The Kingdom of God- 5

Subtitle:  Our Battle in the Kingdom

Ephesians 2:1-10.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 13, 2025.

Today, we are going to identify some enemies of the Kingdom of God and anyone who is a part of it.  We need to see these in our own life and learn how to deal with them.

Let’s look at our passage.

Our enemies (v. 1-3)

When we talk about enemies as Christians, it is important to recognize a huge shift from the Old Covenant with Israel through Moses and the New Covenant with “whosoever will” through Jesus.

Israel was commanded to go into a specific area that had been judged by God.  Thus, there were literal battles between Israel, representing God’s people, and the nations that were in rebellion against God.  Israel would be a sword to some nations, but also a revelation of the One True God to the nations surrounding the area that God had given to them.  In other words, Israel was not trying to take over the world, nor were they commanded to do so by God. 

Yet, even in the Old Testament, we see that these enemies were not the only enemies Israel faced.  There were Israelites who were unfaithful to God and misled the people.  There is even a testimony from the prophets that there wasn’t one of them that was totally righteous before God.

God shows anyone with eyes to see through His interactions with Israel that no amount of fighting bad people, bad nations, and stamping out the sinners in their own nation, would fix this world.

Yet, in the New Testament, the command of Christ to his disciples does regard battles and going to the ends of the earth, but it is not about fighting physical enemies and taking physical territory.  The battle is more about the spiritual enemies that are keeping the world captive to sin. 

This highlights a common mistake that atheists will make.  They will challenge Christians with a statement like this.  “Your God commands you to kill homosexuals!  How can you defend that!”  Of course, they have clearly not understood the message of the Church, and more importantly, Jesus Christ.  The New Testament presents that all people (including Israel) are sinners in bondage to sin.  All are guilty before God and deserve death, rather than salvation.  Yet, God sends us Jesus.  He is the divine intervention that helps us in this tragic predicament.  Yes, we are all worthy of death, but Jesus has obtained for us the hope of forgiveness and redemption.

Jesus is not currently taking territory geographically, but rather, internally.  Those who believe on him are not only forgiven, but the Spirit of God enables them to take possession of their inner souls.  This is intended to spill out into their life and affect the people around them.  It spills out into their family and neighborhood.   If enough people in an area are transformed by faith in Jesus, then it can even spill out and affect a whole nation.  Thus, geography can come under the rule of Jesus, but that is not the current focus, the heart of people is the focus.

For the Christian, there are still very real enemies, and some of them are even people.  Yet, we do not deal with them in the same way as Israel was commanded.  So how are we to deal with them?  This passage in Ephesians chapter 2 helps us to identify them, and then, we will talk about how to battle them.

#1 The World-

In verse 2, Paul talks about how each of them (of us) were before the believed on Jesus.  They walked “according to the course of this world…”  The word translated “course” in the NASB speaks of the systems of humanity within a nation and the world as a whole.  They may have distinctions, but there is a bent to them that is away from God.  This can be more or less, religious or secular.  Humans born in those societies tend to follow this course that is away from God.  Israel, which was supposed to represent a system of God, had become deep-captured, until they were just like the world around them, standing against God without even knowing it.  These systems of the world are more than just a bunch of individuals doing bad things.  It becomes a system that is greater than any one sinner, and is more than the sum of its wicked parts.

Of course, we cannot blame all of our sin on the world and culture around us.  However, a culture that is far from God makes it easier for a people to fall into the trappings of sin, and even define it as good.  If adults teach and model things to their kids that God says is sinful, then they are more likely to follow them, and that place becomes a place of bondage and tyranny, both spiritually and literally.

This can even happen in a society that claims to follow God.  The political leaders of Israel (Herod when Jesus was born) had created an anti-God power structure, no matter how much lip service He might give to Him.  Similarly, the religious leaders of Israel in the first century had also created an anti-God, anti-Messiah, religion in God’s name.  Think of that.  In God’s name, we put to death the very Messiah that He sends.  Of course, this isn’t an Israelite problem.  It is a human tendency driven by this world.

