Principalities and Powers #15

The fifteenth and last in a series of studies of demons in Paul’s epistles.

The Apostle Paul uses the “principalities and powers” vocabulary of his day when refereeing to demons in his New Testament letters. The evil spirits in Satan’s kingdom are referred to by titles, such as principality, power, authority, ruler, dominion, etc.

The emphasis in Paul’s epistles is squarely on the vastly superior power of Jesus, The people of the first century were in awe of the demonic powers. Yet Paul portrays them as forced to bend the knee to Jesus, who bears a name [title], “Lord,” that is above every name (Philippians 2:10,11). Since Jesus is exalted to a place “far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given,” the Christian has no need to fear Satan or his underlings.

This consistent emphasis in Paul’s letters is clearly intended to strengthen and encourage believers living in a society which both feared and revered the powers, (gods, goddesses, spirits, ghosts, and other disembodied beings) and which shared the culture’s view of the supernatural. It is significant that Paul ignores many details about the spirit world that were the subject of active speculation in his day as in ours. A helpful summary of some of the issues Paul does not address is found in Clinton E. Arnold’s book, Powers of Darkness (InterVarsity). These include the origin of demons, their names, their ranks, their specific assignments, and their relationship to territories.

Unanswered questions

The origin of demons. In first century Judaism there were two theories concerning the origin of demons. The first viewed demons as angels who fell with Satan when that great angel rebelled against God (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 29). The second theory proposed that demons were the spirits of the Nephelim, a half-himan, half-demon race produced by the union of the “sons of God” (fallen angels) and human woman (Genesis 6). Paul nowhere alludes to either theory nor propounds another. Paul seems content to focus on the fact that evil spirits exist, and are a threat to believer and unbeliever alike. The speculation of those fascinated by demons seems to hold no interest for Paul, who is far more intent on instructing believers on Satan’s schemes and how to counter them.

The names of demons. Popular Jewish religious writings available in Paul’s day emphasized providing personal names for demons. Apart from a single reference (2 Core 6:15), Paul lumps demons together by their generic “power” name. This may very well have been intentional, as those engaged in occult practices believed it was essential to know the name of any supernatural being on whom they called. By incorporating the name in a spell or incantation they believed they could move or manipulate a being to act on their behalf. For Paul, and for us, the only name on which to call is that of Jesus. And, as Jesus is “far above” all demons, his is the only name a Christian need to know.

The rank of demons The Jews speculated about which order of supernatural beings was more powerful. Do authorities outrank powers? Where do dominions and principalities fit in? One of the earliest players of this game was the author of the Jewish work, The Testament of Adam, Christians too have played and still play at ranking the orders of spirit beings. Paul totally ignores the question. What’s important for Paul is that there are hosts of spirit beings intent on harming believers, and that Christ provides the resources we need to deal with them.

The assignments of specific demons. Along with the intense interest in providing demons with names, Jewish writings focused on identifying their assignments. If one knew the name of a demon and the specific authority that demon had over humans—for instance, the ability to cause headaches—then one could appeal to a specific angel who was equipped to thwart that demon. Again, this approach, common in Jewish writings of the day as well as in pagan writings, has no parallel in Paul’s letters. It makes no difference which demon launches which demonic attack. Jesus has authority over all demons, and Jesus has given believers authority to cast out demons in his name.

Demonic territories. The Old Testament book of Daniel makes it clear that some powerful demons have territorial authority. Thus Daniel writes of the Prince of Persia, clearly indicating a demon who is charged with seeing that Satan’s agenda is carried out in that nation (Daniel 10:13). Yet Paul never mentions a demonic “prince of Ephesus” or “prince of Rome” in his writings. Nor does Paul encourage believers to confront territorial demons per se. They, like every other kind of demon, of whatever rank, are subject to Jesus. Whatever demons do, believers equipped with authority provided by the Lord are able to confront and to overcome them.

Should we try to Fill the Gaps?

We humans are blessed [or cursed?] with curiosity. We have a desire to know, to learn, to find out. One of the questions those of us who study demonology should consider is, “Should we even try to fill the gaps left by Scripture’s silence?” Some do make this effort, usually drawing on testimony from demons they are casting out, a questionable source at best..

Nowhere does Paul set out to write a treatise on demons. Paul writes as a pastor to his flock, and he deals with demons when [and only when] they are relevant to matters he’s dealing with. This does not mean that Paul doesn’t know the origin and nature of demons, for instance. The origin simply wasn’t relevant to any of his pastoral concerns. And, as far as origins is concerned, there are relevant passages of Scripture to which we can go. [In an upcoming post I’ll deal with this issue.]

When it comes to the personal names of demons and the ranks of the various
powers, Scripture is silent. In such cases speculation seems to have no valid purpose other than to satisfy curiosity. And, to be blunt, satisfying curiosity should be of low priority. Especially when God’s Word is silent on a matter.

There is one other area in which Paul makes no direct statement, but which is hinted at in Scripture, and on which deliverance ministers universally agree. Demons today can be identified by function. That is, demons can addressed not by a personal name but by the nature of the attack they mount on their human victims. For instance, anyone in deliverance ministry will tell you that there are demons who cause fear, whom they address by the name. “demon fear.” In deliverance literature we read of clusters of such demons, such as “demon panic,” “demon terror,” or even “demon fear of failure,” “demon fear of rejection,” etc. Those in deliverance ministry agree that it’s helpful to learn the identity of any demons present, and to cast them out by name [function]..

