This morning as I opened my Bible, I turned back to Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and I was thinking about the reality of spiritual warfare, which Paul talks about in Chapter 6:10-17. As I was thinking about this subject, I realized that in many ways this theme was also the subject of progressive revelation in the scriptures.
By progressive revelation, I mean that over time, centuries even, there was more and more revealed about the situation by God, so that earlier writers would have had a different, or less complete understanding about the subject than later writers. We understand this principle in most every other subject, including science and math, and see this at work in all of our lives, for we surely know more now about many subjects than we knew 20 or 30 years ago, if we are that old.
This is actually one of the more helpful things I have learned in my reading of scripture, for God's character is revealed in every book, but it is often not fully understood, and later revelation brings additional clarity. The culmination of the revelation of God's character is found in the life of Jesus Christ, for he represented the Father perfectly on earth. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews describes this idea this way - Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV:
[1] "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.."
Thus, when I read the Old Testament, I am getting a pre-"revelation of Jesus" understanding of God, and His character, and ascribing motivation to Him. However, in reading these words in the Old Testament, I must then understand them through the grid of understanding that Jesus provides us in His words and actions. Any other way of understanding would be an incomplete understanding.
So why does this matter in the subject of the spiritual realm? That is the subject of my reflection this morning, for the exact same question came to mind, and I realized that Jesus spoke quite often about the spiritual realities, and we would be right in giving His words proper perspective, as the supreme authority. I have read many authors who tend to downplay Jesus' comments and descriptions of the spiritual realities as being simplistic and even superstitious, due to the underdeveloped understanding of the people He was speaking to, for science was not well understood. There is a certain sense or line of thought that says we, now that we understand more of science, don't need to listen to anything that speaks of the spiritual realm, for we can't really quantitatively study it.
If we take this approach we find that we have to explain away or discount many things in scripture that talk about spiritual things, and that, I believe is dangerous. Jesus spoke more about the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven than any other subject, and that is a primarily a spiritual reality! So, if we, in embracing this type of thinking, must discount anything spiritual, we would be having to explain away much of the teaching of Jesus.
One of the struggles the Jews had was this very thing, Jesus was talking about a Kingdom that was spiritual, and they were looking for a real kingdom here on earth, one they could see and experience, one that had geographic boundaries, and a King they could see that acted like other kings. In fact, some of the last words of Jesus had to do with His Kingdom, in his conversation with Pilate (See John 18:33-37). In fact Jesus specifically addresses the nature of His Kingdom in John 18:36 NIV: "Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
My question this morning is what if everything Jesus said about the spiritual realm was actually true? What if He was actually speaking as the Highest Authority on the spiritual realities and was actually giving us insight to things that normally are hidden to our physical eyes and senses? What if He wasn't just addressing "spirits" because the locals believed in them, but was actually operating in a realm that most cannot see and few seem to understand?
What I find interesting is that many other cultures around the world, don't struggle as much with believing the spiritual realm descriptions of Jesus' ministry, for the simple reason that these teachings match their experiences. We, in America and the western-mindset, tend to poo-poo this as once again being uninformed, or uneducated superstition. Again, my question is, 'what if this is not the result of lack of understanding, but is actually more advanced understanding'? What if we really should have a worldview that includes spiritual realities?
I was just thinking about Jesus' ministry and the number of times He was described as dealing with spirits (evil or impure) and came across this from early in the Gospel of Mark 1:21-27 NIV:
[21] They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. [22] The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. [23] Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, [24] “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are---the Holy One of God!”
[25] “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!”
[26] The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. [27] The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching---and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.”
While this is not an earth-shattering story, it does demonstrate Jesus dealing with a spiritual entity, and having authority over that spirit, and people recognizing His authority. This fit their world-view, and one wonders how we, of western mid-set, would explain this situation? Would we explain it away as epilepsy, or some other psychotic or psychological affliction? Again, what if Mark's description here is actually the true reality?
Personally, I believe there is a spiritual realm, and while I am most of the time unaware, I do believe it exists. I do believe that Jesus was effectively lifting the veil on what is often hidden and allowing us to both experience and understand some of this reality. As I mentioned at the beginning, Paul in his letter to the Ephesians is describing our need to be aware of this reality, and prepared for the struggle that ensues from this reality. Quoting him again - Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV:
[10] "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
[18] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."
My prayer today is that I might learn to more fully embrace this reality, and learn to understand and operate in this reality, as a co-heir with Christ. I pray that the eyes of my understanding may be opened, and that my spiritual eyes might be opened. I pray that I might grow in knowledge and that I might change the way I think to align more closely with the reality Jesus taught about and demonstrated! My prayer is that we might welcome His revelation as superior to our own experience.
Amen!
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