Christians do not fight the world systems primarily through political means.  We know that no amount of laws, punishments, prisons, wars, etc. will ever fix this world.  This doesn’t mean that we don’t have laws and such, but that we are not looking to these things to fix the world.

Jesus sends us to the world with the message of the Gospel.  We are to tell people the truth of their peril and God’s offer of forgiveness through Jesus out of love for them.  We also live our lives according to the words of Christ and his apostles (the New Testament).  Thus, we refuse to conform to the ungodly pressures of the society around us.  We go to battle against the philosophies, ideas, and false religions that hold them captive, rather than against them.

Though our primary focus is not political, the politics of a nation will change when enough people repent and believe on Jesus.  When enough people are living out the commands of Jesus, that nation will be transformed.  We are not talking about reaching 51% and taking over.  Rather, a life that is lived for Jesus by the Holy Spirit’s leading is far more powerful than a mere vote in an election.  Thus, a once pagan place that persecuted Christians can become a place in which they are free to worship God.

The difference here is that our focus is not on the political, but rather on changing hearts.  The Scriptures are clear that Christianity will impact the whole world and make a huge impact upon it.  However, it also makes it clear that the political powers of the nations will not embrace Jesus when he comes back.

#2 The devil-

Verse 2 also says that they walked “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience…”  This prince of the power of the air is a reference to a spiritual enemy, the devil.  Him and the spiritual entities in league with him have deep captured the world.  Yes, the world is bent away from God, but the devil takes advantage of that and harnesses it for his ends.  2 Corinthians 4:4 says that the “god” of this age [the devil] blinds people from believing God and the Gospel of Jesus.  This spiritual layer lies behind the world system.  It ends up doing the bidding of the devil.  Some people do so knowingly.  We would call them satanists.  However, most people do so unknowingly.  They are simply caught up in a way of living that they have known from birth.  It becomes natural for them to do the bidding of the devil without actually trying to follow him.

We should recognize that, though the sin of humans is definitely a big part of our problem, the interference and misleading of these spiritual beings has made it far worse than it would have become.  Those who think we can build a Utopia by casting off Christianity do not understand the fire they are playing with.  These spiritual beings do not love humans.  They want to destroy us forever.  It is only by the grace of God that they haven’t done so already.

So, just as we can picture humans deep capturing the governmental structures of a society for criminally helping themselves to the people’s treasury, so we can picture the devil and his spiritual cohorts deep capturing the systems of this world to trap people in blindness to God’s offer of help.  This is what Jesus faced: a corrupt Roman system of government and religion, and a corrupt Israelite political and religious system.

There is a spirit (and spirits) working through those who are in disobedience to God (sons of disobedience) in order to create a world system that keeps humans in bondage to sin and blind to the Gospel.

How do we fight these spiritual enemies?  First, we put our faith in Jesus.  We listen to the teaching of Jesus and obey his commands.  This will immunize us to the false teaching and wicked commands of this world.  We also fight him by being alert to his schemes.  The Bible records all the ways that humans are tempted to rebel against God and live contrary to His design.  We fight him by being spiritual people who are not in bondage to sin (James 4:7).  We fight him by using the spiritual armor that Jesus supplies to his people (Ephesians 6:10-18).  We fight him through praying for one another.

Of course, some people say to themselves that they will not listen to the world or God.  They believe that they can somehow just serve themselves.  However, serving yourself only ends up serving the devil.

#3 Our Flesh-

Our third enemy is outlined in verse 3.  “We all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…”  Yes, we have the world and the devil to watch out for, but the most difficult enemy is internally ourselves.  Paul speaks of lusts of our flesh that fulfill the desires of the flesh and mind.  The desires are the simply what we want, our wishes.  These are connected to what is pleasing  to the senses of our body and what is pleasing to our mind.  Whereas, lusts refer to a strong passion for these things.  We can imagine a spectrum of intensifying desires that go from a low level preference for something all the way to a heated desire that is hard for us to restrain.

