enemy, plain and simple.
We might better understand this paradox by looking at the story of Achan (Joshua 7). God had placed all the material wealth of Nineveh (except for what he excluded) under a ban. When God destroyed Nineveh, the Israelites were to destroy and burn everything in the city. Achan disobeyed God and took the beautiful mantel of Shinar and some silver and gold. God knew what Achan had done and “his anger . . . burned against the sons of Israel.” When Israel went up against the city of Ai, the army of Israel was defeated.
God had given the Promised Land to Israel. Yet, in order to possess the land, they had to fight for it. Victory was assured, as long as God’s people were obedient to him. At Ai, they were defeated because Israel had sinned (notice how one man’s sin affected the whole nation) and transgressed. The sin and transgression was Achan’s taking things under the ban and keeping them in the midst of the camp. When God made that fact clear to Joshua, he said, “I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst.” Victory came when Achan admitted what he had done and he and all his house along with what he had taken from Nineveh were destroyed.
Here is the paradox: we already have victory over the devil. Yet, at times, we are overcome. We suffer defeat, not due to the power of Satan and his demons, but because we have sin in our lives. Just as God demanded obedience in all things from Israel, so he does of you and me as modern day followers of Jesus. Our enemy is in subjection under the feet of Jesus. Our victory today results from the same source as Israel’s victories as she fought to take possession of the Promised Land. We have victory in Christ and in him alone. As was true with Israel, so the truth is for us: if we tolerate sin, we suffer defeat. An obedient believer, though, cannot be overcome.
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