In a new series which I’ll launch next issue I’ll explore this question of the functional names of demons, and look at the biblical evidence for the common conviction that this is the way we are to deal with demons today.

Conclusion

Demons are mentioned frequently in Paul’s letters, although seldom by that name. Paul uses the common vocabulary of the first century and identifies demons as powers, principalities, rulers, authorities, etc. Paul’s references to the evil spirit beings who range themselves against God and attack human beings are found in passages where his intent is pastoral, rather a discussion of demons per se. Paul wants us to understand how demons operate, and how believers can protect themselves against demons. He also wants us to grasp the wonderful truth that Jesus is far superior to demons; so superior that Christians need not fear Satan or his followers.

There are a number of questions about evil spirits that Paul simply does not deal with in his epistles. Some of these questions are speculative, and thus should have low priority for Christians. Some questions have practical implications. But one of the questions Paul does not deal with directly has great practical implications for deliverance ministry today. That question, “How do we address demons who have taken up residence in human victims?” is something we will look at in a future series on “addressing demons by name.”

Principalities and Powers #14

The fourteenth in a series of studies of demons in Paul’s epistles.

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God–or rather are known by God–how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
Galatians 4:1-9

Background

At first glance, you might wonder why I included this passage in a study of references in Paul’s letters to demons. The reason both for the confusion and for my choice is Paul’s use here of the Greek term, stoichcia. The term is used only four times in Paul’s letters, twice here and twice in Colossians, and has a wide range of meaning. In the first century stoichcia was used both to refer to spirit beings and to basic or foundational principles. Translators of our English versions do not agree on which use is intended here. Thus the
NIV takes it one way and translates stoichcia as “the basic principles of the world,” as does the NASB, which renders it “elementary principles of the world.” On the other hand, the RSV and the NEB take it as a reference to personal spirit beings, and translate stoichia “the elemental spirits of the universe,” while the TEV agrees and translates, “the ruling spirits of the universe.”

I believe there is a better case for understanding Paul’s reference to the stoichcia in a personal rather than impersonal way. And that the flow of Paul’s argument makes this meaning clear.

Galatians

The little book of Galatians is rightly viewed as a polemic against those who would rob the Gospel of Grace, first by insisting that works are necessary for salvation, and second by insisting that works provide the basis for the believer’s continuing access to God. Paul argues that human effort has nothing to do with salvation, and that human effort has nothing to do with spirituality. Both salvation and spirituality are rooted in personal relationship with Jesus Christ; a relationship that is possible only through a faith response to the divine Promise. To shift the focus of Christianity away from relationship distorts the Gospel itself, and cuts the believer off from the power that the Holy Spirit provides for holy living.

For Jewish Christians the problem was that they had grown up thinking of Law as the key to relationship with God. And they had taken commitment to keeping the Law in all its details as the measure of spirituality. Hellenistic Christians, who had grown up in a different religious tradition, had a different problem. Most of the non-Jewish Christians of the first century viewed spirituality in a dramatically different context. The spiritual person was sensitive to the spirit world, and showed due respect to the gods and goddesses by setting aside moments and days for ritual and worship.

In the present passage Paul speaks to believers from both traditions, and makes an argument that applies to both.

Observations

“as long as the heir is a child” In Roman law an underage child had no personal rights. In fact, it was normal for a Roman father to place the child under the supervision of a paidagog, who was himself a slave. Thus the situation of an underage child was that of a slave to a slave!

This, Paul argues was the condition of the Jew under the Law. But a non-Jew was a slave to demons, “to those who by nature are not gods.”

“God sent his Son, .. . . that we might receive the full rights of sons.” From the beginning God, who created human beings in his image and likeness, viewed us as his children. But we were errant children, who went astray. So God placed the Jews under the Law as paidagog, and the Jew became a slave to the Law. He permitted the rest of human kind to experience the consequences of their rebellion, and so mankind fell into the hands of Satan and his demons, who masqueraded as deities.

But now Christ has come, and both Jew and non-Jew are emancipated. In Christ both have been granted the full rights of sons. Now the Jew is freed from domination by the Law, and the non-Jew is freed from domination by demons. What Paul yearns for is that the new believers in Galatia might experience what it means to live as a son, in intimate personal relationship with the Father, relating directly to him.

“God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts . . . . So you are no longer a slave, but a son.” The Holy Spirit who has been given to believers is the living link between us and God. And the Spirit is a direct link. The Jew no longer needs to approach God through the Law. And the non-Jews no longer need attempt to approach God as he did before, through ritual observance.

In just a little Paul will develop this further, and show that the Holy Spirit is the key to a transformed life and true spirituality. “Walk in the Spirit,” Paul will exhort us, and he will describe the new life believers in Christ can experience. But in this present passage Paul is concerned with making a single point. The old ways in which these new Christians once approached salvation and spirituality are to be abandoned. Totally. Neither way succeeded in the past. And neither Law nor “religion” will work now.

