Overcoming by Practical Application of the Word

OVERCOMING BY PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE WORD

     God created man to be led by his spirit through which, before man's fall into sin, man had direct communication with God and could stand in His presence. God is Spirit and communicates with man Spirit to spirit. He is holy and therefore, sin cannot come in His presence. Consequently, when Adam sinned, man was separated from God. Man's spirit became weaker and his soul became stronger, which blocked his ability to communicate with God. After Adam sinned, every man born of his sin-contaminated seed was subject to Satan's influence, had no ability to resist sin, and no longer desired to please God. Sinful man was now led by his flesh. He was no longer led by his spirit, which was led by God, but was led by his soul, doing what he reasoned was best (mind), wanted to do (will), and/or felt like doing (emotions). After the fall, man was concerned with only his own best interests and how to fulfill them.

     It was never intended that man's primary interest would be “self”. However, once man became enslaved to sin, he became “selfish” or “soulish” (led by his mind, will and emotions). Man was bound. He had no ability to resist Satan's influence to sin, and his flesh demanded satisfaction.. Since that time, Satan subjected every man to the same temptations faced by Eve: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life for which he was sentenced, under the law of sin and death, to die.

     Those who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have been delivered out of power of darkness and are under the law of the Spirit of Life. However, the hold of Satan is still on the soul of every man who has not received the freedom from enslavement of sin by and through the victory of Jesus over Satan at the Cross. It is only by the blood of Jesus that there is complete forgiveness and remission of sin. It is the blood that frees us from the enslavement of sin. This does not mean that those who have received salvation cannot sin anymore after receiving salvation, for where there is confession and true repentance, provision has been made in the scriptures (1 John 1:7) for forgiveness and cleansing. Christians have been given victory over sin, but Satan is still “going around seeking whom he may devour” and he will continue to do so until “we” use our God-given authority and faith to take hold of all that Jesus won for us, spread the good news of Satan's defeat with those who are still in bondage to his wiles, and see God's will done on earth as it is in heaven.

     Once we understand the victory we have over sin and our authority over the powers of darkness, we can “stand stedfast in the faith”, resist them, and overcome Satan's strategies. We have been given everything we need in order to reign in life by Jesus Christ through His grace and righteousness. We can do this when we have the knowledge of how much out Father loves us, receive all that He provided for us through Jesus' finished work at Calvary, and actively and by the force of faith appropriate and apply the promises of God in our lives. This process is not likely to be complete in any of us while we are still here on earth, but our success is guaranteed by a strong relationship of love with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, through revelation of the Word, and through obedience to His command to love one another.