10 Oct 2014 - finger of god

Without Jesus, the world is in the possession of the enemy. It is in the possession of principalities and powers, the world rulers of this present darkness (cf. Eph. 6:12). Jesus transfers us from kingdom of darkness to his own kingdom (cf. Col. 1:13)? Wait, what? We're in the kingdom of darkness? Yes, that is where we find ourselves on our own.  "All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest" (cf. Eph 2:3).But we need not fear or despair.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.

Finally "one stronger" has arrived. The enemies possessions are no longer safe. The dominion of the world, the flesh, and the devil is no longer safe.

“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” - CS Lewis

This stronger one is no blunt instrument. He arrives to heal and cast out demons with a delicate and artistic precision. It is by the finger of God that this is done.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

As we read in Galatians earlier this week, the one who does mighty deeds among us does not do them by works of the law. We see that this kingdom has a supernatural power source. We can't give it any more power than it has even by our best efforts. What we can do, indeed what we must do, is to open ourselves to this kingdom through faith.

that the blessing of Abraham might be extended
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

What is it that tempts us to say, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons”? Why are we sometimes willing to write off God's power at work in our midst? Often times we prefer power which we control, which we regulate, which corresponds precisely to our efforts. Power that is not so easily controlled can be scary. It brings radical freedom, transformation, and healing. Faith is the gateway to this power. But once it is unleashed there is no predicting it or regulating it.

Once  we embrace the life of the Spirit through faith we must be careful to remain open. If we close ourselves to the Spirit and end in the flesh we find ourselves easy picking for the enemy. We come to rely on a supernatural strength to resist temptation. When we forget about that strength we resist, perhaps, even less than we did when we were trying to do it through simply natural strength. If we live by the Spirit we need to walk by the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:25) lest the "last condition of that man" be "worse than the first".

The LORD does not forget us. He will give us the grace to remember him, too. He wants to give us all of the blessings that the enemy holds back. He genuinely desires to bless us. Therefore we shall not fear. Therefore we shall trust in him and not our flesh.

He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.