“How is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? For the non-Jew, turning back to worship organized around ritual and the observance of special days and seasons is tantamount to placing himself under the domination of the stoichcia who had enslaved them. Rather than a sign of spirituality, such observances are a pathway leading to further domination by demons.

Conclusion

In this Galatians passage Paul uses stoichia in a distinctly personal sense. The spirit beings, demons, who had masqueraded as deities, had imposed a false notion of spirituality on non-Jews. But as Christians, Jew and non-Jew alike are now in a relationship with God that is like the relationship of a child who has become an adult and has been acknowledged to be a son. That child is no longer a slave of slaves. He is free. And he has a direct, personal relationship God the Father.

The glorious message of Galatians is that we are sons. We are freed from our old slaveries and equipped to live as God’s heirs in this sinful world. Because of and through our personal relationship with God, the Holy Spirit will serve as God’s living voice to guide us. And he will empower us to live God’s kind of life in this world. No longer slaves, we are truly free.

Principalities and Powers, #13

The thirteenth in a study of demons in Paul’s epistles

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15).

Background

Colossians presents the Gospel against the background of an emerging heresy that was rooted in a particular view of the universe. Apparently many in the city of Colosse bought into the idea that, in order to reconcile the belief that God is good with the presence of evil in the world, it was necessary to make a sharp distinction between spirit and matter. God is good, and God is spirit. So that which is “spiritual”—understood as immaterial and invisible—must also be good. And since evil is resident in matter, this group of people who were later called Gnostics, assumed that our physical bodies and our lives in the world are necessarily tainted by evil.

It seemed to these Colossians that it followed logically that God, who is both good and spirit, must isolate himself completely from the evil material universe. Thus God could not have created the material universe. Nor could God have entered the creation as a true human being, for human beings have an “evil” material dimension as well as a “good” spiritual aspect. To have taken on humanity God would have had to bond with the material, and as the truly good could never unite with the wholly evil, incarnation seemed to these people utterly impossible.

The Apostle Paul contradicts this abstract, philosophically reasoned set of beliefs. For one thing, there are evil spirit beings, those very principalities and powers that the ancient world feared. So spirit can not be “good by definition.” For another, God did create the universe. And God did enter the universe he created as a true human being. What’s more, the incarnate God died bodily on the cross, was resurrected bodily, and even now is at the right hand of the Father, eternally bonding in the person of Jesus Christ both God and human being.

It is in the context of these conflicting views of the universe that Paul focuses our attention on the cross, and asserts that in the cross Jesus disarmed the “powers and authorities” and triumphed over them.

Observations

“principalities and authorities” The terms “principality” and “authority” are two of thirteen different “power” terms in the Epistles used to identify supernatural beings that the people of the first century believed occupied the spirit world. These terms might be applied to a pagan god or goddess, or to any other spirit being, such as a demon or a ghost or demi-god [half human, half deity}. In the first century these supernatural beings were generally feared, for the populace firmly believed that beings in the spirit world controlled what happened in this world. Spirit beings determined whether humans would be sick or well, poor of wealthy, unlucky or lucky. So principalities and authorities were held in awe, and people were desperate to placate or to influence them.

“having disarmed” The exciting message of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ has “disarmed” the enemy in the spirit world. The image is drawn from military life. When a foe was defeated it was forced to surrender every sword, every spear, every knife blade, every blunt object, with which it might harm the victor. The weapons were surrendered, or they were torn from the unwilling hands of the defeated but still hostile enemy.
The principalities and powers, Satan’s demons all, would not surrender voluntarily. So Jesus disarmed them! The weapons they wielded against a helpless humanity were torn from their hands at Calvary by a triumphant Christ!

“he made a public spectacle of them” When a Roman general defeated a stubborn foe the Senate might vote him a triumph. So honored, the general led a procession through the city of Rome itself. The victorious general rode in a chariot, cheered by admiring crowds. He was trailed by the defeated foe, who stumbled after him in chains, forced to endure the jeers and insults of the mob.
This is the image that Paul draws of the principalities and powers who once terrorized humankind. Jesus has triumphed. Satan and all his demons are now exposed as powerless, having been disarmed by the Lord. And we are invited to envision Satan’s hordes as, powerless now, they trail after the Savior, heads bowed, the objects of our jeers and our contempt.

“triumphing over them by the cross” How did Jesus triumph over Satan? In the most amazing manner. Not by power, with flashing lightening bolt as thunders pealed. Jesus triumphed by dying like some criminal on a Roman cross.

The writer of Hebrews explains it for us. Jesus chose to share our humanity “so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14,15). It was our mortality that gave Satan his power over us. We lived in fear of what might come, knowing how vulnerable each of us was and how helpless before the specter of our own approaching death. Then, in his death, Jesus ripped that power from Satan’s hand, revealing that what lies ahead for us is life, and that eternal!

With the power of death torn from his hands by the death of Jesus, Satan and his demons truly are disarmed. Satan is a defeated foe. Freed from the fear of death we are released from Satan’s grasp. There is nothing now that Satan or his demons can do to harm us. For all the demons’ posturing, for all their threats, demons know all they can do is try to bluff those who do not realize who they are in Christ, or who fail to grasp the truth Paul states so clearly. Jesus truly has disarmed the powers and the authorities. Today they cringe when we see them as they are; powerless, disarmed, dragged unwillingly along behind the triumphant Jesus who lifts high his cross.