It is not that a pleasure in and of itself is evil.  Rather, when we live only to satisfy the desires of our body and mind, then we become captive to our flesh.  It knows no boundaries.  Without the help of the truth of God and the Spirit of God, we will become enslaved to the lusts of our flesh.  This can also happen when we pursue a spirituality that has no connection to the truth of God.  False religions all have their source in the devil and his cohorts.

We might even try to blame God for our penchant to over indulge our flesh.  However, God made these things to be a joy when they are not in control of our life.  If we listen to Him, then they will take their proper place and be His gift to us.  However, if we ignore Him, then they will become a curse to us as they continually seek pleasure at the cost of truth.

This is what we used to be.  However, now, we have become spiritually alive in Christ.  We are still in a body that is used to having its desires and lusts satisfied.  Thus, we have an internal battle against these.  Romans 8:13, “if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”  This is not just a list of do’s and don’ts.  We are called to be led by the Holy Spirit in putting them to death.  This begins with the Word of God, but is empowered as we listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

We also fight these lusts by staying in a community of Christ-followers.  Thus, we have a Kingdom Community, the Holy Spirit, and a new spiritual life that corresponds to the old world, devil, and flesh.  When you lean into these things, you will find a growing victory over time.

We are to fight this battle of sin in a spiritual way.  Thus, the Word of God, which is spiritual, is essential, as well as prayer and fellowship with other believers.  If we feed upon the garbage of this world, then our old nature will overcome our new nature that is spiritually alive to Christ.

Up until now, Paul has reminded them of their old way of life that they had left behind.  Yet, notice in verse 4 that there are things that God is doing.

Our heavenly Father (v. 4-10)

No matter how bad our situation was, or is, or even could become, God is for us.  He has helped us, is helping us, and will complete the good work in us, if we will simply trust Him.  We are His family, and He cares for us.

Paul emphasizes that our heavenly Father is merciful and loving.  He may seem hard and unloving at times.  However, He wants to break through our blindness and our stubbornness.  No matter how failed and plundered a person may become- think about the thief on the cross- you can still believe in Jesus.  The mercy and love of God is not just offered to some.  It is offered to all who are lost.  This doesn’t mean that everyone will embrace it.  But, they reject it over the top of God’s amazing love.

It is His covenant-keeping, merciful, faithful love that makes it possible for a person who is under the tyranny of a spiritual enemy, stuck in the ruts of this world, and enslaved to the lusts of their flesh, to be able to break free, even when they are dead in their transgressions.

Verse 5 reminds us that it is God who makes us spiritually alive together with Jesus.  This is a very real spiritual work that is done by the Spirit of God when someone believes in Jesus.  From this point on, we can read the Scriptures and sense the Holy Spirit speaking to us.  We can be led by Him through the Word, Prayer, and actions of faith.

Paul reminds us that we have been raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places.  This is a spiritual connection that we have to the greatest throne in the universe.  Yet, upon our deaths, we go to be with Christ, where we belong.

Verse 7 explains that our connection to Christ and the now, but not fully yet, aspect of the Kingdom has a climax.  In the age to come, God will demonstrate the surpassing riches of His grace toward us who have believed in Christ.  Yes, we will see the riches of God’s grace, but ultimately, we are the demonstration of God’s riches to the heavens and to the earth.  The resurrection promises to give all who have died and those who are still alive in Christ, glorified heavenly bodies.  We will shine with the glory of Christ at his side.  This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 8:18-25.  The heavenly beings, the faithful ones and the fallen ones, will see the faithful of humanity not just restored, but raised in glory.  Even rebellious and wicked humans will see the glory of those who trusted in Christ.

However, in all of this, the greatest battle is keeping ourselves focused on God’s purpose.  Thus, in verse10, Paul reminds us that we are God’s workmanship, His special work.  He works in us to do the good works that He has prepared for us in Jesus.

