Using Your Offensive Weapons
Get Ready To Do Warfare
I trust by now you have a solid understanding of the six items listed by Paul in Ephesians 6:14-17, which we were given for defense and protection. Are you ready to learn the rest of the story regarding the weapons we have and how to use them to move offensively against Satan’s strongholds? (2 Cor 10:4-5)
As long as the church (you and I) don’t realize we have offensive weapons or how to use them, we are reduced to retreating, hiding and trying to hold our ground. Enough!
When Jesus spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:18 He said: “You are Peter, a small stone and on this larger stone (Mt Hermon) I will l build My Church and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.
An alternative reading is “all the gates of hell shall not be too strong for it.”
The word for hell in the Greek “hades” is revealing with the root meaning of hades being, “invisible or unseen.” So, hades, or hell, is the unseen world of Satan’s kingdom.
Jesus is not talking about His Church as, barely hanging on until the escape clause brings “The Rapture.” He sees us in a battle and building the Kingdom. Prophets are called to be “world shakers.” Selah!
In Colossians 2:15 God reveals the scriptural basis for us as to why, we are to be on offense. “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities..” The rulers and authorities are the same spiritual forces of Satan, which are referred to in Ephesians 6:12. It is written, through the cross, God disarmed those rulers and authorities.
Did you ever consider the thought, Satan has been left with NO armor? He has been stripped of his weapons,, because through the cross, Yahshua disarmed the rulers and authorities and look at the second part of the verse in Ephesians 6:15: He made a public display of the representatives of Satan’s kingdom and that means, He triumphed over them in the cross.
The word triumph is not as much about winning a victory, as it is the celebration of a victory that has “already been won.” On the cross, Jesus did not win the victory for Himself. He already had the victory. As our representative, He won the victory on our behalf. Thus, His victory becomes our victory. 2 Cor 2:14 declares this:
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Notice it says, “Always” and “In Every Place” we are to represent Christ’s victory.
God is going to demonstrate publicly, the victory Christ has won THROUGH us.
Think about the final commission of Jesus, given to His disciples (that includes us) in Matthew 28:18-19:
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (If Jesus has all authority, that leaves none for anybody else, except as He yields it.)
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “All authority has already been given to Me. You go, therefore.”What does therefore mean?” Would it surprise you if I said it means, “You go and exercise on My Behalf, the authority I have already won. Authority is only effective when it is exercised.
The world will and can only see Christ’s victory when we demonstrate it. Christ has won the victory, but our assignment is to demonstrate the victory over Satan and his kingdom, which Jesus has already won and this we can only do, when we move from the defensive mode to the offensive.
This Friday, we begin using our offensive weapons.