Conclusion

So many in Christ’s church today shy away from the subject of demons. They would rather pretend that evil spiritual forces do not exist. It seems dangerous to acknowledge the reality of evil spirits or explore the harm demons may do to believers. These Christians seem to feel that if we ignore demons, they may ignore us. But the good news of the Gospel is that Christ has triumphed. He has disarmed the evil forces that we so foolishly fear. In spiritual warfare the outcome is no longer in doubt. Because Christ has disarmed the forces of evil, we have already won! All we need to do is understand the enemy, take our stand against him, and he will flee.

Principalities and Powers, #12

The twelth in a series of studies on demons in Paul’s epistles.

“For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him?” (Col. 1:16)

Background

Colossians is often described as a Christological [Christ focused] epistle. Most commentators also believe that it was written to combat incipient Gnosticism. In later centuries Gnosticism emerged as a fully developed philosophy which featured a well defined view of God and the universe. Paul’s teaching in Colossians seems to directly confront the central beliefs of the Gnostic system.

Gnostics held that God is pure spirit, and that only spirit is good. On the other hand, the material universe is evil. Surely the Good God could not have created the Evil Material Universe. It followed that Christ could not be God come in the flesh. Either the man Christ Jesus was not God, or the God revealed in Christ was an apparition rather than a true human.

The Apostle Paul confronts these characteristic Gnostic beliefs directly, and in the paragraph in which this verse is embedded Paul presents Jesus as the “image of the invisible God,” a phrase that first century readers understood to assert that Jesus is the visible expression of God and is himself God. Paul goes on to claim that Jesus not only is God expressed in flesh (cf 1:19-22) but that he is also the creator of the visible and invisible universe. The Christian has a dramatically different view of reality from that espoused by the Gnostic.

Observations

“By him were all things created.” In the Gnostic system God, who is pure spirit, could have nothing to do with the material creation. How then was the material universe to be explained? The Gnostic postulated a series of “emanations” [spirit beings] standing between God and the material universe. Those closest to God were the purest, the most “spiritual” and thus the most “good.” But each rank in the series of angels was less spiritual, until finally, in the lowest rank of angels, stood one who was the creator of the evil material universe.

To this view Paul says, No. “By him were all things created.” Jesus Christ, God himself, is the creator, not some imagined low ranking spirit being. And though he did not, Paul might have quoted Genesis here, and repeated the verdict of the creator who viewed his work and announced, “it was good.”

“things in heaven and things on earth.” With this phrase Paul further clarifies the issue. The Gnostic could accept the idea that God created the things in heaven, for in that view heaven is spiritual and therefore good by definition. But no Gnostic could imagine that God created both “things in heaven and things on earth.” Since the material to the Gnostic was intrinsically evil, God could not be the creator of things on earth.

“both visible and invisible” The Gnostic system featured a thoroughgoing dualism. On one side of an chasm stood the invisible; heaven, spirit, and good. On the opposite side stood the visible; earth, flesh, and evil. God stood on the one side only. As the ultimate good and pure spirit, he is by necessity limited to the spirit side of the chasm. But Paul insists that the Gnostic is wrong. God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, is the creator of all things.

“whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities” With this phrase Paul shocks his readers. Among the invisible things God created are thrones, powers, rulers and authorities!
On the one hand one might argue that the spirit beings in view here are God’s own angels. But we’ve seen that the “powers” vocabulary was used in the first century to identify those spirit beings the Gospels, and we today, call demons. Is Paul ascribing the creation of the demonic forces ranged against God’s own people to God’s creative act?

“all things were created by him and for him” Again Paul asserts that “all things” were created by Christ. But here he adds they were created “for him.” The creation in all its complexity is not only the work of God, it has been designed to serve his purposes. “By him, and for him” reminds us that all that has been, all that is, and all that will be will ultimately bring glory to God.

The problem of Evil

The Gnostics developed their system in large part to resolve the problem of evil. Surely a Good God could not be the originator of Evil. Where then did Evil come from? Perhaps even more challenging, How can a good God permit Evil to exist in His universe? The Gnostic answer is a strict dualism. God is Good. But God is pure Spirit. He has nothing to do with the material universe, and it is in this universe that Evil has its home. God did not create it. He does not govern its operations. And he surely did not enter it as a human being.
Paul confronts the Gnostic solution boldly and directly. There is no chasm isolating God from the material universe. God takes responsibility for the creation of all things—even those spirits who are now evil and are dedicated to thwarting his purposes, who torment the human beings whom he loves.

There is a solution to the problem of evil. But that solution is not found in futile attempts to protect God’s reputation by robbing him of the credit for Creation.

“For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him?” (Col. 1:16)

Principalities and Powers, #11

The eleventh in a series of studies of demons in Paul’s epistles.

“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. Therefore put on the 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” (Ephesians 6:12.13).

Context

The Book of Ephesians is best understood as a handbook on spiritual warfare against the “powers of this dark world.” In chapter six of Ephesians the Apostle sums up his teaching, with the armor worn by a fully armed Roman legionnaire symbolizing each theme he has treated in this powerful letter. The verses we are looking at in this study, verses 12 and 13 of chapter six, put the nature of spiritual warfare in clear perspective.