There is nothing wrong with making money, saving up, retiring, etc.  But, if that is all you are living for, then it will be wrong.  It is not the thing really, but me that is wrong.  When Christ comes in, all things should take their proper place so that we are no longer a slave to them.  We don’t have to be a slave to the lusts of our flesh, the course of this world, and the devil.  We can be free in serving Christ!

Our Battle audio

Lessons from the Underground Church 13: True Identity

This is a 13 week series that will not be posted on our website.  If you would like an audio of the sermon or a written article on the sermon contents then please contact the church at AbundantLifeEverett@frontier.com.  You can also leave a message at 425.438.1500.  Thank you for your interest.

Lessons from the Underground Church 13: True Identity

This is a 13 week series that will not be posted on our website.  If you would like an audio of the sermon or a written article on the sermon contents then please contact the church at AbundantLifeEverett@frontier.com.  You can also leave a message at 425.438.1500.  Thank you for your interest.

Rejecting Worldly Wisdom

1 Corinthians 3:18-23, and James 3:13-18.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 30, 2017.

Last week we talked about the spiritual powers behind the wisdom of this age and the tactical error they made in crucifying Jesus.  Today we are going to explore further the Holy Spirit’s injunction for believers in Jesus to reject this world’s wisdom and to embrace the wisdom of God.

Truly we live in a wonderful time technologically.  And yet, we also live in a horrible time in respect to the dangers that surround us from that same technology.  It seems apparent that as the good that technology can do for us grows, so the evil that it can do to us grows as well.  This direct proportionality cannot be avoided or sidelined as we broach the subject of wisdom.  Nuclear threats, cultural threats, government encroachment on freedoms, all of these dangers and more come from technology or are exacerbated by the technology at hand.  Thus, we need to understand that these passages, which talk about the wisdom of mankind and of the powers of this age, are just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago, even though their technology was quite primitive compared to ours.  As our technology increases, weaknesses within the mind and hearts of mankind will become more dangerous and our lives more fragile.  Thus it is critical for us to heed these warnings against worldly wisdom and the gracious offer of God’s wisdom, which is Jesus the Christ.

Christians can deceive themselves

Paul is writing to Christians in the Greek city of Corinth.  Just as Adam and Eve were pulled into rebellion against God through deception, so Paul warns believers to beware the deceptions found in the wisdom of this world.  In verse 18 the use of the word “seems” highlights the reality that most of what we call wisdom lies in the arena of what people think.  Many people seem wise and want to appear wise, but the underlying question is whether or not it is truly wisdom.  Thus the desire to be seen as wise is itself a trap that we must beware.  Thus Romans 1:22 says, “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…”  Now we are not just talking about being knowledgeable, or having great technology.  Wisdom is that aspect of knowing that informs what the next move should be.  Knowing determines how to do something, but wisdom informs whether it should be done or not.  Paul focuses on those who seem to be wise in this age.  They have learned to look wise among a particular people who have a particular world view.  He tells them that when you look wise in this world’s eyes then you are in danger of deceiving yourself.  If this age thinks you are wise then a big red flag should go up in our hearts.  We will talk about this more, but we do much damage to ourselves and others through trying to appear wise.

Paul challenges such desires and such wisdom by stating that we must first become a fool in order to become wise.  It is important to note that this is actually given in a command form.  He is calling for an about face for any Christians who appear to be wise according to the mindset of this world.  He is not encouraging Christians to do foolish things like drink and drive, or jump off tall buildings.  He is challenging believers to fully embrace the mindset and commands of Jesus (his wisdom).  The world will always see this as foolish.  Sure, at different times and in different places it may be in vogue to have a little bit of Jesus adorning our outward appearance.  But at its heart this world rejects the wisdom of Jesus.  Half embraces of Jesus are okay, sometimes.  But the wise of this world always take the idea of Jesus captive to their own reason, instead of becoming captive to the will of Jesus themselves.  To follow Jesus fully will always be thought foolish by this world and by worldly Christians, whether you are in the U.S.A. or in Iran.