Observations

“our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” When we experience difficulties with other Christians, or find fellow believers disrupting our churches, our tendency is to see them as the problem. When nonbelievers attempt to marshal public opinion or political power against Christians, we tend to respond in the same way. But Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. We make no headway focusing on our tormentors, for the simple reason that the source of their hostility is supernatural, not natural. As Paul remind us, we are to struggle against the true source of opposition, the powers, rulers and authorities who dominate the dark world in which we live.

“powers, rulers, authorities.” In the first century world these terms referred not to abstractions but to discrete spirit beings, living evil entities. The angels who followed Satan and who as demons serve him now, are the sources of the evils against which we are called to struggle. Rather than marshal our energies to battle those humans who, often unwittingly, are the instruments of evil, we are to focus our energies to combat the demonic powers that energize them.

“the powers of this dark world” Theologically “world” (kosmos} portrays human society as a tangled web of drives and passions that reflect fallen human nature. It truly this is a dark world, for sinful man’s passions are warped and twisted. This world is described powerfully by the Apostle John in his first epistle: “everything that is in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does” (2:16). As John succinctly says, these things are “not of the Father.” Rather human societies and cultures are shaped by Satan and his “powers/” Not only the lost but all too often God’s own lose their way in the world’s tangled web of corrupting beliefs and values.

“the spiritual forces of evil.” The powers that operate in this dark world and against which we struggle are called “spiritual forces of evil.” The real enemies are not the human puppets but rather the evil spirits who influence them.

“in the heavenly realms” It’s best to take this phrase as a reference to the realm inhabited by God, by holy and by fallen angels. In the first century this realm was “up.” Moderns might think of it as “beside,” as a parallel dimension. We don’t know “where” the heavenly realms are. But we do know that both angels and demons are able to affect events on earth from that realm.
We also know that God has blessed us “in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). The enemy is not beyond our reach! We have not only been equipped by God for spiritual warfare, but we have been provided with every spiritual blessing so that we can triumph over the demonic powers whose base is in the “heavenly realms”!

Conclusion

Satan and his demons are powerful enemies, committed to making our lives both miserable and meaningless, preventing us from walking in those good works which God has ordained beforehand for us to do. But God has provided us with the resources we need thwart Satan’s schemes. We are put on the “full armor” that God has made available, and thus equipped we are to engage in the struggle against our real enemies . . . the powers and rulers and authorities who operate in and through humans to thwart God’s intent for individual believers and for our faith communities alike.

How important then to understand and to apply the truths taught in this great New Testament book.

Principalities and Powers, #10

The tenth in a series of studies of demons in the Epistles of Paul

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:10,11).

Background

The theme of “peace” dominates the middle section of Ephesians (2:11-4:16). The peace in view in this passage is illustrated by the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile, the two major groups into which Scripture previously divided humanity. The Jewish people had been selected out from the rest of humankind to be the vehicle of God’s revelation and the people through whom the promised redeemer would come. As such they had a well-established claim to the title of “chosen people.” Theirs were the covenants, theirs was the Law.

In contrast Gentiles, a category into which all non-Jews fell, were “excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (2:12).

It’s hardly surprising the line between the two peoples, symbolized by the Law which God had given to Moses, created mutual hurts and hostilities in Jew and Gentile alike. And then Christ died and was raised, providing a new basis for relationship with God which made Law irrelevant. In Paul’s words, “he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (2:14).

It is against this background that Paul shares a surprising divine purpose.

Observations

“Now.” It’s important to remember that revelation is “progressive.” This simply means that God has gradually unveiled truth about himself and his plans over time. For instance, God about 2000 years before Christ the Lord revealed to Abraham that he intended to bless all humankind through his descendants (Gen 12:1-3).
About 1000 years before Christ God revealed through the Davidic covenant that the deliverance would come through David’s line, and the deliverer would inherit David’s throne (2 Samuel 7). Some 400 years later through an additional promise given through the prophet Jeremiah God revealed that the blessing on humankind would involve both forgiveness and an inner transformation, described as writing God’s Law on the human heart (Jeremiah 31).

The point is, of course, that a person living prior to one of the pivotal covenants would have no way of knowing aspects of God’s purpose which had not yet been revealed.

The little word, “now,” alerts us to the fact that yet another aspect of God’s plan has been revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the events which have followed. And this is that God has eliminated the distinction which he himself had previously made between the Jews as his chosen people, and the Gentiles, who previously had no claim to relationship with him.

In fact Paul later identifies this teaching as a mysterion, a mystery. And “mystery,” when used theologically, identifies a truth which has not be revealed before. Thus the “now” in this verse is extremely significant.

“through the church.” The “church” here and throughout the New Testament refers not to organizations or edifices but to the people of God. Shockingly, unexpectedly, that people of God includes both Jew and Gentile, not as two classes of people but as “one body” (4:4).

It was no surprise to the Jews that God intended to save non-Jews. Isaiah had said of the coming Messiah, “in him will the Gentiles trust.” The shock was that Gentiles, strangers and foreigners, would be granted equal standing with the Jews. Yet this had become a stunning reality through the church.

“the manifold wisdom on God.” The melding of Jew and Gentile into one in the church is just another demonstration of the complex, multifaceted wisdom of God. Those who imagine they understand God or his purposes must step back, and realized that there a more levels, more intricacies to God’s plan than they can imagine.