In verse 19 the preposition “with” emphasizes being in the presence of God.  This world claims great wisdom, but in God’s eyes they are foolish, and when they stand before Him in eternity they will be made aware of that folly.  How can we claim to be in the presence of God while holding on to worldly wisdom?  Christians must quit trying to look wise to the world and think more about how they appear to our Lord Jesus. 

Now Paul gives two quotes.  The first is from Job 5:13, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness.”  The emphasis is on those who abandon the wisdom of God and follow the wisdom of this world.  This false wisdom always leads to some kind of trap in which we are forced to face our folly.  In this trap we are forced to make a decision.  Either we will hold on to the wisdom of this world, or we will repent and be saved.  A great illustration of this in the Bible is Haman in the story of Esther.  He hated Mordecai and the Jews.  Thus he used his great wisdom and skill to try and have him killed along with his people.  Haman had a huge gallows built on which he sought to hang Mordecai.  The story ends with Haman being hung on his own gallows by decree of the King of Persia.  We are not always trapped so drastically in this life.  But no matter what, when we die and stand before God, we will all face such a drastic moment.  Will the King of the heavens and the earth think I have done wisely or will He send me into judgment?

Now the second quote is from Psalm 94:11, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”  This psalm is a cry for God’s judgment to take down the wicked (the wise of this world) and to raise up the righteous.  When it says that the thoughts of the wise are “futile,” the word used is the same one used in the famous line from Ecclesiates, “Vanity, Vanity…”  The word has the idea of emptiness, nothingness, meaninglessness.  The thoughts of the wise end up empty, no matter how full they appear for the time.  Solomon,  the wisest man in the world in his day, realized that without God all our wisdom is vanity.

We should not boast in people

Starting in verse 21, Paul brings this to his point in hand.  The Corinthian’s worldly wisdom had led them to boast in certain Christian teachers over the top of the Apostle Paul.  Their desire to seem wise within the Greek world affected their ability to receive the wisdom that Paul was giving them.  They would compare the looks, rhetorical ability, and charisma of these teachers, instead of comparing them to the Scriptures.

Paul approaches this problem by pointing out the foolishness of it.  God is the one who had given the Corinthians all of these teachers: Paul, Peter, Apollos, and others.  God must have had a wise purpose in sending these very different men, who had varying appeal to the wisdom of this world.  When Paul says in verse 21 that “all things are yours,” he means that they were holding on to one person while diminishing and pushing away others.  Yet, God intended for them to have them all.  This is very typical today.  We gravitate towards those teachers who make us feel good and wise and push aside those teachers who don’t.  This is a foolish kind of wisdom that will lead to our own spiritual destruction if we are not careful.  It is bad enough when we boast in one godly teacher over another.  But such a mindset sets us up for being caught up with false teaching.  What if the devil comes along and is the essence of worldly wisdom?  Will we not be easily caught up and trapped in his nets of reason and shackled in his chains of logic?  Thus, they don’t belong to them in the sense that they can do anything they want with them.  He means that they were all given for their benefit.  So their "choosiness" was resisting the wisdom of God.

In verse 23, Paul takes this thought full circle.  God has given the believer everything for their good, but everything (including the believer) belongs to Christ and Christ belongs to God the Father.  Thus everything comes from God and belongs to Him.  This calls for humility under God’s wisdom.  We don’t always know why He has sent certain gifts into our life, yet it is not mine to receive or reject as I wish.  This is because our life belongs to God.  We are to live it for His glory and purposes.  We need to get our eyes off of people, what they think about us and what we think about them.  This is a trap in which we will find ourselves securely fastened.  Only by the grace of God will we be delivered.

We must embrace the true wisdom of God

Now, let’s go to James 3:13-18.  James is dealing with the same tendency of believers to use the wisdom of this world instead of the wisdom of Jesus.  These Christian groups were breaking out into squabbles and fighting amongst themselves.  Thus his letter serves to rebuke and instruct them.