“made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” Again we can’t be certain whether the “rulers and authorities” in view in this phrase are God’s angels or Satan’s demons. Given Paul’s concern with spiritual warfare in Ephesians, however, the later seems more likely.

The picture we gain is that of Satan and his underlings, satisfied that they have figured out what God is doing, and having laid their plans accordingly, suddenly shocked at an unexpected turn of events. The realization that God’s grace is great enough to encompass the entire human race, drawing Gentile as well as Jew to himself and thus sheltering them from the evil, must have set the dark forces back on their heels.

Conclusions

In the context of spiritual warfare “peace,” the creation of unity and harmony between human beings, is essential. Yet simply being human seems to guarantee that divisions will exist between “us” and “them,” if not along the divide of Jew and Gentile then along other divides: black and while, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, sophisticated and simple.

What Jesus did on the cross in making the Jew/Gentile division irrelevant is to be applied to every cause of division between believers. In Christ we are to find and affirm oneness, demonstrating to angels and demons alike the efficacy of Jesus’ sacrifice, and another of the many dimensions of God’s purpose which is being worked out in the body of Christ.

Principalities and Powers, #9

The ninth in a series of studies of references to demons in Paul’s epistles.

Dark Kingdom

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath
Ephesians 2:1-3

Background

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is the New Testament’s clearest and most extensive treatise on spiritual warfare against demons, identified in the epistles by names familiar in the Hellenistic [Greek speaking] world. In the present paragraph the Apostle describes the state of those living in Satan’s kingdom under his sway. With vivid imagery the Apostle sketches the hopeless state of the unsaved, who are helpless to overcome the spirit now at work in them.

The chapter however moves on to describe God’s intervention . . . and intervention which infuses life into those who are spiritually dead and raises them up with Christ Jesus. Lost and hopeless in ourselves, we who have been saved are fashioned anew, shaped by the Creator for good works which he has prepared in advance for us to do.

Thus while the chapter’s flow makes it one of the most positive and hope-filled in the Bible, the initial verses paint a dark picture of the human condition. Mankind roots happily in the mud, unaware that they are governed by Satan and evil spirits.

Observations

1. “you were dead in your transgressions and sins” This is the state of the unconverted. Their deadness is spiritual not biological. Dead, humankind is as unresponsive as corpses, deaf to God’s voice, unable to respond to him or please him.

2. “you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air” John tells us that “the whole world lies in the wicked one.” The word for world here is kosmos, a term which when used theologically depicts the tangled beliefs, attitudes and values of a lost humanity. Here Paul links the “ways of this world” with the “ruler of the kingdom of the air.” Satan and his agents have crafted a world that resonates with mankind’s sin nature, appealing to “—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does.”

3. “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” There are two ways in which we can take this phrase. “The spirit . . . now at work” is taken by some as the attitude, the outlook or mind-set, of lost human beings. In this view the phrase is equivalent to a historian’s depiction of “the spirit of the age of reason.”

Our translators however have clearly chosen to view the “spirit” as a “who.” In fact, this “who” is none other than the “ruler of the kingdom of the air” whose craft has fashioned the world system to appeal to fallen human nature. To say that this ruler, Satan, “is now at work in those who are disobedient” does not require him to be personally active in humans. Satan, unlike God, is not omni-present. So Satan works through his agents, those fallen angels who followed him in rebellion and whom we know as demons or, in the epistles, as principalities and powers and dominions and rulers, etc.

The fact that Satan’s agents are now actively involved in the lives of “those who are disobedient” underlines the helpless state of humanity. Lost humankind is not only spiritual dead. They are under the influence of spirit beings they have no capacity to resist.

What Paul is doing in this introductory passage is establishing the utter helplessness of human beings; the utter hopelessness of mankind’s situation apart from God’s personal intervention.

4. “gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.” Strikingly, human beings do not even try to resist the spirits’ influence. They drive us down a path that we take willingly, even eagerly.

Let’s not assume that this passage is speaking of gross sins and heinous actions. Like the moderns who speak blithely of their “spirituality” and seek contacts in the spirit world to make their path easier, humankind embraces spirits who promise benefits that often appear to be “good.” Yet the driving forces in human and evil spirit alike are sinful cravings and twisted desires.

5. “Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” This phrase sums up God’s judgment of fallen angel and fallen humanity alike. Their very nature cries out for, demands, the wrath of God.

Yet God “because of his great love for us” has acted in Christ to provide us with life, and free us from Satan’s grasp.

Conclusions

Paul has no illusions about the spirit world. He knows that an invisible war rages between the defeated hosts of Satan and the conquering armies of Christ. While on the cross Jesus sealed Satan’s doom, the denizens of the spirit world continue to ride their human victims mercilessly. They take every advantage provided by our own sinful nature and by the world’s system of values which Satan has shaped to match mankind’s cravings. Our only hope is found in the saving work and saving grace of God.

Principalities and Powers, #8

The eighth in a series of studies of references to demons in Paul’s epistles.

Far Above Them All

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church (Ephesians 1:18-21).