The question in verse 13, “Who is wise and understanding among you,” opens up a world of issues.  Just like Paul using the word “seems,” so James is pointing out this area of our thinking.  The whole problem in the area of wisdom is exactly summed up in who would raise their hand to such a question?  The question itself highlights the problem.  We all think we are wise and tend to use worldly wisdom in who we model ourselves after.  When we operate from a worry of what other think, we are on a sinking ship that is sailing to destruction.  Yet, this question is also a challenge.  If you really want to be wise, then listen to the wisdom that God has given James for you.

If you are really wise then prove it by your good conduct and meekness.  Fighting, slandering, and boasting are not good conduct.  The New Testament is filled with the apostle’s descriptions of what is good conduct versus what is evil conduct.  We cannot be doing bad things to others and claim to be wise.  Such wisdom is worldly and rejected by God.  Not only must we do the wise thing, but it should be done in a wise way, meekly.  Meekness is a gentle spirit and a mild disposition.  This is the opposite of a person who is fighting and squabbling with others.  It is hard to be meek in the best of situations.  But it is even harder when you know you have the wisdom of God and others are rejecting it.  God does not want us to force His ways on others.  He does not want us to toss meekness out the window and focus merely on results.  Instead He wants us to speak the truth in love with a gentle spirit, with the Holy Spirit filling and enabling us.

In verse 14 James points out that if we persist in such self-seeking and envious “wisdom,” then we are lying against the truth.  God says we are not wise to do such things, and yet we keep doing them and calling ourselves wise.  Christians and their lives should agree with God and not lie against Him.  In the end our self wisdom maligns the Truth and the Character of God.  We can become a reason why people reject Him.  They already have worldly wisdom.  Why would they also embrace Jesus?  The truth is that Christians cannot follow the wisdom of Jesus and the wisdom of this world.  To become a Christian is to reject the world’s wisdom, to pick up our cross, and to follow Him.

In verses 15-16, James points out that the wisdom of this age does not come from God.  It has an earthly source; that is it is only focused on matters of the earth.  It also has a sensual source.  The word translated here focuses on those senses of our flesh versus what the Spirit of God desires.  Lastly it has a demonic source.  Instead of wisdom coming down from heaven, it is folly masquerading as wisdom and coming up from the demons of hell.  So James reminds us of our three greatest enemies: the world, our own flesh, and the devil.  Christians must not live by a wisdom that is derived from such sources, and don’t be deceived.  The wisdom of this world is derived by these sources.  I can’t follow Jesus and cling to demonic wisdom.  I will love one and hate the other, no matter how long I try to walk the fence.  The true origin of what masquerades as wisdom in our day and age is found here.

In verse 17 and 18, James turns to God’s wisdom.  God’s wisdom is evident and can be easily judged by us and others.  He says that it is pure.  It is unadulterated in its desires and motives.  It is not mixed with selfish motives, but simply follows the Spirit of God.  It is also peaceable and gentle.  Thus our choice to strive with one another and push our own interests above others is rebuked.  The wisdom of God is willing to yield.  Instead of fighting with another to win the argument, we step back and leave room for the Holy Spirit to work.  It is full of mercy as opposed to harsh judgment, and it is full of good fruit.  This is a metaphor for the good conduct mentioned earlier.  Lastly, God’s wisdom is without favoritism and hypocrisy.  It is easy to see that each of these points is obvious, and yet they are easily failed.  Our wisdom pulls us away from what God has made obvious.

James ends with the point that the person, who has the wisdom of God, will sow the truth about Jesus peacefully so as to bring peace to them.  The nature of a seed is that we put it in the soil and then let nature take its course.  Too often we forget this wisdom of God.  May the Lord help us to see the ways in which we have held on to the wisdom of our modern age in resistance to the true wisdom of God.

Rejecting Worldly Wisdom audio