Background

When the Apostle Paul entered Ephesus, he walked the streets of what was then the first city of Asia. It was the financial center of this Province of the Roman Empire. Most importantly, it was the religious center of Asia Minor. Ephesus was the site of the massive Temple of Artemis, or Diana, and throughout the region Artemis was considered the most powerful deity of all. While citizens of the eastern empire worshipped many gods, Artemis was chief among the rulers, the authorities, the powers and dominions who were believed to populate the spirit world and, in a significant sense, to determine the fate of individuals.

Different gods and demons, those entities known at the time as rulers and powers and dominions and authorities, were believed to be the source of health or illness, wealth or poverty, good luck or bad luck. It was vitally important to individuals that they have some means of influencing these supernatural beings. Thus magick and sorcery were closely associated with the religion of Ephesus and the entire Eastern Empire. The gods and demons alike must be propitiated by means of offerings, and if possible controlled by
means of magick.

During the months that Paul preached and taught in Ephesus many turned from idols to Jesus. The sale of magical amulets and silver good luck charms bearing the image of Artemis fell of so much that the silversmiths in Ephesus rioted. And new Christians who had depended on magical arts brought out their books of incantations and magical spells and burned them.

Something had freed them from their fear of the supernatural beings that had terrified them all their lives.

Observations

1. “rule and authority, power and dominion” The first thing to note is that the Bible treats the supernatural beings the Ephesians feared as real. As noted in an earlier blog, what the Gospels call “demons” and “evil spirits” were known as rulers, authorities, powers, principalities, dominions, etc., in the Hellenistic [Greek speaking] world. Paul never discounts these beings or their evil influence. Later in Ephesians Paul writes that “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” (6:13). Demonic entities are real, and they do have an influence on our lives and experiences.

2. “that you may know the hope to which he has called you.” Paul’s prayer recorded in chapter 1 of Ephesians has a focus. He prays that the eyes of the Ephesians’ heart may be opened to the hope that they have in Christ. It’s important that we understand the meaning of “hope” in Scripture. Hope in the Bible has no relationship to “doubt,” as it does often when we use it. When we say, “I hope I can make it,” we’re really saying, “I’d like to come, but I’m not at all sure I’ll be able to.” Doubt, in this expression, is an essential element of hope.

Not so in Scripture. In the Bible “hope” is a settled confidence that what God promises he will perform. “Hope” is the conviction that God is both able and willing to do for us what he has said he will do. Thus “hope” is intimately linked to promise, and confidence in promise to the reliability of the One who has given it.

Paul’s desire for the Ephesians is that they might realize all that God has provided for them in Christ, and take this provision to heart so that they will be freed from bondage to those spirits which held them captive when they were unsaved.

3. “raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.” The Ephesians have feared the power of their demon-gods. And those deities and evil spirits have had certain powers over them. But Paul invites the Ephesians to contemplate the power that of God. That power raised Jesus from the dead, and exalted him to a place at God’s right hand.

In the first century being at the “right hand” of a ruler or deity symbolized power and authority. We use the same imagery in our saying, “He’s the president’s right hand man.” What Paul is saying is that God’s power is so great that he raised Jesus from the dead, exalted him to the highest post in heaven as God the Father’s “right hand man.”

4. “far above all rule and authority” What then is the relationship between the resurrected Jesus and the demonic powers that the Ephesians have feared and struggled to manipulate by magic and sorcery? It is simply this: There is no comparison between Jesus’ power and the power of demons. Christ is “far above” them. They are at best cringing subordinates.

In the language of the day Artemis was given the title pantokrator, a term which translates as “all powerful.” She was foremost among the supernatural beings, and those sorceries and incantations which called upon her name were considered to be the most power magick of all. But Jesus has a title that is far above “every name that is named.” Jesus is Lord, and as Lord he dominates every power in the universe. And that was not only true in Paul’s time. It’s is true now, and for ever and ever.

5. “appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” This describes the relationship of the all-powerful, raised and exalted Jesus to believers. We’ve seen that he is greater than the most powerful of the evil spirit beings who have harassed and troubled the Ephesians all their lives. But what is that to us? Simply, this all powerful Lord has been appointed head over the church—over the people of God—for everything.

The word “head” can be an ambiguous term. We use it to refer to authority, as “George is the head of our team.” We use it in the sense of source, as “The headwaters of the Mississippi lie in Wisconsin.” But often in Scripture, and especially in Ephesians, “head” is used in an organic sense. Jesus is pictured as the head of a living body whose cells or limbs are the human beings who are linked to him by faith. As head of his body Jesus guides, directs, strengthens, and enables each individual member to function.

Here it’s helpful to take “head” in a dual sense. Jesus, as “head over everything” exercises his power to protect us, and as “head over everything for the church” he guides, directs, strengthens and enables us in all things.

No more fear

The result is simple. We will continue to struggle against the evil powers that operate in the heavenly realms. But we do not have to fear them!

Jesus will guard us. Jesus will guide us. And there is no way the powers that be can prevail.

Jesus freed the Ephesians from the grip of evil spirits they once feared. The showed their freedom by burning their books of magic and sorcery, by abandoning their spells and amulets. And today Jesus frees us. As the eyes of our hearts are enlightened and we realize the hope to which he has called us, we become free indeed.

Principalities and Powers #4

The fourth of a series of studies of references to demons in Paul’s epistles.

Turnabout

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men” (1 Corinthians 4:9)

“If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” (1 Corinthians 6:1-3).

The Context

The Apostle Paul is frustrated. Despite the 18 months he spent teaching in Corinth, his converts there seem to have missed so many vital points. They are proud of their sophistication, yet their petty feuds over allegiance to this teacher or that makes it clear there’s much they just don’t understand. And they have the gall to be proud of themselves, never realizing that their reliance is on human wisdom and they are at best unspiritual, behaving as “mere men.”

In his frustration Paul pictures himself and the other apostles given the same treatment offered captives on display in a Roman general’s triumphal march through the city of Rome. At the front of the procession marches the conqueror, cheered by the multitudes. Trailing far behind him, marching in chains, the defeated foe are dragged along, jeered by the crowds.

Paul can envision it so clearly. This is the respect he’s received as an apostle, and from believers! Why, “angels as well as men” gather round to watch the spectecal.

Observations

“angels” It’s important to remember that demons are at times referred to as angels. Today’s demons were originally created as part of that great host of spirit beings God fashioned before he spoke the material universe into existence. Though demons are fallen angels, their origin as individual, ever-living spirit beings continues to define their nature. Their character has been distorted by their choice to follow Satan, yet in essence they must be classed as angels.

“”a spectacle to angels.” In 1 Corinthians 4:9 the angels who have gathered to enjoy the spectacle of the apostles’ humiliation are fallen angels, demons. Given all the conflict within the church at Corinth; given all the dissention and backbiting, it surely appears that the forces of evil are winning. The angels cheering on this apparent triumphal procession are hardly God’s angels, who would be more likely to weep at the sight.

“if any of you has a dispute” A little later on in his argument Paul illustrates the Corinthian’s lack of spiritual wisdom. There are disputes between believers in the Corinthian Christian community. And some, intent on winning, are resorting to courts run by unbelievers. Paul is shocked by this. The correct thing to do is to take the disputes to other saints for settlement.
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Digression #1
Jesus himself established the principles for resolving conflict within the Christian community. In Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus outlines what to do when one believer “sins against” another. The believer is to follow steps laid out by Jesus. The final step it to take the matter to the church.

Immediately following this paragraph is a saying nearly all commentators totally misunderstand. In our English versions that seems to promise that whenever two or three agree on what they ask for, they will receive it if they ask in Jesus’ name, because Christ will be there with them.

The trouble is, this teaching is not about prayer at all.

Our issue is with the word translated “ask, which is the verb aiteisthai. While the verb can mean ask, in legal contexts it means “pursuing a claim.” In the context of conflict resolution, which is what Jesus has been talking about, the actual promise is that when those with the conflict pursue their claim before “two of three” brethren, acting as judges, a satisfactory resolution will be achieved because Jesus will be present with them.

Paul, who knows isn’t forced to deal with our English mistranslation, understands this teaching of Jesus, and thus expects the Corinthians to take their law suits to the church rather than to pagan courts.

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Digression #2

Each ethnic community in the Roman Empire was considered subject to its own laws and customs. Members of each ethnic group took their legal disputes to their own courts, not to Roman courts. While Christians were not at this time considered a distinct ethnic group, it should have been natural for believers to turn to others in the Christian community when disputes arose.

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“saints will judge the world” The formula, “Do you not know,” implies a positive answer: “Yes, we know.” Paul has given the Corinthian Christians a vision of the future in which believers will fulfill a judicial function. The world, that social system that reflects Satan’s values and those of sinful human beings, will come under divine judgment. And believers will serve as judges. It follows that believers certainly are competent to judge the relatively “trivial matters” that cause conflicts in the Christian community today.

“we will judge angels.” Paul makes the same argument another way. The saints will judge [fallen] angels. Certainly then we are more than competent to judge “the things of this life.”

Implications

1. It may seem today that evil triumphs, and God’s people are objects of ridicule. The truth is that Christ’s ultimate triumph is assured. And we will have important roles in that triumph, serving as judges of the world and of fallen angels.

2. It may seem today that demons are powerful, and objects to be feared. But again, this view is flawed. Whatever powers demons have, Jesus is greater. And in the end, the redeemed will be lifted up in Christ and sit in judgment on them.

3. It’s important that believers recognize the importance of harmony in the believing community, and not allow disputes to go unresolved. And the appropriate way to resolve disputes is to bring them to fellow believers who will seek a fair settlement that maintains harmony within the body.

Principalities and Powers, #7

The End will Come

“Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power” (1 Corinthians 15:26).

Evil entered the universe. And the day will come when evil exits it. Using the terms for evil angels [demons] familiar to first century readers [deominion, authority, power], Paul assures us that God is in control. The future is assured. The resurrected Christ will triumph, putting down Satan and his original followers, ending the rule of death, and bringing “everything” under the control of the Father and his Son.

The key word in this verse is “destroyed.” The Greek here is katargeo, which means to render ineffectual or inoperative, to abolish or nullify. Demons who once ruled this dark world as dominions and authorities and powers will be stripped of their influence. The “powers that be” are destined to become the “powers that were” and “the powers that are no more.”

Stripped of all authority the beings that terrified humankind will be exposed as the frauds they have always been, pretenders to the position which is occupied by God alone.